My New Love for... Food?

As we all know, I love food. Over the past few months, I've had to adapt to a different, yet similar culture to home, including the Irish cuisine. While it seems like January 13th and our arrival in Dublin was only yesterday, we've been living, studying and working for nearly 3 1/2 months in this foreign country we have all begun to call home.

Anyway, back to the food part. Here's a list of just a few of my favorite Irish (or maybe not so Irish) foods that I've grown to love over the past few months:

Cadbury Chocolate


While Abby tried to convince me that Galaxy was the best European chocolate, I'd have to say I beg to differ. This rich, creamy chocolate bar is incredible, and I would highly recommend it to anyone. They also make some really good hot chocolate powder, which is perfect when mixed with milk. Also, I'd say before studying abroad, I was definitely more of a vanilla fan. That's changed!


Biscuits

Popular for drinking with tea, the McVitie's Lights are my absolute favorite. They remind me of the animal crackers Mom also buys, and that I continuously snack on at school. Shaped almost like a cookie, they're a little better for you too!


Nutella


Before studying abroad, I'd probably tried nutella once or twice. Abby came home from camp one summer in love with the stuff, and I never really understood why, until now. It's perfect on brown bread toast, biscuits and bananas, among other things. While in Italy and France, I began to realize just how popular it is in Europe. Nutella flavored gelato and banana and nutella crepes: what's not to love? The picture above is just the collection of jars I've accumulated over the last few months.


Green Tea

After drinking green tea while on spring break, I decided to buy a box. I've never been a huge Iced Tea fan, but I have to say I really like drinking an occasional cup of hot tea, especially if it's green tea!


Tomatoes


This Jersey girl finally loves tomatoes (Nana will be so proud when she reads this!). It took some convincing over the years, but after spending a few days in Italy, I finally have acquired a taste for them. Fresh mozzarella and sliced tomato is SO GOOD! (The picture above is a sandwich I had while in Rome).

I'd also add brown bread and salt & vinegar chips (the American and Irish versions) to the list as well.

Maybe I should blame studying abroad, being away from home and having to adapt to something new for my new found love of these foods. Or maybe it just took adopting the "I'll try it once" attitude. Either way, I'm pretty thankful and am happy to say I've expanded my love for food.