Starting my sophomore year, āI canāt wait to have a kitchenā quickly turned into āI miss when I didnāt have to cookā (not to be mistaken with missing the dining halls). As the weeks of spring quarter carried on, midterm by midterm, the small emergency supply of mac and cheese in my cabinet quickly depleted. As in, the two boxes I bought, just in case I really didnāt have time to cook. My meals this quarter have ranged from multi-vegetable and requiring three pots at a minimum to sad concoctions made simply to tide me over.
Whether elaborate or straight to the point of nutrition (certainly a challenge for some of my āmealsā), my cooking can be delicious yet still lack the comforting taste of home. Approaching a full finals week with a nearly empty fridge, Iām remembering the final weeks of the past two quarters: cold nights spent under the glow of my laptop, eating who knows what. I think at one point my study snack was almonds dipped in honey (desperate timesā¦).
Thinking about how to stock up with food thatās realistic to prepare during the upcoming chaos, I began dreaming about what Iād most want to eat. I thought back to running errands with my grandparents at their favorite Eastern European grocery store on Long Island, New York, where we gathered the ingredients for the home cooked meals my siblings and I look forward to every visit.
My favorite meal from home is pelmeni, beef and pork dumplings drenched in vinegar and butter. The laborious hand making process is usually a household event, preparing a monthās worth of dumplings to freeze and enjoy after being created by an assembly line of family members. But at this Long Island market I remembered that we can find not only the ingredients needed, but pre-made frozen pelmeni available for purchase!
Searching for a solution to my longing for a meal from home without the burden of cooking during finals, I sought out nearby cultural food markets in the Goleta and Santa Barbara area to stock up on pelmeni.
4 Cultural Food Markets in Goleta & Santa Barbara
At Santa Barbaraās European Deli Market, I found not only a freezer full of my favorite dumplings, but shelves of sweets reminiscent of my childhood. Although I left with a bag full of Ukrainian and Russian treats, the store was also stocked full of Mediterranean novelties, including an impressive selection of species. Oh, and anything pickled could be found in one jar or another.
Closer to Isla Vista you can find Santa Cruz Market in Goleta, another locally-owned grocery store. Here, you can find your favorite Hispanic foods and plenty of fresh produce. Unlike international stores with goods imported from far and wide, this market is refreshingly affordable. Whether youāre cooking tonight, looking for a premade meal, or a study snack, this market has everything from specialty meats to delicious homemade salsa.
Tucked away right in Storke Plaza is the Indo-China Market, which I left extremely satisfied with my bag of lychees and White Rabbit candies (I give the lychees a week before theyāre gone). The shelves of Asian sweets boast just about every Pocky flavor, but the real treasure is in their savory goods. The market offers a wide array of sauces and jar goods that you definitely wonāt find at Albertsons across the street. The only downside to this grocery store is the marked up prices considering the costs of importing.
Next door to the popular dinner spot Nikka Ramen is their very own grocery store, Nikka Japanese Market. Skip the frozen meals and desserts at Trader Joeās and instead pick up easy meals, treats, and snacks! They even have unique dishes (the ceramic ones!) for you to choose from.
Thereās nothing like the comfort of a meal from home, but itās made with love for a reasonā cooking good food takes a lot of work and care. If only the end of the quarter (or any point during it) permitted that kind of time! If we have to settle for quick solutions in the kitchen, let it be from local, culturally specialized markets. When theyāre family owned and run, chances are someoneās grandmother made my pelmeni!