God Bless America

May 23, 2009

There is no place like home. I know this is long due, but I’ve still gotta say it. Ever since I arrived back at home since 2 weeks ago, this has been ringing in my mind constantly: America is the best place to live.

For all those whose heart is in your own mother country, please don’t shoot me. This is my own personal, biased opinion, but I really freaking love living in America.

Sorry, but this love tribute to America came from a conversation I had with my best friend Joanna this afternoon. As we reminisced those old days of living in other countries (she used to live in Mainland China) I was just engulfed by an overpowering sense of thankfulness for this country.

Yeah, Singapore was nostalgic and familiar. It’s my hometown after all. Korea was nice and heartwarming. It’s my mother country after all. But I still feel the most at home in America.

Why? Gosh, if I had to list all the reasons why, we would be here all day. But let me give a few examples. I love America because it’s a melting pot of different cultures and influences. It’s the Mecca of knowledge and talents and education, the spotlight of all the great universities, the hub where all the most brilliant minds in the world gather.

And I love the American culture. I love America’s emphasis of individuality, its value of freedom, its sense of equality. I love the way people respect each other’s privacy and opinions and beliefs.

Most of all, I love how open and friendly (most) people are. I remember when I first moved to America, I was shocked by how cheerfully strangers greeted me in the streets. I was ridiculously touched when people said “Bless you” when I sneezed. I was amazed by how civil everyone was. They actually waited for everyone to get out of the elevator before stepping in! Cars actually gave in to pedestrians!

Of course, I’m not saying America is perfect. There are some points it definitely lacks compared to other countries…like the over-ambitious and self-promoting attitude, the crazy tax, the horrible public transportation, the overload of fast and processed foods…but still. In my opinion, America is still the best place to live. Yup, call me biased, but I love America!

Oh, and I forgot to add: Whole Foods. Trader Joes. Lots of Starbucks. Restaurants of all sorts of cuisines. Costco. Great Harvest. Free refills on soda and drinks. Cheap cars and gas. Open and uncensored discussions on how stupid/ugly/fat/old the president is. God bless America.

Okay, enough gushes about America and betraying my own mother country. Guess what I had for lunch today?

I had 1/2 the avocado left over from yesterday turning color in the fridge, so I knew I had to finish it today. I decided to make a frittata. It’s been too long since I had me a good eggy dish!

Smoked Salmon, Avocado, and Goat Cheese Frittata

6 eggs, beaten
2 tablespoons milk
2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill
salt and pepper
smoked salmon, chopped
1/2 avocado, chopped
handful of grape tomatoes, sliced
fistful of crumbled goat cheese

I first beat the eggs together with the milk, dill, and seasonings. Then I mixed in the salmon, avocado, and tomatoes. I heated up a skillet over medium-heat and dumped in the egg-mixture. I cooked it until it was set on the bottom, sprinkled the goat cheese on top, then popped it into a 375 degree oven for about 15 minutes until the top was set.

It was amazingly flavorful. I loved the smoked salmon and goat cheese in it.

And the dill! It really brightened the whole dish up, and the grape tomatoes were a sweet burst of juice in each bite. Lovely.

However, I did not quite like the avocado in there. Seems that I just can’t do avocadoes plain. I need it mashed with something else. Oh well, it wasn’t that bad! At least I no longer hold a biased aversion towards it.

Oh, and a little product review today. One thing I missed most while I was in Singapore was yogurt. God, does the yogurt suck there. The good ones are really really expensive, so I was seriously yogurt-deprived there. Thus I went a little yogurt-crazy when I got back, and tried all sorts of different ones. So here are the reviews on some of them:

So Delicious Coconut Milk Yogurt (Plain)

I didn’t notice these until I came back to America. Coconut, how interesting! Despite the painful price, I bought it to try.

What a waste of money. I didn’t really like it at all. The first taste was great, then it just got downright nasty. The coconut taste was just too much for me.

Wallaby Organic Pineapple Coconut Creamy Australian Style Yogurt

Now these were quite good. I don’t know what’s the difference between Australian yogurt and regular yogurt, but I loved the pineapple and coconut flavor there. It was light and refreshing, albeit a tad too sweet for me.

Also, the texture was kind of runny, not creamy enough for me.

And now, on to good ol’ Trader Joe’s Greek yogurt:

The cheapest Greek yogurt I found so far! It is also the thickest, and very very tangy. I love the price, though it maybe is a bit too tangy to eat by itself.

And the grand finale…Kristina from Stonyfields sent me these coupons!

Obviously, I was one happy trooper when I received these. I love free anything, but free Greek yogurt? Thank you so much, Kristina! I went to Whole Foods and got several different ones to try:

First, the blueberry:

I usually dislike flavored yogurts because of its over-sweetness, but I was surprised to find that the yogurt on top was just plain natural. Score!

You have to dig in to get to the blueberries on the bottom. There were actually whole pieces of berries in there! I liked it, though I would have preferred it to be less sweet.

Second, the honey:

Now this, I loved. There was a lot of honey on the bottom, but surprisingly, I didn’t find it too sweet at all. I really enjoyed the pure, clean and natural honey taste.

And then the regular plain yogurt:

Compared to the Trader Joe’s yogurt, it was a tiny bit less thick. But it was just the perfect amount of tanginess, so flavor-wise, I preferred this to Trader Joe’s. Thanks again, Kristina, for the coupons!

All right, that’s my yogurt review for today. I don’t think I can ever get enough of Greek yogurt, ever since being horribly deprived of them for six torturous months in Singapore. I wonder how I survived!

…Another reason why I love America

Question of the day: Do you live in America? If so, what do you love most about America? If you live in other countries, what do you love most about that country?

'cuz burping and slurping is mandatory and polite when it comes to good eats

God Bless America

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