Around town

So what have I been up to in the past few months?  Quite a bit, and yet nothing at all.  Although it seemed that I should update my blog before I start the new year so that I can start fresh then!  So tonight I get to put up a ton of new entries, and then I swear I'll stay updated next year!  (I promise!)

There was a trip to Hyde Park, to wander around and forget about all the traffic and noise that's associated with living in one of the busiest tiny cities in the world . . .

And then the very cool Bloomsbury Festival that is held in the blocks surrounding my Uni every year . . .

 A teepee!

 Amazing African music

They just so very appealed to my inner Martha!

And then the unbelievable Hyde Park Christmas Village!  Complete with festival rides, Haunted Houses, skating rink and ferris wheel bar!

 He even sings!

 No haunted houses at Halloween, but about four in the Christmas Village.  Hmm...

 It's like Etsy, but not on-line.  The most amazing hand-made goods you'll find anywhere!

And I've even found one or two nights for cooking!  (Although yes, I do need to be cooking more!  But after Thanksgiving I thought I needed a break.  And Christmas (although I don't have pics) involved homemade cinnamon rolls for breakfast and a vegan "wellington" for dinner along with roast potatoes and lovely red wine.  The wellington definitely needs some tweaking, it was quite the dinner!  Except that the gravy was also ruined when the salt grinder bottom popped off and about a million chunks of salt fell right into the pan!  that was extremely sad.

 Enchiladas and pasta from http://www.vegiehead.com/main-meals.html.  Amazing site with quick, fresh main meals.  Definitely a site worth keeping track of.  And what's pasta without homemade garlic bread?

Move-in day into my new place in Camden.  You have to have take-out pizza and wine for that, right?  And Pizza Express, the Papa John's of London, has a few amazing vegan options with wonderful veggies!

And to show that not everywhere in London is brick or stone, we have some gorgeous flowers growing in our back garden.

That's all for now!  I'll let you know how Morocco goes once I'm back at the end of next week!  I'm terrified to go, but I'm absolutely so excited about it!  I've never been to Africa before, so this will definitely be a fantastic new experience!!

Thanksgiving

Since this blog is supposed to be about living vegan in London, there should definitely be a post about the vegan Thanksgiving Dinner I made!  Some friends brought a turkey and "classic" dishes, but I made an entire feast, and it seemed to go over well with everyone!  And a side benefit - not only could quiet vegetarians enjoy everything, but Muslims as well!  No need to worry about if anything is halal.

I made all my usual dishes - a Native American polenta-bean dish, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes with candied pecan topping, spaghetti squash with peas and almonds, walnut apple stuffing, green bean casserole, "cheesy" biscuits, and green bean casserole.  And pumpkin pie, apple pie, and cherry cobbler for dessert.  All completely from scratch.  Including making my own breadcrumbs.  My roommate Sobhia was absolutely essential in all of this - I couldn't have made any of it without her help and support.

There were maybe 20 - 25 people throughout the night, and while there were leftovers of some dishes, the leftovers that I wanted the most (biscuits and green bean casserole) were nowhere to be seen!  But this is the third Thanksgiving Dinner that I've made completely from scratch, and it just gets more fun every year.  Even with the completely terrifyingly small oven survived it!  Grocery shopping was extremely stressful (apparently spaghetti squash doesn't exist much around here - thank goodness for Earth organic store!) and stocking up on pots and pans wasn't easy, but now all other cooking seems so easy!  Even cooking for Christmas was a cinch!  Although I also had a lovely sous chef then.  Turns out that I tell other people how to cook much more willingly than I actually cook!

Here's some pictures of the lovely feast.  My i-pod doesn't take the best pics, sadly.  Oh well.

Cutting out pretty shapes to make the amazing cinnamon-sugar pastry pieces that my mom always used to make! 

 Seemed like a pretty impressive spread to me!

 The lovely sous chef herself!

 The three classic desserts.  (Tootsie Pops were not mine.)

 The best way to recover from a Thanksgiving meal is definitely to sit in front of my bedroom fire!

I guess I should add some pictures as well.  I'll throw in both the living side of things and the eating side of things.  I'm just so proud that I'm actually cooking!  I worked in politics for so long that I just never cooked, and I probably won't cook once I get a  job and an internship, so I must be proud while I have a chance.

The Famous Piccadilly Circus. 

The very first ever London Vegan Drinks, and I got to be there!  And I spent the night talking

to two Greeks, an American and an Aussie.  Welcome to London . . .

The grand entrance to my Uni.  Not too shabby.

The street in front of my Uni.

The Uni itself.  Well, part of it.  It's too tall to get on camera.

Russell Square, right behind my school, where I will be doing my reading in warm weather.

Yes, that is a giant fountain.  Yes, it is pretty amazing.

I finally made it back to the British Museum.  No matter how many times I see this guy, I'll always

think that he's overrated.  Just like poor old Mona Lisa.  He's just so short.

Mummies are always cool though.

Apple Pancakes with Apple Compote topping.  Just what is needed to prepare for an

evening of reading International Human Rights Law.

The best spaghetti ever!  Very much modeled on my mother's spaghetti - onion and garlic sauteed, as well as a red pepper and some mushrooms thrown in as well.  It was delicious, and I'm glad there were leftovers.  It'll make for perfect rainy day eating!