Ohh I am so glad that I am not the only one - we don't haver a broil option either though... I swear there must be ovens that have a grill - even if it is an eye-level one... I am thinking that when we buy our house I will hunt one down (when we can afford it!). It means waiting a while but at least there is a (grill) light at the end of the tunnel!!

In the meantime everything gets ovened which just isn't the same...

One thing I really wish it is the same here in the US is the maternity leave in Canada. I'll probably stop working if I'll have another child.

I've never seen eye-level grills ANYWHERE other than the UK, Jeraly, so I wouldn't hold my breath hoping for that

If nothing else, consider a George Foreman grill -- I don't have one, but they appear to be countertop-sized.

Sheeze -- 19 words without a punchline... I must be sick, si man.

unfortunately, that's a completely different type of grill
the ones Jeraly's talking about are the ones (usually part of the oven in the UK and Australia) with an overhead element, that transmits heat downwards - I guess closer to the American toaster-oven than anything else I can think of straight off... they're mainly used for making grilled cheese

'Er indoors has a "broil" option on her oven, and it works just like the "grill" option on the cookers here - life without a grill on your cooker would blow goats.

We have a broil on our oven at the bottom. Its useless! Tried cooking real bacon on it once, you just can't get it to crisp properly.

I use the George Foreman for my grilling now.

(Oof... the British are not talking English again, no man...) Why not eat uninterviewed cheese, then?

This brings to mind a single-panel newspaper cartoon that showed a suspect being, uh, grilled by police. The suspect was holding tied sheepskins, one for a B.S. degree and one for an M.S. The policeman said, "Still won't talk, eh? OK, Fred [his partner, who was holding a PhD sheepskin] -- time to give him the third degree!"

"Perhaps you won't bleat me about the head & shoulders, si man," T-Bone said, sheepishly.

two more strange things I'm not used to:

1. I HATE that hardly any cars seem to have normal blinkers/indicators... instead of the separate orange light I'm used to, most of them seem to use a tail light, or a brake light, or something; in any case, it's red, and the same light that goes on for other purposes
I rarely say this about other nations' customs, figuring that we're all different and tolerance is key, but: this is just DUMB

2. just weird - why is it that 90% of the public toilets (sorry, 'restrooms' ) have the toilet paper holders so low that you have to break your wrists to get any paper out? I can't think of a single reason for it

I'm missing London; can you tell?

You must be a young'un then. Once I was past 35, I couldn't get away from the place quick enough. I'm happily seeing out my U.K. time here in Birmingham.

I agree with you totally on the car lights - I always get confused and think that the brakes are going on and it's the indicator - I swear I am going to end up doing emergency stops all over the place when we get a car!!

Uh... at least we Colonists drive on the, uh, right side of the road, si man!

yeah, like that's any help at ALL

and Damian - by your criteria, not a young'un
guess I must be made of different stuff to you

At least they USE their blinkers where you are. Here, I have to use my psychic powers to know if they're turning or not.



OMG, that drives me batty! And another thing!..... and I know this has nothing to do with America, but still.... When we were in Manchester airport last month I went to use the bathroom and left my husband holding all my stuff while I went. Since when did they change the labelling on the toilets to "WUDU Facility"?!!!!! I went down the hall, saw a picture of a lady on the door with "WUDU Facility" underneath it so kept going. When I got to the end of the hall and there were still no toilets, I came back and stuck my head inside the wudu door. AHA! Toilets! So I came back out and said to my husband "If you're looking for the toilets they're in the room marked WUDU." He looked at me all puzzled, went, came back, then explained WUDU to me. I felt like such an idiot, but we howled.

People! If you are going to be accommodating to all freaking religions..... AT LEAST LEAVE THE FREAKING "TOILET" SIGN ON THE FREAKING DOOR!!!!!

WTH is a WUDU?!

I had to Google it... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wudu

See???!!!!!!!!! Like we all should know what the h e l l wudu stands for. grumble grumble grumble

just get yourself a bumper sticker thta says "I brake for hallucinations" and then if someone rear-ends you when you slam on your brakes, you can yell at them "Didn't you see my bumper sticker!?"

