Summer foods

Summer is practically here, and that means I'm seeing more "American" labels in stores. In particular, barbecue sauce, burgers, peanuts and marshmallows are all labeled as "American-style". I am looking forward to a taste of home when we visit soon. However, many foods that we've discovered here have become staples in our house. For example, I love the local salad combinations: "Gemischter salat" is what you would get if you ordered a house salad. It is lettuce with in-season vegetables such as corn, shredded carrots and cabbage. French dressing is served on top, but it is not American French. For one, it's white, not orange -- and it is creamy with herbs, often yogurt-based.

I tend to buy fresh bakery bread twice a week here -- more than we would in the US. The bread is always filling and delicious; sometimes a dinner of simply fresh cheese, bread and salad is perfect. I've recently discovered Cenovis, which is a salty spread served with bread and butter. It is a yeast extract and was developed in nearby Rheinfelden by some Swiss brewers (so much seems to come out of the brewing process here!). The Cenovis spread can also be used in soups and sausages, but it's pretty satisfying just with bread. Oh, and it comes in toothpaste-tube packaging. Many condiments come packaged like this such as mayo, mustard and tomato paste.

Now -- ice cream, which is good anywhere you get it, of course. I've heard some people say that American ice cream can't be beat. It's true that farm ice cream in Massachusetts was one of our favorites. You can find Ben & Jerry's around Basel (which I haven't bought here), and I have to say that most often, there is not as much flavor variety here. Ice cream stands certainly aren't as plentiful, but we have found some very good spots. Ice cream is often referred to as "glace" which is a French word, but in Swiss German it has a longer 'a' sound. At the park we have tried Gasparini glace which is a local company. Even vanilla is worth raving about, but other flavors like cinnamon and lemon sorbet are favorites. Today, we went on a tour of the Gasparini factory and enjoyed samples. The boys love to learn about how things are made (especially ice cream) so it was a hit.

Bring on summer!