28 replies to this topic

[Sweet Fanny Addams]

Ok, some of these may be available somewhere in the UK but I can't find them and haven't been able to for 20 + years, except maybe in ethnic parts of London nowhere close to where I live.

Lima beans. Broad beans are not the same thing and are a crap substitute.

creamed spinach & creamed corn. I know I could make these but it so much easier to just go into a store and pick it up.

Life cereal

U-Bet chocolate syrup

Good NY style rye bread

decent bagels

Vegetarian chopped liver

pirogies

sour pickles (schmaltz pickles)

pickled herring. Not rollmops, I've tried them and they don't cut it.

corn muffins. Also corn meal because I'd be more than happy to make muffins myself if I could get the main ingredient

Good tasting nutritional yeast

Bosc pears

New England clam chowder. Again, I could make this if only I could find decent fresh clams

artichokes and jerusalem artichokes. I believe these can be found in the UK, but not near me.

and this is the strangest, London broil.
This is a cut of beef that roasts beautifully. Why is it called London broil? No British person I ever spoke to has heard of it including Londoners.

[Sweet Fanny Addams]

Knishes

Kasha ( wholegrain buckwheat)

Grape soda

blintzes

coconut cream pie, or banana cream pie, or Boston cream pie. Basically, amy kind of cream pie.

Reese's peanut butter cups.

[DrinkTheElixir]

Sainsburies carry creamed corn, I have had it before but it looks like a sicky burp and that kind of put me off.  I have had artichokes before (I think it caused you to go on a Southern artichoke hunt :p) again, sainsburies (but it was the bigger sainsburies, not the smaller branches)  I have also sourced them in independant grocers here. The chocolate syrup I have seen in the US food section in Selfridges in Manchester. I know that Fenwicks food court carries alot of the US cereals too.  The rest sounds lovely, but I have never seen a decent bagel in this country, apart from when my mother makes them.

Edited by DrinkTheElixer, 18 April 2010 - 08:27 AM.

[DrinkTheElixir]

Sweet Fanny Addams said:

Knishes

Kasha ( wholegrain buckwheat)

Grape soda

blintzes

coconut cream pie, or banana cream pie, or Boston cream pie. Basically, amy kind of cream pie.

Reese's peanut butter cups.

You can get the peanut butter cups here!!  Asda stock them.  They are disgusting though....

[Sweet Fanny Addams]

Grace, I have looked and looked for decent fresh clams and artichokes and cannot for the life of me find them. Trust me, it's not for lack of searching.
:(

ETA- Monterey Jack cheese.

Edited by Sweet Fanny Addams, 18 April 2010 - 08:39 AM.

[BlueCordFFA]

Sweet Fanny Addams said:

Grace, I have looked and looked for decent fresh clams and artichokes and cannot for the life of me find them. Trust me, it's not for lack of searching.
:(

ETA- Monterey Jack cheese.

You can get monterey jack and artichokes here in normal supermarkets; bagels and rye bread too, unfortunately the latter two are shite versions of the real thing and send me into a violent rage even thinking about it.

As for perogies, well you can get them from Polish food stores here (a few in the city) but I prefer the US ones.  Christie makes them occasionally and they (along with her matzo ball soup) make me go feral.

Morning Star foods used to be sold here but for some reason you can no longer get them; I always have the patties when we go to the US.

The root beer here is crap unless you get the vastly overpriced real deal stuff from import stores.

Please let the volcano stop before thanksgiving:(

[stiperules!ok]

Can't help I'm afraid, but if you find the vegetarian chopped liver - LET ME KNOW!!!

[Hezalin]

I could sendyou a few of the things. Life cereal, corn meal, I'm not sure if the resse's PB cups would make the trip though. A little heat and they'd be done for.

[Mary]

I've been mailing some treats to a friend of mine serving in the Peace Corps in Macedonia--the peanut butter cups do fine in the cooler months, but yeah, spring and summertime would be brutal.   :p

[In the Corner]

DrinkTheElixer said:

Sainsburies carry creamed corn, I have had it before but it looks like a sicky burp and that kind of put me off.  .

Mmmm, creamed corn!  Love that stuff.

