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BS: What do you miss from the old country?
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Subject: What do you miss from the old country? From: Bert Date: 20 Oct 99 - 03:29 PM In order not to mess up the British Goodies thread. I've started this one. Many of us in The States are imported from another country. I came here from England and there are some things which I miss that you can't get over here. Not enough that I'd ever think about going back though. So I'm asking everyone "What do you miss?" and "How do you compensate?" I'll start... The beer. We can get imported beers but they don't travel well so I usually buy local beers. My favourite commercially brewed beer is Yuengling's Lord Chesterfield. Occasionally I'll brew my own but haven't had time lately. The bread. I make my own when I get the craving for it. Rose's Lime Marmalade. Here's a recipe that's better. 6 Limes sliced very thinly 3 pounds of sugar 3 pints of water. Boil it all up and add 3 or 4 packets of pectin to get it to set. Bert. |
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Subject: RE: BS: What do you miss from the old country? From: Date: 20 Oct 99 - 03:34 PM My ancestors didn't miss enough to want to go back. |
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Subject: RE: BS: What do you miss from the old country? From: Jon Freeman Date: 20 Oct 99 - 03:44 PM Bert, alhough it is quite popular in the UK, if the US beer is anything like the Budweiser that I have tried, you have my sympathy. I usually drink Guiness but I love real ale - I'll have a pint of Burton and a pint of Old Peculiar for you tonight. Jon |
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Subject: RE: BS: What do you miss from the old country? From: Melbert Date: 20 Oct 99 - 03:51 PM Wasn't it the Monty Python crowd who described American beer as being "like making love in a canoe"? |
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Subject: RE: BS: What do you miss from the old country? From: Rana Date: 20 Oct 99 - 04:07 PM What I miss is the pubs - especially good country ones. Also the beer, though Ontario hasn't done too badly with some micro breweries - Wellington County, Arlell best beer, couple of good pale ales. There are also some good brew pubs. Atmosphere wise the pubs don't have a feel of a "local", which is why the TRANZAC is good. Restaurants and food seems to be 1/2 price cf. to England with much better quality. But I must admit I miss a good fish and chips. Cheers Rana |
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Subject: RE: BS: What do you miss from the old country? From: Uilleand Date: 20 Oct 99 - 04:17 PM I'd have to say I most miss the beer, breads, sausages/meats, chocolate, quality craftsmanship (referring more to the 'throw away' mentality here in the states), educational level/values of the general public (present company excluded). To compensate I take the microbrews, buy bread and meat at gourmet food stores, or beg my sister for a care package from Germany on occasion. Regarding the craftsmanship of goods I find that it pays to spend a little more on local crafters than on store bought, if I can afford it. Educational level wise, I find that mudcatters and the folk community compensate exceedingly well for the other experiences I've had with ignorance in this country. I miss the traditions from home, but am quite enjoying the variety of cultures here. But then again, I'd miss a lot of the things I enjoy here, if I were to move back. |
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Subject: RE: BS: What do you miss from the old country? From: Uilleand Date: 20 Oct 99 - 04:18 PM Almost forgot: I really pine for Beergardens. |
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Subject: RE: BS: What do you miss from the old country? From: MMario Date: 20 Oct 99 - 04:51 PM ehem. Don't forget that even within "the states" there are vast regional differences. I now live about 8 hours from where I grew up, but in many ways it could be a different country. And I miss the sea... |
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Subject: RE: BS: What do you miss from the old country? From: kendall Date: 20 Oct 99 - 04:51 PM this reminds me of that list of oxymorons I'm collecting, things such as: British Cuisine |
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Subject: RE: BS: What do you miss from the old country? From: Jeri Date: 20 Oct 99 - 05:20 PM Kendall, I assume that's "British Cuisine" according to "American (USian) Taste?" My mother country is upstate NY. People talk funny here in New England. And ayuh, we get some wicked good microbrews here. |
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Subject: RE: BS: What do you miss from the old country? From: katlaughing Date: 20 Oct 99 - 05:32 PM Whaddya mean about American Beer!!!??? Haven't you yayhoos ever had "curs" brewed with pure Rocky Mountian Spring Water, after it's been processed through a cowpoke's bronc? THAT is what ALL beer tastes like to me! And, I honestly had an oilfield worker come into where I was bartending, one night, and ask me for a "curs". Even though I am from here, it took me a minute to realise he was asking for "Coors". I didn't miss food. When I left the West for the first time, for wonderful New England, I was misreably homesick for the sagebrush and meadowlarks. Now that I am back, I miss the dogwoods, magnolias, ocean (same wide-open feeling the prairie gives me, except I can't walk on it!), cardinals, and old buildings. kat
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Subject: RE: BS: What do you miss from the old country? From: Bert Date: 20 Oct 99 - 05:44 PM Since I've been gone from Colorado I miss the mountains. |
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Subject: RE: BS: What do you miss from the old country? From: Penny S. Date: 20 Oct 99 - 05:44 PM Kendall, since British Cuisine now includes Indian, Chinese, Italian, Greek, Turkish, Bangladeshi, Kashmiri, Japanese, Thai, etc, etc., and it is almost impossible to get old-fashioned, ex-school meal style, overboiled meat and cabbage followed by tapioca or sago because of the plethora of eateries purveying well-cooked (well, not over) meals made with excellent ingredients and traditional recipes, which is the essence of proper British cooking, just what is it you had in mind? And did your remark include Welsh, Cornish, and Scottish? And did this British food thing start during rationing? Next time you're over here, look out for the little restaurants off the main streets that specialise in home style cooking. Penny |
