I will be needing to purchase groceries and supplies for only 10 days in Bayahibe. I have dishes etc. provided for me but will bring my good knife and favourite pan from home. I will have a microwave oven and 2 burners to cook on/with and a mini-fridge to store perishables. There may be that little freezer with enough room to make ice cubes, but not enough to store 1 kg of frozen meat or vegetables.
If I buy a package of salt, for example, I have close friends in the DR with whom I can leave the remainder but I'd prefer not to have to totally kit out a pantry for only 10 days, when a number of meals will be eaten out.
I will be shopping at the Jumbo in La Romana on the first night and would like an idea of what I will find there and what I should bring from home. In the past I've bought sea salt and juices and milk and seen the fruit and vegetables and coolers of meat, but other than the items that I've bought, I didn't spend a lot of time looking at the real food for making meals. I've also been in a grocery store in Santo Domingo, seeing the sausage and frozen and canned fish and seasonings.
I know that I may shop differently in Canada than many in the DR, stocking shelves with pasta and cans of tomatoes and relying on certain kinds of canned goods that may not be available everywhere. I'm not a chef but don't have a very discriminating stomach either so thrown-together one-pot meals suit me fine.
Can anybody help me with some "must haves" to attempt to cook like a Dominican? I saw a "Dominican seasoning" bottle that looked interesting but my boyfriend said that another one with fewer ingredients was the best and the one his Mom used. I wouldn't have reached for that one first! Will I have to do any cleaning and gutting of shrimp and fish in order to buy it at a fair price? I like ease of preparation at the best of times but particularly when using an unfamiliar kitchen.
Best brand or your favourite breakfast cereal? Best way to make foolproof platanos? The secret to the great Dominican fried chicken? Your favourite cooking oil? The best cheap cut of meat in the DR? The fish that I can count on being the freshest from local waters sold at the Jumbo? Any local delicacies to look out for (like peas and coconut sold under soooo many labels!)?
As a side question, are marshmallows and peanut butter available?
I may think of more questions or ways to guide an answer, but if you have any ideas for me at all, I'd really appreciate hearing them.
Thanks so much for your most valuable help!
Kaki
If I buy a package of salt, for example, I have close friends in the DR with whom I can leave the remainder but I'd prefer not to have to totally kit out a pantry for only 10 days, when a number of meals will be eaten out.
I will be shopping at the Jumbo in La Romana on the first night and would like an idea of what I will find there and what I should bring from home. In the past I've bought sea salt and juices and milk and seen the fruit and vegetables and coolers of meat, but other than the items that I've bought, I didn't spend a lot of time looking at the real food for making meals. I've also been in a grocery store in Santo Domingo, seeing the sausage and frozen and canned fish and seasonings.
I know that I may shop differently in Canada than many in the DR, stocking shelves with pasta and cans of tomatoes and relying on certain kinds of canned goods that may not be available everywhere. I'm not a chef but don't have a very discriminating stomach either so thrown-together one-pot meals suit me fine.
Can anybody help me with some "must haves" to attempt to cook like a Dominican? I saw a "Dominican seasoning" bottle that looked interesting but my boyfriend said that another one with fewer ingredients was the best and the one his Mom used. I wouldn't have reached for that one first! Will I have to do any cleaning and gutting of shrimp and fish in order to buy it at a fair price? I like ease of preparation at the best of times but particularly when using an unfamiliar kitchen.
Best brand or your favourite breakfast cereal? Best way to make foolproof platanos? The secret to the great Dominican fried chicken? Your favourite cooking oil? The best cheap cut of meat in the DR? The fish that I can count on being the freshest from local waters sold at the Jumbo? Any local delicacies to look out for (like peas and coconut sold under soooo many labels!)?
As a side question, are marshmallows and peanut butter available?
I may think of more questions or ways to guide an answer, but if you have any ideas for me at all, I'd really appreciate hearing them.
Thanks so much for your most valuable help!
Kaki