Tuesday, November 24, 2009

My nasal passages have been assaulted by two very distinct smells recently. The first is cheese - not a bad smell, in my book. Matt bought a load of cheese to take to our friends in Istanbul as gifts from afar. While Turks do salty, soft, white cheese really really well, the cheddar...not so much. Pork products and cheese are the currency of expats in Istanbul and while living there, I would have much rather received either than flowers at any dinner party I hosted.

But I digress. So he bought all this cheese, and then he forgot it. Oof. He also forgot the salami and parma ham. Those are stored safely in the freezer. But cheese doesn't freeze so well, so I'm left with a mini-fridge full of cheese. And now I'm looking for recipes to use up the cheese, preferably things I can freeze for later. Jalepeno cheddar scones caught my eye, and of course there's macaroni and cheese, but I'm not sure how well that would freeze. And while I will certainly eat some of it before he comes home, even I, cheese-lover that I am, can't eat that much.

So if you are in the Hong Kong area and are thinking, Hmmm, you know what would taste good right now? Some CHEESE. Just come on over. Apples and crackers will also be provided.

The other scent is the pungent odor of mothballs. I took the subway recently and the smell just about knocked me over. Strong and unrelenting, combined with a packed rush-hour train. Looooovely. Since the temperature dropped, everyone has raided their closets and dug out the winter wear. It's gone up above 70F/20C again, so maybe I will be spared for the next week.

Thanksgiving is just a few days away and I have to admit, after 6 years overseas, it's the one holiday that can make me a touch homesick. Why? I think it's the fact that Thanksgiving is a simple, uncomplicated holiday. You eat turkey, maybe play some football (or at least watch it on TV), enjoy crunchy fall weather (at least on the East Coast where we lived), and then eat leftovers. There's not much else involved. And it's a national holiday, with no attachment to religious affiliation. So just about everyone is doing the same thing. And if we were in the US, we would be too.

It's just the kids and I this year, so I think we'll have a turkey breast and the basic trimmings. With some cheese thrown in for good measure. And, if we get all the homework done, we can even watch the beginning of the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade before bedtime.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hey Dude,

You think YOU are bummed you still have the cheese??!! Just came home from IWI Christmas Bazaar. Very nice. I am exhausted. You know, I heard today that you can try to freeze cheddar. Any sign that it is going bad (i.e., can't use it fast enough), throw it in the freezer - making it go bad in there can't be any worse than it going bad in your fridege, but at least you might get lucky....

Miss you,
xxKatharine

Troye said...

Hey Jenn

You are brilliant! We have been freezing cheese cheddar that is for years. It freezes well but does crumble rather that slice. I saw Matt's post bet people were bummed.

Missing you guys all the time.

Love all around

Troye

Anonymous said...

I always freeze cheese since a good cheddar is so hard to get in Central Anatolia. I also makes stacks of lasagne ( with loads of cheese) cheese pastries and freeze all of these !Have a great Thansgiving . We miss you xx

Debra said...

Oh how you tease us
with the cheese,
me and Louise,
would have loved the cheese,
for veggie meals
and to freeze,
Would have been a wheeze,
to eat cheese scones under the trees,
So please,
Don't say you can't deveese
Recipeeees
For cheese,
Which leaves
A veggie like me
Feeling lonely
Cheddar free
If you please.