Living in America 2014

[rootypig]

Shiny new thread. After an epic visa fuck up we are starting out (again!) in LA in a few weeks. I am English, DH is American (from southern California), DD is 21mo. I am going back to work after several unintentional years out and terrified. No clue what I want to do, which doesn't help.

Come chat about all things American!

The poor unfortunate cashiers at my local Walgreens had to say 'Be well' to all the customers at the cash register for the whole spring and summer.

I just got rid of my car because we are in the city now. Even 10 miles outside of Manhattan I needed a car. If you want to keep your sanity you need a car and a drivers license.

Get used to doing a weekly supermarket shop. It sucks but it is needed. It is why they have huge fridges!

Oh my GOD Alpaca. Vomit.

Insidious I get you about the driving....I miss walking places so much! And it's only been 2 months! Also about the meeting people -it's only early days for me but I agree - longing for friends and family back home. Hang in there. I'm hoping it gets better and easier!

Alpaca that is just awful!

not always do you get a cheery welcome or corny line here in New Jersey. It's a lot more 'human' here but it quickly changes once you start heading to south jersey. Daycare I'm signing up DS with answers the phone 'Headstart'. No messing around and I love that it puts others off. It's a great daycare program that I think my son will do well in.

Alpaca that's hilarious!!!!! I'm glad I've found you all! My poor DS was really upset this morning, saying he missed England and English food and his friends. I was so upset.. was supposed to go to the PTA meeting at school at 8.45 but went home in tears instead. oh it's really hard.

The kids are doing so well. The food thing is a nightmare, everything tastes just that bit too different and DS won't have it, even the flippin Jam! I'm going to have to bulk order on British supermarket, I never thought I'd do that.

Anyone know if they sell sheets of puff-pastry? Iv'e looked in the supermarkets but I can't seem to find it. I used to make him sausage rolls every day for his lunch box. Today he had two tortilla wraps with NOTHING on them and a carton of juice.

I've even started making my own bread to avoid the sugar laced crap over here. The first loaf didn't rise (why don't they have RADIATORS for god's sake???) probably cos there's nowhere warm to put the bloody thing. I'm determined to make a loaf the kids like.

I'm going to get in the car today, i've been house bound all week.

Thanks Alpaca I found it! I got Pepperidge Farm and I bought some sausages so I'm going to try to make sausage rolls this afternoon. If I can crack that I'll be V happy. He used to like Hummous in UK, but so far I've tried 3 different types and he doesn't like any of them. I prefer them as they taste more chickpea-y but he doesn't. And peanut butter - in UK we ate WholeEarth (i think it was called) PB, but over here I bought Smuckers Natural and he doesn't like it. I know he can't have it in his lunch box but it would be good to find one he likes so he can have it as a snack at home. Any advice for those??
I got out in the car finally - and I've booked myself some boxing lessons at a local gym!! That should get rid of my pent up aggression

Smuckers natural peanut butter does taste a bit weird. I bought a jar when we first arrived and no one would touch it. It gets used for lacing mouse traps now.... Smart Balance Natural is quite nice.

I've given up on hummus. Every brand I've tried just tastes wrong.

Which sausages did you buy? I've struggled to find good ones here; they're all too salty.

Oh good luck with the sausages. We make our own or eat samples that DH brings home. The ones in the supermarket are often sweet which I can't stand.

I've been here 8 years now and I still have days where I long for the uk. Today is one of those days. I'm so exhausted from our move and work just keep adding pressure. I'm so over it all and just ready to walk away. I've worked so very hard to get promoted and it's all for nothing. They are so relentless here. I join a new group with no introductions and I am expected to just figure everything out. They want me here for 8am when getting here for 9am is a struggle. There is zero forgiveness in the workplace here.

Smuckers Natural is my favourite peanut butter -- all it has is peanuts and salt. It reminds me of PB I had as a child. I used to get Jif but I hated the way it stuck to the roof of my mouth and then realised it had partially hydrogenated oils in it. And sugar of course.

I buy all kinds of sausages. I love smoked Polish and mild Italian sausage. My favourites for sausage rolls are turkey breakfast sausages, and we also like most brands of sage breakfast sausage that come in a big roll and you slice it while half frozen before putting it on the pan. I make empanadas with leftover mash and Mexican chorizo -- they travel well in a lunchbox.

Hugs insidious. I moved abroad with my family when I was 7 and refused to drink the milk the whole time we were there (two years) and whenever we went back. It just tasted wrong. So I sympathise with your DS! As well as tracking down things he does like, why don't you also try to find new things that you can't get at home, so can't be compared? like, ummmm, corn dogs. Or meatloaf.

We get our peanut butter from Trader Joe's, I like it.

I have my own food question, surprise surprise - what's a good mug for Stork? I aways use Stork in my cakes as my mum did, and the marg I bought (Country Crock or something?) is just tasteless and appalling.

math I want you to be my mama, that all sounds amazing!

I gave up on marg and use butter.

Noooo! math, you are my guru. These recipes absolutely do not work with butter.
Perhaps a cunning mix of the two?

All my hard won culinary skills, up the bloody swanney!

I have used Imperial, but I didn't think the results tasted the way I hoped. Pastry in particular was disappointing. I also used Fleischmans but the cost was similar to butter, so I thought I might as well just buy butter. ExMIL always used Crisco in recipes that called for shortening. I took one look at Crisco and baulked.

My mother is convinced there is something different and inferior about American eggs and also that American flour is not the same as Irish flour. It could be that since I normally buy eggs and flour that are on sale or as dirt cheap as I can find they may be pretty old and approaching their last legs.

Math I am very thankful for your tip on dunnes. Got first shipment today and it is fits perfectly. Went back on and ordered another round of clothes for the babies and homeware

I'm A little too laid back to get caught up on food items. After the 3rd attempt at finding sausages I called our family butcher and he walked me through how to make sausages. It isn't hard at all and I make a huge batch every 3 months or so with DH and the kids.

Last night DH made liver pâté Danish style for our Christmas party. Thankfully he made three containers as one has already gone. When I got back I made my peanut butter. I just use nuts from trader joes and put in the food processor. I use raw nuts so no salt.

Just to disclose I don't always make my own peanut butter. Just when I have time!

Trouble is, sausage culture in US is created by German or Italian immigrants, not British. I could never find anything like UK sausages, and I had all of Los Angeles to hunt around in. If you are in smaller cities, your only hope is if you make it yourself, or can find an actual butcher willing to do so.

The closest thing to Stork vegetable suet will be Crisco or some other vegetable shortening. Wholefoods (or other stores catering to granola weavers) might have better brands.)

Meanwhile, I am having mirror image food issues with my son here. He was born in UK, but lived in US from age 2 to 6. He has texture and mixing issues anyway, so it was hard enough to feed him without everything (except raw veg) being subtly different.

True about the sausages. I quite like the big beef bratwurst, but for the children I wanted something more like the pork chipolatas I used to buy from the local butchers in London. I once bought some breakfast links, thinking they would be similar and they were about the saltiest thing I've ever tasted!

DH used to make sausages before we had the children. Maybe I could persuade him to try again.

We finally convinced him to try sausages (in US, he didnt even like hot dogs) and it happened to be cumberland sausage. He eats more kinds than that now, though he doesnt know it. I tell him every sausage is a Cumberland. (If we are actually having something more distinctively flavored, I do get him cumberland, or something else mild.)

Huzzah for Dunnes!

I'm lucky to be surrounded by ethnic groceries and manufacturers here, and mainstream supermarkets that also stock a lot of ethnic items. The one thing I couldn't find until very recently was Spanish chorizo, but that is no longer a problem.