If you live in a large enough city, you can buy pretty much anything. Look for a western style supermarket. If there is a concentration of ex-pats, that's where it will be. The cost of shipping canned goods is very high because they are very heavy. Soup is one of the easiest things to make and the recipes are easily adjusted. Baking is pure science. You can't mess with the ingredients or quantities unless you know what you are doing. If you are making soup and it calls for peas and you prefer lima beans, go for it.
If it's the end of summer and your garden is bursting with tomatoes, cucumbers, onions, and green peppers, make gazpacho. If it is cold and you need to warm your bones, make chicken soup. Chicken soup is the easiest dish to make. Roast a chicken. Remove the meat from the bones. Save some of the meat for tomorrow's soup. Use the rest for dinner tonight. Put the carcass into a large pot and fill with water. Add a couple of chopped carrots, a large chopped onion, and a couple of chopped celery stalks. Simmer for about three hours. You can add salt and pepper to taste. Do not over salt. When the broth is cooked strain it and discard all the bones and used vegetables. Then let the broth cool over night. Skim off the fat before reheating. Start with fresh carrots, onions, and celery. Cook until the vegetables are softened. You can microwave the veggies to speed this up if you like. To serve, cook some noodles if you like fat noodles or left over rice. Add to the bowl. Add some chicken. Pour in the broth and veggies. You are actively working on this only while you are chopping. Otherwise, the broth is simply simmering on the back burner or cooling so the fat will congeal. So, although it technically takes hours start to finish, I usually make the chicken one day, cook the broth that evening, and serve the soup the next day.
