Baking in Switzerland: Carrot Zucchini Muffins

I love baking - it's in my genes. My mother is a fabulous baker, known for her cookies. My brother makes his own bread from scratch. My sister and I are always plying our partners and co-workers with baked goods. We can't help ourselves! At least if we share, we aren't stuck eating two dozen cookies ourselves, right?

Two weeks ago I made a batch of Martha Stewart's Healthy Morning Muffins. Martha is my go-to for simple, delicious recipes. She never lets me down, and this was no exception. These muffins are packed with banana, carrots and raisins, low in fat and super tasty.

As always, I made a few adjustments. I only had two carrots, so I substituted 1/2 of the carrots for shredded zucchini, making them a bit more like zucchini bread. Add a smear of Swiss butter.... yum. 

Matt loved them so much, I made them again this week for his breakfasts.

English Language and American TV in Switzerland

Despite our best intentions (or no good intentions at all...), Matt and I are TV addicts. We have a sadly long list of shows we watch religiously from the comfort of our couch each evening, and we rely heavily on our DVR to ensure we catch them. Our favorites include (among many others) the Amazing Race, Modern Family, New Girl, How I Met Your Mother, House of Cards, Orange is the New Black, and, of course, Downton Abbey.

We are eternally grateful to 21st century technology that allows us to feed our addiction to American TV, despite being far, far away. Here's how we ensure we never miss a beat.... er, episode.

Slingbox Magic

This is the Slingbox projected on our TV screen. The cable remote
shows up on the computer screen (controlled with the mouse). American
commercials are torture. Here's all the cool stuff YOU CAN'T HAVE.

A Slingbox is a fancy device that connects to a cable box and sends the cable signal through the internet. The user/owner of the Slingbox can then access the cable signal remotely through and app or the Slingbox website and watch the same cable signal on a smart phone, tablet or computer. We bought a Slingbox before moving and connected it to an extra cable box at my parents' house.  Now, when we want to watch American cable television, we connect our laptop to our TV and pull up the Slingbox website. Once we're logged in, we control the American cable just as if we were in the same room as the cable box. Through Slingbox, we can access live television, DVR and On Demand programming. 

Finding (Decent) Mexican Food in Switzerland

There are Mexican restaurants in Switzerland. But, most of them are TERRIBLE. And terribly expensive. We once spent 100 chf at a "Mexican" restaurant in Winterthur for packaged guacamole, terrible quesadillas soaked in salad dressing (???) and salsa with absolutely no heat. At. All. The margaritas and chips were ok, so there was that.

That's typical for a Mexican restaurant in Switzerland. And perhaps it is unsurprising, given the lack of proximity to Mexico and their general dislike of very spicy foods.

Since arriving in Zurich, we've been on a hunt for good Mexican food. We stumbled upon a Mexican grocery in central Zurich during our first visit, before the official move. El Maiz has all the critical ingredients for making Mexican at home.... although, like everything else, it's pricey. Over 5chf each for black beans, chipotle in adobe and decent salsa. There are basic ingredients for Mexican food at the regular grocery stores, but nothing is quite the same and everything is expensive. I once calculated the cost of making tacos at home and it was well over 35 chf per meal.

Also, for the record, there's only ONE kind of cheddar available at the grocery.  In the land of cheese. What is wrong with the Swiss?

Americans, you have it made and you don't even know it.

Keeping House in Uster

There are a million lifestyle changes that come with an international move. We tried to anticipate and did our best to research and prepare before the move. Despite our best intentions, more often than not, we find ourselves in the middle of an unanticipated new challenge and we wing it. Or we text our (very few) Swiss friends begging for answers. 

Here are two of the housekeeping challenges that we've mastered here in Switzerland.

Laundry
As I've mentioned before, it is very common for apartment buildings to have a shared washer and dryer. Residents are assigned a washing day, which is the only day they can use the machines. Our temporary flat has access to two washers (no dryers) shared among eight flats. Instead of an assigned day, there is a sign-up sheet that allows us to pick our own day. We were given a magnetic wand with our flat keys and told to visit one of our neighbors to load money on the wand for the washer.

Sleachmour's International House Hunt

Currently, Matt and I are living in a temporary flat provided by his employer. This week we began the process of finding our more permanent home, with the aid of a relocation company. Thank goodness we have their help, because finding a home here is complicated and challenging.

A bit of Swiss housing information for context. Housing is expensive across Switzerland, with the highest prices in city centers, like Zurich, becoming more reasonable as you move further into the suburbs and countryside. Most people own or rent apartments or flats. Freestanding houses are very expensive... well over a million dollars purchase price for the cheapest we've seen advertised in the windows of local realty offices. For our needs, the best option is to rent a flat, and we've decided to do go a little ways outside of Zurich. Within our budget, we could get a teeny-tiny one bedroom in Zurich or a two-three bedroom with twice the space 20 minutes outside of the city. Additionally, the further we are from Zurich, the more green space there will be for Henry.

