Sunday Mornings

On any given Sunday morning back home, I know exactly what we would be doing. Chances are, there would be pajamas, cartoons, hot coffee, and freshly baked cinnamon rolls. Now, by fresh baked I mean that either Moose or I would have popped open a couple of Pillsbury canisters, arranging them on the cookie sheet in funny shapes and waiting 10-12 minutes for the magic that is the silence of full little mouths.

We haven’t had cinnamon rolls in 10 months. Those little tubes of doughy goodness are very rare here. I think I saw them once and they were so expensive, I couldn’t bring myself to do it. Instead we often whip up pancakes or crepes. Definitely not a sacrifice but quite a bit more work.

You Know What I Could Go For?

If you asked us what one of the biggest adjustments have been here, we would answer food. It is right behind transportation and slightly above communication. We are in no way, shape or form hurting for nourishment. There is many things, however, that we miss on a regular basis.

The funny thing is that while I considered myself to be a pretty decent cook in the states, I relied more often that not on convenience foods. Here those things don’t exist. I can remember telling Blondie the first time we went grocery shopping that  we were going to starve to death. For a few months, I allowed this to really limit our meal options. I really got down on the situation. Yes, I know that is pitiful but food is life to me.

Silver Linings

Something began to happen slowly. I began to buy new things. We had leek soup and tried fresh currants. One was a hit, the other one not so much. The kids devour muesli almost daily, their fruit and veggie intake has tripled and a box of granola bars will last a month, passed over for better choices.

Not everything can be replaced. We still get random shipments of mac and cheese. I still pine for good Mexican and hazelnut creamer. And for a country rich in cheeses, I would kill for some pepper jack. However most days, we do very well food wise.

Old Dogs Can Learn New Tricks

The struggle has created a situation. A welcomed situation. I have become very good at finding substitutions and making things from scratch. It got to a point where I realized I was being a whiner and decided to find solutions to what we were missing.

My name is Copper, and I am 41 years old. Before this summer, I never made a cake from scratch. But I have now. Several in fact. And they are so much better than box cakes and really not hard.  We have never been big ranch users but when it doesn’t exist at all, you want it. So I found a recipe and have been making fresh dressing every couple of weeks.

Success!

Today, I made cinnamon rolls. Fresh, made from scratch cinnamon rolls. The kind where you cook like an adult and there are terms like active yeast and kneading. It took forever, I may need to work on that part but it was so worth it. Well after lunch time, we sat down at the table and ate cinnamon rolls for the first time in 10 months. The feedback from the family was a bunch of mumbling and an empty tray.

Inconvenience is putting me into a position to learn news things and try harder. I am enjoying it and am always looking for the next challenge. It doesn’t always turn out great but more often than not, it turns out even better. I can’t help but be a little proud of that. It leaves me wondering…what should I make next?

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