Uh, after one makes one, one has to wipe one's rear end, uh, si man. Or, it's either of two African hoofed mammals, having a brownish coat with narrow, white vertical stripes and long, spirally curved horns in the male. Si, man.

oh, we have our fair share of drifters too... mainly with lane changes


oh, and I'd like to give a special call-out to the arsehole who sat two inches from my bumper this morning, blowing his horn, while I paused at a blinking traffic light and allowed the person waiting in the left turn lane opposite to go ahead of me, as he had been waiting longer
I'm so sorry I caused you an extra 12 seconds' delay; I hope the car I saw later, up to its axles in a ditch, was yours

Yeah - driving here is something else... and I haven't even got in a car to drive yet - I am dreading it - there are so many morons on the road

Really hate to tell y'all, but the biggest thorns in USCs' sides are immigrants driving. Always too slow in the left lane, always too slow in general, and oblivious to anything around them (or people trying to get by them from behind). The Orientals are by FAR the worst, followed by Indians, Middle Easterners, Mexicans, Nigerians (the cab-drivers are second only to the Orientals), and probably Brits (perhaps due to the use of treacle in their gas tanks). American advice for all of these people, in the spirit of adjusting to life here: Either speed up or get out of the way! We thank you for your attention and compliance, si man.

what color was the blinking traffic light? if it was any color BUT red you have the right of way and are not supposed to stop.

a blinking red light is treated as a stop sign.

it was red

although an unwelcome and ignorant immigrant, I have read up on the road rules, and *gasp* know what I'm doing

and I find I drive at least as fast as those around me, and the people clogging up the 'fast' lanes all look pretty 'merican to me

I miss being able to walk to the park, or the shops, or the lake. Everywhere you go, here, you have to drive. That makes me sad.


That's the Americans, you American! Especially the old Americans. Sheesh. Drives me bonkers.

That's why we bought our house in a "walkable village". There is so much nearby for us to walk to and its great for us and the kids. Sadly, most of the US is not built that way, but we've been seeing a bit of a trend in WNY to promote walkable villages. They have really surged in popularity. Though I have further to drive to work, its worth it to live in an area where we can do things in our down time.

You should move here Krikit! Then you'd be closer to your beloved Canada (and me!! ). Not to mention Wegmans!!!

I'm working on it, Julez, I'm working on it! I would looooooooove to be able to live in that area. Except for the cold, though. I wouldn't love that. But I would love the snow. Unfortunately, snow only comes in cold. But it's still nice, though.

Well, partially so, si perhaps man. It should be an automatic jail-felony for all individuals in any of these groups to be found driving in the left lane:

1. The handicapped.
B. Anyone on a cell phone.
iii. Anyone in a vehicle that has more than four tires.
d. Anyone in a Ford Econoline van.
5. Anyone older than the posted speed limit.
VI. Any immigrant -- especially Orientals.

I, the American Yanqui, have expostulated, si man.

Guilty as charged... and not only that but we end up going faster than the other traffic as well!! Of course, we burn through gas like it is going out of fashion but that's why we are looking to buy a car!

oh Krikit, I feel the same way as you about the walking... for over a year, I had two part-time jobs in London, which were BOTH walkable from my house, each through a different neighbourhood (and a different park)... I walked for about an hour every day (not counting any other walking I did, which was a bit) and probably covered about fifteen miles a week
now I'm lucky if I walk to the letterbox and back
and while it's fun to watch DVDs while I'm doing some exercise on the stepper, it's just not the same as getting out of the tube at Holborn so I can walk through some of my favourite streets up to Covent Garden, or seeing London Fields in all seasons and all weathers and all lights...

*getting maudlin*

I can't wait to move back to Europe
I just hope someone will take us




in other news - I have worked out why all the food here is so much cheaper than elsewhere - because it's all crap
I just got a can of Campbell's tom-AHHH-to soup out of the pantry (I'm making minestrone tonight) and when I looked at the ingredients, what do you think I saw?

yes - THE EVIL

I can't wait to move back to Europe &c &c

Hehehehe - I made minestrone and used canned tomatoes and broth instead of tomato soup and it worked well - at least Jeremy liked it I had to substitute in a few things we didn't have but it tasted good

I hear you on the walking thing as well - I can walk to a few places but tbh I am so not a window shopper so that's out and sitting in the park in 100+ isn't all that great either... of course now it is cooling down maybe we will have some picnics and things outside but otherwise... I just can't wait until I have a job and can cycle there and back each day

what did you have to substitute? were you out of gallon drums of The Evil, and have to add it by the ladle?
it's a law, you know... EVERYTHING has to be at least 10% The Evil, or it can't be sold

I think THE EVIL is in everything here.