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Subject: RE: BS: What do you miss from the old country? From: Tony Burns Date: 20 Oct 99 - 05:54 PM I was too young when I left to know about the beer in Scotland. I do miss the potato crisps with the salt in the little blue piece of paper. |
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Subject: RE: BS: What do you miss from the old country? From: lamarca Date: 20 Oct 99 - 06:05 PM I grew up (or at least got older; scholars differ about the maturing process in my case) in Wisconsin, and now live in D.C. There's a lot I DON'T miss about the Midwest, like the politics (I came from Joe McCarthy's hometown, where he is still revered by some), but I miss cheese curds a whole bunch. So when Judy Cook did a tour through Wisconsin this fall and asked if I wanted anything, I said "Some cheese curds, please?" and she brought me some! Wonderful lady! (Sings good, too) For folks not from America's Dairyland, cheese curds are the little nobbly bits of newly congealed cheddar cheese that haven't been pressed into a form or aged yet, sold in small bags in Wisconsin grocery stores. They taste REAL GOOD with tart apples and Wheat Thins. BTW, Bert, they sell Rose's Lime Marmalade in my local grocery here - E-mail me if you'd like a shipment! (I like it on bagels with cream cheese) |
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Subject: RE: BS: What do you miss from the old country? From: katlaughing Date: 20 Oct 99 - 06:06 PM Yes, Bert, I'd forgotten to mention the mountains, too. Funny thing, we Coloradoans used to joke so much about poor, low Casper Mtn, here in Wyomng, but it is where I first remember living and now that I am hunkered almost at its feet, I have grown so fond of its Ponderosa Pine and Aspen covered slopes, the colour of blue I never saw back East, that I really hesitate to think of leaving. I hope you can come back to Colorado someday. |
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Subject: RE: BS: What do you miss from the old country? From: j0_77 Date: 20 Oct 99 - 06:23 PM Either or decisions decisions - Bert what have you just gone and done - when on the other side o the pond I miss Pecons, Biscuits an Gravey, Barbecue. Apple stuff, El Rancho Burgers, Dr Pepper, 4 way stops, Park Wardens, Gas Station Coffee, but on this side - my dearest wish if for ..... Pork Pie an chips, Cornish Pasties ouuuuuuu and soggy fish-n-chips (after a soccer match) - especialy at this time of year. Yup been spoiled :0) As I do not drink I have no idea what to mention but remark that on St Pats I got two Bottles of Newcastle Brown and enjoyed that rare flavour. Used to drink Winter Royal as a medicinal potion, please don't ask what it is - if you don't already know. Tried different 'tipples' here and like Jack Daniels and Busch. Telly Other
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Subject: RE: BS: What do you miss from the old country? From: katlaughing Date: 20 Oct 99 - 06:30 PM Jo, believe it or not, twenty years ago, when we had only two tv stations in town, in Wyoming, our very dodgy PBS carried Dave Allen. We loved him! And, one of my first cars which I bought myself was a little light green English Ford Cortina, I think it was about a 1972 or something. I loved that car, but it had a lot of quirky problems. Had to lift up the carpet, pull off the trannie plate and manually shift out of reverse using a screwdriver wedged in the trannie! |
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Subject: RE: BS: What do you miss from the old country? From: Liam's Brother Date: 20 Oct 99 - 06:37 PM Which Old Country? I've had so many of them!
From England, I miss the pleases and thank yous the most.
All the best, |
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Subject: RE: BS: What do you miss from the old country? From: Ely Date: 20 Oct 99 - 07:08 PM I never know what to say when people ask me where I'm from originally; I've lived in multiple regions within the US and spent a summer living abroad, which did a number on my American-ness. from Colorado: the mountains. A closer approximation to Mexican food. Four discernable seasons a year. from Norway: chilly weather. The fact that even store bread was still warm early in the morning. real cheese. unadulterated food. the ability to walk or ride your bike everywhere. from Texas (since I'm temporarily in Iowa): hot food of any kind--Tex-Mex, Pakistani, whatever. Grits made to order at most restaurants, which you would think Iowa could manage for all its &%$#@!! corn. The fact that one can live in the suburbs and still be late to school because there was a cow asleep in the road. Tamales at Thanksgiving. |
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Subject: RE: BS: What do you miss from the old country? From: Ely Date: 20 Oct 99 - 07:12 PM Ooh--forgot to add: Pennsylvania: telling people I'm a Quaker without a) having to explain the religion (Southern Baptists are usually sorry they asked) b) being mistaken for Amish (or Shaker, "I thought they all died out!"). |
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Subject: RE: BS: What do you miss from the old country? From: Jo Taylor Date: 20 Oct 99 - 07:24 PM Thank you, Penny, for defending British food! Might sound strange from one living in France, but it is not easy to get any food which is Not French here. I'm in a rural area before someone starts on about cosmopolitan cities! Answer: Beer, beer, beer, Marmite, bacon, marmalade, bread that you can toast, squishy wholemeal or granary bread, beer, swedes & parsnips, Cornish pasties, jelly (jello to the other side?), crumpets, fish 'n' chips, Indian takeaways, the huge range of good ingredients available in supermarkets, wholefood shops........and aside from comestibles, libraries, bookshops, smiling people in shops, and being able to go out and play or listen to music every night of the week, usually in pubs where you buy BEER! (Of course there are lots of things I'd miss about here were I there...) Jo Taylor |
