Those who know me, know that I am something of a foodie, so I thought that for this posting, I would talk about food. I love to cook, I love to eat. I have an obssession with cookbooks (and I'm missing them terribly - I have yet to get them shipped over). The internet is, of course, a wonderful resource; millions of recipes quite literally at your fingertips, but I am old-fashioned enough to like to be able to turn physical pages made of paper. I find it relaxing to sit and browse a book or magazine and drool over the pictures. Since being here though, I am having to rethink my food habits.
In common with many of my fellow Britons, I like a curry. Britain has a 400 year history with India and Pakistan, and many British citizens can trace their roots back to the Indian sub-continent. The food of this region is very popular in the UK, indeed, the first curry on an English restaurant menu dates back about 240 years, and there are Indian restaurants in even the smallest of towns. Indian foods are widely available in every supermarket, and the spices used to cook Indian foods at home are readily, and cheaply available. This popularity has even given rise to what is known as "Anglo-Indian cuisine".
Now, I'm not saying that there are no Indian restaurants in Pennsylvania, but they are not as abundant as back home. Indian food does not play a big role in the culinary culture of the US - or not this corner of it at least. A website I found listed 39 Indian restaurants in the state of Pennsylvania, a state that is approximately the same size as England. By contrast, there are approximately 8000 Indian & Pakistani restaurants in the UK. Anyway... I decided to cook a curry.
The challenge was in the spices section of the supermarket. There was curry powder... and curry powder. No garam masala, no madras, no balti spices, etc. Ok, I can live with that. At least I can make a curry, even if it is a rather generic one. But the cost! A 6.25 ounce (177g) drum of curry powder was more than $6, not including sales tax. That's almost £4, which is at least double what I would pay in England. Thankfully, only a tablespoon or so is needed, so I can enjoy a few more curries before I need to buy more. No guesses what's coming back in my suitcase next time I come back from England... Still, it was a very tasty curry that I thoroughly enjoyed, made with chicken and butternut squash. If you want the recipe, let me know!
As I said at the beginning, I have something of an obssession with food and cooking, so I plan on making regular updates about my culinary adventures in the US. In the meantime, feel free to ask any questions, and watch this space!
Monday, January 17, 2011
Friday, January 14, 2011
Separated by a common language...
Winston Churchill once referred to England and America as "two countries, separated by a common language". I have no idea of the context in which these words were spoken, but it is a phrase that has often come to mind since I fell in love with an American. Because we speak the same language, we tend to assume that we also use the language the same way, but it is amazing how many differences there are. The same can be said of the culture, but for this posting, I'm going to concentrate on language, and save the culture for another time. Having studied Linguistics, these differences are particularly fascinating to me, and I hope that you find them interesting, and perhaps entertaining too.
A visitor on holiday (vacation) probably wouldn't notice too many examples, but during the course of daily life, they become more noticeable. Many of the differences are subtle, and are easily understood, for example, in England I would go to the shop, whereas here, I go to the store. When I get there, however, the names for things are often quite different. If I need something for a mild headache, in England I might go to the pharmacy and ask for some paracetamol, or if I wanted a well-known brand I might ask for Panadol. Here, I would ask for Tylenol, or acetaminophen. Grocery shopping, using a cart instead of a trolley, currently takes me twice as long as I'm used to, due to the differences in brands, and names of items. A favourite vegetable of mine (and Todd's too now) is swede, which is known here as rutabaga, and courgettes are known as zucchini. While these differences occasionally take some remembering, it is not nearly so confusing as when the same word is used, but has a completely different meaning.
A phrase not common in England is "à la mode", but if it is used, then it would likely refer to being fashionable. In America, you see it on dessert menus, and it means it is served with ice cream. When I first heard someone say they wanted "Apple pie à la mode"... well you can possibly imagine my confusion! And on the subject of menus, to me, an entrée would perhaps be a starter, but here, it is a term used to refer to the main course. A starter is known as an appetizer. I can happily read a menu in 5 European languages (not including English), but it seems I need an interpreter for American ones. I still don't know what a London broil is!
