Excitement, Overseas Travel and Really Good Sex

[blue_hours_too]

I'm feeling tired and sluggish, a sure sign of too many carbs consumed. Had Fettuccine Alfredo - delicious but heavy, really not a good choice. A dish by that name doesn't even exists in Italy which is funny in itself. It's like "German Chocolate Cake" or "German Potato Salad" - eh, what? There are 500 ways to make either and they differ greatly. I

Comments

[deltasheets]

My European friends are always looking at me strangely when I mention things like Italian wedding soup, French onion soup and French drainage systems. I should have suspected that the things we call "German" aren't technically German at all.

Another thing I found particularly interesting about the way we do thing around here: according to my Italian friend, the meat NEVER goes on the pasta. It's always on the side. She cringes at the thought of spaghetti and meatballs. Funny how thing get changed during transition.

[blue_hours_too]

Yes, there are countless examples. "Swiss cheese" - eh, which one of the 50 kinds they make? "Canadian Bacon" - I'm told Canadians have no idea why Americans call this style Canadian. And yeah, meatballs on spaghetti? I never saw that anywhere before I did here. The same with "pepperoni" on pizza - that's American. Swedish meatballs is another one. There are so many others... it's funny.

[blue_hours_too]

Exactly. How do you say? The desires of the flesh? Food and sex are both sensual pleasures. Which is why I'm suspicious of those who don't enjoy food, hehe. Mr Argentina has been around and he *is* rather yummy. Hihi.

[plicease]

...or "Outback Steakhouse" restaurants, or "Shrimp on the Barbie".

[blue_hours_too]

Yes, that's interesting too. And how Americans cringe at the thought of beets and more "unusual" things on burgers must be funny for Aussies too. What's the story with "Shrimp on the Barbie"? You don't call it that?

[plicease]

Well, the main thing is that Australians call them prawns (jumbo shrimp sound slightly less ridiculous as jumbo prawns). I've never known an Australian who cooks them on a barbecue either, but apparently it does happen (?).

Actually Australian burgers were always really popular among my friends in high school (this was in the states). For birthday parties and such, my mum would make Australian "Super" Burgers with pineapple, fried egg, beetroot, lettuce, tomato and cheese. It's a lot to get your mouth around, I realize but they are tasty!

[blue_hours_too]

Ah yes, prawns. In Germany they're called Shrimps, Garnelen or Gambas - from small to large. I liked the Aussie burgers too. Now that I've stopped eating beef, I make turkey burgers with Dijon mustard, fried onions and poached eggs on them. Tasty!

[breakingthrunow]

Hey, I just read something that will interest you too:

- Italian food is the most popular ethnic food in the US, but Mexican is gaining rapidly with a 10% surge of adults naming it their favorite.

- There are more U.S. Chinese restaurants than McDonald's, Wendy's and Burger King combined.

- While 75% of American adults eat dinner at home, only 33% are preparing it themselves. The majority are eating restaurant take-out, be it Chinese, Italian or another kind of food. In fact, more people are picking up food from a restaurant than are sitting down and dining in it.

- In 2005, the average American ate 80 meals at restaurants, a drop of 18% from 1985. But over the same period, the selection of take-home meals rose 72% to 57 meals a year.

- Supermarket take-out is also a major player. 42% of adults are purchasing supermarket take-out each month, a 12% surge in the past 2 years.

- Coffee is the No. 1 consumed breakfast food. Fully 53% of Americans begin their day with a cup of java.

[blue_hours_too]

Oh wow, stats! That makes my little heart beat faster for sure. ;o) I just read today in the Spiegel's English section that Germans are seen by foreigners as obsessed with numbers and statistics. I found that funny as I'm definitely typical that way.

Italian food #1 makes sense since they love pizza and pasta here. Mexican does too I guess, seeing it's everywhere. Technically, their hamburgers and hot dogs are based on German dishes so they're really eating "mutated" German food, but of course no one considers that, haha. Amazing about the takeout but then - nobody does cook... I didn't cook here either until a few years ago. The way things are set up, you're basically INVITED to be lazy and eat all that junk. Cheap and convenient.

[missvex]

this comment is so random, but, did you ever post a photo of yourself?

I'm beginnin to wonder what you look like, (I know I'm insanely curious and nosey, I'm working on it)

and, oh the cravings, do you crave german foods?
I sure do crave British foods, but I discovered a british shop in hamburg last week, only downside it's insanely expensive...

[blue_hours_too]

Haha, no, I haven't posted any pictures here. Maybe I will sometime.

I do crave German food but not necessarily the kind that's called German food overseas. In other words, sausages and all that other "traditional" Bavarian stuff they always sell as German. Of course it is, but it's just a handful of SOUTHERN dishes so it really doesn't represent what people in Germany actually eat. But you already know that, living there... and in the Northern Fischkopp region to boot. ;o) I think I mostly miss the candy and good chocolate and kakao and PROPER cakes and pastries... and good brown sauces... and fresh veggies that actually have flavor... anything "organic" not plastic. Over here, there's currently a mini revolution going on in terms of organic & more "healthful" foods. But it's still sad in comparison as in Europe, you get all that by default and don't have to pay triple for it. Have you been to the US for travel or work or whatever?

[missvex]

no I haven't been to the US, which is ironic cause I have a lot of friends over...

The sadness everywhere though is that most people can't afford fresh foods anymore, simply cause junk food and ready made meals are so much cheaper. Children grow up with an entirely wrong conception of their own health, body and grow addicted to chemical food flavors and ingredients. It's sad, but you can't primarely blame the parents, when you see how much a children's meal may cost a day (HARTZ IV), i think it's like 50 cent a day, for 3 meals and then you're supposed to feed them healthy stuff. Impossible.

When I used to go to school, we got free school dinners, and back then they were at least semi healthy. Have you ever watched Jamie Oliver trying to change British School Dinners?

[blue_hours_too]

Ah yes, I heard Jamie Oliver has taken on that project. I think it may even be on the Food Newtwork here but I haven't seen it. Sounds like a good idea anyway. Generally, I do think it's more a matter of choice over in Europe though. Here I just saw a docu again that states that 60% of the foods eaten by Americans have been genetically modified/engineered in some way. It's really scary, actually. I believe in Europe, people tend to take a more active role in protesting, learning where their food comes from etc. My family and people I know there definitely do