Supplies – what’s for dinner ma?

Ceuta is also where we did our big shop for food. It also took hours to complete, filled several huge trolleys and cost a fortune. There was a mad flurry to get it all packed into the truck and it was a day or two before we got it organized into some sensible pattern.
So what does one buy for an expedition? We got plenty of non-perishable staples and tinned items – rice, pasta, instant mashed potatoes, baked beans, mushrooms, tuna, tomato puree, corn, lentils, chickpeas, couscous, packets of soup, honey, jam, cereal, powdered milk, instant coffee, teabags, sugar, salt, pepper, herbs and spices, mayonnaise, mustard, vinegar, tomato sauce and oil.
Eleven weeks later, the supplies are quite depleted. Everyone needles me that there are still plenty of lentils, couscous and chickpeas. I asked to buy them and I am about the only person who uses them, but I swear they will be gone before the trip is over. Heck, I used a kilo of lentils the other night and everyone wolfed them down.
But our main source of food are the markets – large and small – where we can buy fresh food. Some markets are colourful, well-stocked and wonderful to wander through, while others have next to nothing.