Icelandic gastronomic delights

now that I'm out of the skyr zone, I'm finding that I miss certain treats I'd gotten used to having non-stop access to

such as:

Icetiramisu: it's got the soaked cookies in it, foamy mascarpone, and is made by the Icelandic cheese-board. Plus, it comes in handy individual sizes, so you don't eat too much. What's not to love?

those strange not-a-potato-chips: They're like cheetos crossed with squashed packing peanuts, so they kind of dissolve in the mouth, but the flavor is great. Nothing better on a road trip.

Toasted onions: put 'em on a hotdog, put 'em on a sandwich, or (don't tell J I was doing this!) eat them straight from the carton. They're crunchtastic.

pourable aloe-flavored yogurt: nothing's fresher-tasting for breakfast! Those chunks of aloe go so well with granola (especially that toasted coconut kind!)

fishballs: Good by themselves with pylsusinnnep, or chopped and mixed with pasta, rice, salad...

fjallasurmjolk: that "mountain" buttermilk is excellent on cereal, or straight from the carton, or in pancakes, or for making French toast (served with Vermont maple syrup, even in Iceland, of course!)

rabarbara sulta: I brought a jar of this rhubarb jam back to the States as a gift to my parents, then ended up eating most of it myself. I can't get enough of that thick spready jamflavor, all tangy and sugary.

Icepizza: not so much a food as a concept. I love that ground pepper is as common as pepperoni as a pizza topping.

and now, a confession: I don't really like skyr all that much. That much-discussed chalky texture is not appealing when coating the throat. I wish I could like it- it's cool to like it, it comes in all those exciting flavors (what IS ástaraldin? Our dictionary is too crappy to have it) it has those cute little spoons in the lid, it's low fat, and it's ubiquitous. Maybe there's a skyr gene that I'm missing.

Anyway, in spite of all the things I'm missing, it's great to be in the land of produce plenty. I've enjoyed freshly picked corn on the cob (first of the season!) blueberries, peaches, succulent tomatoes, zippy radishes, and mesclun mix peppered with nasturtium flowers. It's a nice change from being in a place where a tiny box of raspberries costs $8, and had to be flown in from the Netherlands.