American jackpot!

I went to our local ASDA the other last night (the Walmart of England, literally owned by Walmart) and as I was sauntering through the aisles (because I was by myself after dinner, and didn't have a screaming child in a shopping trolley!), I came across this new display at the store. I stopped in my tracks. All of these American goodies in one spot, in England, in a local grocery store, and not cost prohibitive!!!

Hershey's Chocolate items - bars, kisses, cookies and cream bars, Reese's Peanut butter cups and more, Tootsie Rolls and real American Marshmallows! I do wonder how the store has chosen these specific candies and products to sell. 

I only wish they were selling real graham crackers, I would have stocked up so we could be enjoying s'mores this weekend....

Where the lamb goes....

Crosby goes too....


Crosby received her beloved stuffed lamb when she was born from her grandparents in the US. In fact she received quite a few stuffed plush toys from America from various friends and family members when she was brand new, but for whatever reason the little white stuffed lamb became her security toy. She sleeps with it, she snuggles with it, she nuzzles it when she is upset, and generally it goes everywhere she goes because she feels safe with it.

Crosby & her lamb on a walk into town.

Crosby snuggling the lamb at Waitrose grocery store. 

Crosby and the lamb at afternoon tea.

Swinging at the park with the lamb in hand...

Even running around the yard with the lamb right next to her face! 

We had a small parenting failure (or miscommunication) last year when Crosby and I were traveling back to the US and the other parent (who shall remain unnamed....) did not realise the lamb was meant to go with us to the airport when he put Crosby and her belongings in the car. Regardless, the situation was able to be remedied because the lamb was born and sold in the US, so dear Gram was able to go buy another lamb before Crosby & I landed in the US and Crosby never knew the difference.


After that trip when we returned to the UK, we then had two lambs and we thought Crosby might be bothered by having two of her favourite lambs instead of just the one prized security toy, but she actually has loved having two. They have little rattles inside if them so she will sit and bang them both together to make noise, or she will carry them around - one in each hand- with great joy.


Ever since acquiring the second lamb, we have been careful to travel with both in case one gets lost (keeping one with us in a carry-on bag and one in Crosby's hands) but recently we have noticed, we have been both lambs out on errands more regularly because Crosby is asserting her very strong will and opinion about always having both in hand - and this situation is on I considered to be a small battle not worth fighting, so I have gone along with it.

Crosby looking upset because she thought Mom & Dad were leaving her at the house (but really we were just loading the car so we could all go run errands). Crosby had her two lambs in hand ready to go out on errands with us.

Well unfortunately now we are paying the price of having a favorite US-born security toy because somehow on the day when the photo above was taken, we lost a lamb along the way when running errands (at Sainsbury's grocery store I suspect). We left the house with two and somehow only had one by the evening when we had returned. Despite multiple phone calls to the store, no one has turned in Crosby's favorite little lamb. So, we are now watching her one prized lamb with all of our eyes to ensure we keep track of it before our next trip back to the US where we will purchasing another lamb from the store there! Perhaps we might even acquire a third lamb and keep one of them hidden for future good measure. It is really special that Crosby loves this little lamb so much but the trials of having a transatlantic security toy that cannot be purchased on this island where we reside makes us quite nervous at times, most especially when we have long stretches of travel ahead of us with her!

The great British Celebration

In honor of the Queen's Diamond Jubilee celebration and also the upcoming 2012 Olympics in London, British pride and Union Jack paraphernalia has been at an all time high throughout towns, decorating the high streets, and in stores everywhere. In the US, I would say that American pride with stars and stripes is always very pronounced from a merchandising angle around the 4th of July, however we have not seen such an explosion of British pride since we have arrived here in the UK. It has been so festive and fun to see right now!

At our local Sainsbury's grocery store, a union jack outdoor display with Pimm's as the featured product - such a great British summer drink! 

The toilet paper rolls have even gone festive....

Union Jack Wellies!

Instead of a Kit-Kat, you can now buy a Brit-Kat here.

