Good Morning! (January 28th)

[singingpilgrim]

Thought I'd be daring and start the post for the day. How is everyone?

Personally we had our big anatomy scan ultrasound yesterday! In India it's illegal to do pre-birth sex determination so we don't know if he/she is a boy/girl for sure but we had our eyes peeled and didn't *see* a penis, so we think maybe girl. But not going out and buying pink.

QOTD: What's your favorite food of your expat country? What's your least?

For me favorite is kebabs, least favorite is "bitter gourd".

[allibally]

It's too cold here. It's currently -7 F. The high will be 5 but will still feel like -15 because of the wind. I had to go out yesterday for an appointment and just the few feet I walked made my bones cold. Of course our heat is so damn hot that ironically we sleep with the window cracked open. O.o

I don't have school today. It's a bummer because this was my last week of student teaching and I'll be missing out on two days. I'm not ready to say good bye to my "kids".

QOTD: In Switzerland. Cheese Fondue and Rösti (shredded potato) were my favorites. Least favorite Raclette a melted cheese served usually with little pickled onions. Very popular at fairs and it smelled awful to me. Of course everyone else loves it. Haha. In America my own home I love the nice cuts of steaks I can get. I don't really like Americanized Mexican food.

[dorothyinAus]

Good evening. It was hot here today. Gotta love it when the weather forecasts a high of 36 but the thermometer readings are showing 40. But I think the cool change has hit and it should be nice for sleeping tonight. Tomorrow is supposed to have a high of somewhere around 21, but that remains to be seen.

Not much was happening today. DH is back at work after having 6 weeks off for summer. And I got confirmation that the dance studio where I take tap classes is moving to new digs, which will delay the start of this term until February 17. Yea! for a new custom-built studio, but Boo! for the delayed term. I'm ready to get back to tapping. My mother bought me brand spanking new tap shoes while I was home in October/November (actually they are a souvenir from my cruise as we got them at a little dance wear/wedding wear shop in Sydney Nova Scotia) and I haven't been able to use them yet!

QOTD: I really can't say that I've had any true Australian food -- I haven't had a snag and I really can't stand beets, so I avoid anything proclaiming itself as an "Aussie" burger. Mostly DH & I go out to ethnic restaurants, so I don't really have experience with true Australian dishes. I think the closest I have come is a pie. And I'm not really opposed to pies -- I particularly like a local bakery's Beef & Pepper pie or the Chicken & Veg pie, but those are infrequent indulgences.

[echo]

Morning,have been having bad weather these past few days.Today looks like sun which makes me happy!
Nothing big going on.
Just work as usual.

QOTD: I could not choose one thing.I love it all.

[elenetxu]

Hello! Chilly here today. It's 4ºC and there's snow on the mountian (hurray!!!) I'm off to work in a bit and I'm thankful that I can sleep in tomorrow. Sunday was not a good day/night and I'm still zonked.

QOTD: Oh my gosh, just about all Spanish food is wonderful! I don't like brains/ears/feet/tripe/snout/gizzards/feet/organs. However, if no one says anything my reaction is usually "This is great! What is it?"

I'm having a tough time picking a favorite, but I'm just going to pick the simplest dish: Spanish omelette with good quality tuna on top. (So, fried potatoes in an egg omelette with "bonito" tuna and mayo on top). Tortilla and a coffee are the first thing we get when we come back to Spain. Who cares that it's about 7€ in the Madrid airport!?

[jennybee1018]

Morning! Thanks for starting it :-P It's usually me, but I like when other people start it!

Day is good so far! Did circuit training with my friends this morning, and now I'm at work. Heading to yoga later tonight, and then home :-)

QOTD: So many options here....Falafel is probably my favorite! I also love some karak (warm, sweet tea with evaporated milk and spices) and chappati! This is more Indian I believe, but it's migrated to the ME somehow. I love it!

Least favorite is kebabs actually. They usually just taste like hamburger meat...I much prefer the chicken or steak on a mixed grill platter!

[Dorothy Zbornak]

Hi! I keep telling myself to be more active here, but then I get sucked into my April 2012 vortex ...

I am kind of dicking around at work. I am starting a new job in April, and my initial intention was to do a lot of prep work for the coming months at this job here ... but I had a very unfortunate conversation with one of my bosses last week, and since then I have not been motivated. At all.

QOTD: I'm in Germany, and my very favorite is Frankfurt green sauce with fried potatoes and hard-boiled eggs. And schnitzel.