I'm assuming the evil is HFCS - I refuse to buy products with it, so it's possible (but not easy) to avoid it. Though sometimes I slip. There's some good websites that list HFCS-free products. Here's one of them:

http://www.stophfcs.com/list.html

yes, The Evil (don't forget the capitals ) is HFCS... it's in EVERYTHING
no wonder people are getting used to everything being sweet...

thanks for the link

Apparently HFCS is in everything because it's cheaper than sugar which is brought by a combination of high sugar tariffs and corn subsidies. So I guess you generally have to pay more for the real thing or natural products. In my opinion it's worth it!

I substituted all possible liquid with The Evil then found as much HFCS-laden candy as possible to sub in for those nasty-tasting veggies

Actually, I used chicken broth and tinned tomatoes instead of tomato soup and had to use red instead of white cabbage, extra carrots and potatoes instead of the turnip it asked for - things like that I followed a weightwatchers recipe though but it was really yummy and made loads - we had it for three days and Jeremy had seconds each time!!

your substitutions sound excellent

I have never made minestrone with either cabbage or turnip
however, as far as I know it's a very fluctuating recipe anyway - sort of like bubble'n'squeak - so I guess you can put in anything
though I'd probably hold the licorice...

...and the sprouts...

That's the only problem with Boxing Day bubble n' squeak

oooohh....me likey the sprouts

Jeremy does too - maybe it's an American thing

The million-dollar question is: Is there HFCS in treacle?

no, the million dollar question is if you will ever get tired of the 'treacle' theme

that was about 20 posts ago

there are some store brands of tomato soup that don't have The Evil in it, you just have to search every store for them. I've noticed lately that even some name brands are taking it out of their ingredients and have in big blue and yellow lettering on the labels now "NOW WITH NO HFCS". I found some cranberry juice the other day without it. A famous brand thta I had actually stopped buying because it used to have it. Now it doesn't. And it was on sale

I love making minestrone. We had enough tomatoes in our garden this year that I made loads and loads of soups and sauces with fresh maters all summer. We even have a couple left that I can probably have a mater sammich tomorrow for lunch.

Last night I made a vegetarian chili with parsnips and carrots and tomatoes and kidney beans and onions. Its very yummy

no, that was when WE all got tired of it

the minestrone was a great success
I sauteed Spanish onions and carrot in some olive oil, then added the soup, some chicken stock, celery, zucchini, cannellini beans, and some tiny pasta stars... added a dollop of sour cream towards the end, and finished with cracked pepper and marjoram
and made some garlic bread with fresh garlic and fresh parsley, and real butter... num num

I'm not a vegetarian, but often make dishes without meat... you don't need it every day, even if you like it, and it helps keep costs down
the other day I made a FANTASTIC stir-fry with green pepper, onion, snowpeas, carrots, water chestnuts, mushrooms, and this brilliant tofu with chilli that we buy down at the Vietnamese supermarket... I added some garlic and ginger sauce I got on sale at Randalls, and we had it with broken jasmine rice and sweet chilli sauce; it was just excellent


those are good points you make about The Evil... I normally do check for it, but I still make the mistake of thinking that a brand I recognise will be the same as when I've had it elsewhere, which has already been proven to be a false assumption... I shall start checking EVERYTHING

It's an obsession, primarily because I spilled some all over my, uh, spotted dick, and then some Weetabix got stuck to it. Si, man. However, there is no HFCS in either of the last two substances, no man.

OMG, you guys. Now I have to make Minestrone Soup!

STP - The Evil

Jeraly! I bought some tomato paste in a tube at Whole Foods yesterday! They just built it. The Whole Foods, that is.... not the tomato paste. It was wonderful. It's one of the "super" Whole Foods like they have in my hometown. I was in there for ages. I was in heaven.

My nearest Wholefoods is over 70 miles away

everyone up in your business here..its a hidden communism..big brother thing. .