Oatmeal

I love oatmeal in the winter months. Sometimes I eat it all year long too. My latest cooked breakfast cereal has been steel cut oatmeal. In the quest for making easy foods that can be done in advance, I found quite a few recipes for slow cooker steel cut oatmeal. I loved the concept and I enjoy steel cut oatmeal but never made it much before because I knew it took forever to cook. I knew I wanted to make the oats in the crock pot, so I began my quest to the steel cut oats in England, but could not find them here. I was perplexed - if the oats are called "Irish Oats," then I figured they must be sold in the UK which encompasses part of Ireland.

I was incorrect.

I cannot find these oats over here! When I started to look for "Steel Cut Oats" at the grocery store, no one seemed to know what I wanted when I asked for them. I was pointed in the direction of oatmeal but nothing on the shelves that resembled steel cut oats. After some research online, I did find out that they are not necessarily called Irish Oats or Steel Cut Oats over here but are often referred to as "Pinhead Oats."

According to wikipedia, Steel-cut oats are whole grain groats (the inner portion of the oat kernel) which have been cut into pieces. They are commonly used in Scotland and Ireland to make porridge, whereas rolled oats are used in England, other English-speaking countries, and Scandinavia. They are sometimes named after the grade of cut, e.g. pinhead oats; steel-cut oats from Ireland are sometimes called Irish oats.

Why do Scotland & Ireland use them but their neighbor England does not? It seems a bit strange to me.

I went so far as to email a few oatmeal distributors in England who claim to have pinhead oats within their product portfolio. One company said their brand was sold at the local grocery store chain, Waitrose. I went into the Waitrose store by us and talked to a supervisor. No, unfortunately they don't carry that type of oatmeal and weren't sure where to find it but suggested calling the local farm shops in the area. So, I called three farm shops. No one remotely seemed interested in helping me to find this type of oatmeal.

Alas, my quest for the oatmeal here was fairly unsuccessful. I have seen it now online but I have not yet ordered from the web store. Instead I took the "import" route and brought back a few heavy tins of it in my suitcase after the holidays. Two months back in the UK, I was almost out of it already so I had Scott buy more last week when he was back in the US for work.

I just find it terribly ironic that is marketed as "IRISH OATMEAL" but it is not even sold in the country that exports more goods to Ireland than any other country!

My new supply of Steel Cut, Pinhead, Irish, or whatever-you-want-to-call-them Oats directly from the US for my slow cooker breakfast recipes. Yet another food product that I would have thought would be available in both countries but apparently is not as readily available as I would have thought.

Seasonal Candy

While I was home in the US for the Christmas holidays, I noticed the shift in the store shelves from the Christmas themed candy to the Valentine's Day themed candy. Shortly after January 1st all of the red, green, and santa themed candies were cleared away and the shelves at Target and the grocery stores in the US were lined with red and pink candies, with lots of hearts all around. I started to think that there is much more of a holiday/seasonal candy market in the US than I ever see in the UK. It seems for any possible holiday in the US, there is a sugary and sweet treat to match up with the theme of the holiday.

Two of my favorite candies - Brach's cinnamon and Cherry Hearts made their way back to the UK in the nearly 200 lbs of luggage that Crosby & I flew back with. I cannot say there is anything quite like this type of candy on the shelves here in England right now...

However when I walked into my grocery store the other day, I noticed a sign for "SEASONAL CANDY" so I thought to myself, "Well, maybe there is more of a market here than I thought before." I went to investigate the offerings.

Apparently the candy market goes straight from Christmas tins of candy straight to chocolate Easter Eggs here! Funny to see Easter candy on the shelf in January but I guess when Cadbury has been the most loved sweet manufacturer in this country, the stores do everything to support their products (and I do love their mini eggs! When I think about it, the mini eggs were the only thing I had to eat last year during my 24-plus hours of labor when having Crosby, so I guess they were out on the shelves well before Easter last year too!).

I know conversation hearts do not exist here in England for Valentine's Day but I wonder, do small children exchange candy for Valentine's Day like we did when I was little in the US? Or is it another commercialized event only in the US??

