Grocery Shopping Fun

I knew what I was in for.  I was prepared to not find familiar things.  No big deal, right?

Haha! :) 

First off, the shopping carts move different, which would be fine, if one, you knew how to make them go the direction you want, and two, the stores weren't crowded.  I fight the shopping cart the entire time.  They kinda go sideways. Flip flops and sideways is fun! I look ridiculous.

Butter, a staple in our home, was difficult to find. All "butters" are not real "butters" here, so I had to search before finding real butter in the freezer section. It's from Ireland, and it's delish, but, it took up about 30 minutes of my 20 minute allotment of time to hurry through a store that I was unfamiliar with. Enter unhappy husband and tired toddlers... We need our butter.  It's just that important.

Vanilla. That's another staple of my baking that is impossible to find here. As a matter of fact, you do NOT ever find it. You see, real vanilla contains alcohol. Alcohol is not sold here, and is on the no-no list in Muslim countries. Soooooo, no vanilla. Not even imitation vanilla can be found, except for this weird powdery stuff.  It's not the same, not even close.

Another no-no here: Pork.  Do you think you could live in a world where no bacon exists? Stop! Surely not? No pork at the grocery stores.

Tomato sauce comes in a small bag. Very little selection, but tomato paste is coming out their ears.

Cheese.  Not the best selections.  I miss that. I have found a few small packages of good cheese, but, it will cost you and arm and a leg. Worth it, I say!

Cream Cheese. I can't find it in the box, but they sure like that spreadable tub form here. I will keep looking for this. It's another staple in this house.  Or was, I should say...

Mexican Food.  Oh, how I love thee.... Again, so little selection and so hard to find.  I think I have Mexican flowing through my blood. I will prevail on this one.  Somehow!

I used a local Chili powder last night.  Not the same! Wow, is there more kick to it here! Gotta love the Indian influence in spices on this side of the world!

It took me about 30 minutes to find Baking Soda. Finally found it, under it's alias, sodium bicarbonate.  Who knew?

Yogurt. My kids LOVE yogurt.  It's not the same.  Our 4 year old sits as I type, stirring her bowl of uneaten yogurt.  Can't get her to buy in on that one.

Sour Cream. It took two days to find this treasure and three different stores. Finally landed a find at Carrefour hiding behind the name, Creme Fraiche. I felt like I had won the lottery on that one. Two days!

We made guacamole the other night, and it was like heaven. Mmmmm....

One grocery store adventure ended quickly after our two year old decided a peach looked too delicious to let it stay on the stand, and we didn't realize he had it until he'd had about 4 bites.  All produce is taken to a person who will then weigh it and put a sticker on it, so that was a little embarrassing taking a partly eaten peach to them... even more shocking was what followed.  After our 4 year old was bent out of shape by not having a peach of her own, she too, unbeknownst to us grabbed one and took a bite, herself.  Walking back to the same person to hand them another peach with a chunk out of it was not one of our finer family moments.  I offered my apology's and told them I should watch my kids better.  I should mention, both times, the kids were in different carts, that I was not pushing.  Hah! I think it's these sideways moving carts that make it so the kids can swipe what's on the shelves all stealth like.  We learned a valuable lesson that day.  Our children can't be trusted around peaches.  :p

Lucky for us, there is one way to buy pork in this country.  It's called the QDC, and you have to hold a permit to be able to enter.  We happen to hold one of those permits. So, we've indulged in bacon.  Very, very salty bacon that comes from The Netherlands. It makes my belly smile.  Really, it does.  Another benefit to the QDC, they sell alcohol, so I am going to make my own vanilla, once I find some vanilla beans.  Yay! Problem solved! Baking is of utmost importance to making a house feel like a home to me. If I can bake something and make the house smell heavenly, I could live anywhere.

Many more grocery adventures await me this week, as I have a party/get together to plan for Friday night.  I told my husband I would need a few hours at the grocery store to figure it all out.  LOL!

Let the fun begin!