All the Food and Fantasy Grocery Shopping

My mom remarked several times during her visit that I've become calmer and more flexible here. This is partly true and partly a misconception, I think. In some ways, yes, I've tried to embrace the travel-Sarah attitude about taking advantage of things while we're here and being more spontaneous. But the other side of this perception is more complicated:

• I'm not actually a tourist here most of the time, so some things that would freak me out as a tourist don't cause (as much) panic as they would normally. For example, if the bus I'm waiting for doesn't show on time or I'm in a new place and don't know how to get home, there's (literally) an app for that. I don't need to panic because usually there are several possibilities for how to get to any given place in London and all I need to do is choose one on my trusty CityMapper app. (On the other hand, I still totally hate it when plans I've made are changed at the last minute because of something unforeseen like rain, or a mistaken booking, or holiday hours. The consolation is that I still have many months to see and do and eat whatever I want here in London, so it's not totally the end of the world.)
• Living in a small place and paying high prices for everything means I am much more ready to repurpose what I have, particularly ingredients, rather than buy something else I'll have to store. 
• If it seems I've become more adventurous as a cook, blame the vegbox. Because of the new vegetables I've received, I've looked up recipes that include further ingredients I've never used before. Some of these are more exotic than others. Since being here I have tried/cooked with/learned to like/found go-to recipes for: beets, romanesco cauliflower, Chinese cabbage, fresh sage, butternut squash, thai curry, leeks, onion squash, gem squash, red cabbage, potatoes au gratin, bruschetta, bolognese sauce, blood oranges, parsnips, and celeriac.

Showing my mom my London had a lot to do with this last point. It's all about food, grocery shopping, and cooking. After two days of gogogo, Janis wanted a day to relax at home and read. So, the Monday and Tuesday before Christmas were for my mom and I to do what makes us most happy, namely being together doing all of the things we would normally do back in California.

The solution to no coffee maker = individual drip coffee cups

Since I discovered how much I love Thai red curry, I had to take my mom to Taste of Siam on Camden High Street. If my dinner at Zupperia in Bergen, Norway that started it all was a 10, I'd give Taste of Siam a 7.5. It's very tasty, but lacks the variety of vegetables I like in my food. However, this place is close and I can stop there when I'm grocery shopping or on my way home from school.

I had already introduced my mom to my local Marks & Spencer, but I needed to take her to my giant Sainsbury's where I do most of my grocery shopping. If you don't remember my post about fantasy grocery shopping at M&S in Edinburgh when we were there in 2012, you will not understand that these are legitimate tourist destinations for my mom. In fact, I had to keep reminding her that we were running late for drinks at BrewDog and couldn't read everything in every aisle, as much as she was fascinated by my quirky British grocery.

Such a British Christmas thing:
mince pies in every variety, EVERYWHERE

Before heading out to a Christmas lights tour on a double decker bus that I would not recommend, we met Joe for a drink at BrewDog.

literally the ONLY picture Janis requested on the entire trip

Camden BrewDog gets festive! (I thought these Santa hats for the beers were adorable,
then I was informed the the manager's mum actually MADE them for the bar. Too cute!)

Christmas Eve was much the same. We didn't have plans until our dinner reservation and Joe and Janis both revelled in the day off. My mom and I did what we do.

Yup, we took at picture at Whole Foods.

Whole Foods in Kensington High Street is like a grocery store theme park. It's so beautiful that I had to stop myself from taking panoramic pictures inside. Check out these displays!

legumes

spices

On the top floor (there are three!), there is a food court filled with all sorts of organic, healthy options. (There are some less healthy choices to be made here, of course, but there's nothing like Burger King or Hot Dog on a Stick in this food court). We were intrigued by Shabu Shabu, a fondu-style method of cooking shaved thin meat and vegetables in boiling broth.

Afterwards we went on a fantasy grocery adventure, where we drooled and squealed and got ridiculously excited for two people who didn't need to buy anything. It was a perfect day (for us).

look! bread!

a room of artisan cheeses!

cheeky signage

way too happy to spend the afternoon in Whole Foods

she makes a great Londoner, right?

And then, on the bus ride home, we caught our first sight of Recipease, the Jamie Oliver cooking school... bet you can guess what we did on New Year's Eve.