Saturday: Lunch Out and Special Grocery Shopping!

Saturday morning I slept in!  I woke up a couple of times but went back to sleep, each time!  That was bliss!  I finally woke up at 10:30 a.m. when one of my cousins called.  I spoke with her for a few minutes, then, had a cup of tea and watched some sewing shows on TV.

Later in the morning, I made a card for one of my friends:

Birthday Card

Then, it was time to pick up my friend and take her out to lunch to celebrate her birthday! We went to one of our favorite diner-type restaurants and had a nice lunch.  She had a turkey hamburger patty melt with seasoned fries and and ice cream for dessert.  I had macaroni and cheese with grilled chicken garlic bread, and a side salad and a slice of cheesecake for dessert.  I brought home half my lunch home, as it was too much for one meal for me.

After lunch, my friend and I went to the Sri Lankan store.  I wanted to buy more tea and some frozen fish, among other things.  My friend wanted to buy red rice and a few other items.  Unfortunately, they didn't have my favorite tea.  I was told they were expecting another shipment in about two or three weeks' time.  I have another unopened box of 100 tea bags and a package of loose tea in my cupboard, so I can wait for the shipment.

I took this picture for SandyExpat, who mentioned PGTips tea: 

Display of Teas

These next two pictures are for Sandy and Sharon and any other British ex-pats who might be feeling a bit homesick - there's a whole section of the store with British products:

British Goods

More British Goods

Next time I'll take a picture of the British biscuits display.  The freezer held some black pudding, too, by the way. 

I bought the frozen fish I had wanted; it is priced at $4.99/lb. and is available in 10 lb. boxes or individual slices; I bought four slices, priced $2.15 (2 packages), $2.30, and $2.50, depending on the weight; I spent a total of $9.10 for the fish:

Frozen Slices of Seer Fish

Dried powdered coconut milk (to be reconstituted with water - 2 tablespoons to 150 ml water for "thick" coconut milk and 1 tablespoon to 150 ml water for "thin" coconut milk); 300g. box, for $3.99:

Coconut Milk Powder

No trip to the Sri Lankan store is complete without some special snacks - these are a savory mixture of a type of snack known as "murukku" which look a bit like pieces of noodles that are made with urad (a type of black lentils) flour, lentils, green peas, and nuts that are fried and spiced with salt, chili powder, curry leaves, etc.  We usually call it "murukku mixture" or "cocktail mixture"; the 250g (8.8 oz) jar cost $3.99:

Front of Snack Mix Jar

The contents are better seen from the back of the jar:

Snack Mixture Contents

I gave into temptation and bought a jar of pineapple jam (one of my favorites; $2.99), a can of golden syrup (another favorite; $4.59 for 454g) and a box of pudding mix ($2.29).  This is the first time I am trying this pudding mix - before this, I have always made this particular pudding (wattalappan, also spelled vatalappan or vatalappam) from scratch, using jaggery (a type of palm sugar), coconut milk, and eggs.  My friend, too, bought a packet to try.  I asked the store owner if it tasted like the pudding made from scratch and he was honest enough to tell me he hadn't tried it.  I am pretty sure it won't taste like the real thing, but I want to give it a try. 

Jam and Syrup and Pudding!  Oh, my!

I also decided to try another convenience food - a can of breadfruit curry ($3.99).  On previous visits to the store, I've bought the cans of breadfruit in brine, which need to be cooked into a curry.  This can contains already curried breadfruit that is ready to eat.  I love breadfruit, so I am looking forward to trying this - hopefully I will like it!

Can of Breadfruit Curry

And I bought a jar of a tried and true favorite - a spicy onion relish ($4.49) - I had some, the other night, with the last of the pita bread and I noticed that I had almost come to the end of my jar:

Jar of Spicy Onion Relish

My total came to $35.43:

July 15 Grocery Receipt

 

Amount spent on groceries so far in July = $34.21 + $2.59 + $35.43 = $72.23

Amount left in the July grocery budget = $103.82 - $72.23 =  $31.59


My friend came home with me and we had a cup of tea and chatted a bit before I took her home.

In the evening, I watered the front garden and had a long chat with one of my cousins who called. 

Today, I am grateful for:
- A pleasant day in the company of my friend
- Going out to lunch with her
- A visit to the Sri Lankan store
- Being able to buy treats from my country of birth
- Phone calls from cousins

How was your Saturday?