We rented a car this past weekend so we could run a few errands and buy a crock-pot! We have been looking for a crock-pot for a bit now, and finally, I found one at one of my favorite stores in the mall, Lakeland - anything and everything you need for cooking and then some! I even bought a silicone-icing bag and tips to play around with when icing my cupcakes. I have found several other items at the store that I like and will eventually have in my kitchen.
We have a hard time eating out and spending the money when it isn’t any better than what we could have done at home, but this time we decided to try a new restaurant at the mall called Vapiano’s and let me just say wow! The food is absolutely delectable! Vapiano’s makes their sauces and pasta fresh daily. When you arrive at the restaurant, there is a checkout stand where you receive a little card, similar to a credit card. Each person in your party receives a card, and then after choosing your desired entree, you go up to the appropriate station and order your food, the card is scanned and your order is recorded on the card for checkout. They prepare each dish right in front of you while you wait. Stephen ordered a pepperoni pizza made with fresh tomatoes and basil. I ordered chicken in a garlic and cheese cream sauce served over campanelle pasta made with fresh Parmesan and basil. While I was waiting for my pasta, Stephen ordered us both a cappuccino, which is my new favorite drink, a coke and some water. Our lunch was very relaxed and after sharing both dishes, we were both extremely full.
Locating the central market here in Bahrain was on our agenda Friday as well. I know what you are thinking, ‘cool they have a Central Market just like ours’….well not exactly. First, let me just say getting to this particular place was quite an adventure. We had a map and tho it seemed to have pretty clear instructions on where to go, let’s just say it doesn’t account for roadblocks. So after coming upon our first road block, we asked the guards the best way to the market and they happily showed us which streets to take in order to make it to where we wanted to go. We had to go around the world in order to get there and were almost turned around due to a demonstration that apparently was fixing to take place (guards and police cars showing up and blocking off some roads), however, it forced us to go exactly the way we needed to. We found the market, finally and to give you an idea of what it is like, imagine a HUGE warehouse with rows and rows of vendors, some selling their vegetables literally out of a box, some have stands and even a few blocked off stores. Did I mention the smell? Lets just say a pig farm would smell like roses compared to this place. The wonderful part of this place is the prices. I bought a bunch of cilantro for literally ¼ of the price I would have paid on base and it has lasted twice as long so far. Oh and I found tangerines! I haven’t seen those in months! Base sells oranges but have not seen tangerines there. Lulu’s (the local Walmart-like grocery store here) probably has them but some of their prices for fruit are a little more pricier than I am willing to pay. The downside to this place is they only take BD (Bahrain’s form of currency) so we will have to go back when we have more cash on hand.
In the next couple of months, we will be renting a car (not looking to buy one right now) so that we can venture to more places and truly experience the island – that is something I look forward to.
We now have a Facebook page which you can like and receive our latest adventures or you can also sign up via email. Every week I will be adding new recipes as well as photos and will keep Facebook up to date on these new additions.
Blessings,
Deandra