The Many Adventures of Will!: American Food Export Success Ratings and Picts

Hello All,

Here is a quick update on the latest food export success rating for Spring 2009, along with more Ireland pictures.

American Food Export Success Rating*:

Wasabi Almonds: 5 stars
Muddy Buddies: 5 stars
Honey Glazed Chicken: 3.5 stars, but extra points for simplicity and cheapness
Home-made Trail Mix: 5 stars
Peanut Butter Brownies: 4 stars
Sausage, Cranberry, and Applesauce Casserole: 4.5 stars
Beef Jerky: 1 star
American Pancakes (aka: not crepes): 4 stars
Ants on a Log: 2 stars
South-Western Omelettes: 4 stars
Hershey’s Chocolate: -1 star
S’mores: 4 stars

On my ‘To Do’ list:
Pulled pork BBQ (Carolina style)
Biscuits and gravy
Hush-Puppies

*Note: Initial values only. The long-term export success of these foods is not guaranteed. Star ratings based on a survey conducted on 29 May 2009 of 1 (one) American Ex-Pat/ amateur chef. Ratings subject to change without notice. This list does not include “international” foods such as fajitas, stir-fries, pastas, eggplant omelettes, etc, which are also known to be big successes in England. This list also does not include failures such as: burnt chocolate, brown/mushy bananas, not-fully-cooked burgers, not-fully-cooked eggplants, too-much-salt scrambled eggs, and perhaps the worst, olives-are-vegetables-therefore-olive-oil-is-vegetable-oil cookies...

Difficult items to find:
Maple syrup, good peanut butter, jet-puffed marshmallows, anything truly spicy (‘spicy’ salsa is just not spicy), dill (the ‘H’erb), green beans.

Food in abundance over here:
Peas, sausage, peas, lamb (yummy…), peas, cheese, and peas.

Review of last week's meals:

More Ireland Pictures:

Bogside, the heart of the Republican/Catholic quarter of London Derry.

At the bottom right corner of this picture is the remains of the house with the famous "You are now entering free Derry" sign (the white triangle next to the silver car). Wall murals were used (and still are used) by both sides for propaganda. They often depict either the "heroes" of their cause or the brutality of the "enemy." Both cases are seen here.

This pub is supposedly the former headquarters of the IRA, according to our guide. The "Real IRA" (R-IRA) is one of the groups that claimed responsibility for the murders earlier this spring. They were hoping to destabilize the peace process, but both sides condemned the murders and reiterated their commitment to peaceful resolution.

This mural shows a schoolgirl who was shot by a British soldier as she was walking to school. The soldier claimed he thought she had a bomb. Her family would not allow this picture to be painted until the IRA publically disarmed, which they did (for the most part), hence the broken gun. There are many "peace murals" like this one appearing in both Belfast and London Derry.

Old town London Derry.

This is the town council room where we had a couple of briefings. This room was almost totally destroyed by a bomb during the Troubles, so all the stained glass windows and the woodwork are new.

This makes me think of the Virginia Piedmont.

Very green.

Virginia, both 28 kilometres and an ocean away. You can tell that we are now in the Republic of Ireland (not Northern Ireland) by the fact that the road signs are printed in both English and Gaelic. School children are required to study both languages.