Newport, Rhode Island

I had a free day today and used the opportunity to visit Newport. Being of primary school age in 1983 when Australia II won the America's Cup (the first time it had been won by a foreign challenger in 132 years), I always had a bit of fascination with the regatta and with Newport itself.

Newport is still undoubtedly a yachting town, but in the perfect spring sunshine it was also showing off all of its diverse architecture. Originally developed as a coastal escape for plantation owners from the Carolina's to escape the heat of the southern summers, Newport's popularity boomed in the late 19th and early 20th centuries as it became the summer playground of New York's societal elite - during a period known as the gilded age.

Newport today is a delightful mix of beautiful shingled and clapboard cottages....

... and amazing large mansions, also known as 'cottages'...

The last two photographs are of The Breakers and Marble House - properties originally owned by branches of the Vanderbuilt family. The interiors are completely ostentatious and so far removed from the notion of relaxed coastal elegance. There are many reviews that consider that these properties are actually of poor taste in their over-the-top decoration...but I found them an interesting display of how opulent the lifestyles during the gilded age actually were...true Great Gatsby territory!

I also spent a short time on the cliff path - enjoying the warmth and sunshine...

And on a side note, I always find it interesting how when one travels, one begins to appreciate the small things that can normally seem irritating. I have a bit of a love/hate relationship with London buses (generally to do with standing on cold, windy streets waiting for one), but in comparison to RI's public transport system, London transport almost seems to be bordering on Swiss-like efficiency. I've been travelling on buses to and from the hospital for the past few days, and took the bus down to Newport today...and I have gathered that the actual timetable bears only a passing resemblance to the published one. Buses have run early, run late, or not seemed to have arrived at all according to the scheduled timetable. And as was described to me today, they are usually populated by an interesting group of 'characters', of whom a good 75% seem to be heavy smokers from what I can gather from standing for long periods waiting at bus-stops with these characters... But I'd have to say, that the over-riding benefit of the bus system is how affordable it is. You can travel from one end of the state to the other for $2 - RI is a small state, but I think that is very impressive!

 

College Hill, Providence

Day 1, and my itinerary means that I have 2 days to explore Providence before starting my fellowship visits. This morning dawned brightly, and by virtue of my body clock still being on UK time I was up and out early exploring. Providence is only a small city (about 175000 population) and the College Hill area and Downtown are eminently walkable.

I am staying in an apartment near Wayland Square, so this morning my first stop was Brown University. College Green is surrounded by beautiful university buildings - and it was very quiet and peaceful (obviously university students are not up and about at 8am on a Saturday morning). It was actually quite cold in the wind, but still warmer than London and the sun was shining!

The area around Brown is filled with beautiful homes of Georgian/federal architecture - a mix of brick and the more traditional New England clapboard homes.

I finished off my morning with a lovely hour or so spent touring the John Brown House (brother of the university founder). The house was a private residence from the time it was built in the mid 1700's until it was bequeathed to the Rhode Island Historical Society in the mid 20th century - and any developments made by later generations remained true to the original era in which the house was built. So it remains a beautifully preserved example of refined 18th century living.

...and proof that spring has definitely arrived here in New England!

 

Embarkation Day

 

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Today is embarkation day. I'm starting four weeks of travel funded by a Winston Churchill Memorial Trust travel fellowship.

The purpose of my trip is to spend time at two university research centres and three hospitals to help me develop my own plans for post doctoral research in relation to preterm infants and their parents.

The Winston Churchill Memorial Trust was established from the public donations that followed Churchill's death in 1965. The travel fellowships are open to all British citizens, of any profession, to enable them to travel abroad and enhance their learning/knowledge in a particular area, with a particular remit to bring that knowledge back to the UK for the benefit of the UK population. I will be using my trip to explore leading neonatal therapy research and practice in the US, to help me refine my research programme that I will undertake here in the UK.

So I am spending a week in each of four cities - Providence (Rhode Island), Cincinnati (Ohio), St Louis (Missouri) and Dallas/Fort Worth (Texas).

Such a wonderful opportunity....not least because it will help me escape the horrid London weather. It snowed quite heavily yesterday, which is ridiculous given that it is now April!

 

Cute summer skirt..

 

Although the weather is not in the least summery this week, I am hoping it will be more so when I return from my trip to the US in early May. My friend's little girl will be turning two in late May, and so inspired by these pretty fabrics I found on my jaunt to Fabric Land in Kingston a few weeks ago, I made this little tiered skirt for her in preparation for her party.

 

She and her big sister do like playing with their tea set, so I hope she likes the tea pots!

 

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Fabulous Fish Pie...

On Good Friday I embarked on my annual task of making this fabulous fish pie...it is so good that I would like to make it more often, but it always seems to take me such a long time (and the taste is so nice that I can't seem to bring myself to make faster/easier versions). So, even if it is only once a year, it is nice to have a few hours pottering in the kitchen with this as a reward...

You'll have to excuse the photo quality - the light in my flat of an evening casts a dreadful colour on everything...it did taste good!

