New House

Okay so we've been busy the last little while. We spent the last month or so cleaning up our old place, getting things boxed up and ready to move. Walking through the new house and making sure things were right and finally, moving! Now we've been busy cleaning and unpacking and taking care of things. Below is a little video we shot right before we moved in. Enjoy!

British pub food in Virginia

Megan now has a job and busy most Saturdays. And this past Saturday was no different. Combine this with the two youngest going off to a birthday party, this gave the parents some time to go have fun on their own.

We ended up driving almost 90 miles and making a large loop from our house, north, west, out into Aldie, through Middleburg and on to Upperville. Yet this post is about the Hunter's Head Tavern located in Upperville.

You ordered food at a little window next to the bar. You were then handed a wooden spoon with a number on it. You placed this in the wine bottle on your table so they knew where to bring the order.

Even though it was almost 2:00 in the afternoon the place was still very busy. The food was very standard British Pub Food.

They actually had two menus to choose from. Yet both of us ordered the fish and chips.

And Cheri got some hot chocolate. The crumbs on the plate came from some nice warm bread that was served on the pewter plate.

The fire place was fake....but the food, atmosphere and decorations were spot on.

There was even an Aston Martin sitting in the parking lot.

Haymarket Day

So Saturday, September 18, 2010 was Haymarket Day! We decided we needed to check things out. We missed the parade but took time to walk down main street (closed to traffic) and check out all of the booths of vendors and crafts that were out.

We brought the dogs - - -

We saw some Alpacas.

There was a train for the kids

And even some free horse rides for the kids

Wegman's had a little booth where you picked a token out of a basket and got a free corresponding fruit! Christina has a plumb....Cheri had a cucumber.....Jessica got a banana...

There was free face painting.....

And even a little Civil War demonstration -

Overall it a was a pretty good little town day. Plenty of food, lots of people, some free stuff. In the end the dogs and kids were all worn out.

Then, Cheri and Drew got their second wind and decided to drive out to Front Royal, Virginia. Why Front Royal? Well because it's there...and they heard it had some antique stores. They followed the GPS on the way out and came across a little place called the Apple House in Linden, VA.

This is one of those country stores with quilts, gifts, and a little cafe. There were a few Moose heads hanging on a couple of the walls, quilts in one part and a little seating area for the cafe. The cafe was serving up apple donuts that were just incredible. A dozen to go and we were off to see the antiques.

The old downtown was short and lined with nice antique stores and a few other places. One shop specialized in old house restoration pieces. Anything you could want from an old house, doors, windows, knobs, etc. We took their card and will go back once we settle down.

On the way back home they took the road less traveled. Wished for the Jeep instead of a Jaguar. But arrived back onto paved roads without getting stuck or hitting any deer or squirrels.

And while they liked the name of this road....they didn't travel down it....

The British Pantry

Cheri and Drew had lunch the other day at the The British Pantry and Cafe. A little British grocery store and cafe in Aldie, Virginia.

Yes, Drew is a very manly man and likes his greasy burgers, but he also knows when to sacrifice and spoil his wife with lady food.... They both ordered the M’Lady Tea, which included—a round of Tea Sandwiches, scones with Devon Cream and strawberry jam, and a pot of Tea.

They earned a raised eyebrow and perhaps a curled lip for ordering herbal tea instead of black. And then when they actually put milk in that dreaded herbal nonsense, which was yummy if you ask them, the woman (who was from England and had the appropriate accent) said that was practically sacrilegious. She was teasing. Sort of.... Then when she was explaining what creamed tea was to another couple, she said—loud enough for Cheri and Drew to hear—“Some people even put cream in their herbal.” There was no criticizing tone in it until she turned around and smirked at Cheri and Drew. When they laughed and said, “We heard that,” she chuckled, waved her finger, and said she said it for their benefit. Cheri replied with, “If we weren’t supposed to do it then why bring the cream?” The lady said, “Well, because the cream and sugar bowls come as such a cute little set.”

When the Schmidt’s went to England and had herbal tea at the Ritz in London and Little Betty’s in York they were never criticized for doing it, and cream was always served along with the pot of tea, even if it was herbal.

The sandwiches at the British Pantry were tasty and consisted of: egg salad, ham and butter, cucumber with cream cheese, and Irish cheddar with chutney. All pretty good, however, the Schmidt’s will tell you that the best afternoon teas they’ve had so far is a close tie between Little Betty’s in York and My Dear Lizzie’s in Highland, Utah.

Little Betty’s served the best herbal tea with a delicious honey instead of sugar and Dear Lizzie’s has the best scones by far. They both recommend trying the lavender white chocolate with a good slathering of lemon curd at Lizzie’s. Delish!!! A mix like it can be purchased online here, or here. The key is making the mix with cream instead of water.

Here is a recipe for homemade scones made with cream:

Tender and Tasty British Scones

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon sugar

3 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

Whole whipping cream to moisten

Mix dry ingredients. Slowly pour in whipping cream until you have a nice dough consistency. Knead dough a little. Press out into a rectangular shape. Using a pizza cutter cut into long strips then cut those strips into triangles. Place on a baking sheet. Bake in 450 degree oven until fluffy and golden brown. About 10-12 minutes. Note: it does seem like you have to add a lot of heavy cream while making these. You could add some half and half so you don’t have to put so much heavy cream in. But the secret to the nice flavor of these scones is the heavy cream. Add dried fruit, such as cranberries or blueberries, for variety.