DrinkTheElixer said:

You can get the peanut butter cups here!!  Asda stock them.  They are disgusting though....

:confused:  Is there something wrong with you?  Reese's peanut butter cups are heaven in an orange wrapper.

Mary, I have received an envelope containing liquid chocolate before, sent in the summer by a friend across the sea who didn't realize what Texas heat does to chocolate.  :D

[DrinkTheElixir]

I have tried so hard to like the peanut and chocolate combination - but all I can think of is squirrel shit.  I actually heave every time that I try it (and now and again I do try it, just to make sure that it is still revolting)

But, I do like most other nuts in chocolate, aside from brazil nuts, which also make me ralph.

[In the Corner]

DrinkTheElixer said:

I have tried so hard to like the peanut and chocolate combination - but all I can think of is squirrel shit.  I actually heave every time that I try it (and now and again I do try it, just to make sure that it is still revolting)

But, I do like most other nuts in chocolate, aside from brazil nuts, which also make me ralph.

Awww, now I'm just sad for you.  :(

I've never tried squirrel shit so that really never comes to mind when I try new foods.

[DrinkTheElixir]

In the Corner said:

Awww, now I'm just sad for you.  :(

I've never tried squirrel shit so that really never comes to mind when I try new foods.

I haven't tried it either, but I feel certain that it has a nut in every bite :(

[In the Corner]

DrinkTheElixer said:

I haven't tried it either, but I feel certain that it has a nut in every bite :(

I tasted an acorn once and it was disgusting, so I can imagine squirrel poop would taste like an acorn.  Peanut butter cups do not taste like acorns.

[Kelly A]

It may be a niche market, but I should start manufacturing Ralph's Squirrel Poop.

[Sweet Fanny Addams]

Kelly A said:

It may be a niche market, but I should start manufacturing Ralph's Squirrel Poop.

Catchy name! Defo a niche market though.

[DrinkTheElixir]

Kelly A said:

It may be a niche market, but I should start manufacturing Ralph's Squirrel Poop.

If you add the word 'creamy', maybe there would be more takers.

[wagtail]

Reeces Peanut Butter cups are awesome, thankfully I found a local supply, but they are outrageously expensive.  

American things I liked and can't get here, are New Orleans gelati [!!!] best gelati ever...the dark, choc, cinnamon and chili one...soooo good.  Beignets - better than donuts in so many ways.  Grits - I REALLY like grits, waaay better than porridge, porridge is vile.  I kinda liked those mints that aren't mint...is it winterfresh..wintergreen..?..whatever it is, we don't have that flavour here.  Also cinnamon flavoured sweets, I can't remember where I had them, but they were good - there seems to be a lot of cinnamon flavoured things in the States...Yum!  Mr Corner's BBQ was also exceptional, def. the best food I had in the US...I'd like to build a proper Texan BBQ so I can try to emulate it.   Oh and New York bagels are the best, I agree - I miss those too, the ones in Melbourne are great but there is definitely something about a New York bagel.

I also miss American toothpaste.  I think that it's the same flavour as the mints.

[wagtail]

Also...you can't get Lima beans, artichokes and creamed corn in the UK?  Etty, do you have a garden?  Both types of artichokes are super-easy to grow.  

There is a pirogie shop next door to my haidressers, I always stock up on them when I get my haircut, but I think it's the only place in Adelaide you can get them.

I wish I'd had a chance to try clam chowder, it sounds interesting.  I would have liked to try pumpkin pie also, but i didn't see it available anywhere.

[DrinkTheElixir]

wagtail said:

Also...you can't get Lima beans, artichokes and creamed corn in the UK?  Etty, do you have a garden?  Both types of artichokes are super-easy to grow.  

Rebekah, you can get all of that stuff in the UK, but for some reason Etty just can't get them locally. It's mad, because when the artichokes were in season one year I think that I tortured Etty because they were practically giving them away where I lived.  I live in the countryside now - and we are blessed with farmers markets - and so I never have to worry about not being able to get artichokes again.

I might look into growing artichokes, I would love to try those.   This year I have started some pumpkins off early - I need to dig a patch for them because they are nearly ready to go outside (but I have dinked my back, so I will have to wait another week)