Kazan — summer 2014

I wake up, get more money at the bank for rent. Time to go shopping. First stop is the store where I buy:

• Frozen string beans
• Chunk of sausage (докторская, like bologna)
• Yogurt
• Katyk (Tatar milk product, like yogurt)
• Big hunk of cheese (сливочный)
• Jar of tomatoes
• Jar of horseradish sauce
• Chocolate cheese bar

The chocolate cheese bar probably sounds nasty, but imagine the cheese from a cheese danish, thicken it a bit, then dip that bad boy in chocolate. Glorious!

Then to the market:

• Pound of white cheese (сливочный сыр)
• Kilo of pork-beef ground meat
• Kilo of ground chicken
• A packet of cumin
• A packet of cinnamon
• Head of cabbage
• A bunch of onions
• Princess Nuri tea

Buying spices at the farmer's market is not like buying them at Safeway. Take a look at the spice vendor's space. (Click for larger version)

Then I get called to the institute and meet with an official there. All went well.

Reading in the afternoon.

Home. Some of the curry spices I bought last year are still on the shelf. Hm. Did no one live her all year? Or did someone who didn't know how to cook live here? How can you not use curry powder? I make up a mess of curried chicken and cabbage, one of my favorite go-to recipes.

Oof, gods, now to attend to e-mail.