I’m only a recent convert to the fabulous religion of tapioca. I don’t know if it was the seven-year tastebud change-over, or the fact that I had only ever heard tapioca pudding in reference to hospital food and never gave it the time of day.

Either way, tapioca is my new favorite food group – so much tastier and more flavorful than anything I’d ever had in pudding cup form. Not to mention, to make it you get to stir a bubbling pot – like a witch cooking up a tapioca brew.

While I was conjuring this batch, I noticed my roommate and friends had left a bottle of honey whiskey on my kitchen counter unprotected. And I thought, why not? So a shot or so may have made it into my skillet.

The beauty of this recipe is that you can add pretty much any sweet, delicious item you’d like. I ate my first round so quickly that I made a second, darker batch: butterscotch chocolate with a shot of rum. I suggest, especially for chocolate, mixing in those fun additions while it is in the “witch” stage aka while it’s simmering on the stove (before adding the egg whites).

Ingredients

1/3 cup small tapioca pearls
¾ cup water
2 ¼ cup milk
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ cup sugar
2 eggs, separated
½ teaspoon cocoa chili powder
1 teaspoon honey whiskey
½ teaspoon vanilla
dash of cinnamon (optional)

Directions

1. First, soak the tapioca pearls in the water for 30 minutes in a large saucepan.
2. Add the milk, salt, sugar and egg yolk, lightly beaten.
3. Stir over medium heat, until the mixture boils.
4. Add the whiskey and cocoa chili powder.
5. Lower the heat and let simmer for 10 minutes or until thickened, stir often.
6. Meanwhile, beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form.
7. Scoop a few spoonfuls of hot pudding into the egg whites, mix well, then fold mixture into the rest of the pudding.
8. Cook over low heat for about 3 minutes.
9. Let cool or serve hot. Sprinkle with cinnamon and enjoy!

Here is a quick lesson in British to American vocabulary for you:

Pants = underwear
Torch = flashlight
Aubergine = eggplant
Courgette = zucchini
Biscuits = cookies

Since biscuits are cookies in these parts, I decided to make good old Southern style American biscuits to compare US biscuits to UK biscuits. While we obviously have cookies in the US, I have yet to find something similar to US biscuits in London.

Both of the recipes I made for this experiment are super simple. I wanted just the basics in my biscuits for the comparison. I sampled both, along with my Australian flatmates, Joel and Jacinta. Both biscuit recipes went over quite well with all of us!

After several samplings (to ensure we had come to a fair conclusion of course), we decided it’s not fair to have to pick one biscuit over the other. Both are delicious in their own way. If you are hungry for something savory, US biscuits are the way to go, but if your sweet tooth needs to be satisfied, UK biscuits will do the trick.

While the search to find savory biscuits here in London continues, below is a great recipe to satisfy the savory cravings!

US Biscuits
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 15 minutes
Yields: 12 biscuits

Ingredients:
3 cups flour
2 tbsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
¾ cup butter, softened
1¼ cups buttermilk
¼ cup chopped chives (optional)
¾ cup grated cheddar cheese (optional)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Mix together the dry ingredients: flour, baking powder, and salt. Add the softened butter in pieces and mix until combined, either in a food processor, with a pastry cutter, or by hand with a wooden spoon. Add in the buttermilk ½ a cup or so at a time until the mixture is doughy, but still crumbly. I made six biscuits out of this plain mix, then added the chives and cheddar for the remaining six biscuits. Place onto a cookie sheet and bake for 15 minutes until golden brown on top and smelling delicious.

UK Biscuits
Prep time: 5 minutes
Cook time: 15 minutes
Yields: 12 biscuits

Ingredients:
125g butter, softened
70g granulated sugar
1 egg yolk
2 tsp vanilla extract
150g flour

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Mix the softened butter and the sugar until combined. Add the egg yolk and vanilla extract. Finally, mix in the flour until doughy and smooth. If you prefer crispier biscuits, roll out the dough as you would sugar cookies until about ¼ inch thick and cut into circles, or whatever shape you like. Bake for about 10 minutes. If you prefer soft, doughy biscuits, use a spoon to drop the dough onto a cookie sheet in clumps and bake for 15 minutes until brown on top, my preferred method!

Which type of biscuit do you prefer, savory or sweet?

We at GMS love Harry Potter, and the world thereof, so this month we partnered up with Fanboy Comics to create a cocktail that we think will give our readers pleasure, and MIGHT just double as a Muggle-attempt at Felix Felicis. For the full skinny, check out our post today on FBC.

Winter has settled in – too comfortably for many of you – and when that happens, you need a defense in delicious piping hot recipes that will make you appreciate even the coldest of days. For us, that means lots of soups, stews, chilis, and anything with chicken broth – the elixir of warmth in the darkest of days.

Enter Minestrone. This Italian soup is wonderful because you make it out of what you have on hand, and it’s thick vegetable laden broth can make anyone feel happier. As with tradition, we made it out of what we like, what we had, and we used gluten free pasta because Corelyn has been trying a mostly grain-free diet so we were sticking to that. Feel free to follow the recipe below, or adapt as you see fit. Add whatever kind of pasta you want – we used shells. I also love a wagon wheel, or fusilli, or corkscrew pasta…you get the idea.

Minestrone Recipe

4 cups water
1 tbsp olive oil
1 medium onion, diced
3 cloves garlic
1 can chick peas
1 can red kidney beans
2 cups chicken broth
1/2 head of cabbage, cored and chopped
1 can stewed tomatoes
3-4 celery stalks, chopped
3-4 carrots, chopped
1 cup pasta
parmesan cheese, for topping
parsley, for topping
red pepper flakes, for topping
s/p

Directions: 

1. Chop your veggies.
2. Take your olive oil and heat in your Dutch oven on medium heat. Add onion and garlic, simmering for 2 minutes.
3. Add water, chicken broth, beans, cabbage, tomatoes.
4. Bring to a boil, then simmer for 10 minutes.
5. Add carrots and celery. Then, add uncooked pasta. After 10 minutes, salt and pepper to taste.
6. Let simmer at least 30 minutes. Serve with parmesan cheese, parsley, and red pepper flakes.

We hope that this gives you a good weapon against the snow, ice, wind, and general cold. Let us know how you beat the cold – do you make a big lasagna, or a cheesy casserole? Tell us in the comments below!

For the past few months, I have been working two jobs, which means long hours and not a lot of time to cook. As a result, I have been trying to find some dishes that I can make in large batches to freeze into individual portions. Freezing the meals gives me greater flexibility as to what I eat in a week and lets me spread out a dish over several weeks so I don’t get tired of eating the same thing too many times in a week.

This Chicken Butternut Squash and Quinoa Stew Recipe came together easily and was perfect to freeze and eat over a few long work weeks.

I adapted the recipe to what I had in the kitchen as well as the process that worked for my cooking schedule, as I usually make several recipes at a time. For example, I roasted the squash, though the recipe calls for steaming, and I used cubed chicken breasts instead of using chicken thighs.

The next time I make this recipe I will double the quinoa as it felt a little sparse and also plan on adding more olives for the flavorful kick that they provide.

What are some of your favorite recipes to make and freeze?