Abarrotes, your new Spanish word of the day is translated as groceries, or supplies. I’d go further as to call them perhaps staples. It seems worth a mention here on bearshapedsphere to talk about what people eat when they’re not busy with the 27 pounds of fruit and vegetables. Certainly I am not a good example since most Chilean meals have meat and rice in them, neither of which are represented here, nor are is there any pasta, which shows up on quite a few plates.
Nonetheless, for those dying to comparison shop with me, I give you the following pic with breakdowns of what these items cost me. I shopped at the Santa Isabel on Huerfanos, which is located here:
and here’s what I bought (breakdown below)
My total here was 16.201 which at today’s exchange rate of 637 CLP to the dollar, is $25.43. I feel a little exposed here, as I feel like I am demonstrating all the ways in which I am no longer vegan (what a disaster that was), nor vegetarian (darn tasty fishies and their Omega-3s and protein and whatnot). I also purchased three things (the confectioner’s sugar, evaporated milk and condensed milk) to try to make suspiro limeño, an incredible custardy desert from Perú (I’ll let you know how that goes in the matchbox-sized kitchen).
two liters of nonfat milk 589 CLP X 2= $1.88
two cans of tuna packed in oil 899 CLP X 2= $2.82
two cans of tuna packed in water 1239 CLP X 2= $3.89
four little thingamies of plain yogurt (170 grams ea) 189 CLP X 4= $1.19
500 g of confectioner’s sugar 319 CLP = $.50
1 can condensed milk 689 CLP = $1.08
1 can evaporated milk 929 CLP = $1.46
1 dozen brown eggs 1359 CLP = $2.13
100 grams of blue cheese 1999 CLP = $3.14
300 grams of hard goat cheese 2836 CLP = $4.45
500 of queso chanca, similiar to solid farmer’s cheese 1399 CLP = $2.20
little bag of lite mayo 299 CLP = $.47
two rolls 144 CLP = $.18
Of course I am horribly ashamed of my heavily dairy-leaning diet, especially since I am reading Barbara Kingsolver’s Animal, Vegetable, Miracle where she’s eating off the land with her family of four. Here at chez bearshapedsphere, we eat as one or as two, depending on the day, and we get our abarrotes at the supermarket. So it goes. But at least we have suspiro limeño. Or we should shortly.
