Food Down Under

A lighthearted post so you can feel like you’re here visiting us.

Let’s start with bread, shall we? Yum. The Aussies love love their bread. Free-standing bakeries galore as well as in grocery store.

All sorts of deliciousness.

Flies off the shelf. (Especially when you shop at the end of the day.)

Speaking of “you snooze you lose” in getting to the grocery store, hope you have a plan B for stir fry tonight.

Oops, a plan C?

Back to bread, I think it’s most amazing because it’s fresh and no preservatives.

Read: goes bad quickly.

Delicious.

Even if you bite into one thinking you bought a chocolate twisted pastry.

And it turned out, unexpectedly, to be Vegemite.

Other things they — and now we — love.

Dips. You’d think this county was constantly preparing to host a Super Bowl party with the dip-age options.

But seriously. They. Are. So. Good. And combos you’ve never had before like spicy sweet potato and cashew.

Cheese. And about 59 kinds of fetta (feta). Likely because of the huge Greek influence. If I remember correctly, I just read that Greece is #5 on the list of current immigrants.

This translates to amazing options for Greek salad and souvlaki. And lots and lots of hommus (hummus).

And ample opportunity to spot cute Greek grandpas meeting over coffee at the shopping center.

In addition to the grandpas, you’ll see lots of this:

Three generations having a coffee together. (Makes me miss my mom and dad afresh–they were here for 3 weeks in December.)

Coffee.

It (or tea) is part of most Aussies’ “morning tea” ritual. It’s a ritual where the world stops a bit–even if just to walk to the office or home kitchen and brew it (or grab one at the shopping center while making your almost-daily trek for fresh groceries).

And pause.

Oh coffee, how had I never really understood your true deliciousness before? (Thank you, influence of Italian immigrants on coffee culture here.) And the way you, oh coffee, cause me to pause?

Even Lizzy knows my delight. When I play restaurant with her she’ll ask me, in her waitress voice, “A standard latte with one sugar?”

Yes please.

Then there are things they love that we’re not quite…in love with yet. Christmas plum pudding, just like the song.

Two things.

1. This pudding is so heavy. I had no idea.
2. It was $67AUS (about $50). Glad it’s on sale!

In the near future, we’re hoping to do a funny video of Aussie words I thought I knew but didn’t.

Here’s a fun example.

I say hundreds and thousands and you think, dollars.

How about the Aussie word for sprinkles?

Isn’t that the perfect description, though?

One more thing to grab before we leave Coles (one of the main grocery stores).

I need some family underwear, where would we find that?

Oh, aisle 15. Perfect.

 

Advertisement