Supermarket Quests

I was back at the Real today and made a point of finding the canned tomato section. I was sure there had to be a decent variety and on my last trip, I hadn't found any. Without any kids to distract me, I searched and did find the section that has eluded me. There were several kinds of canned tomatoes and lots of tomato paste in tubes, like huge tubes of toothpaste. I will give making homemade spaghetti sauce a shot next week.

I also saw a McDonald's brand ketchup, which I don't think I've ever seen in a U.S. supermarket.

I found a block of semi-sweet chocolate that I will cut into chunks for cookies and waffles, which I have also started making from scratch. Chocolate chip waffles at room temperature are yummy and would be great for the kids' lunches.

The only thing I could not find was brown sugar, the moist kind that we are used to. There was only brown sugar that was just like regular table sugar. So, I'll try baking some cookies tonight, maybe add a little bit of water to the batter and see how they turn out.

Micaela made a batch of Betty Crocker brownies that, in a weak moment, I had gotten last week in the little American section of the Real. She was surprised when she turned the box around and the directions were in French.

I cringe whenever I buy American products at German grocery stores. That box of brownie mix cost $7.40 and one can of Campbell's tomato soup costs $4.00. I usually stick to buying less expensive German equivalents, or the closest I can find to an equivalent, but it's often not close enough.