Widowing my way through autumn

Scott died over six months ago now. How have I survived this long? I’m OK most of the time, except when I’m not. The permanency of his death has started to settle in, making me feel as if I’m trapped in a fish tank, unable to breathe. Except I am able to breathe, somehow. It’s … Read more

Snow, food, wine, Italy

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The morning after the snow

We absolutely love living in Edinburgh, but this city seems to have two major flaws: 1) it doesn’t get enough snow and 2) Italy is no longer within a reasonable driving distance. We were starting to feel it was time to address the deficits of snow and Italy in our lives.

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Scenes from an American supermarket, and other notes from a trip to the motherland

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So much ice, and so reasonably-priced (fellow expats will understand this one).

We’ve been expats for a long time now. Trips back to visit the US are still strange, yet extremely familiar in their strangeness. There were no big moments of reverse culture shock on our Christmas trip “home”, but there was plenty of culture-based amusement.

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Expat Thanksgiving: how to make pie from pumpkins

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There are certain laments you hear amongst American expat communities the world over. “I miss peanut butter!” “Why is there no good Mexican food here?” “Where can I find canned pumpkin?” After several years out of the country, most of us learn to adapt to these grueling hardships one way or another. There are expats who lug giant suitcases full of ranch dressing and jello back from every visit to the US. There are those who just fill the peanut-butter-cup-shaped hole in their lives with exotic local sweets (Cadbury Egg, anyone?). And then there are those of us who use such deprivation as an excuse to expand our skill sets. Which is why I know how to make pumpkin pies without using canned pumpkin.

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Cakes! Scones! Sponge! Learning to bake like a Brit

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If there is one thing we have learned about the residents of this island we live on, it’s that they love baked goods. Cake comes up in conversation even more frequently than the weather. One of the most popular things on TV is the Great British Bake Off, a show which I suspect we’re going to have to start watching if we ever want to truly assimilate.

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