Least favorite would probably be "Leberkäse" which is kind of like a mega-thick slice of balonga served warm on a bun:

[Deleted]

Is it morning? I've lost sense of time since I was up most of the night with DS2. We're night weaning. I guess it's going well but I'm feeling super cross eyed this morning. Going to shower and then down a lot of coffee once I get him down for a nap.

As for today, just working from home and hoping to get out for a walk into town before picking DS1 up from preschool.

QOTD: I'm in the UK (kind of) and man do I love the roasted pork with crackling that they do at fairs. They roast a whole hog and you get this wonderful shredded pork with crispy bits in a bun (they call it a bap) and then you add your choice of stuffing, apple sauce and mayo.

They do pork well over here. The sausages and bacon (streaky bacon is their version of American bacon) are wonderful.

What I don't like: in general I find the quick food options really bland and unhealthy. Ironic, right, cause I love that pork bap.

There's no one thing I don't like but just the general premade grocery foods and lack of places that can do a quick on the go salad. We live in the boonies so no Pret a Manger here. If there was one I would be there a lot for their great salads.

[doctoranda]

Good morning! I am having something to eat right now as I have to leave for physical therapy around lunch time. This morning I did some cleaning and when I come back from physical therapy I need to work on my articles and prepare for a political meeting tonight. At 4:30pm I am tutoring and at 8pm my meeting starts. Hopefully this stop and go kind of day will be productive :s

QOTD: My expat country is the U.S. And so it's a hard question because there are a few things that are American (I have never tried any native American cuisine). I do love Mexican food and lament the fact that we have no good Mexican food here. I also love bagels and the bagels they sell here are also sh*t. Another thing that is hard to get here that I LOVE is blue cheese dressing. What I appreciate most is that it is so much cheaper to go out for a meal than here.

[Dorothy Zbornak]

Jan 28, 2014 5:29:32 GMT -5 @bandwife said:

Is it morning? I've lost sense of time since I was up most of the night with DS2. We're night weaning. I guess it's going well but I'm feeling super cross eyed this morning. Going to shower and then down a lot of coffee once I get him down for a nap.

As for today, just working from home and hoping to get out for a walk into town before picking DS1 up from preschool.

QOTD: I'm in the UK (kind of) and man do I love the roasted pork with crackling that they do at fairs. They roast a whole hog and you get this wonderful shredded pork with crispy bits in a bun (they call it a bap) and then you add your choice of stuffing, apple sauce and mayo.

They do pork well over here. The sausages and bacon (streaky bacon is their version of American bacon) are wonderful.

What I don't like: in general I find the quick food options really bland and unhealthy. Ironic, right, cause I love that pork bap.

There's no one thing I don't like but just the general premade grocery foods and lack of places that can do a quick on the go salad. We live in the boonies so no Pret a Manger here. If there was one I would be there a lot for their great salads.

OMG. I want a pork bap now.

[GilliC]

This winter is annoying me. It was down to a comfortable -7°C last week, but now it's back up to -1° and everything is slushy and gross.

My big plan for the day is an appointment with my Brazilian waxing lady. My Brazilian friend (and Portuguese waxing translator) called this morning to cancel our dinner plans, but a fresh wax isn't a bad consolation.

QOTD: My least favorite is what Norwegians do to TexMex, but I'm guessing that doesn't count, so I'll say brown cheese. I keep trying to like it, but the mouth feel is just so weird.

In a similar vein, my favorite is raw salmon, since it's buttery deliciousness and you can buy it fairly cheaply in the grocery. However, since it's not really typical Norwegian food, I'll go with lefse (flatbread) with butter and cinnamon.

[dorothyinAus]

Jan 28, 2014 6:13:00 GMT -5 GilliC said:

QOTD: My least favorite is what Norwegians do to TexMex, but I'm guessing that doesn't count, so I'll say brown cheese. I keep trying to like it, but the mouth feel is just so weird.

I'm no overly thrilled with what small-town pubs do to Tex-Mex here.  I was actually served nachos made with bagged Doritos, lukewarm bolognese and sour cream.  There was not a chili, recognizable tomato or shred of cheese in sight.  DH and I still laugh about those nachos.  Surely Norwegians can't be worse.

[Deleted]

Jan 28, 2014 6:25:56 GMT -5 dorothyinAus said:

Jan 28, 2014 6:13:00 GMT -5 GilliC said:

QOTD: My least favorite is what Norwegians do to TexMex, but I'm guessing that doesn't count, so I'll say brown cheese. I keep trying to like it, but the mouth feel is just so weird.

I'm no overly thrilled with what small-town pubs do to Tex-Mex here.  I was actually served nachos made with bagged Doritos, lukewarm bolognese and sour cream.  There was not a chili, recognizable tomato or shred of cheese in sight.  DH and I still laugh about those nachos.  Surely Norwegians can't be worse.

