Similar to every other intro I've written for my articles these past few months, I'm abroad in Ireland (so sorry if that has been repetitive). Yes, I am in the motherland of potatoes and have a surplus of probably my favorite food, cheese.
Though I have been enjoying myself and the food, there are some particular items that I miss.
1. Normal Hamburgers
This is something one would think they'd be good at. The amount of cows I've seen here is too many to count. How on earth could they screw this up? I just discovered my love for this fast food meal literally last semester, and now I can't have any. Every burger I've tried has had the most bizarre taste that just can't compare to that classic American burger. In N Out, I miss you the most and was even more distraught after hearing the news of the new California Burger.
2. Ranch Dressing
This again, a tragedy. What am I supposed to eat with my baby carrots??? I have yet to find any Ranch dressing in the entire country of Ireland. My housemate had her parents ship her a bottle of it in her last care package. Now it's something shared amongst certain housemates and is kept in high demand.
3. Guacamole
As a Southern California native, I have yet to discover how I have survived this semester so far. No, guacamole. That's right. Yes, I suppose I could make it, but buying the basic necessities for the recipe is difficult and expensive to find. Let me know if you find a habanero pepper or avocado that won't cost me over a euro.
4. Burritos
Another Mexican food dish. In fact, let's just include all Mexican food. It's non-existent here. I can't even find black beans, a pretty basic food item. I have seen every kind of beans except for black beans! It's crazy. I can't wait to go home a grab some good authentic tacos or burritos.
5. Kit Kats
Kit Kats in Ireland are nowhere close to tasting anything like the ones in the United States. It's probably because they're healthier and made with less sugar? They lack flavor here and don't give that satisfying crunch as you break the pieces apart.
6. A1 Sauce
As mentioned previously in the first food missed, we have a lot of cows here. I walk by an entire field of them in someone's side yard of their house on my way to the grocery store. This means a lot of steaks. I get two large steaks from Dunnes (the grocery store) for less than 6 euro. That's two steaks for less than $7 in the United States. Do you know what the bummer is though? No, steak sauce, more specifically no A1 sauce. Again, I don't understand it, but it is what it is.
7. Ice Cream
I honestly do not understand this much either. They have so many dairy products, why don't they have more ice cream? I found some at Aldi, but it's literally just a block wrapped in a paper. I need good classic Graeters ice cream. I still have a gift card I have yet to use up. Miami Graeters, I'm coming for you when I go back to school in the fall.
8. Frosting
Speaking of desserts, this brings me to my next food item on this listicle. Since I've been in Ireland I have found a new hobby, baking. I've been making several cakes, most of which have recipes that have to be carefully chosen due to all the nut allergies my housemates have (Shoutout to Maggie and Kerrigan). Despite this, we still end up making a pretty good treat, but I can never find any icing to spread on top. I found cream cheese frosting once, it was Betty Crocker, but it did not taste like cream cheese frosting. As of now, I've been making the easiest icing recipe I can find online.
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And those, ladies and gentlemen are just a few of the many food items that I've been missing over the past few months. I'm looking forward to once again having the option of consuming and purchasing these.
