(Photo of sloppy joes on cover of my first cookbook - copyright 1984)I'm not really a kitchen person. So when Sharon picked "this is... my favourite kitchen tool", I was completely blank.
Don't get me wrong, I know how to cook. I have a limited number of things that I make, but I usually do them well. I make cashew chicken, stuffed mushrooms and apple pie. Sometimes I mix it up with strawberry or pumpkin pie. I serve these same foods every time we have guests over. Almost always the same three dishes, unless a guest has an allergy. I struggle when we have the same guests twice.
The main reason I'm not a kitchen person is that my hubsand and I prefer to eat like big kids. We like simple foods. Our favourite meals are sloppy joes [see photo above], tacos, pancakes, bacon sandwiches and mac-n-cheese.
After racking my brain, I finally decided what my favourite tool is. It's the USA Foods online store with a retail shop in Melbourne. The reason is simple, I can get ingredients that I know how to work with. Sometimes it's hard relearning your skills in a new country.
The first time I made pie in Australia, I was absolutely disappointed that I couldn't find a tub Crisco [yes, it comes in tubs] and had to settle for a hard lump product called Copha. While I'm happy they sell Cheerios now in Australian stores, they are made differently and I miss the all-oat goodness. And don't get me started on the absense of Cherry Coke, Rootbeer and Dr. Pepper
And so I like to fill my virtual cart at the USA food store. Here's a few products that I recommend:
- Crisco - great for pie crusts, greasing pans and getting stuck rings off fingers
- Manwich - a hearty sloppy joe mix with a strangely appealling name
- Bisquick - great for banana stacks and fluffy scones
- Bush's Baked Beans - I dare you to find better baked beans anywhere
- Honey Nut Cheerios - healthy, honey goodness in cute little circles
- Jiffy Cornbread - serve with butter or in my mom's style with navy beans and maple syrup
- Blackened Steak Magic - skip the butter, cook on grill for the best steaks ever
- Catalina Salad Dressing - It's red. Americans sometimes call it french, and it's good on salad or bread
And there is so much more there that I love. It's sort of an extension of my kitchen cupboard. The one tool that I couldn't live in Australia without.
Thanks for Sharon at Handmaiden for the topic and Angela at three buttons for hosting. Come join in on the this is fun!
Ohhh, I love, love, love the USA Foods store. Its a paradise! Did you know that they also supply to David Jones and from memory, Myer as well. You might be able to find some of their products like the Crisco on the shelf in a store.
ReplyDeleteOh Golly, that site is fabulous! I could spend a fortune there and I am not even American nor have I ever even been to America!
ReplyDeleteWhat are sloppy joes?
ReplyDeleteI'm going to have to traipse on over to DJ's to see what their market hall goodness can provide!
ReplyDeleteThe best way to understand sloppy joes is to go to google images and do a search. They are a completely gloppy, sloppy, messy sandwich that Americans serve to kids. You make them from mince similarly to tacos, but contrary to my husband's opinion they do not taste like tacos, chilli or spaghetti bolognaise. He seriously thinks they all taste the same.
They can be made from powder (also at USA foods) or from precanned sauce like Manwich. On a poor man's budget, you can make the mix by combining ketchup, mustard and sugar.
Amy, I think with all this time on yr hands you need to set a challenge for yourself to cook some other simple aussie foods.....we could all contribute recipes to get u started!!
ReplyDelete