Food shock!!

Over the past month that I have been home, I have eaten Peruvian, Japanese, Chinese, Vietnamese, tons of Mexican food, Thai, Vegan, California Fresh, Italian, seafood, Spanish, Indian, Chicago pizza and Middle Eastern.

I love the variety of food I can get here in the Bay Area.  The ability to either go eat good, authentic food from such a variety of cultures, OR being able to buy the ingredients to make these different food items is amazing.  I've returned to my usual problem of having too many options.  When my Mom asks me where I want to eat and she starts listing off tons of places, there are just too many, so I usually let her decide.  As much as I really like Peruvian food, the usual options for eating were Peruvian, Peruvian Chinese, or sandwiches and salads.  All tasty, but not the same as being home.

Apart from getting over the wealth of food options, another thing I'm trying to figure out is bread.  There is so much bread here.  In my family especially.  We grew up with bread and I'd forgotten how much I love it.  I could eat different varieties of bread all day long without anything else.  In Peru, bread was bought for sandwiches for Carlos, and for making aji de gallina.  We would eat it at his mom's house for tea, but not much more than that.  Arriving home to find biscuits and muffins and quick breads and cookies (I consider this like bread), and SOURDOUGH bread (my personal fav), and thick wheat bread, and garlic bread, and cheese bread and, the list just goes on and on, is kinda killer.  I guess maybe instead of being too breaded out, its being too carb'd out.

I hate to admit it, but I am too carb'd out here.  I never thought I would be shocked by things found at my house.  Its time to ease back into the bread.  Gotta work out more to eat more carbs.  YUM

Another food shocker, is the variety of fresh stuff I can get here. I know that this is rather particular to California and the west coast..but its part of why we're the best coast! :-D

The stone fruit season is opening and thinking about the last time I had a stone fruit (fresh), I cannot remember.  I think it was for Carlos' birthday in 2010.  and now,  I just had one in 2012!!  I cannot believe I went for two years without eating a fresh stone fruit.  On the other hand.  The tropical fruit selection is disastrous.  I have tried getting mangos (they come from Mexico) and they are not yummy!  And I will not be having fresh passionfruit juice until....I go back to Peru, or take a trip to Hawaii :(  Why can't there be a place that has ALL of this wondrous fruit available???  and have it be good?

Its a double edged sword, having all this freshness around.  The last weekend when I went to the farmer's market, I was quite overwhelmed by all the options, but maybe by all the people as well.  All the people going for all the fresh food.

I guess for someone who likes food as much as I do, it shouldn't be a shocker that the change in edibles is shocking.  I always expect to find food  interesting when I go into foreign countries, I always forget that living away from home for a while makes me susceptible to reverse culture shock, including food.  I think the cure is just to keep eating.