Expat? New Home? What Food Can You Grow, Cook And Talk About? From Grapes to Aloe Vera

Angela Lansbury

20 hrs · 

It's amazing what pleasure you can get out of making your own food.(Or letting others in the family do it.)

In a garden you can grow grapes. On a balcony you can grow aloe vera. On a windowsill you can grow herbs.

Even in a rented flat at home or overseas with a small area, you can grow food.

The USA - problem

I remember when I first arrived in the USA. Knew nobody. Didn't grow anything. Mistake.

Solution - Windowsill
Even if you don't have a balcony, you can have a windowsill. Entertain the children with watching a plant grow every day. You can grow from seeds. If you cant' afford seeds, save pips from fruit.

You could do the same with plants. Grow your own plants. Just start. Day one. Never mind how long you will be there. We moved into a flat in Singapore. Two year contract. We stayed there ten years. Grow plants. Leave plants wherever you go.

Singapore flag.

During my first six months in Singapore I was miserable. I was homesick and had no hobby and no conversation. When I met up with other expats, we simply made each other miserable by complaining. I have the answer to that.

Conversation Starter
No job, no friends? Homesick? Stuck at home alone with a partner at work whilst you wait for your work permit? Can't stop complaining? 

Here's a solution. Find something to do and talk about. Grow herbs or fruit or vegetables on a windowsill or balcony. Even talking to shop keepers, people at the bus stop, taxi drivers, it is a conversation opener, and a neutral subject. 

Aloe Vera
In Singapore we found one friend who was growing aloe vera. I admired it and she gave me a tiny one. 

We left it alone when we jetted home. I thought it would die. Instead it grew to a monster.

Strawberry Jam Story

Growing food and making bottled or frozen items can be a lifetime passion, or a rollercoaster.I don't cook now. I eat what my husband cooks and encourage him to cook from the plants I grow. I must admit that I have fond memories of when I was a child in London, England, when my mother used to make strawberry jam from garden grown strawberries. However, after a couple of years of this she was fed up with slugs in the garden, wasps on the apples. She did not want scalding hot containers in the kitchen. Sterilising. And hours of work. 

Instead we invested in buying the more expensive brands of strawberry jam which contained whole strawberries or at least bits you could see. However,strawberry making was nice whilst it lasted.

Why Wine And Beer But Not Spirits?

What happened when I left my parents home and first married in a home with a garden. Our next ventures were home made wine. Beer has to be made in big containers. Making spirits at home is banned because of the risk of ending up with poisonous methanol. Our early attempts at home made wines from kits were not successful. However, growing our own grapes was good.

Eating Garden Grapes

Even if you don't eat the grapes the leaves are attractive. 

The first couple of years in England we grew grapes which were too small to eat. When the vines matured we made our first batch of a bottle and a half of so so wine. 

The following year we could not be bothered and just ate the grapes. Small but good. Dual purpose grapes, eating or making wine.

About the Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker. See my other posts on the miniature orange tree and making marmalade
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Wine Bottle Accidents - Why You Need Wine Carriers And Wine Suitcases

My First Wine Bottle Disaster
My first wine bottle disaster was with a bottle of spirits which broke and leaked. My clothes smelled of spirits and were stained. The moral of the story is, always encase bottles in something leak-proof. Always encase clothes in something leakproof.

If I carry long boots in a suitcase, I put a bottle inside a boot. Those were the days when you could only bring into the UK one bottle of wine and one of spirits per person. But what if you have more than one bottle?

When you order bottles of wine from a company on line, they may deliver bottles in protection which, if cut apart carefully and stored, can be re-used.

Broken Bottles
Our worst experience was at an airport. Our red wine bottles got banged. They broke. Two red fountains of wine poured, like taps, out of each side. We raced about like ninnies, with towels, then paper towels from toilets, mopping up. Bits of glass, carried gingerly, were deposited into nearby bins.

Nobody helped. But nobody hindered. Nobody else noticed nor cared.

Luckily most of my clothes are wine-coloured. I avoid wearing white. I buy and drink white wine in preference to red.

There's a good reason for drinking champagne at weddings. The bride, groom and guests should do so, out of consideration for the bride's expensive white dress.

Wine Suitcases
If you are carrying a lot of wines, including expensive wines, you won't want bottles in plastic supermarket bags, banging around, getting left behind and muddled up with other people's bags.

What Could Go Wrong?
You could forget your duty free bag and leave it behind on the plane - especially if your coat is moved to a different overhead locker.

The suitcase could be crushed or jolted. The banging could break the glass. The shaking could make the bubbles explode the cork out of the bottle. The changing pressure could make the cork leak.

Bottles do leak. I've seen bottles leak in wine fridges, all down the other bottles, making a mess, spoiling labels. You don't want to lose precious wine, spoiling the look of a bottle which could have been given to somebody as a birthday present.