I originally got the recipe for this fish pie from Divertimenti when I attended one of their cooking schools a few years ago. The recipe states that it serves 6-8, but they are very generous portions. I halved the quantities listed below when I made this on Friday, and it would still give 4 very large portions.

 

Fabulous Fish Pie

450g cod fillet

450g smoked haddock fillet

225g fresh peeled cooked prawns

1 kg fresh baby leaf spinach (I not only halved this, but halved it again. i.e I put 250g in the dish above and still though there was a good ratio of spinach to fish)

80g butter

Grated nutmeg

Salt & pepper

1 large spanish onion (quartered)

80g plain flour

2 pints milk

1 bay leaf

4 teaspoons anchovy essence (I left this out as I didn't have any in the pantry)

1 big bunch flat leaf parsley, chopped

150 freshly grated parmesan

(Mashed potato for topping)

 

1. Preheat oven to 180/Gas 4

2. Place onion, bayleaf, grated nutmeg and milk in a saucepan. Bring to the boil, turn off the heat and leave to infuse for 20-30 minutes.

3. Meanwhile wash spinach and place in a large pan over a medium heat. Turn spinach leaves continually until they have wilted/collapsed (the quantity will reduce dramatically). Drain/squeeze off excess water in a colander, roughly chop and leave aside.

4. Stain infused milk through a sieve, discarding the onion etc. Pour infused milk into a pan with a large surface area. Place fish skin side down, cover with a piece of damp greaseproof paper or lid and poach gently for 10-15 minutes. This can also be done in the oven in a non-stick roasting tin covered with foil for approximately 15-20 minutes. The flesh will turn creamy but still stay firm and moist. Remove the fish to a plate and allow to cool. Keep the infused milk (which now has a wonderful flavour) for the bechamel sauce.

5. Melt the butter in a pan and add the flour, stirring to a paste (roux). Remove from the heat and very gradually add the milk, off the heat, stirring well between each addition to avoid the sauce becoming lumpy. When all of the milk has been incorporated return the pan to the heat and bring the sauce to the boil, stirring continuously until it thickens. Add the anchovy essence.

6. Remove the skin and any pin bones from the fish and flake roughly into a mixing bowl. Add the prawns, chopped spinach and parsley and stir in the bechamel sauce. Season to taste.

7. Pour the fish mixture into an ovenproof dish, and cover with an even layer of mashed potato. Sprinkle with grated parmesan. Bake in a preheated over for about 30 mins until lightly golden and sauce is bubbling hot.

 

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Necessity knitting and weekend baking...

Typically, I knit for pleasure and for something to keep me productive when watching television (so I don't entirely feel like I am wasting time and brain cells)...

But, given that London appears to have given up on ever producing spring, I was knitting from necessity this week. For months now I've been hating the gap that routinely appears between the end of my glove and my jumper/coat sleeve, that the bitter wind always seems to find without fail...especially when I am standing on the train station of a morning.

So, this week I decided to pick up a ball of wool/cashmere mix and knit myself a pair of wrist warmers...

...which now nicely bridge the gap between glove and sleeve. I tried them on a walk to the post office this morning and they worked a treat.

And although it is still cold, at least it has been a lot brighter over the past two days. I spent this morning baking - lemon and poppy seed friands. These are an Easter gift for a friend (who doesn't eat chocolate), but of course I had to try one myself this morning. It is the same recipe I blogged about here, but I swapped the zest of 2 oranges for 3 lemons.

I also received an Easter care package from my mother this week which included the February and March issues of my favourite Australian design magazine...so I had something beautiful to look at whilst enjoying my morning tea...

Trialling designs...

I am toying with the idea of starting an etsy shop and listing the type of baby/children's items that I typically make as gifts for friends. It is still very much in the thinking stage as I do have a busy full-time job, and I'd very much hate to lose the pleasure and relaxation I get from sewing if I transformed the use of those skills to more of a business footing. That said, I've been thinking of this idea for a while and it has yet to go away, so there is perhaps some longevity to it.

As part of my planning I am trialling a few designs to see what is reasonably quick to make, but still brings with it the timelessness of hand-made items. This week I decided to trial a little smocked top and trousers. The smocking took no time at all - the actual making up of the top took much longer than the embroidery - something I imagine will become quicker with time and pattern familiarity. I adapted this bishop neck pattern from one I've made before which has quite full sleeves, and adapted it with a little fluted cap sleeve. I think it has left the arm opening too large, and so that is something that I will need to work on if I make it again.

I chose the embroidery colours from the liberty lawn I used to make the small trousers - this is a piece I've had in my stash for years.

I do have some more sewing planned for this afternoon, making a little summer skirt for my friend's little girl who is turning 2 in May (just after I return from the US so I want to have this completed before I leave). I found a fabulous fabric shop in Kingston last weekend and found some really sweet prints to use - it will also be an opportunity to trial another new pattern...and it gives me something productive to do this afternoon in the warmth of my flat, as I have decided it is too cold to leave the house unless absolutely necessary!