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Subject: RE: BS: What do you miss from the old country? From: j0_77 Date: 20 Oct 99 - 07:34 PM Ford Cortina - well in that case you were upper crust - had some very funny expeiences with my friend in London with a Metzerschmidt (I think that's the spelling )Bubble Car. Best description I can do is a 50's alien rocket with three wheels on the bottom and a glass bubble on top. Oh and it was propelled by a motorcycle engine. Had a swinging(literal meaning) Morris Minor once - it had a maximum speed of 70mph no matter what one did, I became attached to that car. It would 'lean' over on curves really bad and would wobble if the road was uneven. :0) Once going around a 'roundabout' the wrong way, I was stopped by a patrol car and when the Officer looked inside and seen my flowerpot and ancient radio (working of course)-observing obviously not a ritch person he commented 'Are you lost Sir' ...I replied 'Yes' ...it became very funny and we both did not want anyone to notice so he stopped the traffic and let me turn around and go the other way. I often think he must have laughed about that many a time. I certainly did! |
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Subject: RE: BS: What do you miss from the old country? From: katlaughing Date: 20 Oct 99 - 08:49 PM Ah, that's a grand story, Jo. I sure didn't feel upper crust in that car. IT was one of those little four door boxy looking ones; actually it looked liek an imitation of the BMW my violin teacher drove, so mine must've been more like a 1966 or 67. Besides the trannie problem, I drove it from Colorado to California and back, one time, when the generator was going out. Took a spare battery and changed it every now and then, stopping to get the spare charged up and tried not to drive at night. I really did love the fact that it was English and the ground wire said, "to earth". Aly, I really enjoyed readin your posting, esp. about the misunderstanding re' Quakers. *smile* |
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Subject: RE: BS: What do you miss from the old country? From: Duckboots Date: 20 Oct 99 - 09:41 PM Rana, I miss the pubs too. I miss the chip shops, the fish and chips or getting a bag of chips to eat on the way home, I'd probably miss deep-fried mars bars, but I've never had one. I miss the crisps, especially the cheese and onion kind, the cream cakes, crumpets, pancakes, scones and teabreads, the bacon and sausages and steak and kidney pie. I miss day trips to the seaside and the hills, sometimes I even miss the rain. I don't miss the coffee, or the way its served in a tiny little cup with no refills, and I don't miss the way everything closes at 6:00pm Duckboots |
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Subject: RE: BS: What do you miss from the old country? From: kendall Date: 20 Oct 99 - 09:57 PM ok Penny.. truth.. One of the best meals I ever had was salmon at the Northumberland Hotel in Edinburg. Another was at Omar Khayyam's in Edinburg. Thats the place where the waiter refused to talk to my wife, acted like she wasn't there. |
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Subject: RE: BS: What do you miss from the old country? From: DonMeixner Date: 20 Oct 99 - 10:09 PM I am amazed at how many people are missing their British Cars but are forgetting the electrical systems they had. Electricty from Joseph Lucas, Prince of Darkness. I had dinner once with a friend from Lincolnshire when his Dad came to visit. Tony's wife cooked real British Food. Like boiled beef served cold, greasy carrots (??), Mashed peas, Some kind of Cabbage and Potatoe mass, NOT COLCANNON. (need I continue?). Tony's Dad had brought some fine ale. How this was done, I don't know. Tony's Dad also brought a keen wit, some great songs which I later learned were Flander and Swan and stories of the Indian Occupation in WWII. In retrospect, the dinner was a better than fair trade. Don |
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Subject: RE: BS: What do you miss from the old country? From: Bugsy Date: 20 Oct 99 - 10:32 PM Over here in Australia, we now seem to get everything that I missed from England. More British Beers than you can poke a stick at, and at very competitive prices. Also great Bangers and scores of varieties - In fact better than the ones I had on my last visit back! Our local supermarket carries all the tinned food, suaces, jams and Pickles that I could get in UK.Even Daddie's Sauce. The only thing I do miss is the Local Beer (Greene King), my local pub, and those great latticed pork pies you can get in Tesco's. Still I'm going back on another visit next year and will religiously eat one every day with a good pint of bitter or two for lunch. Cheers Bugsy |
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Subject: RE: BS: What do you miss from the old country? From: BK Date: 20 Oct 99 - 10:36 PM Lotsa "old countries," & old cars; grew up on British Cars; Actually loved lucas electrical systems; by the time I was a young navy electronics tech, I had learned how to adjust 'em. (They are - or were - very adjustable). Learned to prefer side draft SU's to the other available British alternative carbs. Later was thoroughly charmed by the simple, sturdy, reliable (near bullet proof) early Japanese cars & teeny weeny little pick-ups... and, of course japanese motorcycles of many now defunct sizes & types, even brands.. remember the Bridgestones? or the Marusha magnum; does "Pacific Basin Trading Company" ("PABATCO") or the word "Hodaka" ring a bell.... Later lived in India; boy did I miss the food when I left there!! Missed the saner pace than I have lived at ever since. Miss the AUTHENTIC Tex-Mex cusine from texas, the salads from the west coast, the mountains of western Washington, some of the "dutchy" foods from my native PA, the cusine of my Italian kin & the Italian neighborhood I grew up in; The multi-racial cosmopolitan mix of people, cusine - as well as the music - from DC (but NOT THE CRIME!!) Actually miss the many Indian & particularly Bengali restraunts in 'ol England - and the English secret weapon - Pub Grub - as well as the excellent Beer & shandies from England. Microbreweries are sure makin'some good stuff in the US now.... gettin' hungry! Cheers, BK |
