Groceries & Home Cooking

In our part of Moscow, grocery shopping is approximately comparable to New York City, with lots of little general markets (carrying an assortment of international foods) and specialty shops (butchers, bakers, etc). At least in the summer and fall, fruit and vegetable stands also sit on nearly every corner and offer great variety. That said, hamburger buns, along with pizza dough and a variety of sandwich breads are difficult to find, so we're glad we had transitioned to mostly making our own before moving here.

Some things here are comparatively very expensive, like dog food. Pedro has always eaten from a varied, homemade menu, but we have also supplemented his diet with natural dog foods. However, this is all but impossible in Moscow, where even basic dog food costs about four times what it would in the U.S. As a result, Pedro is now enjoying an exclusive diet of raw bones, fresh meats/fish, and homemade foods, including one of his favorites (pictured above), lamb, buckwheat and vegetables.

Another item that we used to enjoy and no longer buy in packaged form is cereal. Paul recently brought home a small box of one of my childhood favorites, Honey Smacks, without realizing that he had spent 285 Rubles on it (that's over $11!). Since that incident, we have been making our own granola-based cereals, which is probably for the best in a variety of ways.

While I have mostly put my energy toward tracking down ingredients for old stand-by recipes like lasagna, curry and enchiladas, Paul has begun experimenting with some Russian cooking (he is particularly fascinated with dishes that include beets). We look forward to learning more about cooking in the region and hopefully when we meet you next, we will be able to cook up a fabulous Russian (or Caucasian, Georgian, Azerbaijani, ???) meal!