Keep Calm and Carry On: The Diary of Foodie and Gourmet

Back in May, my parents came to visit me in London. We're all devout lovers of afternoon tea, so whilst they didn't have a set schedule for their trip, they knew they wanted to have as many afternoon teas as possible. I can't blame them. Afternoon tea is a delightful British tradition, and frankly, when done properly, it's my all time favorite meal.  For those who many not be familiar, afternoon tea is generally taken between 2 pm and 6 pm. The custom dates back to the 1840s, amongst the wealthier classes. A traditional afternoon tea is comprised of tea sandwiches, scones with clotted cream and jam, an assortment of cakes and patsies, and of course, TEA! Since then, it's become a staple of British culture and something I absolutely adore! While my parents were in town, we were able to have four different afternoon teas, all of which were delicious!  Afternoon teas can range from posh, which requires booking, dressing up, and a bit of spending, but there are...

At the end of June, I hopped on Amtrak and enjoyed a short trip to Washington, D.C. My main reason for going to DC was to do some archival research for my dissertation, but I did manage to have a bit of fun. I stayed with one of my closest friends of 20+ years, got to see one of my closest college friends, and I also got to play tourist a little bit while in DC! First night in town, my friend B and I grabbed dinner at "Meridian Pint," a local gastropub. I had the 'Murica Burger, which came with BBQ sauce, bacon, and cheddar cheese. Yum yum!  After spending two days at the archives, I wanted to have a little bit of fun and see some of DC's famous sites. Before all of that though, I required lunch. Whereas I'm fairly familiar with NYC eateries, the same cannot be said for Washington, D.C. I was out of my element, also not totally understanding the layout of the city, so I was heavily reliant on yelp and recommendation from friends. The night before, I recal...

So, for my first post, I thought I'd talk about my dissertation a little bit, since that's been my primary focus over the past few months. For a historian, producing an independent piece of research is a major part of the job description.  The dissertation is designed to allow students to engage with original work and basically become historians. Rather than read history, we are expecting to produce it. For this reason, my program requires that I submit a dissertation on a topic of my choice. Of course, since my masters is in "The History of War," my topic has to relate to military history. I don't want to give too much away, but my dissertation is examining a World War II operation and arguing that it was an intelligence failure. For those who may not know this about me, although I am a military historian, my specific interests lay with military intelligence, espionage, and codebreaking history. My dissertation is supposed to be 15,000 words and as of now, I...

Hello to all of your out there who read my blog, or used to... First of all, let me apologize to everyone for disappearing for nearly 9 months. I moved to London to complete a Masters degree in the "History of War" at King's College London and school was really busy. I was working around the clock reading and writing papers. Once school ended in March, my focus shifted towards my dissertation, which has required lots of research and book reading as well. I've spent the first few months of my summer visiting archives, digging up primary sources, and I've also been writing my dissertation -- I'm up to 11,000 words! (It's supposed to be maximum, 15,000 words). That said, I have been cooking a lot and I have been exploring quite a bit, but frankly, when it came time to write, I was just too exhausted. Many apologies for that. With that, I'd like to make more of an effort to share my adventures with you all. Moving to London has been an interesting ex...