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Subject: RE: BS: What do you miss from the old country? From: Den Date: 20 Oct 99 - 10:57 PM jo77 Bobby Charlton was one of the original Busby Babes, scored in the 1968 European Cup final, World Cup winners medal for England in the 1966 final and is now a director for Manchester United. Len Fairclough long time love interest of Elsie Tanner, married Rita Littlewood and was later killed in a car accident. Ena Sharples one of the Rovers Return snug three (but can you name the other two). Local busy body and moral yard stick on Coronation Street. Dave Allen: Irish comedian, missing part of his index finger on his left hand. Liked to poke fun at religion. Tommy Cooper: One of the funniest men ever to appear on television, "just like that, dove love, love dove". No I didn't like Sooty and Sweep. Does this mean I don't win a prize. Den |
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Subject: RE: BS: What do you miss from the old country? From: WyoWoman Date: 20 Oct 99 - 11:41 PM Geez, I'm wishing I had an old country to miss. Oklahoma doesn't really count. But I *do* miss the food in New Mexico. The only thing I've ever heard from Americans who've traveled to the U.K. is that the food isn't much to write home about, that everything is fried and the veggies are practically non-existent, but that the beer, the whisky and the salmon and raspberries in Scotland compensate for all other inadequacies. I feel so provincial. WyoWoman |
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Subject: RE: BS: What do you miss from the old country? From: _gargoyle Date: 21 Oct 99 - 12:01 AM Don't miss a damned thing....
Where - ever I hang my hat is home....too many new wonders where I am....... |
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Subject: RE: BS: What do you miss from the old country? From: katlaughing Date: 21 Oct 99 - 12:12 AM Ely, sorry about misspelling your name. Re: electrical systems in UK cars; didn't know much about that Cortina's, except that eventually THAT was what did it in; nobody knew how to work on it and I finally parked it for a long while, then sold it to some sucker. I swore I saw it the other day, but it was an old Datsun, same colour and box-shape. Ever hear how they came up wiht the name Datsun? NO OFFENSE INTENDED: The Japanese knew the Germans had been successful at naming cars, so they asked for their help. When the Germans asked when they needed suggestions by, the Japanese said, "tomorrow". The Germans replied, "Dat soon?!" and joila! |
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Subject: RE: BS: What do you miss from the old country? From: Barry Finn Date: 21 Oct 99 - 12:29 AM I live now in a whole different world never mind country. I'm about an hour north of Boston (Southern New Hampshire) were I was born & bred (thick in the arm & thick in the head). what I miss that you can't come close to getting up here (or anywhere else, well maybe, but most won't admit it) are the drinking spots that are best discribed as "kick 'm & kill 'm joints, lively most of the time. Never has there been a place on earth that's so level (Boston was built on 7 hills, What A Joke) & has so many crooked streets to navigate. You couldn't find a bunch of more determined drivers that are out to make the start of your day, getting around those former cowpaths) more memorable (unless that's where you come from). I really miss the world war 2 style housing projects were everyone knew that you were doing what, to who, when they were getting it from them. And they're really the only people in the states that talk the talk & walk the walk in such a way that everyone else is asking what the hell did he just do & what the hell did he say about it. And mostly everyone knows where you're from when you're somewhere else & they say "hey, you talk like a Kennedy" when there's not a soul in the state never mind the city that talks like a Kennedy and got away without taking one terrible beating for talking like that unless they are a Kennedy which in that case all of Boston well buy 'em a drink (just to watch them fall down drunk, great Boston pasttime). And where else can people drown on the city streets in molasses or get to amass at midnight just to see 10,000 people, in trenchcoats & sunglasses, try to catch an opening of a James Bond flick & have the streets riot when the party got to be to big. And the rest of you dare to talk food, why we have the Boston Baked Bean & New England Chowda, you couldn't get a pig to eat some of that shit & the Scrod (Special Catch ????? Of the Day) & the Spud (Society for the Prevention of Undernourished Diets). And lastly the unforgettable smell in the air, as a storm starts to brew, of salt air & water rat. Well these things I haven't been able to find anywhere else, so that's why I just can't face the chance of ever moving to far away. I hope I didn't make the rest of you to jealous. Barry |
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Subject: RE: BS: What do you miss from the old country? From: j0_77 Date: 21 Oct 99 - 01:48 AM My cookie is broke :0( hmmm, - Den you get first prize. I would have to think about the 'snug' at the Rovers Return a bit, but as much as I loved other shows Coronation Street was the best. Tommy C yup! BTW There is a similar person around these days but he is not a comedian - he could a great one too. Never laughed so much in years, The Prince of Darkeness - where do you get that stuff? Youuch - recall a Velocette motorcycle with sidecar and Lucas on - the headlight was a sort of amber color all the time so when out in the country at night it got a little dodgy, I must say after I rebuilt a 51 and installed all new wires Lucas was alll bright and shiney. Re the colcannon - I grew upeating that and yorksire pudding - mushy pease - Reading the Oz guys makes me wanna up git - I suppose I'll be dead long enough, what the heck - hey Alison, Bugsy, Alan of OZ - I am makin plans - can't be any hotter than 110 in the shade - ie Oklahoma in August. |
