Food!

I have had some interesting experiences involving food lately. So to start off, I'm mildly lactose intolerant, which can be a bit of a problem here in the cream and cheese capital of the world. Probably not as bad as poor Claire who has Celiac, but still can be difficult to maneuver if I don't have my lactase on me. But the food in general is just so different here that it's worth talking about even without the added complication of the lactose intolerance.



For example, I'm from Texas, so I'm used to food having a bit of a bite to it. In my family, I'm known as being a bit of a wimp when it comes to spicy stuff; but you have to understand that I come from a family that eats wasabi peas and jalapenos plain, carries extra Tabasco sauce (just in case of an emergency),  and grills cajun-style a lot. But here, spicy stuff isn't expected. So the other night when we had this super delicious ham and I started to put some Dijon mustard on it, I got about 5 warnings from different members of the family that it was spicy. Then they all stared at me like I was a freak when I ate it without flinching. The rest of the family put very small amounts of the mustard on it and drank lots of water/wine to wash it down. It was not that spicy, guys, I promise. The other night when we had shrimp, there was no cocktail sauce on the table. When the other American staying with me asked about it, they looked at us like we were crazy (they dip EVERYTHING in mayo in this family). We made do with some ketchup, but it wasn't the same. Definitely part of the cultural experience I guess.

On Saturday night I had one of the most interesting meals I've had so far. The best way I can describe it is a mix between fondue and baked potatoes. So to start out, you've got this hot-plate like thing that's about a foot in diameter. Underneath the top flat part (which you can cook crêpes on if you want) there is this sort of pocket that goes all the way around, with room for you to stick things into a sort of open oven. There are these little flat triangular trays with handles that fit into the pocket all the way around the hot plate. Then on the actual table, you've got baked potatoes, a cheese plate, and a variety of deli meats. So here's what you do. You take one of these triangular trays and put whatever cheese you want on it, then stick it inside the pocket/oven, so that it will melt. While you are waiting for the cheese, you pick out your meats and peel and cut your potatoes into small pieces. When the cheese is all bubbly and melted, you take it out and pour (because it's melted to the point of liquidity, not just soft) it over the top of this potato-and-meat mixture. The result is something pretty wonderful but so bad for you that if your cardiologist asks, you cannot tell them you ate because they will probably kill you right then and there. Being lactose intolerant, this was of course slightly problematic for me; but I still have some of my lactase pills, so I could enjoy it without worrying too much about the consequences.

One last thing that has to be said: The ice cream here is freaking delicious. This whole lactose intolerant thing is really making my life difficult, especially in terms of the ice cream. If you get soft-serve ice cream here, there are generally three choices: vanilla, strawberry, or the twist with both. Yep, I said strawberry, not chocolate! Plus the ice cream is just much richer a fabulous. I'm not really sure how else to describe it except just so much better than American ice cream. It's almost more natural-tasting, I guess. It's very similar to gelato. I've only had it twice in the ten days I've been here, so maybe further along the line I'll be able to better describe it.