I had a Tex Mex chili quesedilla over here... served with no cheese.

I miss good nachos. Always on my list for when we're in North America or or a bigger UK city.

[Deleted]

Jan 28, 2014 5:46:47 GMT -5 Dorothy Zbornak said:

Jan 28, 2014 5:29:32 GMT -5 @bandwife said:

Is it morning? I've lost sense of time since I was up most of the night with DS2. We're night weaning. I guess it's going well but I'm feeling super cross eyed this morning. Going to shower and then down a lot of coffee once I get him down for a nap.

As for today, just working from home and hoping to get out for a walk into town before picking DS1 up from preschool.

QOTD: I'm in the UK (kind of) and man do I love the roasted pork with crackling that they do at fairs. They roast a whole hog and you get this wonderful shredded pork with crispy bits in a bun (they call it a bap) and then you add your choice of stuffing, apple sauce and mayo.

They do pork well over here. The sausages and bacon (streaky bacon is their version of American bacon) are wonderful.

What I don't like: in general I find the quick food options really bland and unhealthy. Ironic, right, cause I love that pork bap.

There's no one thing I don't like but just the general premade grocery foods and lack of places that can do a quick on the go salad. We live in the boonies so no Pret a Manger here. If there was one I would be there a lot for their great salads.

OMG. I want a pork bap now.

So good. Already looking forward to having one this summer.

[oneslybookworm]

Morning/Afternoon/Evening ladies! Another day at work...had to be in early for a meeting. It's frigid here, and of course I have no clean pants, so I'm currently rocking a skirt with fleece lined leggings. I'd kill for my flannel pajama pants at the moment, though.

I'm worried about a good friend. Her father hasn't been in good health for awhile (on oxygen and in a wheelchair...he's older, like my father. I'd say 74/75.) and on Friday he went to the hospital for shortness of breath. This is the third time in as many months that he's gone in for that, and is normally released with nothing really wrong, so they were expecting the same thing this time around. Unfortunately, that wasn't the case, and he was immediately transferred into hospice care and given about a week to live. Lungs are failing, from what I can tell (she didn't go into details, she's too broken up at the moment). I just received a text from her a few minutes ago that her and her mother are going to the hospital and that it's time to say goodbye. My heart absolutely breaks for her, and I'm worried about her health because she has epilepsy and extreme stress triggers her seizures. Overall, it's a shitty situation, and I'm trying my best to be there for her, but she lives in another state, so I can't do the "in person" thing. I'm thinking I might send food. That's the "bookworm" response to any emotional event...feed people.

QOTD: From the NL, I miss the Shoarma and Turkish food that I could find so easily. And, there was this AMAZING Moroccan restaurant there that we'd go to quite often. As far as Dutch food...probably vlaai. OMG...custard cake...nom.

[Brit]

Jan 28, 2014 2:43:04 GMT -5 singingpilgrim said:

Thought I'd be daring and start the post for the day. How is everyone?

Personally we had our big anatomy scan ultrasound yesterday! In India it's illegal to do pre-birth sex determination so we don't know if he/she is a boy/girl for sure but we had our eyes peeled and didn't *see* a penis, so we think maybe girl. But not going out and buying pink.

QOTD: What's your favorite food of your expat country? What's your least?

For me favorite is kebabs, least favorite is "bitter gourd".

I had an Indian ultrasound too! It was so frustrating to me not to find out. I was convinced that DD was a boy, when she was born I was all 'huh, it's a girl?'

How are you finding prenatal care in India to be? I was amazed how inexpensive it was! It was also trippy to me how people's entire families came to the doctor with them. I could feel then taking pitty on me that I was alone.

What city are you in again?

I had a rough day, DD was up all night. H is in Europe and she is beside herself that he is gone. I endured four hours of middle of the night carrying on 'get daddy'. I hope tonight goes better.

QOTD: Most of the 'local' food here is Lebanese and it is all pretty good. My favorite is shish tawouk (chicken kebabs) with yogurt garlic dip.

If I had to pick a least favorite it would be 'tiny birds', although I don't know how commonly they are actually eaten. Basically barely hatched teeny tiny birds that are either grilled or fried and eaten whole. Bletch.

[Brit]

Jan 28, 2014 5:43:27 GMT -5 doctoranda said:

QOTD: My expat country is the U.S. And so it's a hard question because there are a few things that are American

What about pulled pork BBQ? Or crawdad étouffée? Do those count? Cause those are yummy? Is Chili American? BBQ baked beans? Clearly I have a place in my heart for Southern food.

