jumping doris

PS. Happy hour was good. I had calamari for the first time, it's lovely..it tastes of Spain!

Mandana

Ah Doris .. the lack of replies (but literally 100s of reads) made me feel like a right whingy pom!

I'm not a needy person by any stretch of the imagination, but honestly, I really thought there would be more help and advice than this ..

If I worked for a relocation company I'd be on the phone and/or emailing as soon as the family arrived. None of this silence business. Crap I tell you, crap

TouristTrap

Oh calamari is lovely! I often make it here at home. Just tell a USC what it is made from and watch them puke

jumping doris

My OH is allergic to shellfish and so he doesn't really like fish at all. British fish and chips and fishfingers are about his limit and so we rarely eat it. I love salmon, tinned, fresh, smoked and my daughters and I eat tuna but that's about it.
I had never tasted calamari despite many trips to Spain, just because I didn't want to order it and hate it. Last night my friend had won a "happy hour" at a fish place (Mitchells...don't know if they are nationwide) and so we had free appetizers..for much longer than an hour. So I tried all sorts of things

another bloody yank

There aren't many things I miss about living in the city. Calamari is one of them! Our favorite Italian place had the best I'd ever tasted. I'd get Calamari as an appetizer then a seafood pasta dish. Espresso afterwards... :Homerdrool:

That restaurant closed suddenly. Turned out it was just a front for a mob organization.:curse::curse:

TouristTrap

My people make a fish stew with squid rings that is truly outstanding. I battled to find them when we first moved but about a year later it started getting stocked. Imagine my one neighbor's face when she was over at my house and I started making this. She had a fit. I asked her if she liked calamari and proceeded to laugh when she said yes

another bloody yank

Nothing better than a fork full of lemon buttery tentacles!

My Grandfather used to make baked squid with a tomato based sauce, it ended up looking kind of like Cannelloni. The squid turned out slightly more rubbery than if it were fried but it tasted great. He also made a great tripe, also in tomato sauce.

That man could cook! His parents immigrated from Sicily right before his birth. During his childhood they were dirt poor, (He used to tell me of catching pidgeons in the street and bringing them home to be cooked and eaten) and he quit school after the 8th grade to work for a produce company in what was called "Produce Row" at the time. He eventually purchased a building and opened his own market. He had such a gregarious personality and serious work ethic that the store was a success and he made a good living. The man would eat anything, and relish it as if it were his last meal. I think he remembered what it was like to be hungry.

I've never had a fish stew. Next time you make a batch let me know and I'll stop by!


Sorry for going so far off topic!

TouristTrap

I'll post the recipe in the recipe thread

Manti

Hey Mandana!
How are you doing?
Hope everything is better

Mandana

Hey Manti

Thanks for posting

Things are slowly getting better, although they aren't 100%, but I didn't want to come here and moan too much about it!

This week is the first full week we'll be experiencing how it'll be in our new home with OH commuting to work and me getting into some sort of routine. We've been here 2 weeks now and apart from a lack of furniture (this house is far bigger than ours in the UK, and we thought that was big!) we're much straighter than we hoped we'd be.

Had a meeting with the MD from the Ex-pat company last week after emailing her saying (in essence) my contact was crap, and she got straight onto it. We even hooked up with her and her family on July 4th, which was nice.

Thanks for asking .. appreciate it

Mandana x

snowbunny

Whyever not, we're always up for a good moan.

Manti

I don't mind you moaning, not at all
I have a homesickness wave at the moment myself, going home in august, very scared "what if i wouldn't wanna go back..?!"

jumping doris

That's my big worry. I am OK here at the moment, although feeling a bit fed up at the down turn in the greencard situation.

My daughters have just spent 3 weeks in the UK, back in our old towm. The 16 year old will miss her best friend but is looking forward to coming back but my 18 year old has spent three weeks, clubbing,being able to get everywhere on public transport and being treated like an adult at 18. She isn't looking forward to coming back.

Mandana...moan away if it gets you through the day.

Sometimes this has been the only place I could say anything negative about the USA. My OH loves it here and has done since day 1. Doesn't care if he never sets foot in the UK again and I have never wanted to say negative things in front of my children. I wanted them to have a really positive start over here and so moaning on here was my secret vice.

Manti

yeah I know what you mean..about being treated like adult..
I'm going completely crazy lately-last week every single night
i have these dreams about my home town
wake up with tears..

jumping doris

That used to happen and I would not open my eyes for a while, hoping that "here" had just been a bad dream, and that when I did look I would see my old bedroom