Now that I have taken you on the walk we take everyday, I will now show you where I do my grocery shopping here in Portsmouth. I also do a great deal of shopping down in Roseau, but that is usually done only once a month. I enjoy the saying that grocery shopping here is like hunting and gathering. Taylor said that one time and I thought that was a perfect way of describing it. At home we are used to going to one giant store or supermarket and getting anything we want any time of the year. Here, we have to go to several stores and still may not find everything on our list. Produce truly has seasons here, so for example, we just started getting a lot of mangoes, but before rarely would you find one. Anyway, here are just a few of the places I do my hunting and gathering. Now remember, don't judge, these places are no AJ's Fine Foods...
This first place is "7-11". It isn't affiliated with the 7/11 we have at home, but it is the same concept. It's basically a large convenience store. I like this place since they are open 7 days a week from 7-11. Most places around here are closed on Sundays and are only open from 10-9 so thisw is a good back-up in case I need something on Sundays.
Here is D's Tropical Fruits and Flowers. She has a great selection of produce, including cantaloupe, apples, and grapes, that she imports from Martinique, who gets them from France. She is typically a little more expensive than the rest of the produce stands, but she is fly free and is a jolly, friendly woman who always has the things that are harder to find on the island.
Picard Grocery is a great place to find things like bagels, bread, and dairy goods. They have a good variety of everything, but no produce. I can get my eggs here as well. Did I mention the eggs and milk are not refrigerated here? Well, they aren't and we haven't died yet. It is just something we have to get used to here. This place also has sour cream and cottage cheese occasionally as well as yogurt. It's weird how you get excited for the smallest things here. When the sour cream arrived I paid about $4 US for about 3/4 cup. It was delicious and worth every penny!
James Store is rather large and has both groceries and home goods. Although, I only buy things like canned goods here since they are known to have bugs in their pastas, rices, and anything not sealed in hard plastic or tin. It's a great place to come for anything having to do with hardware, kitchen supplies, or household cleaning supplies.
This place is called The Courtyard. They really don't carry much, but it's a place I'll check out every now and again. They pretty much only have liquor and wine, chips, pasta, cereal, cookies, and snacks. They do have great rolls that I like to use for sub sandwiches.
An IGA is currently being built about a 2 minute walk away from our new apartment. It is said to be done in August, but who knows. They are actually making great progress on the construction. I have been to the IGA in Roseau and it is like a smaller version of an American grocery store. It will be great when it's done, but unfortunately it will likely put out some of the smaller businesses.
So, now you see where I do my grocery shopping here. I'm not going to lie...there are times I would kill for a Wal-Mart. Ahh, those large carts, air conditioned isles, shelf upon shelf of choices, and of course it's all under one roof. I think it will be a while before Dominica gets one of those and we only have a year left here. It may be a more difficult way of shopping, but that's what we have to do for now. In the end I still make food that tastes like home and I have leaned to make things homemade when I can't find it here. Things such as tartar sauce, sweet and sour sauce, tortillas, rolls, and bread are part of my new recipe collection. So long Sara Lee and Heinz, hello Heidi's Homemade Creations...
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