Baking Ingredients

I bake quite a bit during the weeks leading up to Christmas each year. It's become a new little tradition for us in that I bake huge trays of cookies for Scott to bring in to his office for all of his co-workers to enjoy. Then, I make bags filled with homemade treats for co-workers, neighbors, friends, etc. I used to do this before Scott & I met and then once we got married, my list of people to bake for has expanded to include his colleagues as well. I love planning the items I will make, and I do try to plan the list out in advance, so I can then go shopping to stock up on all of the baking supplies to ensure I don't run out of some important ingredient in the middle of my baking frenzy.

This year I was contemplating making these chocolate mint brownies as part of the assorted baked goods / cookies on the trays for Scott's office to enjoy, but I wasn't sure if I had seen peppermint extract on the grocery store shelf here before. I looked in my pantry and did not have any, so I went to the local Sainsbury's to see what I could find.

I was surprised of course to see the peppermint extract labeled as "AMERICAN" peppermint extract. Why is it American and not just Peppermint Extract? I did find it amusing from my standpoint, because of course I am an American who would be using it to make an American brownie recipe!

Waffles

Every time I pass the "waffle" sign at the grocery store here, I think I am going to see some frozen type of Eggo waffles here, but I don't (I should know better by now).

The "waffle" sign refers to all of the potato waffles for sale in that aisle.

I have no idea if these waffles are supposed to be eaten at breakfast or dinner, but I finally bought some and we had them as a side dish for dinner last night.

My verdict is that these are the equivalent to American tater tots or something quick along those lines. They claim to be made of mashed potatoes in the shape of a waffle and that is how they tasted too. I have no idea if these are sold in the US or not, but I am always surprised that frozen waffles are not sold in the UK, since they are so popular in the US.

Baby Food

In less than just two weeks Crosby will be six months old and it will be time to start introducing solid foods into her diet. I cannot believe she is nearly 6 months old! I remember thinking I had so much time before I introduced her to food and here it is upon me now. Some people do introduce food a bit earlier to their babies (between 4-6 months) but we have decided to wait the full 6 months because there are some dairy, fish, and egg allergies on Scott's side of the family and my sister was just recently diagnosed with celiac disease. While there is no way to prevent Crosby from inheriting any of these genes that could cause the allergies, I have been advised that breast milk only for the first full six months is the best shot at protection against such issues. So, I have stuck with it and hope it is giving Crosby the best start at a good healthy diet.

We are headed on another family holiday soon and so as soon as we return from that trip, I will begin the food adventures. In order to prepare for Crosby's first foods, I have been scouring the shelves at the grocery store and doing quite a bit of reading online. When I took Crosby to the pediatrician back in the US (at 3 months of age), the doctor gave me this leaflet as a guide to introducing foods into Crosby's diet:

There is quite a list of items to avoid - some until she is ONE year old and others to avoid until she is TWO years old. The other bit of advice listed there (and also given here in the the UK) is that babies should be introduced (early on) to only one food at a time, most especially if there is a history of allergies in the family. I have seen various advice on the "wait time" in between foods - anywhere from 2-4 days before introducing the next "new" food is what I have read.

Now comes the confusing part for me. Here in England, I have not found any plain baby food at the grocery stores - just one food item at a time in baby food form. So, unless everyone makes their own baby food, how is it possible to introduce just one vegetable or one fruit at a time???? (*Minor exception - Ella's organic pouches have just released plain apples, plain pears, and plain mangoes)

As seen at my local grocery store:

The Plum Brand foods - no plain foods there - all mixed varities!

Ella's Kitchen offers a mixed strawberry & apple pouch as a "first food" which is another point of confusion for me since the US pediatrician said no strawberries until age 2. Here, a first food is between 4-6 months. Confusing, right?

And then beyond the "First foods," come the stage 2 foods which are more like little meals for babies. I never thought about the foods in the US before until I started looking at the foods here. These baby foods seem to be very culture specific.

Hence the Fish Pie with mash (very British) and the Beef Stew with Spuds. Sounds like pub fare to me!

