Dishwashers are the greatest luxury since sliced bread. It’s a luxury like power windows on a car – so unnecessary – but just great to have them.
You know we’ve recently moved into a new apartment which btw also means that I am now as broke as a self-employed, tax-paying idiot can be by the end of the year. And still I urgently wanted to get my hands on such a dishwasher – found a good (= used) machine for sale here in Frankfurt for a really low price. You’ll especially learn to appreciate such luxuries if you’re the one that will have to carry it up to the 4th floor on the evening of December 23rd – with all your friends (= free help) being away due to public holidays.
Now as the year is coming to an end, I thought about publishing a blog post on some of my favourite luxuries that money can buy: foodstuff that I like buying from time to time:
Pictured above are just some of the various things I’ve bought today:
- (Japanese) Green Tea Mochi from Taiwan
- Sheerpera (from an Afghan bakery in Hamburg) – Afghan sweets made from milkpowder, sugar, almonds, lots of cardamon and pistachio
- deep-frozen vegetarian dumplings
- soy beans for a salad with soy sauce & sesame
- Japanese seaweed (Nori) for some sushi
- fresh Tofu (from Germany)
- Japanese Udon noodles (from Taiwan)
- sesame
- fresh green pepper (Biber) from Turkey
- Mixed congee with red beans and sticky rice (it actually is a red bean soup which is very much appreciated during winter times, see also here)
- Turkish cheese, very smooth. Many Germans actually don’t know what feta cheese has to taste like and go for the much cheaper Greek supermarket version which isn’t that nice. Sure, there may be many different versions and tastes, but this one is my favourite (i.e. Turkish > Greek).
- (Japanese) sticky Sushi rice
- Chana Masala Ready-To-Eat mixture (chickpeas + onions + herbs)
- Fried & dried vegetable chips from Taiwan. Cheap & tasty, new product.
- PG Tips tea – because the black tea for sale in Germany just doesn’t do it for me.
So…..yes, good food is important to me. I know there are others who are willing to spend a fortune on high-quality and/or exotic food, but the one I like is very basic and I usually prefer locally produced food. A purchase like the one above is thus very special to me.
Our next task will be to set up a vertical garden on the balcony, i.e. fill a bag with soil & seeds in this Kibera-style and wait for good weather.
Everyone, please have a good start into 2010 and may the Gods of good food and fine taste always be with you! :-)
Cin! cin to good food, wine,love and all the great things to come in 2010.
p/s I’m yet to see “exotic” sukuma wiki , ugali avec tilapia on your cooking adventure :-)
Thx Irene. Sukuma yes, ugali yes, tilapia no. I’d love to, but living with a vegetarian there will no fish anytime soon (unless there are visitors).