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Subject: RE: BS: What do you miss from the old country? From: roopoo Date: 21 Oct 99 - 02:50 AM Had a 2 year stint in S. Africa once. The jungle telegraph beat out every time the Sarson's Malt vinegar came in, or the Branston pickle. To combat the govt. monopoly on brewing, (Castle or Lion only, plus one dark beer) we made our own from imported English hops and which had to be put into the fridge prior to opening or else it went into orbit. Mars Bars turned up now and again, as did Heinz beans, at twice the normal price. For mashed swede (yellow-fleshed turnip)we substituted butternut squash with loads of black pepper, but the texture ain't right. (Funny thing about the Branston: I don't crave it as much now I can get it everywhere). Kat, don't they force you to drink Michelob as well as Coors out there? It seemed to me at the time I visited that they don't sell more than 4 brands of beer in Wyoming. Please correct me if I am wrong. It was about the only thing I found fault with out there, although I have not experienced a Winter! mouldy |
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Subject: RE: BS: What do you miss from the old country? From: alison Date: 21 Oct 99 - 03:41 AM where are you Bugsy? and where on earth did you find decent sausages..... haven't had a decent sausage since I got here, (shut up 'spaw).... also , veda bread, (did you get it in England?.. wonderful stuff...) galaxy chocolate (although shambles sent me some last year.... yummmm)... pastie suppers from "the Castle" chippy..... must start writing my list of foods to eat when I'm home.... strange thing is... they don't taste the way you remember them when you go back........ also... walking along a deserted beach (preferably Castlerock or Downhill).. just me and my dog with the spray blowing in our faces......... slainte alison |
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Subject: RE: BS: What do you miss from the old country? From: roopoo Date: 21 Oct 99 - 03:47 AM Funny how when you start thinking back about all that you missed... it wasn't until just before we went off on what could have been a permanent move that I realised it was folk music that I'd miss. To be honest, I didn't even know I liked it more than any other! My husband Ian had just started doing Morris in the few months before we went and luckily we got a contact for Jubilee Morris based near Jo'burg, before we went, from a returned founder member. (Andy Houghton, where is he now?) They had a women's NW side which I joined, and there was another men's side called Arcadia, but we were so isolated, being the only sides in the continent. As for the women, I think at the time we may have been the only female NW side in the southern hemisphere! The BBC World Service had a folk programme when we first went out there, but it soon disappeared. I wish we had had access to something like Mudcat in the early 80s. We never knew how many like-minded people there may have been out there. When we came back after a couple of years it was as if somebody had opened a big box of traditional goodies: it was all around us! On a more basic note,I also missed the English pubs and the choice of beers. They had at the time the "ladies bar" system on the mine where we were. The men got the oak panelling, pool table, the darts and the TV. We got a carpet, and also a clock on the wall to look at while we waited for our husbands to feel guilty enough to join us! Needless to say, none of the other Brits on the mine were remotely interested in folk music. They couldn't understand why we were always heading off 95km up the road for dance practices and danceouts. Ok, bored on long enough. It was a long time ago. You can all wake up now! mouldy |
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Subject: RE: BS: What do you miss from the old country? From: Melbert Date: 21 Oct 99 - 04:21 AM For Den - The other two women in the Rover's snug were Minnie Caldwell and Martha Longhurst. Now here's a good one: Can you remember the name of Minnie's cat? |
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Subject: RE: BS: What do you miss from the old country? From: Melbert Date: 21 Oct 99 - 04:23 AM Another one for Den - This just ocurred to me - You're not THE Den who vanished from the Queen Vic in Albert Square a few years back, are you? |
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Subject: RE: BS: What do you miss from the old country? From: katlaughing Date: 21 Oct 99 - 06:32 AM Well, den, THAT sounds like an interesting story! Tell us, are YOU that Den?**BG** Oh, and when are ya going to collect your dawg,over at the Tavern? You know he got transported from one to the next? Mouldy, ya dinnae put me to sleep! I love hearing about all the far off places. Yea, they sell Michelob and a whole bunch of other things here, now, at least in bottles. As for draft, as far as I l know the choices arestill limited. Wyoming does have several microbreweries and even a festival for them, in, guess what? Saratoga! I saw a headline a while back which said something about the micros doing well in a national contest, but Rog and my son, Colin, who brews his own, both weren't too impressed with one of them, at least, the Sweetwater Brewing Co. The labels are great, though! Some of you Uk'ers might to those of us who are in the dark a favour by explaining what in the "h" you are talking about, in some cases. The names are colourful and I love hearing them, BUT they tell nothing of what they are! Mouldy, you're excepted; "mashed Swede"!!??!!**BG** katlaughing |
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Subject: RE: BS: What do you miss from the old country? From: Bert Date: 21 Oct 99 - 09:33 AM Swedes are rutabagas Bert. |
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Subject: RE: BS: What do you miss from the old country? From: Bert Date: 21 Oct 99 - 09:37 AM and what is called brocolli over here is called calabrese in England. Which reminds me how much I miss purple sprouting brocolli. Oh and what about scarlet runners? Such a distinctive flavor, I tried to grow some in Colorado but the summer was too hot and I only got about 3 beans. Lou mixed them with a 'mess' of Kentucky Wonders and you could still taste them. Bert. |
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Subject: RE: BS: What do you miss from the old country? From: Rick Fielding Date: 21 Oct 99 - 11:47 AM My goodness, if I'd known that Duckboots missed her authentic Scottish cuisine as much as she did, I've have whipped up a mess of curry on chips in a flash. The deep fried Mars Bars sound diabolical though! Rick |
