It´s not easy being a 3X guy living in a medium (and here I´m talking a European medium) world. A sardine never knew the kind of crowded a guy like me has experienced in airplane seats made for children. Not even the miserable food on a plane can compare.

Hotels? Forget it. Sure, a really good hotel can be fine if you are on vacation. You´re run of the mill Norwegian hotel is simply a place to (try to) sleep for as few hours as possible before the next day´s appointments start.

For me traveling, as bad as it always was, got way worse after 9/11. It is of course totally ridiculous having grown-ups removing rings, necklaces, belts, shoes and god knows what else, at airports around the globe. There are lots of ways to deal with terrorism without humiliating and angering large parts of the human race.

My biggest problem with traveling after 9/11 is the 100 ml of liquid rule. All of a sudden toothpaste and perfume are a threat to mankind. But worse is my not being able to bring my Tupperware thermos-thingy filled with delicious, home-brewed iced tea, onboard.

Europe: A 3^rd World Country

Yeah, I know, not a country. But if the last few holdouts (including our dear-me-oh-no-not-us N*****) get it together, then Europe will be as much a country as the US. I love Europe. I love Norway. I´ve chosen to live here, but there a few issues ...

The problem here is ice. As in ice used in iced tea, the gods´ greatest fluid gift next to really good chardonnay. Europeans don´t do ice. Even in Scandinavia (you know, the near the Arctic Circle region Scandinavia) they have no understanding of the concept called ice. If I ask for a large glass (hand signals included) – full (here with the emphasis on full) – of ice, what I get is either no ice or a tiny little glass with tops a couple of ice cubes.

The ”We have no ice” routine is the usual answer, but even with my best read-my-lips explanation, I just can´t get a decent glass full of ice to satisfy my drug-like craving for iced tea.

If you are not an iced tea drinker you´ve probably already started your search for the sports pages, but for those of you who understand iced tea, you know that life on the road can really suck.

I was recently in Italy, titleholder of Planet Earth´s best cuisine. Sure I love barbecue, and Mexican food, equally as much as Italian food. But no nation anywhere has such culinary completeness (is that a word?) as Italy. France? Forget about it. They´ve got some pretty good food, and they love their sauces, but French food can´t really hold a candle to the best the Italians can conjure up.

But Italy can´t ”do” ice any better than any other European subdivision. I am an expert on iced tea. I make it fresh every single day I am in a civilized nation or in my own home. I know every secret the world of iced tea holds. I am like the Yoda of iced tea. But the best iced tea I managed to make on my recent trip to Rome, tasted like not very cold dishwater – after the dishes were done.

I can´t give up traveling. There is too much good food out there to stop me. And as soon as I´ve found the secret code word to flying business and living in hotel rooms with icemakers, everything´s going to be just fine. In the meantime I´ll be eating Italian.

Pappa al pomodoro

This is a Tuscan tomato and bread (yes, bread) soup. A large percentage of the best food I know of comes from people having litte money, few (but extremely good) ingredients, and a burning desire to eat great food. This is a perfect example.

If you don´t have ripe tomatoes you should make something else.

800 g ripe tomatoes, blanched and peeled, then chopped (remove the seeds)
2/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 large red onion, chopped
1 medium yellow onion, chopped
8 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 glass of dry white wine
a handfull of chopped fresh basil
1 ts dried oregano
2 cups cold water
2 cups of day old white bread (not the crust), in 2 cm cubes
sea salt and freshly-ground black pepper
1,5 dl grated Parmesan (real Parmesan, the one called Parmigiano-Reggiano)

1. Warm up half of the oil in an pan. Fry the red onion, onion and garlic on low heat til soft.
2. Add the white wine and bring to a boil. Let the wine cook in for 5 minutes.
3. Add the tomatoes, half of the basil, oregano and water and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 20 minutes
4. Add the bread to the soup and simmer for 15 minutes more. Check for salt and pepper and add the rest of the basil.
5. Simmer for 5 more minutes. Serve the soup in bowls topped with good olive oil and Parmesan.

Thank you and good evening.

craig@craig.no