Adios Poblano

Today I decided to test a theory - the theory of Red Sox Nation. Since moving to Perth over a month ago, we've run into only one other American. The story is rather random. Larry and I headed out for a night on the town. We had tickets to see a fashion show comprised of different Western Australian designers that was part of the Perth Fashion Festival. We had drinks in the sophisticatedly decorated Fashion Bar, saw the show and then walked to The George to have dinner. We settled in at our table and the waitress walked up and asked us if we would prefer still, sparkling or tap water. After she left the table, Larry came to the realisation that she had an American accent, or at least a non-Australian/British Caucasian accent. When she returned to the table I asked her if she was from North America. It turned out that she was from Alabama studying for her masters degree in marketing at the University of Western Australia! Since then, I've been on a hunt for more of us.

Evidently there are allegedly around 5,000 Americans living in the Perth metropolitan area. In fact, I am a member of a Meet Up group of American ex-pats in Perth, but apparently the group seems to have gone defunct. I was determined to find more and thought I had figured out how to do it. I had some errands to run in town this afternoon, so I did what any other red blooded American would do before heading out to do errands - I donned my Red Sox hat! I knew that if I was seen by another American at the very least, the resultant surprised glance of seeing a MLB garment in lieu of an AFL garment would be enough to tip me off that I might be in the presence of another State-sider. Off I went on my errands and to my chagrin, not so much as a knowing glance by a passer by. Slightly disappointed, I headed into the back garden since it was nice enough today to start the third of the Millenium series, The Girl who Kicked the Hornets' Nest, that I have been hungrily gobbling up for the past two weeks.

The absence of my fellow Americans is not the only thing missing here. No, I'm not going to talk any more about Tide, but produce, specifically the poblano pepper. Larry and I are making it a habit to attend the Subiaco Farmer's Market here in Subiaco on Saturday mornings. The Market is chock full of different produce vendors (my favourite is the organic market), bakers, spice vendors, eggs, olive oil producers, flowers and the like. In fact the last time we were there we got crapes for breakfast that were just fabulous. Here are some pictures of our last trip to the Farmer's Market.



Larry and the booth that sells crepes.



A view of the stalls.



Us with our loot, including the 2 litre jug of olive oil!

One vendor there has a farm where they raise free range pigs. These pigs are quite large and have course black fur (there were pictures). Apparently the theory is that the pigs are free to roam about and are happier so their meat tastes better - don't laugh because it does. The bacon from this place rivals any bacon you have ever bitten into in the States, hands down. On this particular day, we brought home spicy chorizo as well.

By now you may be asking how this relates to the poblano pepper. The other day I looked up a recipe to use for the chorizo. I found on Epicurious.com a recipe for chorizo, poblano and yam fajitas. It just so happened that I had sweet potatoes that I had also purchased at the Market so it was a perfect recipe for our Sunday dinner, or so I thought.

Larry has one of the most difficult tasks in the world - dealing with my obsessive compulsive disorder. We went to about 4 different produce stands and 3 grocery stores to try and find two poblano peppers for this recipe. Finally, at the last grocery store, the one closest to our house, I asked the fellow stacking apples whether they ever get poblano peppers. He looked at me as if I had just informed him that a UFO had landed in the dairy department. Apparently poblano peppers do not exist in Perth. They will be missed. I ended up using a green bell pepper (known here as capsicum) and a few jalapenos and the recipe turned out great.

Trust me, though, things are not bad here and not everything has to be compromised like my fajita recipe. We just happen to have trade offs. Instead of poblano peppers, we have Peri Peri chicken and pizzas topped with creative items such as garlic prawns, roasted red capsicum and peanut satay sauce; things never heard of in the States, at least in the Tampa metropolitan area. One of the biggest adjustments I have had to make (and am still making) is looking at everything WA does have instead of focusing on things that I perceive as missing. It is the metamorphosis from "how do these people make a salad without hearts of palm?" to "what selections from this antipasto bar will make my salad delicious?"

While I am hitting my stride in my "Lady of Leisure" status, doing things such as taking daily naps, reading lots of books (can't stand the thought of finishing the last Stieg Larsson novel) and getting to the store while everyone else is at work, I think I will do much better and not nit pick all of the small stuff once I get a job. Anyone know of a company in Perth looking to hire?