Annabel Karmel is considered to be one of the baby food "experts" here in the UK. She is widely known and her books are all over the baby shops and bookstores here. After reading her website, I am now just more confused on which standard I will follow for introducing foods to Crosby. As a prime example, the first photo from my US pediatrician says fish should be avoided until a baby is over 1 year of age. However, Anabel's website has this recipe and information under the foods for 6-9 months age:

It’s important to encourage a liking for fish early on. This Salmon Puree baby food recipe is quick and easy to prepare and combining it with root vegetables is a good way to introduce fish to your baby. Oily fish like salmon, trout, tuna and sardines are especially good as they contain omega-3 essential fatty acids which are very important for visual and brain development. Tinned tuna however does not contain omega 3s only fresh tuna.

Ingredients

200g carrots, topped and tailed and sliced
125g salmon fillet, skinned
60ml orange juice
40g grated Cheddar cheese
a knob of butter
2 tbsp milk

And of course then the baby foods contain fish and other items that I am not sure are in US baby food....

Personally I am a bit disgusted by baby food. My thought is that I don't eat meals out of jars or little packets, so why would I want to give my baby her first foods from them? Fish or lamb sitting on a shelf in a packet? Can it really be that healthy?

So, I am making all of my own baby food so that I know what goes in it and can control the quality of food she eats early on. It is simple to make and I have already made and frozen: peas, sweet potatoes, pears, apples, and mangoes in anticipation of Crosby's first foods. This way I can also introduce one food at a time to ensure we are able to catch any food sensitivities when they occur. There is no guarantee but I hope I am giving her the best start possible. Plus, I want my little girl to be a good, healthy eater which I think includes lots of fresh fruits, vegetables and proteins. We will forge through this next stage as best we can but it is a bit confusing that different countries have different advice for such tiny people. I guess both are probably right and wrong to some extent - after all, both countries continue to grow their population so something is working!

Ziploc: Why France and Not England?

We have just returned from a week's holiday in southern France and while the holiday was positively lovely (more on that later), I was surprised with a find in the grocery store in France: ZIPLOC BAGS! Why does France have them and England does not?!?!? Do the French like to store their items tightly and the British don't? I was so surprised to find actual ziploc brand bags on the shelves in the supermarket that I had to take a photo just for proof....

They had a HUGE selection - gallon size, snack size, quart size and more! Maybe someday England will catch on to this great idea too....

Online Grocery Shopping

This past winter I embarked on a new adventure...online grocery shopping. I had heard about this idea of ordering your groceries online and then having them delivered to your house soon after we arrived here in England but I never felt that I wanted to try the service because I love going to the grocery store. I could wander the aisles for a long time (and sometimes I have done so!) and I enjoy looking at all of the products, especially the British products over here. I like to see the various placements, packaging of products and more.

However, the thought of having to go grocery shopping when I was going to be home with a newborn started to panic me a bit. Before Crosby arrived I kept thinking about the out of town visitors we would be having right after the baby arrived and I kept wondering how I would manage to shop for them and for us, with a newborn in tow, when the grocery store is always such a zoo by us? Because of the driving differences, I knew our house guests were not going to be willing to drive out to the store at a moment's notice - plus, they don't know how to get around over here. So, I decided that it would be worth trying the service before I "needed" it to see how it was, and then if I liked it, I would continue on with it for the first few weeks after the baby was due to arrive.

Well, I tried it and I fell in LOVE with this service. I have been so pleased that I do not have to fight the parking lot mess at the big retail park by us on a weekly basis to do my shopping for food! (the parking lot woes with a baby in tow will be covered in another post) Plus, I don't have to spend the money on the petrol to get to and from the grocery store either! The groceries now come to me.

I order them from the comfort of my living room, I then select my delivery time slot (an hour's window), and then voila, on the day and time of my order, a nice delivery man in a fancy delivery truck shows up at my house and unloads the grocery bags for me. He even walks them into my kitchen if I want him to do so.

The nifty part is that when the groceries arrive, the bags are color coordinated so I know which items go in the freezer (Green bags), which go in the fridge (red handles), and which items are to be left out for the cupboard area (purple handles). Genius!

The one challenge with the online grocery shopping ties back to the English language. As an American shopping online at a British grocery, I sometimes cannot find what I am looking for. I have become to realize that when I was physically shopping at the grocery store I knew where the item might have been located within the store, but now when I am searching for it by name, I do not always know the proper name of the product.