Along comes the magic of a specially designed and removal interior for a special size suitcase.

One Bottle Picnic Carrier
You can buy devices carrying one bottle plus a corkscrew and sometimes wine or Champagne glasses from:
Department stores
Camping shops
Wine Shops
Wine Museum shops
Vineyard and tour shops.

Photos by Angela Lansbury. Copyright.

On Amazon I found a similar one:

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Wine Travel Case with Two Glasses - Wine Bottle & Stemware Tote Bag by WineUltra.com

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Available from these sellers.

New (1) from £161.64 + £4.48 shipping.

At £165 to carry one bottle, plus £4.48 shipping !

A suitcase costing £300+ carrying six or more bottles sounds like a bargain.

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However, If found a similar item on ebay for £4.99 plus postage of £3.99. A Lazenne 12 bottle carrier. 
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A single bottle wooden presentation pack containing a bottle opener from German on ebay for bids at under £5 but £16 postage. 
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A suitcase for 6 bottles at £29.30 with free post and packing.
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Magic search words include:
 Wine travel protector.
Picnic backpack
Picknick backpack

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From Amazon: An anti shock glass bottle packaging bag by Mono Deal, (I inserted space against spell checker) cost about £10 but not re-usable, meaning, according to the reviewers, that you could not deflate them, but you can re-use them inflated.

Users struggled to find the inflation slot. Some said the holder would only fit a wine bottle, not a larger or odd shaped gin bottle.

You can also use them for transporting bottles of oil or vinegar.

You can buy 2, 3 or 4 pack wine bottle holders, like a double plastic sock for around £10.
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From John Lewis, similar to mine, but mine had space for one bottle, insulated with interior silver colour lining, with glasses the other side, padded but not so well insulated - though you could remove the glasses and replace them with a bottle.

John Lewis Croft Collection version for two bottles about £20. They deliver as far away as Australia and all over the world.

Wine suitcases
You can buy a wine carrying suitcase to keep wines cool and protected from breakage, loss and theft.
I looked at a small one at a wine show. I thought, that's small enough to carry home. Small enough to hide until the next birthday or Christmas. Then I heard the price.

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For postage, this offer of packaging:
https://www.ukpackaging.com/bottle-postal-boxes-pulp-bottle-pack-single-box-of-5
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A wine suitcases costs about £300 or more, depending on the size of case and number of bottles. The interior compartments can be removed.

You can see them at wine shows and events. They are used by people in the wine business and are presumably a business expense.

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The brand names for the one bottle skins include:
Wineskin;
Wine Wings.
USEFUL WEBSITES
https://vingardevalise.com
www.johnlewis.com
www.winerist.com
www.winecruzer.com
www.carpe-travel.com
https://www.ukpackaging.com
www.wineultra.com
www.amazon.com
www.ebay.com
https://lazenne.com/collections/wine-check-luggage-combos (Free wine skin added to your order if I signed up  - and ordered within 7 days.)

Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker. Please bookmark and share links to your favourite posts.

Free wine tasting at Majestic

On the corner of the road leading to the wonderfully art deco Ruislip Lido lakeside restaurant selling cheap meals and drinks is a branch of Majestic where you can try tasting some new wines and spirits for free.

Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker.

What to bring back from Singapore, or take to Singapore

Bring Back From Singapore

Perforated Kitchen Paper Roll
In Singapore you can buy kitchen roll which has perforations making a strip half the size of the one you buy in the UK and elsewhere. Your half size sheet is handy for a quick small wipe without using a whole piece.

You can also tear off three strips, or rather one and a half size for a larger piece, for a heavier job, or to line a cutlery drawer, under-sink cupboard, bathroom cupboard or underwear drawer.

Plastic Bag
Supermarkets in the UK now charge 5p for small plastic bags, but small plastic bags are free in supermarkets in Singapore.

Sweep Hand Clocks

Rice Cookers - all sizes

Tiger Balm from Singapore to London - but you can buy it in London.

Durian cakes. (Durian is a fruit which tastes like a cross between banana and chestnut. On its own it has a strong pong, like Camembert. But mixed in with ice cream or cakes the flavour is delicious. Taking drain onto the Singapore trains is forbidden. You will see the signs with durian crossed out.

You can find durian in restaurants in London but it's rare and possibly seasonal.)

I used to take clothes from the UK to Singapore because I could not find anything in my size. The tricks are:
Buy two sizes larger than the label says,
stick to wrap around clothes,
 look for garments with seams you can unpick
go for velcro fastening in shoes and clothes
find clothes catering Indians or from Mustafas's department store in Little India or shops run by people with Indian or Western names.

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Take To Singapore

Wines and Spirits
Rare or expensive wines and spirits and items on offer at Duty Free.

Chocolates
Speciality chocolates on offer.

Thick cut marmalade.


Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer,