Sandwiches and Mexican Food
MONDAY: I have to mention my lunch today because it is purely a result of leftovers of a meal prepared by friends. Not only is this the very first time I have ever eaten a sandwich with vegetarian duck -- "vegetarian mock duck", as my friend referred to it -- with cream cheese, avocado, red pepper, and spring onion in a crusty French roll, but it will probably be the last. Not because it isn't good, but the sandwich dice may never roll quite the same way again.
THURSDAY: Lunch is another French roll with haloumi cheese and fresh basil and my usual red pepper/spring onion garnish. As a pescavegetarian I like haloumi sandwiches because they taste and feel substantial. The sliced cold haloumi looks a bit like sliced boiled egg whites, but oh, what a surprise when you bite in: it's definitely more exciting than egg whites.
One thing I really like about living in England is that when you buy a sandwich, whether it's premade in a shop or fresh prepared in a café or pub, it's always the right size with a civilised amount of filling. As a thin active woman with a medium-to-light appetite I can easily eat an entire English sandwich, which is something I could never do with American sandwiches because the sandwiches tend to be the size of houses. If I ordered a sandwich in Seattle or California I had two options: either share it with a friend or take half of it home in a doggy bag. There was a rare place in my Seattle neighbourhood which served great sandwiches on freshly baked bread, and they sold both sandwiches and half-sandwiches. I thought this was brilliant because I could be my own self and choose my own sandwich without having to rely on compromising with a sandwich partner.
In England no one would dream of selling half sandwiches. I mean, who would order them? The average sandwich is so small even the lightest eaters I've known can polish off at least three quarters, and the average young man will simply pack multiple sandwiches for lunch. If anybody in America dared to eat two American sandwiches for lunch, everybody would consider him or her to be a gluttonous pig.
On the subject of basic food, all is not in the UK's favour. As much as I look forward to tackling my own sandwiches I am appalled at the UK's poor excuse for Mexican food. First of all, what are referred to as "corn tortillas" bear absolutely no resemblance to the humble Mexican flatbread. I mean, a corn tortilla is a simple creation made of masa harina (corn flour cooked in lime) and water. That's it. It has no wheat flour, no wheat gluten, no hydrogenated vegetable oil, no raising agents, and no glycerol. An authentic Mexican corn tortilla is perfect safe for anybody with a gluten intolerance. In stark contrast the second ingredient listed for Old El Paso Corn Tortillas is wheat flour. When I tried an Old El Paso corn tortilla I was appalled because not only was it tasteless but the texture was like floury cardboard. Anyone who's had a freshly made corn tortilla in a Mexican restaurant would never in a million years think of floury cardboard. Oh, how I wish Trader Joe's could deliver their handmade corn tortillas directly to my Yorkshire door...
Tortilla chips are another great disappointment. In America, at least on the Pacific Coast, Doritos are considered a salty junk-food snack not really in the same category as proper Mexican restaurant tortilla chips, which also have a very simple ingredient list: masa harina and vegetable oil for frying. Along with corn and vegetable oil the Doritos sold in the UK also contain artificial colourings, soya oil, at least one additive beginning with "disodium", cheese solids, milk proteins, and MSG. So when I opened a package of American tortillas chips sent to me by a Seattle friend, my English mealmates were very impressed by the difference.
And then there's the subject of chilli beans and refried beans. I'm sorry, but they absolutely must be pinto beans. Never kidney beans. Never, never, never!
I have spoken. Now it's back, sadly, to my non-Mexican lunch...
