Sponsor your child (another food post, but not really!)

 This is a post for our upcoming visitors (please read to the end). Don't be surprised when you see me. I have lost some weight - enough that the doctor was worried (only because it happened without an enormous struggle) and has ordered me not to lose any more. That isn't so easy, though, because I am moving around all the time and because cooking here can be such a pain. So here's what you can do to help:

For $1 a day - several glasses of Swiss whole milk, preferably chocolate milk made with delicious Caotina powder.


For $2 a day - an "American favorites" brand chocolate muffin. I think it's funny that muffins are labelled as an American favorite. It's the Swiss paying $2-$4 each!

For $3 a day - we can save up and get a pigeon-sized Güggeli chicken and make it last the week. We can only get it on Wednesday. There are big signs outside the train station on Wednesday reading "Today is Güggeli day!" in case anyone forgets.  (At the grocery store we are reminded that Friday is for Fajitas, but they do not sell the right stuff to make fajitas.)

For $4 a day - you can supply bread or crackers, fruit, and my favorite cheese ever, San Felicien from Migros. OR I will find whatever market is open that day and buy awesome fig nut bread. I can eat the whole loaf myself, easily, spread thickly with Floralp butter. If you want to try it we have to get there early enough to buy two.

For $5 a day - a Sprüngli mini quiche lorraine - I love them! - but only available at the least convenient Sprünglis, and only early in the day.

For $10 a day - a Sprüngli mini quiche lorraine, because L will eat the first one. She loves them, too!



Any contribution toward chocolate, especially: the Sprüngli ones with an orange peel on top, Läderach hazelnut bijoux, and Peclard hot chocolate.  (Or a Tourist bar from the grocery store.)

Also accepting all contributions toward a free for all at the Saturday Oerlikon market: rhubarb, peas, radishes (with bread, butter, and salt), asparagus, Italian tomatoes, Monk's beard!, fig nut bread, strawberries, and florentines. Maybe some lake trout.

Obviously, I am joking about wanting sponsors. I started this post because I thought I could make a couple of serious requests, since everyone has been asking what we would like from the US.  Also, I wanted to mention a couple of things people might want to leave room for to bring home for themselves.  The post just got out of hand, and I started mentioning all sorts of things, thinking you might like to try them while you're here. Despite doctor's orders I've hardly eaten today, and I have food on my mind!

Please bring:
- Duncan Hines brownie mix
- McCormack taco seasoning packet (just one or two, since we are leaving soon)
- a bag or two of dried fruits or nuts for hiking snacks (for when we are hiking together.) There is excellent dried fruit here you might want to try, but it is pretty expensive compared to Trader Joe's.
- Some lemon and/or chocolate peppermint Luna bars for the kids. That is their favorite hiking snack and they miss them.
- s'mores materials (special request from S)

Consider bringing home (besides the obvious stuff you've already thought of):
- Caotina hot chocolate/chocolate milk mix (it's not life changing, but it's really good, and it's one of those things you see everywhere here.) It was the main inspiration for this post and we'll be bringing home all we can carry.
- Throat pastilles. They can be expensive, but if you use them for sore throats anyway, why not get some here? Lots of the tins are cute and big enough to be useful. Also, you can get cool flavors here.
- Sanddorn pulp or honey. I don't know what you would do with the sanddorn other than put it in smoothies, yogurt, or oatmeal, but sanddorns (sea buckthorns) are popular so it might be fun to try. They are full of vitamin C! There are lots of special honeys here with distinct tastes: pine forest, oak forest, mountain, and regional. R and I had the best honey we've ever tasted when we were in Vals (not the pine honey.)  It was local.
- wine or schnapps. Both are excellent and not exported much.
- European toiletries and medications
- If you are shopping for a kid there are playmobil sets which are less expensive here (some aren't!) and awesome sets that aren't available at all in the US. Another good idea for kids is Barbapapa items.
- If you want a really nice and fun souvenir, Atelier Fischer makes a beautiful (expensive!) wooden Swiss themed memory game set. Pictures include: the matterhorn, the bridges in Luzern, a marmot, Toblerone, an alphorn, and so on.