Cooking in Dubai has been a little bit of a challenge. It's tough because, as I've mentioned here before, the grocery store is about 85% like an American store. But it's that hair difference that really gets to you.
Like back when we got here, I wanted to make my Captain Crunch Chicken for Liz. But then I realized they don't sell Captain Crunch. And it took me a few weeks to find the black beans - they don't sell the canned variety, only the dried bag kind. And corn meal. I was livid when I couldn't find corn meal at Géant. My brother and I have this fantastic corn bread recipe I wanted to share with Liz. But no corn meal - no corn bread.
Which was okay because I couldn't find Chili Powder to make chili, anyway. Each spice I bought that said "Chili Powder" was what we would call "Cayenne Pepper". So yeah, now we have about three kilograms of cayenne pepper, in case you need any.
Luckily a few weeks ago I was complaining mentioning to some of Liz's coworkers my plight when it came to corn bread. Now, I don't want to hype this corn bread too much, but let's just say it's the only thing that my brother uses a recipe to cook. Everything else? He wings it.
Then last week Liz gets a text message on the phone from one of her coworker's wives. "Got you corn meal at Spinneys".
See, there are other grocery chains in Dubai besides Géant. Several other ones. It's just, well, I've never really been to them. Or if I have, it was one of those "quick run in and grab [BLANK]" trips. I really should explore more.
Needless to say, now we have corn meal.
And then at Géant this weekend, I discovered a new spice. "Tex Mex Seasoning".
What we would call "Chili Powder".
I love it when a plan comes together! Yes, last night I finally made Chili and Corn Bread for Liz. Granted, it wasn't perfect - the beef here is from New Zealand, and tastes a little more bland or something. And I forgot to get kidney beans, so we had pinto beans instead. But overall, it was a nice taste of home.
