Wednesday, February 13, 2013

What I Wish I'd Brought With Me

I was reminded just the other day that I said I would write a blog post about what I wish I had brought with me.

Well, of course each of us is going to be different and I brought quite a bit with me when I came but here are some of the things I miss or wish I'd brought.

The big things:


  • My Kitchenaid mixer--I would love to make bread and my broken wrist never healed quite perfectly and kneading bread dough is very difficult for me.  Also it has a grinder attachment that I truly miss.
  • Sewing machine--I have a lovely sewing machine that I was able to get from a friend of mine.  It's not quite the one I used to have but it's very nice.  It would still have been nice to have the one I knew and loved in the States.  
  • Pressure cooker--I had the most lovely electronic pressure cooker.  Of course there simply wasn't enough room in my suitcases to squeeze it in but it sure would have come in handy here.  Because of the altitude (which impacts the temperature at which water boils and such) and the lack of tender meat, a pressure cooker is pretty important here.  I miss mine.  I'm glad my daughter is enjoying it, though.
  • My juicer--I left a fabulous juicer behind and with all the lovely fruits and vegetables here, it would be lovely to have that.  I know people who have a Vitamix or something similar to one and they are very happy with how they can make juices here.  That would be a good alternative--in fact, it can be used for so many other things as well.
The little stuff:
  • Cinnamon (there's plenty of it available here but it's a very, very poor quality)
  • Dill weed
  • Worcestershire Sauce
  • Just a little bit of red pepper flakes (I want to make Italian sausage)
  • Nyquil
  • Dawn dishwashing liquid
  • Mod Podge (it's a crafting thing)
  • Sheets for my bed.  I've said it before but it bears repeating--the linens here are awful.
  • Some real kitchen sponges.  The only ones here are those squishy foamy plastic things.
  • An oven thermometer.  I don't need it in this house because I don't have a oven but it would have been nice to have one at the old one.  This isn't the kind that tells you the temperature of your food (I have one of those) but the temperature inside the oven.  The regulators here aren't quite as accurate as they are in the States and even there I used one--I don't know why I didn't think to bring mine.  Oh, right, because I was trying to figure out which things were the very, very most important to bring and that didn't quite make the cut.
Those are the things I can think of pretty much off the top of my head.  I'll probably update this every once in a while just to keep you apprised of other things as I think of them.

4 comments:

  1. Hi, Cynthia! This list is awesome! Thank you so much for doing this (and updating it, too!) It's very helpful to those of us getting ready to pack.

    I was already missing my Kitchenaid mixer thinking it's so heavy and bulky to pack, but you've convinced me that I should take it. i'd hate to be kneading bread by hand again.

    BTW...how's the yeast there? Easy to get?

    Jan

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    Replies
    1. Hi, Jan--

      Thanks! Yes, knowing what to bring is always such a tough thing to deal with.

      Yeast is easy to get and works great. That's a big help. The problem is getting good flour. It's easy to get white flour but whole wheat flour is more expensive here. I haven't tried to find other bread flours. It's all a great adventure.

      Delete
  2. Great post. I saved this email.

    Dena

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  3. I'm not sure I could survive without my Kitchenaid! Of course, I've had a rule for years I don't buy bread, I make it. . .

    How's the quality of the flour down there? White? Whole wheat? etc.

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