No Need For a Can Opener

Jared left yesterday and will be gone for eight days. We are also in the midst of the biggest holiday of the year here, so my househelper has the week off. What a change for me. It is just me and the kids this week, here at home. With it being the middle of winter and so cold out, I don't think we will get out much, if at all. (This may sound weird but you would probably understand if you witnessed the process it takes to get myself and the kids ready and out the door, and to see the state of distress we are all in by the time we do get out the door. Not to mention how much I have to rely on them to walk and follow directions as we maneuver to find a taxi, get in a taxi, sit in a taxi, pay the driver, get out of taxi, etc., as they complain because the wind is cold, their glove fell off, or the scarf is itchy, etc.)
Last week I spent much of the week in preparation for our food situation this week. Usually, my househelper goes to the market each morning and picks up the food we will use that day. Not an option this week. In the states I usually went shopping once every three weeks, after planning all our meals for that time. I found that this saved us a lot of money, even if it did take a lot of prior planning and work once I got home with all the groceries. Wow, is it different here. First of all, we have no canned goods. Well, I take that back...sometimes I can find corn in a can, but that is it! All fruits and vegetables need to be purchased fresh. Here is a picture of my pantry, literally.

It basically consists of oatmeal, sugar, noodles, honey, peanut butter, dry milk, some expensive jarred baby food, and coffee beans. I do have flour, rice and spices stored in another cupboard.
All of our fruits and vegetables are super fresh and super yummy, but at the same time they don't seem to last as long in the fridge as I remember them lasting in the states. (It doesn't help when they freeze between the market and our house either, as has been happening a lot lately.) We also can only buy as much as we can physically carry each time we go to the market. Imagine me carrying home 5 pounds of eggs yesterday morning, in a plastic grocery sack :) Something I try not to do when also holding two kids hands and have another in the front carrier.
Last week I washed, cut up, and bagged the vegetables we would be using this week and put them in the freezer. I also made a couple casseroles and my househelper made dumplings and steamed buns that also went into the freezer.
Our packed freezer:

Sure is convenient this week when preparing meals.
With Jared gone this week, I am hoping to complete a couple projects in the evenings. One of them being to post a few blog entries with pictures of our new home. We definitely are at home here and are thankful our new place. It is also super peaceful, something we are daily thanking the Father for. When it comes to these 'evening projects' we'll see how much energy I have at the end of the day. So far, yesterday and today, I have been ready to head to bed early. My kids always have more energy than I have!