Avoidance and Uno Per Tutto

Now that my exchange is careening to a rapid end (I leave in 10 days), this poor blog has become neglected. I think I've been avoiding it because I seriously don't have a clue what to write. I've been feeling like I should reflect on my "esperienza" and not just jot down silly information on mozzarella. No words or food stories or witty anecdote could summarize these last few months, giving me two options: quit this blog altogether or write that post about "The Bimby" I've been meaning to write for months.

Well, I say the show must go on! Get out the confetti and fireworks because this blog will not end with my exchange. When I get home (in 10 short days), my blog can be one of the many things I take from this experience. I'm sure I'll find plenty of inspiration in the world of real life even if there are fewer pizzas and more college applications. Let's get this show on the road then.

The upper-middle class Italian kitchen would not be the same without the addition of a little friend, named "The Bimby." I haven't really seen anything like it before. It's most comparable to the Kitchen Aid Mixer in the States. However, I doubt the market for it would exist in the US because the D.I.Y. American mentality would get in the way of how this contraption makes everything so ridiculously easy. It chops, stirs, weighs, cooks, steams, kneads, swirls, freezes, times, and does about anything else you can think of. It might be easier if I made a list of things it doesn't do.... Here's one, it doesn't magically make my exchange time longer even if it is called "il robot della cucina."

According to the Bimby's website, the Bimby is a German product, invented in the 70s by two fellows who previously spent their time making carpets and vacuum cleaners. Even though I have never seen them anywhere else in the world, they are claimed to be distributed throughout the USA, Canada, Europe, and China, where the Bimby is more commonly known as the "Thermomix." (Leave it to the English speakers to give the Bimby a robo-name when the word "bimby" most closely resembles the Italian word "bimbo," meaning baby.)

Despite the number of distribution locations, the Bimby is not an easy thing to get your hands on. Basically, you have to know someone who knows someone who is hosting a Bimby party or who will help you host one. Then, you can finally buy it, but the price still remains a bit of a mystery. All the websites I've checked have kept it a secret, but my host mom did let it slip, that our family paid around a thousand euros for it. Unfortunately, you really do pay for all that amazingness.

When I leave my host family, I will also have to leave behind my little Bimby. As much as I will miss the mindless manner of cooking, my arms have started getting a little flabby from the lack of mixing and measuring. I will just have to frame the picture I have of my bimbo buddy and await the return of my biceps.

Cravings...

Before I had been separated from my home for a significant amount of time, I never realized how important comfort food was to me. When I thought of traditional comfort food, it conjured images of cheddary mac n’ cheese, fluffy, buttery mashed potatoes, or a fat piece of layered chocolate cake. Because those types of foods have never played a big role in my diet or comfort for that matter, it didn’t really cross my mind that I would be craving foods like I am now. Although I still don’t miss those American mashers, it’s disgraceful to think about what I would do right now for a grilled veggie burrito or a salad roll with extra peanut sauce. In fact, I’ve been planning my first meal home for quite sometime, but unfortunately, my arrival time was postponed a few hours, and those great plans for Laughing Planet and Sweet Basil have gone out the window, which brings us the moral of our story. I was wondering if any of my five, oh-so-dedicated followers knew of a Mexican and/or Thai restaurant in Portland open late on Fridays (I’m thinkin’ I could make it if they’re open until midnight). If not, I’m sure could get my mommy to pick some up before she comes to the airport, but I think I’ll be wanting the stuff right out of the oven.