Trip to England
My first trip to Europe ended in England. I promised some of my friends (whom I met in Norway) that I’d visit them before I flew back home. First I visited a friend in Germany. Then I visited my friend, Matt, in Bristol, England as my last trip before I flew home. He was living in a flat with 7 roommates–6 of whom were girls. Talk about an ideal trip for a solo female traveler.
They were all super lovely and outgoing. In the few days I was there I got to know them from playing monopoly and going clubbing. Originally they wanted to treat me to a roast; some traditional English dinner, but time ran out. Instead, I ended up making them one of my favorite dishes: sweet potato casserole.
If you didn’t know, Europeans view American as unhealthy. Always putting insane amounts of sugar in things to make them super sweet. So when I explained to them what I was making they thought it was outrageous, but confirmed the stereotype.
Making the Dish
If you’re not familiar with sweet potato casserole, it consists of 4 primary ingredients: sweet potatoes, butter, brown sugar, and marshmallows. The sweet potatoes are boiled, then mashed. Then you combine the mashed sweet potatoes with the butter and brown sugar in a casserole dish, top with marshmallows, and bake until the marshmallows are golden. It’s one of my favorite dishes. Sweet? Absolutely. That’s what makes it so good.
Anyways, Matt heard me talk about this dish numerous times while we were in Norway. There were so many times I planned to make it, but I never did. However, England was the last place I was traveling to, and therefore, my last chance to make it for my European friends.
We walked to the market to get the ingredients, then started making it. The kitchen was a bit of a mess, since everyone was moving back into the flat for the school year, but otherwise looked like an average kitchen. Did you know that the British keep their laundry machines in their kitchen, near the sink? It was very odd to me. His friend even hung out in the kitchen with us while her clothes were in the wash.
Enjoying the casserole?
Once I finished the casserole, I scooped up a big piece for me and a big piece for Matt. I thought it was delicious and it turned out great. Matt also said it was “nice” but I could see in his face that he was struggling. After all, I told him this wasn’t a dessert, but rather a side dish. His friend who was waiting for her laundry was the next to try it. Again, she said it was “nice” but she couldn’t eat more than a spoonful or two. At first I thought they were lying and only saying it was “nice” to be polite.
Turns out it was sweet… way too sweet for their British taste buds. In Norway my German friends were big fans of S’mores, so maybe they could have handled the Sweet potato casserole, but my British friends were no match. After all, they do eat beans for breakfast.
Most, maybe all, of his flat mates tried the sweet potato casserole, but nobody could finish more than two bites out of fear it would upset their stomach. I on the other hand, ate half the casserole. It wasn’t anything out of the ordinary, but I hadn’t planned on eating that much. It was then that I realized how strong the American stomach was. My British friends couldn’t finish two bites of something I could eat an entire pan of.
Nowadays, after spending two summers in Europe, I struggle to eat many of the American dishes I once loved. For example, most bread is too sweet and I no longer enjoy the frosting on cake. But hopefully I never see the day where I can no longer enjoy sweet potato casserole.
If you enjoyed this story about my time in Europe, feel free to check out my other stories about my time in Europe.
