UK Carvery -- a Proper Sunday Lunch

Not too much to report this week.  No exotic trips or historical findings.  I did survive as a single parent while Kuk was goofing off in Toulouse, France (okay, probably not goofing off).  The kids stepped up and we managed fine.  I did strive to push the limits of early drop off though much to Nicole's chagrin.  It's amazing how coming into work an hour later changes the whole day.

So, in lieu of any earth shattering reports, we'll have a food themed week (and a generally shortened update).  Today we ventured out to the [very hidden] trails of the Peak District to the village of Alderwasley.  The destination was a proper Sunday lunch at The Bear Inn and Restaurant which was pretty much in the middle of absolutely nowhere (I'm counting on the 12 or so Alderwasley residents to not be blog followers--not difficult since there are only a handful of you as well).

Even with a GPS/Sat Nav is was not easy to find, but we made it.  Not much to look at on the outside (picture above) but it had a nice ambiance inside.  Notice the very long shadows (and some snow) -- this picture was taken at 3 pm!  Days are very short now.

We were once again joined by our friends the Seppanens.  It was nice to be able to share the food and experience with friends.  As you can tell, Jay is enjoying "retirement" here in the UK (Lori is working here) with his facial hair of the month plan.  For December he's sporting the Ebenezer sideburns.  Impressive in so many ways.  Let's just say I don't have that capability.

Even better, the kids had their own table!  There were 4 tables in this one side room so we had some space but didn't disrupt too many.

I didn't snap any food shots, but most of us had the carvery which was one reason I chose the place.  Carveries are traditional Sunday lunches in the UK (or at least around here).  For this one they had roast beef, lamb, turkey and pork loin.  I, of course, had all of them and it is one reason I am sitting here typing this with no thought whatsoever about cooking dinner tonight (too full).  The two red meats were better because I could get them rare-ish.  The white meats were a little over cooked.  At any rate, we had a great time and will try to find some others in which to compare.

Now on to the Nicole meal(s) of the week.  Nicole was going to cook this one except she didn't.  I unwittingly scheduled it for the day she stayed late for her school Christmas party so I cooked it while her friend's mom brought her home.  This was my first curry and it did come out of one of her kids' cookbooks.  It's pork and pineapple (I try to fit in a pork dish when Kuk is away because she won't eat it anyway).  The peppers were nice for color and packed a punch as well (the kids omitted that option on theirs).  Tasty.

Finally, Nicole's meal of the week:  shrimp scampi with sauteed zucchini (called courgettes in the UK) with pesto.   Another nice job.

Well, that's all for now.  We hop on a plane to Baltimore-Washington International on Thursday.  We have a lot to do before then but we are all excited about seeing our family and friends on the east coast.