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Subject: RE: BS: What do you miss from the old country? From: Den Date: 21 Oct 99 - 11:53 AM Hey Mel did I owe anyone any money, just kidding no it wasn't me. I grew up on the other side of the pond in the ould sod. Wasn't Minnie's cat called Mr. Tibbs or something like that...I'm reaching here. Hey kat I'll be over any day now to pick up the pooch, won't be bringing any Coors though. Has to be Guinness or real ale. I'll be back later with my real contribution to this thread. Den |
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Subject: RE: BS: What do you miss from the old country? From: Penny S. Date: 21 Oct 99 - 12:12 PM Don, That sound like a nightmare meal! I won't claim there are no bad cooks here - I've been in houses which manage to smell of boiled potato that smell like no potato I've ever boiled, and the waft drapes itself round like a 50s smog, and clings for hours. I've never eaten there, so I don't know what they've done to the food. I don't want to know. In my family, that has never happened. I suspect there may be a town/country thing, or a poverty thing affecting the ingredients and the cooking skills. Just don't expect me to believe that there are no bad cooks anywhere else. On my school trip to France we were treated to lettuce cooked with cheese. Like seaweed, I would say, except that it is now fashionable to eat that. The overcooking thing goes back a bit - it's in medieval cookbooks. However, I think I know what lay at the bottom of it. In those days, the cabbage they cooked was like seakale, a wild plant of edibility similar to that of the galah. Then, to overcome the effects of long cooking people added soda to keep greens green. Cabbage cooked like that makes really foul bubble and squeak as it releases the sulphur. Good bubble and squeak is made with floury potatoes, boiled and mashed with butter, seasoned to taste, and lightly cooked cabbage (preferably not the really dark tough stuff, but you can use brussels sprouts or cauliflower or broccoli (which I call broccoli) instead) shredded and mixed with the potato. Then it is fried (but it doesn't need much fat), best on a heavy iron pan, and turned to brown both sides and heat it right through. The light cooking of the cabbagey ingredient is absolutely vital. Some people add onion. It was originally served with beef, either cold or reheated, but its very good with egg, when the yolk breaks and runs into the potato mixture. There is a lot of the other sort of fried food around, but you don't have to eat at those places. "Greasy spoons" and motorway service areas are full of it. Go somewhere else. |
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Subject: RE: BS: What do you miss from the old country? From: Penny S. Date: 21 Oct 99 - 07:26 PM PS. Forgot the dash of milk in the mash, added after the butter, to get the texture right.PS |
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Subject: RE: BS: What do you miss from the old country? From: T in Oklahoma (Okiemockbird) Date: 21 Oct 99 - 10:53 PM I grew up in the Northeastern States. Now I'm out in Oklahoma, which partakes of features of the West, Southwest, South, and Midwest without quite belonging to any of them. Things I miss from my native land are: Cortland apples. Rivers with reasonable volumes of water in them. Seeing the Big Dipper at a reasonable altitude in the night sky. T. |
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Subject: RE: BS: What do you miss from the old country? From: Ghost Date: 21 Oct 99 - 11:57 PM The Truth for Free! It all commeth in a small sweetmeat, a titbit set by a wise owl, an unsalable simplicity for the merry and a release for the weary, but lo where is the cunning of the most discriminating school in the new world? Methinks the corporate belly so full the brain drunken dribbles to care not for woe. Where the flowery twaddle? Nay we are denied - except a point to proove by trickery, as the flousie in great company would bowels lest a waft drive off good custom. Away my dears soon to bed the sooner to rise. |
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Subject: RE: BS: What do you miss from the old country? From: Llanfair Date: 22 Oct 99 - 05:04 AM Minnie Caldwell's cat was called something millitary, Captain, I think, or somesuch. Those of you feeling nostalgic about British TV are missing nothing now. The high spots of my week on the box are Friends, Frasier, and all the Star Trek spinoffs. Though they have been showing repeats of The Good Life, lately. Hwyl, Bron. (and I don't miss England a bit since we moved to Wales) |
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Subject: RE: BS: What do you miss from the old country? From: Lady McMoo Date: 22 Oct 99 - 05:29 AM Having moved to the Surreal Kingdom of Belgium from London I have to say (any any Belgian will lynch me for this!) I miss English beer. In my opinion, and I have tried nearly all 600 of them many times, Belgian beer for all its vaunted qualities does not compare with any good English bitter. Oh for a good pint of Fuller's London Pride, Youngs Ordinary, Marston's Pedigree, Breakspear's, etc. Oh yes...and the crusty roll, mature cheddar and Branston pickle to accompany it! mcmoo |
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Subject: RE: BS: What do you miss from the old country? From: Melbert Date: 22 Oct 99 - 05:32 AM You're all WRONG!!!! Minnie Calwell's cat was called "Bobby". (and for Kat's benefit all of these refences are to Characters in British TV soaps) |
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Subject: RE: BS: What do you miss from the old country? From: katlaughing Date: 22 Oct 99 - 07:49 AM Thanks, Mel, I'd pretty much figured that out, chuckling over such inventive names, though! I was mostly wanting to know what kindof food ya'll were talking about. |
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Subject: RE: BS: What do you miss from the old country? From: Rana Date: 22 Oct 99 - 07:58 AM Rick, You might want to try deep fried frozen pizza which one chippie in Scotland served to a person I know ("How do you know when it's done?" - "It floats to the top." Then you can master the art of deep fried Mars bars. We probably need the rousing chorus of "Cholesterol" that Tam Kearney of the Friends of Fiddlers Green sings (can't remember the name of the person who wrote it). Rana |
