The Expat Refrigerator

I was writing an article the other day and I mentioned that we had been living abroad for six years now. SIX! I can't believe it. There are a lot of great things about life abroad, but for me, food has always been one of the best. I love cooking (and eating) and I love trying local dishes and poking around the grocery store to see what you can find and what you can't. For fun, the other day I made a list of things that are always in our fridge or pantry now that we live in Scotland, compared to what we always had on hand in Italy, and what we usually keep at home in the US.

What We Have:
Tea. Lots of it.
Cheddar cheese. Again, lots of it. This is something we were missing in Italy and we're still overcompensating.
Curry packs. Curry is huge in the UK and you can buy all sorts of different kinds.
Tunnock's Wafers. You guys. These things are amazing. They're the perfect sweet and they've been around forever. I always see old ladies buying them in the grocery store.
The best salted butter.

What We're Missing:
Really good dill pickles. Can't find them anywhere.

What We Had:
Dried pasta (obviously) in about ten different shapes on any given day.
Stravecchio cheese. My favorite cheese, from the deli counter.
Espresso.
Half empty jars of pesto.
Fennel.

What We Missed:
Cheddar cheese, cumin and canned pumpkin.

What We Have:
Green chilies! We live in Colorado...
A variety of hot sauces. Favorites include Cholula, Sriracha and our local favorite from the Yampa Valley Sauce Company, Habacado.

What We Miss:
That Stravecchio cheese and Tunnock's wafers!