Some examples:

dishwashing soap = washing up liquid

diapers = nappies

tomato sauce = passata

tomato paste = tomato puree

sour cream = soured cream (not a huge difference, but interesting, isn't it?)

popsicle = ice lollie

garlic powder = garlic granules

zucchini = courgettes

chips = crisps

french fries = chips

I know this service is one part of British life that I have already become attached to in a very short period of time. I am surprised that this concept is not more popular in the US, given that there are so many customer service centric stores there. Hopefully by the time we move back, our local grocery store will have adopted this concept because I would sign up again in a heart beat!

Packaging and Freezing Meals

I touched on this topic of freezing and packaging meals in an earlier post as I have been active in cooking meals and freezing them so we are fully stocked for dinners once this little baby arrives. Recently I have also made a few meals for various American friends who have had babies or have had surgery, etc. For all situations, it is difficult to find good disposable containers here in England. I only have a limited number of pyrex dishes and I would prefer to keep those free for recipes I will be making and eating fresh, instead of letting the dishes get tied up in the freezer.

So here is the challenge. When I shop at my local grocery store here, these are my tin foil disposable pan options:

Naturally, I own many of these now.... and I will admit that I have hunted down every "It's a Pound" store and kitchen depot warehouse in our area and have found a FEW additional tin foil pans - mainly pie shaped dishes to round out my assorted collected. It has been a search though.

In comparison, when I was back in the US, I walked into a store, and imagine my shock when the disposable packaging aisle (yes there was an aisle for all disposable containers and packaging) looked like this:

I am thinking many may attribute these differences to the fact that Americans "consume and dispose," so these containers may be more popular there? Or is it the lack of freezer space the Brits have here? Probably a combination of some of those factors....along with the fact that other packaging materials such as ziploc bags, ziploc containers, Glad Press n' Seal Wrap (one of my favorite inventions) are just not as widely available and utilized the UK.

Luckily I have "imported" many of these items so when I have gone to freeze my dinners for our future consumption, I have been able to properly seal and freeze the items -
I used the disposable tin foil containers from the UK for the chicken enchiladas, but then sealed it with the Glad Press n' Seal first, and then wrapped the entire dish in tin foil for further protection...

I also find myself habitually saving our Chinese/Thai take away containers and sending them through our dishwasher for future food storage use. While they are not huge in size, they work well for packaging meals for transport to someone else's house and I do not feel guilty about parting with them (as I feel when I have to part with my "imported" and precious ziploc or gladware food storage containers).
A meal I prepared, all packaged and ready to go to a friend's house for her family after she recently had a baby. Maybe the locals just don't bring food to one another's houses - or maybe they just always are more earth-conscious and use reusable containers? Either way, once back in the US, I will never take the aisles of disposable packaging containers for granted at the stores!

Grocery Store Insanity

Sarah & I decided to brave the grocery store today to go shopping for our Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, and Boxing Day food needs. Saying that our local Sainsbury's store was a ZOO is an understatement!

I am sure part of the madness was due to people not having shopped due to the snowstorm, and then there was probably a large part of the craziness due to the Christmas holiday. However, in preparation for the Christmas rush, I would have thought the grocery might have been more prepared. Instead here was the scene in one of the many aisles - the milk aisle.

Luckily the one kind of milk left was the one we tend to drink, however, many of the other items on my list were just completely out of stock and there was no information on when they might be back in stock! It was a rather frustrating day at the grocery but after three other visits to three other local stores, we were able to finish off the items on the list. Glad we didn't wait until Christmas Eve to do all the shopping...

More American Food Products

Since we were just back in the US, I again used the opportunity to stock up on more American grocery items....

As you can see, the most recent bounty of goods filled up about half of one suitcase but I had the space, so I took advantage of it!