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Subject: RE: BS: What do you miss from the old country? From: Mbo Date: 22 Oct 99 - 08:14 AM Having spent three years in Okinawa, Japan, the thing I miss the most is the beaches. Things that were great about Okinawa beaches:seashells(the BEST in the world), breadfruit trees, coral caves, snorkeling, cuttlefish backbones, and big sticks (don't ask). We used to go to the beach at least twice a week; it was so close you could walk there. On rather boring afternoons, my mother, sisters, and I would fill our back packs and walk the 2 miles to the beach. It was great! Now that we live here in Eastern North Carolina, the part of the coast termed "The Crystal Coast" which boasts the best beaches in the state, we have not been there much at all. In Okinawa, going to the beach was part of our weekly schedule, but we haven't been to the beach here since February of 1996 --going on 4 years! Trash Beach, I miss you! --Mbo |
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Subject: RE: BS: What do you miss from the old country? From: Big Mick Date: 22 Oct 99 - 08:42 AM What do I miss from the old country?...........My Grandparents, God be good to them. All the best, Big Mick |
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Subject: RE: BS: What do you miss from the old country? From: Bert Date: 22 Oct 99 - 09:19 AM T in Oklahoma, damn you for mentioning apples. The selection here is so limited. I miss all the varieties of apples that we used to get in England. The apple season starts off with 'Beauty of Bath', now there's an apple, really small, crisp a flavor to die for. And all the others in between... Oh give me a Bramley, usually sold under ripe for cooking, but just get your hands on a ripe one, a great eating apple, a meal in itself. And Russet and Blenheim Orange and Charles Ross and Worcester and on and on.
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Subject: RE: BS: What do you miss from the old country? From: Rosebrook Date: 22 Oct 99 - 09:48 AM The "old country" for me would be the Philadelphia area, and now 20+ years later I really, really miss a good Philly cheesesteak. I miss them more often than I would care to. I miss a good Jewish deli where I can find a chub - smoked fish. MMmmmmmm!! I miss the occasional trip to Longwood Gardens, and I really miss weekly contradancing at the church on Greene Street. I miss the Philadelphia Art Museum (running up the steps with the tune to the movie Rocky in my head: )and driving along boathouse row. It would be nice for a visit, but I'm glad to be living in a low-crime, homespun-friendly, small coastal town. rose |
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Subject: RE: BS: What do you miss from the old country? From: Melbert Date: 22 Oct 99 - 10:00 AM Here's a topical one - how about GUY FAWKES NIGHT (November 5th), with potatoes and chestnuts roasted in the bonfire, and toffee apples, and cinder toffee, and boxes of "Brocks" fireworks, (and ambulances, and hospitals.......) |
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Subject: RE: BS: What do you miss from the old country? From: katlaughing Date: 22 Oct 99 - 10:42 AM Bert, didn't you ever have apples when you lived in Colorado? The Western slope was famous for them, although now i see a bunch of the orchards have been lost to "progress". Let me know what kinds you like from there and we'll pick some up next time we go to bet's. Luscious peaches, too! My great-grandmother's grandfather was a pioneer in Ohio and Illinois. He introduced peaches to the wilderness area of Illinois where he settled. kat |
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Subject: RE: BS: What do you miss from the old country? From: Margo Date: 22 Oct 99 - 11:31 AM Dan, when you mentioned Tommy's Joynt I suddenly had a flood of memories come sweeping in. I went to college in San Francisco. I used to ride my bicycle all over the city! I remember leaving home in the sunset district, going over the Sutro hill in the fog, and coming down the other side of the hill, bursting out of the cloud into the sunny Noe valley. Tommy's joynt was the place to go after the symphony chorus rehersals. Most of all, I'd sure like to be able to hear chamber music as I heard at The Convent of the Sacred Heart. The Convent had a beautiful old building of stone, with hardwood floors and high cielings. They played chamber music in......a chamber! With an audience of maybe only 20 people, string or woodwind groups played the music designed for a room just that size. It must have been the best kept secret in the city. The concerts were free; they were conservatory students! Then there is the Cliff House. Land's End. Great restaurant, tourist shops, the magic camera (camera obscura)and the old fashioned arcade. All still there. Didn't mean to ramble.....Margo |
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Subject: RE: BS: What do you miss from the old country? From: Penny S. Date: 22 Oct 99 - 11:42 AM I miss the sea, too. OK, it's not another country, just the other end of the county, 70 miles away, but I don't often get the time to go there. I miss knowing the tides without thinking about it, looking out of the window and seeing the grey line of the horizon beyond the houses, hearing the fog horns (hardly any on the Thames now), especially at New Year midnight, nipping down for a swim in the lunch hour, lazing on the beach reading between swims in August, watching the ships, hearing the seagulls (cancel that), walking on the beach in the evening and hearing the waves lapping, reciting Dover Beach out loud, paddling ..... Penny |
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Subject: RE: BS: What do you miss from the old country? From: Rick Fielding Date: 22 Oct 99 - 11:45 AM Oh all right darn it! I guess Quebec is "the old country" for me. And yes I REALLY miss "Montreal Smoked Meat"! I miss Ben's Deli. If I were Jewish, I'd make Ben's, Dunn's, and Schwartz's part of a religious pilgrimage. Maybe I will anyway! Rick |
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Subject: RE: BS: What do you miss from the old country? From: JedMarum Date: 22 Oct 99 - 02:04 PM I spent my first 30 some years in Boston, then moved to Texas (where I found out I was a Yankee). It was culture shock - but I guess it's not the same as mving to a new country.
