Welcome to my new blog site!
It has taken me some time to figure out how to set this page up, but now that it’s here, I intend to use it!
I chose the name “Brits and Grits” because, being a Brit living in the USA, there are some things,like Grits, that have taken me some time to get used to!
I remember my first experience of eating grits was when I came over for a few weeks to Nashville back in 2007. I was staying in a hotel and saw them on the breakfast menu and decided to give it a try. I was seriously not impressed. I thought they had the consistency of wallpaper paste and even less flavour. Little did I know I had been misled by Instant Grits.
Well, fast forward a few years and I’m now living in the US, after deciding to move to Atlanta to record my album with Shawn Mullins. And thanks to an introduction to home made grits in Gainesville, Georgia, I’ve become a BIG fan of that gritty goodness whether they come plain, with baked apples, smothered in cheese, or served up with a pile of fried shrimp! I’ve even attempted to make a (somewhat lumpy) batch of them myself. Practice makes perfect though so I’ll keep trying!
So this blog is going to talk about all the weird and wonderful experiences of being a British woman living in the US of A. The food, the accents, the traditions, the every day and the extraordinary. And of course, as I’m a singer-songwriter, there’ll be a good amount of music chat too!
So I’m looking forward to sharing my thoughts and hearing yours.
And what I really want to know is….how do you like eating your grits?
Brits and Grits 
Just finished some leftover grits! Cold leftover grits from the fridge are cold and solid. Slice them and fry them in the pan after cooking some bacon. With some cheese on top, they are yummy!
Looking forward to your blog!
Hi Maureen,
Thanks for being my very first comment on my new blog!
Never thought about that way of eating them – I’ll have to give it a try! Hope you’re having a great weekend 🙂
Breakfast is butter and a pinch of salt n pepper.
Lunch I like em with Tabasco and sausage
Dinner is grits with cheese and shrimp.
I love me some grits
Not a Brit but also not a native Southerner, I still find “plain” grits to be, well, NOT to my taste. That said, a bowl of creamy grits with a slice of rich Havarti cheese placed across the top until it melts, and then stirred in…….a different animal entirely! Mainly I choose (and chew) steel cut Irish oats for breakfast and leave the savory grits as a base for lovely dinner toppers like crispy flounder (Rosebud Restaurant), grilled shrimp, or garlicky oven roasted vegetables. Love your music and hope you have lots of fun with this blog!
You have to start with stone ground grits (not instant or even “quick” grits) like those made by Nora Mills in Helen, GA or Logan Turnpike Mill in Blairsville, GA. I like to add a little cheese, crumbled bacon bits (real bacon) and fresh, chopped jalapeno peppers to mine.
I like grits hot- smothered with butter and a dash of salt and pepper, usually with eggs and bacon or sausage at breakfast. I’ll have to try Maureen’s recipe for grits-sounds yummy.
Welcome to the blog world-looking forward to reading about your adventures.
Hey there, I’ve only recently been introduced to Grits since I started dating an American lady in York, (I’m sure there’s a song title in there!). She’s actually from Georgia and I’m hoping to get across there later in the year. I discovered your music through Whispering Bob’s show on Radio 2, and I did a post about your Best Year song on one of my blogs. One question, did I read somewhere that you originated from Lincolnshire?
I think they’re still a mystery to most people in the UK!
Glad you heard my music on Bob’s show. He’s such a legend, and an amazingly lovely guy too! Thanks so much for writing about Best Year on your blog. I’ll check it out!
You did read correctly that I’m from Lincolnshire. I was born in Boston and then moved to London which is where I lived for 10 years before moving to Atlanta GA.
If you make it out to Georgia later in the year, let me know, maybe you can come to a show!
How did you go from Boston to Lincolnshire? Boston, USA?
No, it was Boston in the UK. It’s in Lincolnshire. Very confusing when so many places in the US and UK have the same names! I played in a place called Lincolnshire in Illinois a few months ago too…didn’t look anything like the Lincolnshire I was used to though!
Thanks for all the comments guys. I’m liking this new blogging lark!
All this talk of grits is making me hungry. I think I’ll go make some for lunch – might try Vernon’s cheese and bacon recipe idea!
[…] So that’s all the background, needless to say, but don’t tell anybody as I’m supposed to be a repressed Englishman, but I’m missing Tara quite a bit, and was thinking about her this morning, as I logged on to my pc to check my facebook updates. Imagine my surprise when I saw a post from a singer called Callaghan, who I follow, entitled How do you like your Grits in the morning? […]
Grits are not only a mystery to most in the UK, but to many of us here in the States as well. I rank them right up there with chitlins!!!
Chitlins…hmm I think I’ve seen them in the supermarket. Are they the same thing as pigs feet?
Ha..I’m a Southern girl and it took me 20 years to love grits…but they are best served savory with some sauteed peppers, onions, celery and shrimp.
Saw you at the Singer/Songwriter series at Druid Hills last year. huge fan!
Mmm yum sounds good 🙂
I loved playing the show at Druid Hills! Hopefully I’ll be back again this year…