Substitutions

I knew when I started this trip that Europeans don't really bake. Why would they? With beautiful pastries in bakeries on every corner selling treats too elaborate to replicate in a home kitchen, what need to they have of home baking?

Christmas isn't Christmas, to me, without cookies. Fortunately the "Home Baking" section of my Sainsbury's is well stocked, and the girl who lived in my flat before me left behind a few basics, like baking soda and vanilla. So now the only difficulty is in finding some of the more specific ingredients. I can get chocolate chips in small packages, but that's the least of my worries, since crumbled Cadbury bars would work just fine. I did some research about canned pumpkin and managed to find it at a fancier grocery store in time for Halloween. But one ingredient I never expected to have trouble with was molasses.

I hated molasses cookies as a child but have grown to love them. They're perfect for Christmas, moist and spicy. But molasses was nowhere to be found in the Home Baking aisle. I asked one of the guys in the store and he thought a moment and led me to a small section near the Kosher foods that had some Middle Eastern ingredients and handed me a bottle. It wasn't until I got home that I read the label and saw that it was pomegranate molasses. Still sticky and sweet, but really tart as well. I tried it out anyway, and the cookies came out berry flavored. I was fine with eating them, but they were more summery than Christmas-y.

Back to the internet for more ideas. Ex-pat baking message boards suggested trying black treacle as a substitute for molasses. And attempt number two was a success. What I got isn't quite the same, but the dark, sweet cookies that came out would have been an excellent accompaniment to a mince pie and a cup of tea. Trans-atlantic Christmas cookies.


I'm headed to Heathrow now to fly to Spain where I'm meeting my family for the holidays. I probably won't post again until after the New Year, so until then, I wish you all Happy Holidays, and (as my classmates taught me) einen guten Rutsch ins neue Jahr.

Productivity

It's hard to concentrate on this:

when outside through the windows what you hear is this:

Only one more bibliography and I'm done and it can be Christmas!

And we're going to go get mulled wine and watch people skate for a little while soon.