Tuesday, February 24, 2009

irish food

a few people have asked me what the food is like here and i thought it deserves its own post.

to give a little hint, ham and butter sandwiches on white bread are the preferred lunch food. to be fair they're not as bad as they sound and i need the calories since i'm already losing weight, but it does point to the lack of culinary creativity around here.

so far i have yet to eat a vegetable that wasn't boiled. and as far as vegetables go it's been nothing but potatoes, carrots and turnips.

thank god i'm no longer a vegetarian.

last night we went to reuben's great aunt's house for dinner. at the end i was offered trifle for dessert. i didn't really know what trifle was so i decided to try it. what was presented to me was a large merengue topped with hot pink cubes and doused in heavy cream. i didn't want to be rude (and, to be honest, i was really curious what the pink stuff was) so i tried it. i guess it was some type of strawberry gelatin, but it was creamier than jell-o and the texture was strangely... sandy. i lasted about 2 bites before i couldn't take it anymore.

i've promised to do the cooking once barbara goes grocery shopping.

6 comments:

  1. I remember when I lived with a host family in France, those ham and butter sandwiches were a staple. And yes everyone, they are pretty good as sustainance.

    Another delicious alternative? Chocolate and butter. Get a French baguette or whatever your family is using as bread, butter and then little chocolate squares. Freakin' delicious.

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  2. Thank God you're a good cook! Boiled carrots, turnips and potatoes, indeed!
    And after ONE of your creations, your family will get your visa extended, NO PROBLEM.

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  3. In French class we learned that ham and butter sandwiches are a staple there too. They're called un sandwich jambon beurre. Fun to say, right? :)
    How is it possible that you're losing weight if you're living on ham, butter, and potatoes?! But I do applaud your perseverance with the food. I don't think I would have been able to eat that dessert without gagging...

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  4. I think in most of Europe it's not so much particular to ham and butter; they just use butter instead of mayonnaise on all their sandwiches. It kind of grew on me when we were in Ireland. Not only is butter conceptually less gross than mayonnaise, I think it's actually a touch healthier (in terms of fat/calories).

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  5. Welcome to Ireland: We've got Potatoes.

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  6. Ewwww! Gelatinous cubes do not sound appetizing. :P Good ol' fashioned brownies! That's the way to go. ;)

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