Sunday, November 14, 2010

It's the Final Countdown!


I will be back in the United States in about 5 weeks. Not only does the calendar tell me that, but the discussions with my North American friends do as well. Our discussions seem to revolve a lot around food...food of the American persuasion and when, where, and how much of it we will be eating. Right now much of the conversation seems to focus on what we will be eating first upon our arrival in the US a.k.a. where we will be stopping on the way home from the airport.

This morning I began thinking on this topic and why food is so central to an experience, place, holiday, or a culture, and why we miss the things we do. I will admit I have wrote some in my travel journal about what I miss the most and what I want to eat. Perhaps the topic of food is even more prevalent right now as Thanksgiving is next week in the US. I will be sitting in school thinking of everything my friends in Springdale and family in Minnesota will be consuming. I'll also be thinking about how great Thanksgiving was last year at Frank and Charlie's, how Frank was a little tipsy by the time I arrived from ZAC, Dan's amazing rolls with the pretzel-like crust, Charlie's 5000 calorie mashed potatoes, how popular my caramel pecan cheesecake was, and Thanksgiving II across Juniper Lane with my ZAC friends. Since Thursday is my short day at school, perhaps I will go and get lobios, a bean dish, at my new favorite restaurant as some small compensation. As Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday, I am probably thinking about it even more than I normally would. It is probably good I will be back for the holidays this year, as Christmas in Israel was a different experience last year. I missed out on so much of the foods specific to this time of year.

Back to our discussions...as the time for our return nears, the lists seem to get longer and more detailed as the weeks since we have had our favorite foods grows longer and the time until we can have them grows shorter. I have 4 food related lists going in order to maximize my culinary experiences while back in the US for my month-long break.

First is the "Foods at the Airport" list. These are foods that I will consume while waiting for my baggage at the Minneapolis/St. Paul airport. These are also foods I miss the most, and can easily be consumed while waiting an during the car ride to Owatonna down that delightful stretch of road known as I-35.
  • Hummus

  • Baby carrots

  • Life cereal

  • Dr. Pepper

  • Cadbury Chocolate Eggs, the Christmas Version

Next, is the list of "Holiday Foods and Things to Eat in Owatonna." This list is still relatively short, and will grow considerably in the next 5 weeks.

  • Spritz cookies (a holiday butter cookie, preferably decorated with red hots so that my sister will not eat them)

  • Dutch Babies (a family recipe of a baked pancake)

  • Pizza from the Pizza Ranch

  • Smoothies

  • Culver's for custard

  • Pasties (a common food in Northern Michigan)

  • Brownies

  • Avocados

  • Banana bread

  • Calico beans

  • Chocolate chip cookies

The third list is "Foods on the Road." I'll be doing some travelling while in the US, and I have to make sure that I get these items:

  • Calvin's Banana Pancakes

  • Huevos Rancheros with no sour cream and extra guacamole from Oscar's

  • Moqui Mac from the Hell's Backbone Grill cookbook

  • Hot cocoa with chili powder

Finally, the last list is perhaps the most important. The last list is what I am going to bring back for the 5 remaining months in Georgia. It is rather long, and a visit to a Costco will probably be necessary to help fill it. The foods I will be bringing back are either ones that cannot be found here or that can be found here, but the Georgian equivalent is seriously lacking. Current items include hot chocolate mix, dried cranberries, nuts, and real spices. (In Georgia, they seem to only use dill and coriander to spice foods). Increasingly, I think my focus on food for my return is so great because there is so much I could not have here. My host family does not have an oven, which has severely limited my cooking and baking abilities.

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