Happy Saturday everyone! I still don’t think I’ll ever get used to our first day of the working week being a Saturday but today it was made a little sweet.

I’ve written before about how difficult it is for us to sometimes get access to basic produce and ingredients, and how I miss kale and usually get my fix when I go home to Australia, or ask people to bring it back in their suitcase, but I guess what else can you expect in the desert?

Today, right after I sipped on my version of Kristen’s Cherry Choc Bomb smoothie (I added spirulina and baby spinach)

I hit up Tamimi (Saudi’s answer to Safeway) off our compound and on the Corniche (means road by the coast) which prior to it’s recent renovation, held the title of being the largest importer of expat grocery items in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia (where we live) and are keen to gain that title back, so said Norm, the store’s manager when I hit him up today.

I am certain the other staff members felt I was asking for him to complain, but really I was almost kissing his feet:

“See this? This is kale. Please make sure you continue to stock this, along with all your other wonderful produce I picked up today. If you do, I will send all my friends down here to shop”.

And ORGANIC!! Today I picked up organic cucumbers, zuchinni, celery, plums, apples, carrots, romaine (cos) lettuce and tomatoes.

Oh and the pièce de résistance…….

Kensington Pride (Bowen) mangoes from my home of Queensland, Australia. Even though we are pushing through an early cold winter here in Saudi, my friends back in Australia are enjoying the sticky dribbly fruits (I know because I see their statuses on facebook) and now I don’t have to feel so left out. I can experience summer through my fruit

Today I won the lottery.

I have nothing else to say.

Come back tomorrow and I’ll share my raw felafel recipe that is a wonderful SAVOURY recipe for you to use up your almond pulp from almond milk making. Plus this week I’ll be making plenty of kale recipes of course!