Still I miss seasons that change |
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Subject: RE: BS: What do you miss from the old country? From: JedMarum Date: 22 Oct 99 - 02:05 PM ... just kidding about the Yankees! |
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Subject: RE: BS: What do you miss from the old country? From: M Date: 22 Oct 99 - 02:43 PM Ah, a Morris Minor…I had no idea what one was, until my dad, an "imported" car fiend, found and bought one recently, late 50s-early 60s. Boy, is it cute! (Not quite as cute as my 59 Nash Metropolitan, but…) Doesn't run at the moment, but any transplant longing for a "sit" in Memory Lane, if you're in the Charlottesville, VA vicinity, he'd be happy to oblige. |
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Subject: RE: BS: What do you miss from the old country? From: roopoo Date: 23 Oct 99 - 04:08 AM I missed bonfire night too when we were overseas. I missed parkin (an oatmeal-not rolled oats-and black treacle based cake, kat, I'll let you have the recipe if you want). I missed throwing potatoes into the bonfire ashes and fighting through the black crusty skins to get at the lovely insides. I missed writing my name (Andrea, actually - outed at last!) in the air with sparklers. I spent 2 Christmases in the Southern Hemisphere and I really missed the bad weather, coming in from the cold to a roaring fire; real Christmas trees, not the sort that come out of a box; nipping across to the local pub before lunch (although that was the one day of the year they let us into the men's bar); hot mince pies, mulled wine and fresh brussels sprouts (not all at once). The first year we were so strapped for cash that I couldn't afford the extortionate price they were charging for frozen brussels sprouts and turkeys, so I will admit to going for roadkill on a pair of wandering guinea fowl. (I missed, thank goodness. We had a frozen duck instead). I missed the traditions of Boxing Day dance-outs and Mumming Plays, although they had only recently touched our lives. I too tried growing scarlet runners. You could watch them grow, they came on that fast! But the heat and hosepipe ban saw off the flowers and out of about 20 plants I got enough beans for one meal. The rains were not good while we were out there in S.Africa (Sept.1982- Nov. 1984) and we had quite tight water restrictions. When, two years later, we landed home in the back-end of a hard winter, in late February, after a 4 month trans-Africa journey in an old Land Rover, it was great! We spend the last but one night in a lay-by somewhere in the middle of France, and when the kids woke up the next day and saw snow (which they couldn't remember) I wished I had film in the camera. They did all but eat it! Two days later we landed in England, hassled the car through customs (2 hours) and headed up north. We arrived at my mum's with armfuls of real fish and chips, cooked probably in dripping! S*d cholesterol and fat: we were all underweight by then! Ah memories! mouldy |
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Subject: RE: BS: What do you miss from the old country? From: Roger in Baltimore Date: 23 Oct 99 - 01:03 PM Bert, You should be able to find some good apples outside of Philadephia. Check out the private orchards and their roadside stands. There are many varieties beyond the three or four most grocery stores carry. I bet they aren't the same as the ones in England, but you may find some that are matches. A good apple, sweet but slightly tart, firm and crisp is hard to beat. Roger in Baltimore |
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Subject: RE: BS: What do you miss from the old country? From: McKnees Date: 23 Oct 99 - 07:11 PM Not thread creap, but thread inversion . I miss Rick and Duckboots. Mcknees |
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Subject: RE: BS: What do you miss from the old country? From: Rick Fielding Date: 23 Oct 99 - 08:57 PM Rick and Duckboots miss you, BUT I took the lovely Mrs. Boots to Len Duckworth's fish and Chip shop yesterday so she could sample some home cooking. Not only that, but I also bought a huge bag of something called "Indian Mix" for her. It's all sorts of tiny pretzel-like stuff impregnated with VERY hot curry. If that doesn't make her homesick for Glasgow, nothing will! MacRick |