I've had people ask me what things I can't find here that I would usually buy at home. When we first moved here the list would have included flaked coconut, vanilla extract (I knew about this one before coming), pinto beans, salsa, tortilla chips, maple syrup, cocoa, dijon mustard, and probably more things that I can't think of right now.
But I have been able to find a lot of these things with time. I learned that items aren't put in the most logical spot. Cocoa for example though it is in the baking isle (which is more than you can say for flour) is put with the powdered milk and UHT milk (nasty stuff). The two combined take up most of the small isle in the LuLu Express (which is a small grocery store walking distance from our villa) and shoved up on the top shelf is the cocoa. Short people like me can easily miss it.
I looked and looked for flaked coconut and couldn't find it anywhere in the three stores I went to. (I didn't go to these stores just for coconut, but while I was there I looked for it) I found a lot of other coconut products like powdered coconut milk in many different types packaging, dried chunks of coconut, fresh chunks, or even whole. But no where was there flake coconut like I can get at home. Then one day it was there at LuLu Hypermarket. So even though it wasn't on my list, I bought a few bags.
Pinto beans is one thing they just plain don't have in any form. It's also rare to find refried beans. I used to make my own refried beans, but since I can't find any pinto beans I was willing to buy canned refried beans. I only recently found some at LuLu Hypermarket and bought two, though I should have bought all that was on the shelf because they will most likely be gone the next time I go.
That is how it is here. If you see an item at the store that you know you want and haven't seen regularly, you buy a lot of it or even all that's on the shelf because you may not see it again for a while. This is a really hard thing for me. I'm so used to making a shopping list and sticking pretty strictly to that list. At home I only occasionally bought something that wasn't on my list that wasn't required for that week's meals. But it just doesn't work that way here.
Now, I've have found everything else on that list except dijon mustard and I'm not going to find it because it has white wine in it. Muslims follow a strict no alcohol code, which is fine with us, but that also means no vanilla extract because of the alcohol. There is vanilla, but it's "sugared vanilla" in a powder. It's not very good and I use less than half of what the recipe calls for.
Some of those items on the list I just wont pay for. Salsa for example. I found some in a 7.95 fl oz jar for around $8. It wasn't even the best kind of salsa. Tortillas are $3.26 for 6. I tried making some on my own and they were pretty good. But I did find something similar to tortillas near the bread, but it's not always there(surprised?).
For a non-food item - I haven't found a three ring binder. There are binders, but they have 4 or 2 rings. We brought our three hole punch, but it looks like that just took up space in our boxes.
So for any of you who might still be worrying about us over in the Middle East. We're doing just fine.
But I have been able to find a lot of these things with time. I learned that items aren't put in the most logical spot. Cocoa for example though it is in the baking isle (which is more than you can say for flour) is put with the powdered milk and UHT milk (nasty stuff). The two combined take up most of the small isle in the LuLu Express (which is a small grocery store walking distance from our villa) and shoved up on the top shelf is the cocoa. Short people like me can easily miss it.
I looked and looked for flaked coconut and couldn't find it anywhere in the three stores I went to. (I didn't go to these stores just for coconut, but while I was there I looked for it) I found a lot of other coconut products like powdered coconut milk in many different types packaging, dried chunks of coconut, fresh chunks, or even whole. But no where was there flake coconut like I can get at home. Then one day it was there at LuLu Hypermarket. So even though it wasn't on my list, I bought a few bags.
Pinto beans is one thing they just plain don't have in any form. It's also rare to find refried beans. I used to make my own refried beans, but since I can't find any pinto beans I was willing to buy canned refried beans. I only recently found some at LuLu Hypermarket and bought two, though I should have bought all that was on the shelf because they will most likely be gone the next time I go.
That is how it is here. If you see an item at the store that you know you want and haven't seen regularly, you buy a lot of it or even all that's on the shelf because you may not see it again for a while. This is a really hard thing for me. I'm so used to making a shopping list and sticking pretty strictly to that list. At home I only occasionally bought something that wasn't on my list that wasn't required for that week's meals. But it just doesn't work that way here.
Now, I've have found everything else on that list except dijon mustard and I'm not going to find it because it has white wine in it. Muslims follow a strict no alcohol code, which is fine with us, but that also means no vanilla extract because of the alcohol. There is vanilla, but it's "sugared vanilla" in a powder. It's not very good and I use less than half of what the recipe calls for.
Some of those items on the list I just wont pay for. Salsa for example. I found some in a 7.95 fl oz jar for around $8. It wasn't even the best kind of salsa. Tortillas are $3.26 for 6. I tried making some on my own and they were pretty good. But I did find something similar to tortillas near the bread, but it's not always there(surprised?).
For a non-food item - I haven't found a three ring binder. There are binders, but they have 4 or 2 rings. We brought our three hole punch, but it looks like that just took up space in our boxes.
So for any of you who might still be worrying about us over in the Middle East. We're doing just fine.
2 comments:
I used to keep shredded coconut doublebagged in the freezer to keep it soft and fresh.
I loved reading this and I'm so impressed with all you've made work for you, even changing your shopping habits to fill your pantry. It sounds like you're doing just fine!!
Living in Finland, I had similar experiences with my greenies. I had lived overseas as a kid (Germany until I was 8) and my mom and RM sister (Argentina) had prepared me to look for different things, instead of things as I thought they should be/were at home. My companions had a long adjustment period--some much longer than others. I found that after a while, when I would see some Old El Paso tortillas and my comps would buy them (they were wickedly expensive), they tasted terrible--from the preservatives of needing to be shipped such vast distances and sitting on shelves in cold warehouses for who-knows-how-long. Far greater than the disappointment of a bad tortilla, was after I got home finding myself seeking out things I had learned to love that I knew I would never find in America. Well, they can be found, from specialty boutiques at steep prices plus shipping, but that takes out so much of the joy of their ordinariness. It can never be the same, because you're not the same. And things you might have loved here will not be the same to you when you come back, either. Except for maybe ham. :)
Anyway--glad to think of you thriving. Can you even get alcohol? Homemade vanilla is really easy.
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