I Love British Television

Of the 175+ television stations offered through our Swiss cable provider, we (for obvious reasons) gravitate to about a dozen English language channels (several of which are close captioned in German). These include BBC One, Two, Three and Four and ITV. We are really enjoying both the high and low brow shows offered on these stations. The Brits know how to do TV. Here are two of our favorites:

Dinner Date
Dinner Date gives one lucky guy the opportunity to go on a blind date with three women who cook a romantic meal for him in their home. He then chooses one lucky lady to take out on a dinner date she didn't have to cook.

We Made Tacos!

A warning I heard quite frequently from expats living in Europe was that much of the continent lacked decent Mexican-American/Tex Mex food and the ingredients to make them. Tacos are a staple of our regular meal rotation in the US, so from my first visit to Zurich, I was on the hunt. I found that both our local supermarkets in Uster, Coop and Migros, stock a small, but adequate selection of items including taco seasoning, soft and hard shells, refried beans, salsa and tortilla chips. I picked up a bag (yes, bag) of ground beef, a block of cheddar cheese (after searching the hundreds of cheeses for the one kind of cheddar available!) and sauer halbrahm, which my research suggested was the closest thing to sour cream. I also grabbed sauermilch, out of curiosity.

The Move to Zurich!

Henry in the back seat, enjoying a rawhide.

Since Henry (our dog) would be flying in a crate with the luggage, we wanted to take one, direct flight to Zurich. Unsurprisingly, that's not an option from Columbus, so we booked a flight out of Chicago, rented a car to drive the six hours there and stayed one night in a hotel so that we could all rest a bit between legs of the journey.

The drive went very well. It was easily the longest car ride Henry has ever experienced, and he handled it well until the last 20 minutes, or so, when he began to pace and whine.

After a leisurely breakfast at the hotel, we met up with my brother, Joe, for a late lunch and a trip to the airport. Thank god he went with us to wrangle luggage and Henry as we dropped off the rental and checked in everything.

The process of checking in Henry for the flight was a bit confusing. The staff at Swissair weighed him and his cage and argued about whether the charge us for a small or medium cage (without every measuring it). After decided on the cheaper charge (phew!), they had us walk Henry over to have his cage x-rayed. We then put Henry in the cage, which he did for a treat without fuss (yay!) and left him sitting by the staff, watching us walk away (terrible!). He didn't bark, unless he started after we left. I was feeling pretty good about the decision to fly him in cargo.

Five Days

This morning, the moving company came back for our second shipment, which will be sent by air to our temporary housing in Uster, Switzerland (our first shipment won't arrive until we secure a permanent apartment). We are now officially living out of a suitcase.

Here's a Google Map of where we'll be living at first. Feel free to explore. Schloss Uster (Uster Castle) is just around the corner. We'll do an apartment and neighborhood tour once we're settled.

View Larger Map

Semi-Rational, International Move Stock-Up

In anticipation of leaving America and and all the items we've grown addicted to here, these are the products we stocked up on in fear of paying too much for them or having trouble finding them in Switzerland. I'll be sure to report later on what stuff was actually needed and what was a waste of space.

Shoes
Matt's size 13 shoes will be downright impossible to find, shoes are pricier in Zurich and I'll take any excuse to go shoe shopping. So far, Matt wisely bought sensible work shoes, athletic shoes and a couple pairs of casual
shoes. I've bought new athletic shoes, three pairs of boots, two pairs of dress heels and two pairs my favorite ballet flats (Me Too Nini flat). I'm going to be walking much more than I'm used to, so I tried to prioritize comfort over fashion. It was tough.

Teva Jordanelle - I can't wait to try these out in snow.

Nine West Turner Boot - not my usual style, but they 
look easy to walk moderate distances in. 
I'll be feeling very '90s in these.

Frequently Asked Questions About Our Move to Switzerland

Whenever someone learns about our move abroad, we get a barrage of questions, usually many the same ones. We so appreciate everyone's excitement and interest in our adventure and try to answer each time with as much enthusiasm as the first (second or third!) time we were asked. For those who have been wondering but unable to/haven't yet asked, here are some FAQs about our move to Switzerland.

How long will you be there?
The job Matt has accepted is permanent; there's no specific end date to the contract.
 

Henry enjoying our deck before moving.

Are you bringing your dog?
Absolutely! Henry is flying over with us. They do not quarantine pets in Zurich. If his paperwork is all done correctly, he'll go through customs and head home with us!

Do you know where you're living? Do you have a place picked out?
Matt's company has provided temporary housing for us in Uster, which is about 20 minutes outside of Zurich by train and one train stop from Matt's office. In January, we'll start looking for a permanent place to move in the spring.

Will you buy or rent?
The housing market is very tight in Switzerland and houses for sale are incredibly expensive. Most people rent and so will we. We're looking forward to a break from home ownership after our first "fixer-upper."