On the shopping list this time ---- Malt-o-Meal (I Love it and I think it could be a pregnancy/ cold weather craving), cans of diced chilies, cans of Rotel, Kosher salt, Ranch Dressing, Dill Pickle slices, Sweet Baby Ray's BBQ sauce, oyster crackers, Club Crackers, Chex Mix (a must-have for the holiday season!), Baker's Joy spray with flour (since holiday baking time is upon us), mini chocolate chips, mini marshmallows, and yellow cake mix (and no you did not read that incorrectly - I did purchase a boxed cake mix - I usually scorn cake mixes, but I do want to make some STL gooey butter cookies for the holiday season and they require yellow cake mix in the batter....and so my secret is out). I can officially say I am running out of cupboard space at the moment to house my American "stash." I also picked up a few containers of the disposable tupperware containers because the selection over here is just dismal...

I think I should be able to make quite a few of our American favorites over the coming weeks for the holidays with all of these goodies.

A treat of a find!

Just in time for "summer" (I say loosely given the short summer experience in England), I was almost in disbelief when I went breezing through my local ASDA (Walmart for the UK) to see American style Root Beer staring me in the face! For a mere 68 pence for a 2 litre bottle of Carter's Root Beer, I thought trying the soda was worth a shot. Sure enough, it is the real deal!

While A&W Root Beer and others are available here through speciality food stores, they come at a high price - over $2USD PER CAN of soda! So, a normal priced authentic root beer has been a real treat of a find - most especially for root beer floats in the warm weather!

It's Gorgeous...revisited

I recently posted a bit about the meaning of the word GORGEOUS and how it is used over here in England. Today, as I put two boxes of kleenex into my shopping trolley (aka as shopping cart), the different use of this word resurfaced....

How do Kleenex tissues feel gorgeous?

I now am curious to know if anyone has seen such marketing on Kleenex tissue boxes in the US?

Gherkin or Pickle?

On Thursday, I took the girls in my office out to lunch to celebrate one of their birthdays. We had lunch at a nice Italian restaurant and for a starter, we had an order of fried courgettes (aka zucchini as it is known in the US). As we were eating the appetizer, I made a comment that in America, there is a restaurant serving fried pickle chips which sound terrible, but are really delicious.

"Pickles" they both said? I responded - "yes, dill pickle chips"

More quizzical looks.

So, I proceeded to explain the pickle slices or chips in greater detail so they knew what I was talking about..."Ah, you mean gherkins" one said. Right. "Gherkins, yes" I said, "But not the little cocktail type gherkin - more along the lines of a big gherkin that has been sliced. Think of a cucumber slice but a bit smaller."

One said they would call those sliced gherkins here in England. Not pickles. I don't think they thought I believed them, so they summoned our waitress over to our table to ask her if she would ask for pickles or gherkins on her burger at McDonald's. The waitress responded with "gherkin." 

I had a glimmer of hope after this lunch thinking that maybe I have not been able to find dill pickle slices over here because I was maybe looking for the wrong item on the store shelves. (I enjoy pickles a fair amount so I have even gone so far as to bring back glass jars of dill pickles in my suitcase from the US - a potentially dangerous situation should the glass jar crack inside my suitcase.....)

So, the next day I went to my local Sainsbury's in hopes of finding dill gherkins (or dill pickles as I know them!) and here is what I found:

Our local Sainsbury's has a PICKLE aisle. Why on earth have they labeled it with a pickle heading if in fact they are called gherkins here?

One jar of sweet cucumber slices....no dill there. 

Crinkle cut gherkins. Again, why is it the pickle aisle if these are called gherkins? I need to revisit this product - there might be hope in finding a good dill pickle slice here although the description of "select herbs and spices" is not too promising.

Cocktail Gherkins. We have these in the US - closest item I've tasted to a dill pickle over here but not conducive to slicing for pickles on a sandwich. I would call these baby gherkins in the US - put them out on a party platter for people to eat. I would not consider putting them on my sandwich in their baby size....

Pickled Onions. Not quite pickles but I think the aisle might be known for the pickling items.....instead of actual pickles.

Gherkin relish? No pickle relish here...so I guess I will be waiting until we return to the US to eat more dill pickles.

More on Sandwich Filings....

