What are your national delusions?

The notion of cream in tea seems to be equally awful to this Ozzian as well.....actually cream in coffee ditto...unless it's vienna coffee, which we know as black coffee with whipped cream, or more often I suspect a cream substitute, on top. You drink it through the cream. One may add a liqueur.

... and when in Vienna, you would be surprised about the coffee you typically get there:

forget wine and cheese ...on-trend now ...

tea and cheese pairings!

http://www.culturecheesemag.com/tea

So I'll be in heaven then and you'll just have to find me amongst all those 4 leaf clovers..

hehehe

Irish on Irish fight

<snicker>

Not much of a food experimenter eh.

It certainly reads as if you've been fed by some very bad cooks.

Following up on the tea tangent, I'll just slip in a short video about vietnamese iced coffee here:



mmmmmmm, good

I do all of the cooking at home, and I do experiment quite a bit actually. I did get a taste for Mexican food when I was in Texas, and we're having fajitas for dinner tonight. I did notice some Twinings tea when I was in a supermarket over there.

The iced tea was at a friend's house, and everyone else thought it was quite good, so I don't think the quality was in doubt, just the concept. When I ordered tea in a restaurant I was given a pot of hot water (not boiling so no real use) and a selection of really weird tea bags, mint flavoured, orange flavoured, all sorts of flavours, except tea flavour. I sent it back sadly, and had a coke instead.

The posh name for the blend of tea favoured over here is English Breakfast, most of our 'bog standard' teas are just a variation on that. I have mine well brewed, with just a drop of semi-skimmed milk, no sugar, and definitely not cream. The thought of it actually makes me feel sick.

We do have cream teas, but the cream refers to something you have with the cup of tea, on a scone with strawberry jam. The cream should be clotted cream, not whipped, and most counties in the South West of England stick their name in front to make it sound more authentic. Devonshire cream tea, Somerset cream tea etc.

Sometimes I have tea plain, but sometimes sweet, with a dab of either honey or stevia. Never dairy in.

When I was eight, the year we lived in New York City, my mother and father and I drove up to near the Georgian Bay in Ontario to see my father's aunt Delia. I have distinct memories of that house (that it was two storey, that the bath water was rusty, and the land around the house a little bleak that weekend. Also, the neat very old oddly shaped piano that everybody said I could have for my very own sometime later. Never happened, but a nice memory, getting to play it a little.) I have a faint picture in my mind of what my grand aunt looked like. But I remember the tea - it was in lovely cups and quite white with cream. I probably managed to not make a face and instead to sip it.

Yes....that's why I added the rider about what we know as Vienna coffee!

I made the awful faux pas of ordering scotch and soda in Scotland.

(I want to hear about that one...)

In Harvey's den, nothin' but neat would do. (nemmee)

Much as I like the taste of excellent single malts, presently gone from my life, I've no interest in excoriating my esophagus to give my tongue a temporary bath of pure spirit.

I suppose I could have learned to have very wee sips in very wee glasses.

Speaking of faux pas, I remember myself lost in some damned get together and asking the bartender for a scotch and tonic. Or was it a gin and soda. Well, something stupid. He asked me if I was sure about that and I insisted I was. I left it on the counter, he threw it out. I'm guessing I was 21 - when I had only seen booze in ads until that birthday.

Maturity is a battle.

Many years ago when I was in Belgrade, I was close friends with a staff member and his wife who were both Scottish. His two elderly aunts came over for a visit as they had not seen him since he migrated to Australia. I was invited to have dinner with the family and we had a wonderful evening. After dinner one of the aunts suggested we all have 'a wee dram' of whiskey to 'settle our stomachs'. The two of them then hot-footed it to the bar and poured tumblers full of aged single malt Scotch which they then handed out to all and sundry. While everyone else sipped the delicious nectar, the two old dears downed theirs in a few gulps, then insisted on washing the dishes while the rest of us caught up!

And I thought I could drink in those days......

You should visit Scotland again before it will become independent - otherwise they won't let you in anymore!

I love cream in everything. I make my hot chocolate with cream. I don't like that thin watery milk, but that's just me- probably because as Robert said - it's not what I grew up with and am familiar with.
If there's only skim milk available for tea - I'd rather drink it straight.
In the house I grew up in, cream was a necessity for my dad's coffee - he wouldn't drink it with anything but cream - in an emergency, he'd settle for half and half.
I like the rich, thick creaminess of cream too- maybe it's genetic.

A young friend of mine on facebook who lives in NYC was just talking about making spaghetti sauce with sweet Italian sausage and it reminded me of how much I miss the sweet Italian sausage you can get over in New York and New Jersey (lots of Italian-Americans live in Jersey).
I have a friend here who is Italian - owns a house in Rome- and he brings back the real deal from Italy and I have to say - I like the sweet Italian sausage I get in New Jersey better.
That can only be because it's what I'm used to.
But I'll tell you what he DOES make that I can't resist and it's become one of my favorite meals - belly pork fried in olive oil with tomatoes marinated in olive oil, sweet vinegar (he makes his own - and you can't buy vinegar that tastes like this) and rosemary.
I mean, I barely eat meat - but I can't resist this belly pork thing he makes.
He's under the delusion that only Italian people can cook - and I have to say - he may be right when it comes to belly pork and tomatoes.

Assuming you argue Canada has a "modern military", I would not expect Canadian citizenry to "largely think their special forces are the world's finest finest fighting forces".

I'd guess Canadian citizenry to largely think their special forces are the equal.

I am happy with good single malt neat.

Best military??? Not sure how anyone could make that claim. Or what the criteria would be. Size, number of kills, area of expertise, effectiveness, uniform, parades.. Bravery?

Canada's military is highly respected by their peers around the world. I'm sure there are areas they would be considered superior in and other areas where they are not. We have several 'special' units, one group specializes in winter. (If I say anything more, I'd have to kill you, hope you understand.). We know that our special forces are involved in all kinds of goings on, often in conjunction or within operations run by allies. Their feats are not highly publicized.
Unlike, say, the Israelis who make world headlines for ballsy vendettas. Or the Americans who have luxury of seeing their handiwork dissected by the media in the aftermath, or glorified/mythologized on the silver screen.

Not sure how anyone could make that claim either!