All of us foreigners have our thing. It's that thing that we can't live without, even years after moving to another country.
I love one friend's obsession. I can't help it, it's hilarious. She misses pickles. Big, crisp, salty dill pickles. Fair enough. When I was pregnant with my first, I almost raided McDonalds to get me some. It seemed cheaper than ordering 20 hamburgers just for one little sliver of green goodness. You guessed right, I was so desperate I actually considered McDonald's pickles good.
And yes, you can find them here... but they aren't real dill pickles. It's like soy. You can shape it into a turkey but it's still soy. That's what the pickles are here. No, not soy. They are soggy cucumbers masquerading as pickles in a pickle jar. I'm almost personally offended every time I see them.
And you know what, we get over it. Pickles, real Mexican food, and Lays potato chips are some of the things we just don't have in Rio de Janeiro.
Well, my friend has had enough. She's been here far too long and she's done with the pickle-less life. She is actually making her own pickles.
Who does that other than Great Aunts and 50s housewives?
This friend, that's who. She's got dill fever and it's not settling down until she hits perfection. I'll tell you this much, they are pretty damn good. Need a little more salt but still, I'm impressed and it's not just with the pickles. That is some serious initiative on her part.
It is almost enough to inspire me to become Mexican and just open that restaurant already.
What's your thing?
Sorry, but is your friend Snooki from the Jersey Shore? Just kidding! :) It's good to find a shop with the native food in your neighbourhood. It's usually pricy, but one can indulge once in a while :)
ReplyDeleteHey, I'll trade you some of your friend's pickles for a real Mexican lunch... cochinita and real corn-flour tortillas or something!
ReplyDeleteI know what you mean Danielle. I am pretty damn satisfied with the food here. I do miss Mexican but I do my best to make it at home. I also miss cheese and I'm just too cheap to drop the big bucks to buy it.
ReplyDeleteYou know Mad, my friend is almost tan enough to be snooki! I think I just found her new nickname!
Andrea, SO taking you up on that!!
ReplyDeleteOhhhhh Rach, you shouldn't have....An entire blog post about ME!!! I am that friend of yours because I have a SERIOUS pickles fever and I'm treating it with my home made pickles and also my poor parents always have to bring me this 5kg metal jar full of delicious finnish pickles (which normally Alberto ends up attacking like a beast)!! And there is also this finnish pickles-mustard sauce which is made in paradise and I'm thinking how to make it here... ohhh my dear pickles...
ReplyDeleteAnd of course there's the finnish rye bread.....and sausages....and mustard!! (the one here is just pure crap)...and candies, candies and candies....I'm heading to Finland in the end of January to stuff myself up with candies. And some pickles.
You had a pickle delivery and you didn't invite me over! So I never have to try to make pickles because I have two wonderful friends who know how to share. hint hint.
ReplyDeleteI love the Brazilian sausages... all of them :p But I do miss GOOD bacon. I mean real slices of it. And candy.
We should stick together for Carnaval as we're going to be the slightly chunky ones after our trips home! lol
Of course I didn't....we're greedy people here at Urca with these gifts from gods :D :D But next time I will..but you have to be quick, these things disappear fast...
ReplyDeleteAnd of course I will bring loads of pickles with me when I come back...
I'm in it for the Carnaval!! we can even put up a bloco of Fat Foreigners and dress up as pickles and bacon!!
Are you serious that you craved pickles during pregnancy? I thought that was just a myth. My friend would dip pickles in that hardening chocolate and eat them with peach ice-cream. barf!
ReplyDeletecall me snooki and you DIE!!!!!!!!
ReplyDeleteToo funny! I have actually been saving glass jars to make a big batch later in the summer :)
ReplyDeleteHere in NZ I can get Irn Bru, Scotland's real national drink, but at stupidly inflated prices. Thank god good jalapeños seem easy to come by.
ReplyDeleteI miss micro beer. strawberries ale, coffee stout..... different beer here is so expensive and blah..... better whine and vodka please.
ReplyDeleteThere's a new micro-brewry going up in Itaipú. Very exciting. My father-in-law (rest in peace, Tonico) insisted from the beginning it would never fly. We'll see. I plan on going. It's not open yet, but it looks like it is getting close.
ReplyDeleteyeah! if I move to Rio that will be sweet!
ReplyDeleteI miss cheddar. There's like 500 cheeses in France but I can't find cheddar anywhere! I don't even like cheddar that much, but I miss having it.
ReplyDeleteWhat is it with the lack of Cheddar around the world?!
ReplyDeleteI still can't believe I got through a pregnancy sem pickles, either.
ReplyDeleteOne of my girlfriends back home thought it was hilarious when her four year old added to the bottom of her Santa wish list "a Costco jar of pickles" - whereas I simply understood...