[Dorothy Zbornak]

Jan 28, 2014 13:24:32 GMT -5 Brit said:

Jan 28, 2014 5:43:27 GMT -5 doctoranda said:

QOTD: My expat country is the U.S. And so it's a hard question because there are a few things that are American

What about pulled pork BBQ? Or crawdad étouffée? Do those count? Cause those are yummy? Is Chili American? BBQ baked beans? Clearly I have a place in my heart for Southern food.

I need to stop reading this thread. Between this and the pork bap talk, I am dying of hunger!!

[doctoranda]

Jan 28, 2014 13:24:32 GMT -5 Brit said:

Jan 28, 2014 5:43:27 GMT -5 doctoranda said:

QOTD: My expat country is the U.S. And so it's a hard question because there are a few things that are American

What about pulled pork BBQ? Or crawdad étouffée? Do those count? Cause those are yummy? Is Chili American? BBQ baked beans? Clearly I have a place in my heart for Southern food.


brit some are indeed American and I do like most of them but I am a vergetarian and so none of these would be on my "hotlist". (Although I do like veg chili) Not saying there is nothing, or there is nothing good. Speaking of Southern food, I really like corn bread!

[Brit]

Jan 28, 2014 16:50:28 GMT -5 doctoranda said:

Jan 28, 2014 13:24:32 GMT -5 Brit said:

What about pulled pork BBQ? Or crawdad étouffée? Do those count? Cause those are yummy? Is Chili American? BBQ baked beans? Clearly I have a place in my heart for Southern food.


brit some are indeed American and I do like most of them but I am a vergetarian and so none of these would be on my "hotlist". (Although I do like veg chili) Not saying there is nothing, or there is nothing good. Speaking of Southern food, I really like corn bread!

Sadly, your vegetarianism has left you limited to deep fried Snickers.

[Deleted]

I've been fairly productive today. I took measurements for the sari for my brother's wedding, bought some snacks to take on my trip tomorrow. And I called our health insurance company. I somewhat irrationally hate making phone calls, so this was an accomplishment. The lady I spoke to was really nice and friendly, this made the whole conversation much more pleasant. I wish more customer service people took this approach.

QOTD: I wish I enjoyed Chinese food more, but some of the flavors I find really offensive. I really like Xinjiang Chinese food. There is a dish with lamb, yogurt, bread, and tomatoes I think and it is freaking amazing. The pulled noodles from that region are also great. And I love sweet and sour pork or chicken, but it can be done very badly, mainly when the sauce has too much vinegar in it.

[Wanderista]

I just saw this so I'll answer yesterday's as well.

QOTD: I agree that it is possible to run into some weird versions of Mexican or Tex-Mex in different countries. I have colorful stories about that involving a lot of different countries. I was very happy that Chipotle went over to London and sparked a burrito trend there. I have an American friend who is living in London again after a hiatus and said that the existence of more Mexican food options is a definite improvement upon the past. I can remember craving it and going to some really questionable places. In Berlin, I was served a beef burrito that was basically just ground up hamburger meat wrapped in a tortilla - with nothing else. Not good. Also, there were a few restaurants in London that I won't name and shame but they served what looked like tv dinners. Like, picture a Swanson dinner still in the plastic container but it's tex mex - yeah, that level of quality.

I've recently been turned onto good American steaks myself. I've discovered the joys of a good prime rib, something that I never would have eaten before. I think though that I generally like a lot of variety here. There's so much of it. I do not like McDonald's. Sorry, but I personally do not eat there.

From my time in the UK, I'm very fond of pies especially a good shepherd or cottage pie. I also love cauliflower cheese not because it's trendy now but because I learned to love it over there. I miss English strawberries and anything with elderflower. Honestly, I wouldn't say that I dislike it but I'm not overly wild about fish and chips. I mean, I'll eat it but I rarely go out of my way to order it. If I do eat it then I'd like to douse it in malt vinegar. I'm fond of English tea.

I also found that most of Eastern Europe has quite good food in my experience. I remember being very surprised in Slovakia at how much I liked the food. It had some spicier dishes, probably with a Hungarian influence - think of paprika. I'd never really liked paprika before that. I also developed a fondness for having an egg cracked over a pizza and cooked into it. I disliked eating sprats (little fried fish with the heads still on), sorry, it freaked me out! I was also not wild about the breaded blocks of cheese that are sometimes served on Fridays. Basically, I wasn't wild about traditional Catholic Friday dishes that I tried. I preferred ordering non-Friday dishes.