The island is a great place to find fresh fruit and vegetables, some of it is even grown here and not shipped in. However there are comfort food dishes I make that require some ingredients I haven't found on the island, or in Abu Dhabi.
You guessed... a small can of green chilies is a normal ingredient in a traditional family "Mexican Casserole" dish my mother taught me how to make.
Jumping up and down in the Hypermarket clapping my hands and squealing YES, YES, YES was probably the closest I have been to resembling Meg Ryan in When Harry Met Sally... and that was just over finding Old El Paso Red Enchilada Sauce. Of course, I would have preferred Hatch green enchilada sauce, but I knew that wasn't going to happen.
All of the other ingredients fell into place, even Tostito Rounds, which I paid a very pretty dirham for. In the end, it was worth it, and the casserole was tasty, as the empty bowls attest. It is great to have others over to dinner and have them enjoy the food. In the end, I used a can of Rotel, which had me doing the happy dance in the store aisle as well. (it truly is the "little things" that make life grand)
One of my dinner guests has been harping on me to take pictures of all the food I am making that is "western food" and not local food. I think I want to make some local dishes and learn some new recipes and take pictures of them.
Tonight, my flat mate and I went out to eat, because local food sounded good to me. An amazing dish with lentils, couscous (or a rice I don't know), pasta, chick peas, tomato sauce, fried onions, some other beans I don't know, and a spicy sauce. It is quite tasty, and a dish that could easily have fed 4 people. I also gambled on a dish that simply said "Spinach and Meat". A bottle of water to wash it all down and it was a grand total of 18 dirhams. If you calculate the exchange rate, I paid less than 5 USD for it. My camera was not in hand tonight, but next time it will be.
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