And in contrast to the last post...American Goodness

Not a proper food post, just wanted to share a couple of wonderful discoveries for any ex-pats missing a taste of home.
Aldi is doing some sort of "America Week"; featuring such delicacies as real Marshmallow Fluff, knock off Cinnamon Toast Crunch, proper fake maple pancake syrup, giant pretzels and best of all Libby's Canned Pumpkin.
Now there is no point going to the Aldi in Westside for the canned pumpkin as I believe I bought them out of it last night. 24 cans of pumpkiny goodness all for me.
I love canned pumpkin and it was one of my pantry staples in the States. It may not seem like that versatile a food, but for all you skeptics out there I can tell you it is one of the best healthy convenience staples to have in your pantry. Stir it into pasta sauces for an added bit of veg, mix with yogurt and pie spice mix for a delicious breakfast or snack, mix with black beans, stock and spices for a great soup, mix with milk, onions and spices for soup, mix with re-fried beans for a healthy kick, and of course there are all the Ahmazing desserts involving pumpkin. Nom, nom, nom. It is almost impossible to find in Ireland, as understandably pumpkin is not exactly a staple of the Irish diet. I can normally only find it at specialty grocers for a ridiculous mark-up. Being still on somewhat of a student budget, that just is not a purchase I can justify, but 1.49 per can, though still more expensive than the States, is a delicious and affordable taste of home. (For the record, I am not some sort of crazy hoarder, and I do not normally purchase items in bulk).
Also, for anyone who is a fan of sweetened flaked coconut, which you cannot find in Ireland at all, Aroma, also in Westside stocks like 5 lb bags of the stuff. I had never ventured out to Aroma in which is sad because it is about 30 minutes away from my house, but let me tell you in tiny Galway that feels like FOREVER! I finally went yesterday, and was pleased to find it is stocked the brim with more exotic and delicious noms. It stocks more Southern Asian cuisine than the Asian markets I am familiar with, so a lot of ingredients that I don't have the foggiest idea how to use. But, I did buy a ridiculously large bag of Bombay Spice Snack Mix for less than they sell a tiny bag in Dunnes, Rose Syrup, which though sweet is divine with sliced cucumber, soda water and gin, Lychee soda, Wholewheat roti (which to my uncultured palate are essentially the same thing as tortillas and are a fraction of the cost of tortillas) and bulk spices. Definitely worth a visit to stock up on dry ingredients.