Last night I was talking to my friend Amy in Chicago about sandwich fillings over here. Amy is currently enrolled in culinary school and just happens to be finishing her sanitation course at the moment. She made the comment that she has learned a lot (more than she probably wanted to know) about food borne illnesses that arise when sandwiches - and their fixings (i.e. mayo, deli meat, etc.) are out in the open for too long. 

Our discussion prompted me to tell her she probably would never want to eat at a sandwich shop over here since so many of their sandwich "fillings" are mayo based. Personally, I do not like mayo. I eat it sparingly - in maybe some chicken salad or dips, and occasionally on a turkey tom sandwich at Jimmy John's. I would much rather have mustard instead. Something about the consistency and processed nature of mayo does not appeal to me. So, these "fillers" over here have little appeal to me since almost all of them are bound with mayonnaise and more mayonnaise.

This morning I went for a shop (as they say here) at my local Sainsbury's. I took this photo of the deli fillers section of the aisle to showcase another angle of this sandwich "filling" normality here. 

Choices of the "deli fillers" section include: Free Range Egg Mayonnaise Sandwich Filler, Deli Melt Tuna & Red Onion Filler, Deli-Fillers Seafood Cocktail, Prawn Mayonnaise Sandwich Filler, Tuna & Sweetcorn Sandwich Filler, Egg & Bacon Sandwich Filler, Cheese & Onion Sandwich Filler, Chicken Tikka Deli Filler, and more....

When I looked up Deli Fillers online, I saw that Sainsbury's is offering over 24 kinds of deli fillers on their website; Morrison's boasts over 20 varieties on their online site; and Waitrose has at least 10 varieties of fillers in their "essential" line alone. 

I suspect there is an ease of preparation for lunch sandwiches when using these fillers. No need to spend a lot of time fixing a sandwich - just slice open the baguette and dump in some deli filling.

This is one part of local living over here that will not become habit for me....I will stick to my club sandwiches and peanut butter and jelly sandwiches! 

From Scratch

One of the things about living abroad is the absence of familiar products and/or brands. The absence of these familiar sights particularly plays out for me most when shopping at the grocery store. I know I have posted before about having no brand loyalty or pre-conceived notion about which brand to buy here in the UK. (although now after a year of living here, I have become loyal to some UK brands I have to admit....)

The lack of familiar brands really is the lack of American specific goods. For example, certain brand of cake mixes, Cheez-Its, Velveeta, Jiffy Corn Muffin mix, Ranch dressing, etc. - are just not available over here. The question is - what to substitute when a recipe calls for Velveeta? Or when a recipe calls for one packet of Lipton Onion Soup mix? I still have not found an appropriate substitute for either of those two items. 

To be fair, I was never a pre-made cake mix or dinner kit kind of shopper in the US, so I knew I would not miss certain items when we moved here. However, in our last year of living in the US, I did become quite addicted to Trader Joe's and some of their "pre-made" products, including their Caesar Salad Dressing and their freshly made pizza dough. 

I was excited to recently find an American salad dressing for sale on the shelf of the grocery store (Caesar salad dressing with an American flag and all...) but I was quite disappointed when I made our dinner salad and tasted the dressing. It was not tasty!

So, I went back to basics and decided it was time to make Caesar salad dressing from scratch. It will probably be difficult to buy a bottle of the dressing off the shelf again because this home made version is really a winner in our house these days..... Courtesy of Ina Garten, here is the recipe:

• 1-2 large garlic cloves
• 2 tablespoons fresh flat-leaf parsley
• 1 1/2 teaspoons anchovy paste
• 1 teaspoons Dijon mustard
• 1 1/2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 1/2 cup good mayonnaise

• Romaine lettuce, chopped
• Cherry tomatoes, sliced
• croutons
• Parmesan, shaved

Directions

Place the garlic and parsley in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade and process until minced. Add the anchovy paste, mustard, lemon juice, and mayonnaise and process again to make a smooth dressing. (Refrigerate the Caesar dressing if not using it immediately - I think it actually tastes better after it has been refrigerated for a while.)

Maybe by the time we move back to the US, I will be at 125% scratch cooking! Or....more likely I will have familiar products back at hand so I'll "cheat" and use them again every once in a while!