One example that caused some amusement was the definitions of braces and suspenders - while people on both sides of the Atlantic might wear braces on their teeth, British men sometimes wear braces to hold up their trousers, or pants, whereas an American would wear suspenders for that purpose. Suspenders in the UK are more commonly worn by women... to hold up stockings. Another one of my favourites is the word garnish - in the UK, it is used exclusively to mean a savoury decoration on food, but in the US, it means what we in England would refer to as an attachment of earnings. Mostly, any confusion is easily cleared up without any offense, but that isn't always the case.
In England, the term Asian refers almost exclusively to people from the Indian subcontinent, or someone whose family originated there, while those who are from East Asia are often referred to as Oriental. In America, however, the term Oriental is considered to be impolite, even pejorative, and so people of East Asian heritage are generally known as Asian, and those from the Indian subcontinent are simply Indian. One that could be quite embarrassing, is the term "rubber". If you're English, and you ask for a rubber over here, you'll probably get more than you bargained for... what you want, is an eraser, but what you'll get is a condom!
Well, there are many more words that I could go on about, but that's probably enough for now. What to blog about next time? Watch this space!
A visitor on holiday (vacation) probably wouldn't notice too many examples, but during the course of daily life, they become more noticeable. Many of the differences are subtle, and are easily understood, for example, in England I would go to the shop, whereas here, I go to the store. When I get there, however, the names for things are often quite different. If I need something for a mild headache, in England I might go to the pharmacy and ask for some paracetamol, or if I wanted a well-known brand I might ask for Panadol. Here, I would ask for Tylenol, or acetaminophen. Grocery shopping, using a cart instead of a trolley, currently takes me twice as long as I'm used to, due to the differences in brands, and names of items. A favourite vegetable of mine (and Todd's too now) is swede, which is known here as rutabaga, and courgettes are known as zucchini. While these differences occasionally take some remembering, it is not nearly so confusing as when the same word is used, but has a completely different meaning.
A phrase not common in England is "à la mode", but if it is used, then it would likely refer to being fashionable. In America, you see it on dessert menus, and it means it is served with ice cream. When I first heard someone say they wanted "Apple pie à la mode"... well you can possibly imagine my confusion! And on the subject of menus, to me, an entrée would perhaps be a starter, but here, it is a term used to refer to the main course. A starter is known as an appetizer. I can happily read a menu in 5 European languages (not including English), but it seems I need an interpreter for American ones. I still don't know what a London broil is!
One example that caused some amusement was the definitions of braces and suspenders - while people on both sides of the Atlantic might wear braces on their teeth, British men sometimes wear braces to hold up their trousers, or pants, whereas an American would wear suspenders for that purpose. Suspenders in the UK are more commonly worn by women... to hold up stockings. Another one of my favourites is the word garnish - in the UK, it is used exclusively to mean a savoury decoration on food, but in the US, it means what we in England would refer to as an attachment of earnings. Mostly, any confusion is easily cleared up without any offense, but that isn't always the case.
In England, the term Asian refers almost exclusively to people from the Indian subcontinent, or someone whose family originated there, while those who are from East Asia are often referred to as Oriental. In America, however, the term Oriental is considered to be impolite, even pejorative, and so people of East Asian heritage are generally known as Asian, and those from the Indian subcontinent are simply Indian. One that could be quite embarrassing, is the term "rubber". If you're English, and you ask for a rubber over here, you'll probably get more than you bargained for... what you want, is an eraser, but what you'll get is a condom!
Well, there are many more words that I could go on about, but that's probably enough for now. What to blog about next time? Watch this space!
Monday, January 10, 2011
So... this is blogging?
Well, I suppose my first post really ought to give you an idea of what is to come...
Many blogs have a theme, or specialised subject, that the blogger writes about. I struggled to come up with anything that I felt sufficiently able to write about on a regular and consistent basis, but then I thought: Why not just write about life? I have made a move from England, to be with the man I love in Pennsylvania. A number of my friends from back home are curious as to what life is like here; equally, friends here are curious as to how my new life in America compares to my experiences back in the UK. So here I am, An Englishwoman in Pennsylvania - welcome to my blog!
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