Manifesto

In the 2000 census, 23.9% of Americans self-identified as having either British or Irish ancestry (it was 67.5% in 1790). That's over 67 million people! To put that into perspective, the 2001 census showed the population of the United Kingdom to be almost 59 million while the Republic of Ireland's 2006 census showed just over 4 million people. All this means that there are more people in the United States claiming British/Irish ancestry than there are people in Britain and Ireland.

Despite being the largest single ethnic group (if we combine all the British Isles ethnic groups), British food (I'm including Irish in this, as well. My apologies to any Sinn Fein supporters out there.) is as rare as hen's teeth. Part of this is many traditional American dishes (apple pie, pot roast, macaroni and cheese, etc.) are either the same as many British dishes or are closely related. Thus, here in America, many yummy British meals are "American." Another problem is the global reputation of British food. If it's as nasty as everyone says, why would we want to eat it? Much better to just go get Italian, Thai or Mexican food.

Don't get me wrong. I love international cuisine. I just think that it's time to resuscitate British cooking in America. It shouldn't be about green beer on St. Patrick's Day and a turkey leg at Ye Olde Renaissance Faire. Brew yourself a cup of tea, seek out lamb chops and a tin of golden syrup, and join me on my journey to bring a precious few blog readers in contact with my culinary patrimony.

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I'd like to apologize for being AWOL the last couple of months. I guess now you know I'm still alive. August is such a nasty month that it takes me all of September to recuperate. Thankfully, October is here and it's finally sweater weather. I'll be here weekly (hopefully more, but now I'm only a part-time lady of leisure) with more recipes. Here's a menu I've put together from BBC Good Food that uses those lamb chops you're going to find. Lamb is super-tasty (if you cook it more than medium-rare I will hunt you down and take away your cooking rights) and not very commonly used in the United States (outside Middle Eastern cuisine). I'm sure you'll love it.


Lamb with Rosemary Butter Beans
Perfect Steamed Broccoli (contrary to what the recipe states, butter is not optional)

Enjoy! See you back here next week!