Looks like four more years. Oh well.

I woke up this morning to realise that it seems to be another very close election, but leaning towards Bush. I *was* invited by Democrats Abroad Sweden to an election night party, but due to a massive headache, I opted for the bed instead. As a liberal political activist, I’m a firm subscriber to the motto “Anyone but Bush”, so clearly, I’m fairly disappointed. Anyway. Liberal might confuse some of you, and I do realise that that word has some weird connotations in different parts of the world. My party is kind of like a more progressive version of the US democrats, if that helps. (Or not.)

It’d be appropriate, this day, to talk about my favourite US food. I used to live in the US – I was an exchange student back in high school in Long Beach, California, and I’ve been back to visit (or to thaw, as my friend Rebecca puts it) many times. My host family was not very big on homecooking. At all. So, most of what we ate came out of boxes, cans, or the freezer. (Or the drive-through.) I’m not complaining, this was certainly different from what I was used to, and most of all, it introduced me to the food of Gods. Yes, I am talking about Kraft Macaroni & Cheese. Yum. I actually start to salivate just thinking about it’s amazing golden creamy goodness.

This is possibly my favourite thing in the world. (Along with, well, a few others. I have a major commitment problem.) I never tire of it. Not that I have much of a chance to do so – it’s not sold in Sweden. And that is plainly upsetting. Thankfully, I have some very dear friends (food fairies?) that try their best to keep my cupboards stocked. Some only send the cheese packets, which is smart – it’s cheap to send, and I can buy my own macaroni. It’s not QUITE as good though, and an actual package is a real prize for me.

So, when I got back from Prague, I had a package slip waiting, telling me that I had a package that was too big to fit into the mail slot of my door. I went down to the mail place (I would say the post office, but the sad truth is that Swedish Mail had a major reorganization a few years ago, and we don’t HAVE any post offices anymore. Or at least, we have very, very few. Instead, they use places like grocery stores or tobaccoists to handle mail. In my case, it means the local little corner store.) to get it – happily wondering who it could be from. The woman went out into the back room, and came back shaking my package. I knew immediately. Food. Glorious food. Nothing else makes that sound. And right I was – THREE big boxes of wonderful mac&cheese! The sender was a dear friend from Virginia, Carey, who I met through makeupalley.com and the joys of makeup swapping. She is a real saint – even sending me recipe clippings.

And speaking of recipes. I realise that there are plenty of recipes out there for making your own mac&cheese. (Or crack&cheese, as some aptly put it. It is addictive.) Thing is, we don’t have orange cheese. At all. Hundreds of cheese, but nothing like the US plasticky orange substance that seems to be such an important ingredient in things like this, and to go with nachos, too. However, if you have a recipe for yummy macaroni and cheese – send it my way! I’ll try anything. (Once.)