Cooking Around the World

Everyday things here pose small challenges and require occasional adjustments. Adaptability is the name of the game. For those who know me, you may recall that in CliftonStrengths, my 34th strength out of 34 is Adaptability.

In California, I could select a recipe, head to Whole Foods, and be 95% certain every ingredient would be on the shelf. Italian produce is entirely seasonal — not artichoke season, no artichokes. Asian ingredients (mirin, anyone?) and Middle Eastern staples (tahini, anyone?) are scarce in the major grocery chains. Last week, I walked 45 minutes across town to track down corn tortillas. I was triumphant. It's like being a hunter-gatherer, but without any of the starvation and danger.

I'm also still getting the hang of the metric system. Most of my recipes come from American sources, so I'm constantly converting grams to ounces, Fahrenheit to Celsius. Though did you know the NYT Cooking app has a metric setting? Small revelation.

If I could just find Hellmann's mayonnaise, life would be complete. Now you know what to bring if you're coming to visit.