When I first moved here, American foods were virtually non-existent. With time, one by one, my grocery store began to carry a few life support items, to the annoyance of the general population but to the elation of one bi-cultural shopper.

The first life raft? Cheddar cheese! I'll never forget the day the lady in the milk section pulled me aside... "I got this in just for you... but people are in a stir over it! They say we have enough good cheese in Switzerland without importing gross cheese like this. But I'm going to keep it in stock for you!"

We ate so much of it my kids don't like it anymore. But not to fear, the next item was even better... oreos. Oh! Just saying the word evokes a deep feeling of reverence. The Russian often comes home with four or five boxes for me (they're as expensive as gold!), and we eat them dunked in milk (the kids would tell you that I do most of the eating. hmmm).

And then there was the day that rice crispies appeared on the shelves. But alas...no marshmallows. My friends, I have waited for seventeen years to see marshmallows in the stores. I have brought them back smashed in my suitcase from the US, I have ordered them online for ten dollars a bag, I have begged family and friends to ship them to me, but this summer... oh this summer! I walked into my grocery store only to behold a gigantic pile of marshmallows on display. I nearly cried. Really!



And today... we are having rice crispie treats just like they used to make 'em for potluck dinners and birthday parties; they'd always be placed alongside the jell-o moulds and marshmallow salad (who ever named that a salad, anyway?).



If any of my European friends want the recipe for this, do let me know! You can get everything you need at Migros. yay!