Tag Archives: American

Eating American…With A Twist

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As always we started the week with a meal plan:

Monday: hamburgers
Tuesday: fajitas
Wednesday: stir fry
Thursday: meatloaf
Friday: fried chicken

On Thursday our meal plan came to a screeching halt when we found ourselves in A&E because Adam was throwing up blood. By the time we got home and him into bed, all we wanted was pizza.

So Thursday’s meatloaf became Friday’s and Saturday became fried chicken, corn on the cob and champ.

Very American, except the champ, which is native to Northern Ireland.

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Fried Chicken

Fried chicken is, of course, native to the American South. This is a recipe I made up myself one day when I realized I forgot to buy eggs, since I used to dredge in egg and flour and fry. Now it’s a bit more complicated. But not really. 🙂

One chicken breast per person
3 or 4 heaped tablespoons flour
Mixed spices, whatever you like. We like a bit of spice so I use chilli powder and cayenne pepper.
Salt and Pepper
Water
Vegetable oil

Cut chicken into chunks.

Combine flour, spices, salt and pepper. Add enough water to make it liquid, but not runny. Coat chicken in batter.

Heat abut an inch of oil. Fry chicken until golden.

Eat!

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Champ (Sorry about the picture. Now you know why I rarely photograph food!)
(And, yes, that’s Adam’s plate. My regular plates do not teach a person how to count)
Champ is a Northern Irish dish. It is mashed potatoes with spring onion. You may call them salad onions or scallions.

500 grams potatoes, any sort. I usually use new potatoes because I hate peeling!
100 ml milk
10 grams butter/marg
5 – 6 spring onions, trimmed and cut into teeny tiny pieces.

Cook the potatoes until done. Drain and set aside.

Into the pot heat the milk with the butter and the spring onions until the milk tastes oniony.

Mash it all together. I usually do that in my food processor so the spring onions get even smaller.

Eat!

I have a feeling y’all know how to make corn on the cob. 🙂

8 Years Ago Yesterday…

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my brother drove me to SFO and I permanently left America for good.

8 years ago today I arrived in Belfast. For good.

I’ve been back, of course. But for never more than a month or two. Northern Ireland is my home now.

When people ask me if I’d go back my answer is always no. Of course I miss my family. And some of the familiar food. But I married a Coleraine boy and gave birth to a Belfast one. Here we will stay.

Adam, of course, can go to America when he grows up, if he wants. He is a full citizen of both countries, with 2 passports. I wouldn’t want him so far away, of course, but if that’s where his life leads? More power to him!

I used to dream about retiring to the coast of Maine and getting snowed in all winter with a pile of books and plenty of food.

Now maybe I’ll retire to the North Coast of Northern Ireland. I won’t get snowed in, but I can still lay in a pile of books and pretend I am.

I haven’t decided yet if Simon is coming with me. 🙂

PS 7 years ago this Sunday, Simon and I were married. More on that soon!

I Definitely Speak English Now

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as opposed to American.

I say ‘That was nice’ when I eat something yummy.

I ask ‘What is she called’ when told about new baby.

I say something is quite, i.e. ‘my hands are quite bad today’.

Things are ‘good fun’.

I use wanker and bollocks for swearing.

I also speak a bit of Irish as I definitely say ‘craic’ on a regular basis!

When my family tease me or call me on it I say ‘I live here. Of course I try to speak the language. Just as I would if I lived in a country that didn’t speak a form of English.’

They concede I have a point!