Well, it’s been an interesting few weeks settling in to our new home. We were supplied with the basics: furniture, microwave, dishes, silverware, one spaghetti pot, one sauce pan, one fry pan and a water kettle. I know I should be having fun picking out new house wares but it’s just hard to put your heart and more importantly your money into it knowing you’ll be giving everything up again in 2 years. I’m still getting over the fact that all of our life’s collections are still sitting in a thrift shop in Moab, Utah.
At least there’s the Holidays to look forward to. My spirits are high as I sit here waiting for my pumpkins to roast so I can make my own puree for the pies (and maybe a little set aside for my homemade pumpkin lattes too). My subconscious has been telling me that along with the Holidays comes winter and along with winter comes hearty comfort food. No such luck with the winter here, but I was able to take advantage of poor Matt getting sick to make lots of warm soups and chicken with dumplings. Matt’s all better now, four days of sleep, broth and OJ and I’m back on my own again. It was nice to have him home for a few days even if I avoided him like the black plague. Germs were not on my to-do list.
Back to the point of today’s post: Tomorrow is Thanksgiving, kind of. It’s not celebrated here, for obvious reasons, so there’s no vacation time for Matt. We’ll be having a small dinner with Matt’s coworkers, one of which is American and the other likes Cardinals baseball so we figure that’s close enough.
Yesterday I took my reconnaissance trip to the market with a complete list of everything I’d need for the feast, knowing full well I wouldn’t be filling my list mainly because my refrigerator just isn’t big enough. Boy was I in for a world of unexpected trouble and that’s without going into detail about it being the busiest I’ve ever seen the store!
So, it goes without saying American Holiday = American recipes = American measurements. No problem, I’m getting used to this. No pre-made shortcuts or ready in the box mixes, no problem. I can cook from scratch, it tastes better that way. No cornmeal, no turkey baster, no marshmallows!?!?! OH NO!!!!! Have no fear my friends – it was only a reconnaissance trip. I’ve armed myself with the internet and I’ve got my substitutions and game plan lined up.
I did, however, think there were a few things you might find interesting:
· You can use polenta in place of cornmeal
· You have to go to the counter to buy a lighter for your candles
· Most of the cold medicine contains only Echinacea, willow bark and the like. The good stuff must be at the Chemists (aka Pharmacy)
· Band-aids don’t peel open. After you’re proven that you shouldn’t be allowed around sharp object you now have to cut your bandage strip open.
· Most of the deodorant is roll-on or spray-on. Clinical strength can cost up to $14
· You can only buy alcohol at the bottle mart, and liquor can cost up to twice as much
· Wine is cheap
· A bottle of beer is called a stubbie
· Most of the rum can be bought pre-mixed with cola in a can (my fave so far)
· Bing cherries cost $8.99/kg. A bunch of grapes cost $13
· Crispy delicious bacon is hard to come by except in a restaurant, I’m supposed to keep my eye out for “streaky” bacon
· Cream soda is called creaming soda
· Lemonade is fizzy – and delicious!
