food

Tar: not just for paving roads anymore

Greetings from Turku, Finland, where we are trying to hide from the hot glowing ball in the sky. Not such an easy task when it is beating down on you for 19 hours a day. Not that I’m really complaining – we are still having a lovely time. Since arriving in Finland, we have been … Read more

Bringing Italy home (to eat)

It has been 3 years since we lived in Italy, and our hoarded kitchen supplies from Milan are long gone. Last week’s Italian adventure was the perfect chance to change that, since we went by car. I was giddy with anticipation. Grocery shopping in Italy ranks high on my list of fun stuff to do. … Read more

Italy: what I ate this trip

Just slapping this up here for posterity. You’ve already heard about the kilos of mozzarella balls I scarfed down in the south, but surprisingly there was also room in my belly for other food, too, as we made our way up and down the peninsula. Here’s a little taste: Pumpkin gnocchi with roquefort sauce and … Read more

Buffalo mozzarella, part 2: the source

You’ll know when you’ve arrived in buffalo mozzarella country by all the roadside signs advertising it. It’s kind of like driving through the American South and seeing all those billboards for fireworks superstores, except the southern Italians are excited about cheese instead of explosives. Just a small cultural difference. The signage starts as soon as … Read more

Mmmmph mmm mm mm mmmph!

OK, that title was supposed to say “Greetings from the land of mozzarella!”, but my mouth was full of, well, mozzarella. Mozzarella di bufala, to be precise, freshly made, right off the farm, never refrigerated… the way it’s supposed to be, but alas, rarely ever is, unless you happen to be hanging out in, say, … Read more

Norway: Oslo


Our trip to Norway was 10 days long, and we split our time between its cities, fjords, and islands as we made our way up and down this comically long, skinny country. We visited Norway’s three largest cities, all of which felt tiny and adorable compared to, say, Munich (which feels tiny and adorable compared to, say, Berlin or New York). Much like Swiss cities, they were all very clean and safe, and full of friendly yet reserved folks who tended to speak English better than I did.

Read moreNorway: Oslo

Are tomatoes supposed to have noses?

Cute, isn’t he? Our balcony garden is still amazing and delighting us. In exchange for a little watering now and then, it continues to offer up edible delicacies. The zucchinis are still producing (though slowing down a bit as they outgrow their pots), and tomato season is in full swing. I’ve harvested about 50 so … Read more

Chocolate chips for expats

As ubiquitous as they are in the US, chocolate chips are practically unheard-of in the rest of the world’s supermarkets. Sometimes the clever expat must improvise:

1. Unwrap a bunch of dark chocolate bars (extra bonus step – freeze them first)
2. put them in a ziplock bag and seal it
3. break up the chocolate in the manner of your choosing (drop the bag on the floor several times, take a wooden mallet to it, etc. etc. Be creative!)

This little tip isn’t new… in fact American expats have been making their own chocolate chips using this method for decades, if not centuries.

Read moreChocolate chips for expats