Our Aga Agatha

We are fortunate to have the iconic British cooker called the "Aga" in the house we rent. This is what it looks like:

We have named ours Agatha.

It's a cast iron oven with a gas fire burning constantly so it's always hot and ready to use. There are two cooktops as well, the boiling plate and the simmering plate.

I was frankly intimidated by Agatha at first. Where's the temperature setting? Oh, there is none. Then I guess there's no digital display panel? Ha! Do I use the top oven or the bottom oven? That's a very important question. It's almost an art to cook on an Aga.

For the longest time the main thing we used Agatha for was to warm ourselves up. Lift the lids and lean on in. What a lovely heat Agatha puts out.

Warming up

Our kitchen also has an electric oven, gas stovetop, and most importantly, a microwave. So why would I want to mess with the scary ancient-looking beast? It took me a while to brave it. I finally decided to attend an Aga cooking class that demonstrated all the things you can do with your Aga. Our instructor went through a day of cooking and prepared breakfast, lunch, a starter, veggies, main course, and a dessert, all within about 2 hours. The best part was getting to sample all the food at the end.

I learned that the top oven is warmer than the bottom oven because heat rises. Oh, that's easy, I can remember that. And inside each oven, again, the higher-up rack positions are warmer than the lower. I just had to abandon my need for setting a precise cooking temperature. Just go with warm, moderate, hot, or very hot. The first thing I tried was baking a potato. It burned to a crisp because I forgot it was in the oven. There are no oven windows because that would let out too much heat. The oven is vented to the outside so there are no cooking smells emitted into the kitchen. Uh oh, I've really got to get in the game and pay attention! At least the potato never burst into flames, it was just a pile of ash when I found it the next day.

I kept trying and now I'm pleased to say that Agatha is my friend. No pre-heating required. Food can be kept warm while still cooking other items. She's a lot quieter than the fan-assisted electric oven. And her shiny exterior is so pretty!

Here I'm using the simmering plate to saute chicken:

It has a toasting gadget for making a waffle grid pattern on your toast:

I like cooking pancakes on a sheet of silicone laid on the cooking plate:

Easy cleanup, just lift off the silicone when done, it's not even hot:

Set your plate near Agatha to keep food warm:

It's a good place to dry shoes or hang items to dry:

Some houses here have only an Aga to cook on. That would be tough as we turn ours off in the summer. It heats up the kitchen way too much and we have no air conditioning.

Some say once you cook on an Aga it's hard to go without it. I'm starting to believe it.

Poppies

We have poppies blooming in our yard (or "garden" as they say here). I don't remember seeing them last year. Maybe I was still in the first-year fog of being here. I think they are poppies, I've only seen the fake kind that they sell on Remembrance Day and these look like them, only real. See what you think:

Silk and plastic poppies are sold here during November for Remembrance Day or Poppy Day, our version of Veteran's Day. Here is a photo of the kind they sell here:

Growing up I remember they were made of crepe paper. Our poppies look and feel very much like crepe paper. I'm enjoying the real deal.

English Neighborhood Walk

I like to take a nice stroll around the neighborhood: for exercise and also as a reminder that I am living in the beautiful country of England.  Springtime is especially beautiful here and I finally remembered one day to bring my camera along on my walk.

Bushy Tree

I see a giant foot with toes on this tree:

Toe Tree

Stately entrance to Ashley Park subdivision

Typical English houses

Houses are given names here.  I always try to peer in to see if this house indeed comes with moat:

The Moat House

Wild parakeets

 The algae growing on this tree shows just how damp it gets here:

Algae Tree

 Instead of curbs, painted white rocks line the streets:

I love this stone wall border:

Use your imagination on this tree:

Hooter Tree

My favorite tree

 And back home, in our own garden (yard), here are the daffodils that Chris planted last fall from bulbs:

Frog eggs and tadpoles in our pond:

Spring hath Sprung!!!