The Turkey Day Arriveth

Cross-cultural barriers successfully navigated (for the most part), Thanksgiving has arrived in the desert!

Although honestly, no thanks to the Dutch produce distributors that sell herbs here:

“Rozemarijin” was easy enough to figure out and I’m guessing “Dragon” is tarragon, but I needed marjoram for my stuffing and had no clue what it looked like, so I had to hurriedly Blackberry-Google “Bieslook” only to realize that it was, in fact, chives.

Fail, Holland.

On the upside, nothing says Thanksgiving like potatoes from Saudi Arabia…

“This year, I am thankful that I live in a country where women are allowed to drive.”

Of course, no Thanksgiving shopping trip is complete without a visit to the pork room, forbidden to Muslims.

If you translate the Arabic sign above the entrance literally, it says “MISTAKE FOR MUSLIMS,” which I think is kind of awesome.

And because I am culturally sensitive like that, I even made special warning flags to stick in our piggy dishes (bread stuffing with bacon and apples, roast potatoes with garlic and pancetta) on behalf of our Muslim guests.

I know, I know, everyone continues to be impressed by my ability to draw animals.

I also decided I finally needed to figure out our craptastic British oven once and for all so I could do justice to the dreamy pumpkin cheesecake I’m making, so I hauled out the manual to try and make sense of all its cryptic symbols.

(Literally, the settings knob has a picture of a sun, a raindrop, a fan, a squiggly line, and a squiggly line over a fan… WHAT AM I SUPPOSED TO DO WITH THAT?!)

But alas, even the manual proved to be of little help… unless any of you out there on the interwebs know whether a “sandcake,” a “Dundee cake,” or a “Victoria sandwich” (WTF?!?!) is most similar to a cheesecake.

And with that, I’ve got a teeny foreign fridge full of yummy goodness to be prepared, so I’m off to the kitchen.

Although I miss my family quite a bit today, expat Thanksgivings are definitely the best Thanksgivings - and for that I am truly thankful.

citizenkerry liked this
melissanat liked this
hershapeinthedoorway said: OMG I HAD FORGOTTEN about how confusing british stoves are!!!!!! So hilarious! I hated cooking when I lived in the UK!
cupofchi said: I think your fridge is bigger than mine and now I’m really jealous…
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hithisisdanielle said: I use the sun with the lines around it to make cheesecakes. I have no idea what that setting is or if it is the proper one though!
kenna liked this
handsup-thumbsdown said: A bakewell tart might be the closest. But why dont you have a recipe that tells you a temp? Or is yours a stupid oven gas marks? I hate those! Happy Thanksgiving! :))
foronemoreinch said: You just need the temperature, and put the rack in the middle of the oven.
nadita liked this
dubaiandi said: I swear they sold me fennel fronds instead of dill one time! I hope you have a wonderful meal, you have made excellent use of your fridge space!
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