Cooking Complications!

I was trying to tell the cook here at the IFHope compound in Jalalabad what ingredients I needed in order to bake a Fresh Apple Cake. All of the ingredients were found except for baking soda. There were at least three cans that read "baking powder" but no "baking soda". That's an essential ingredient for acidic ingredients so I asked him to get some at the bazaar. He came back with another container of baking powder! (Now there were 4). So, I phoned Dennis who was at work at the University and asked him to bring me some baking soda. He also came back with baking powder as he misunderstood my request (now there are 5)! Later, per Dennis' request, a bag of baking soda arrived. When the cook saw it, and tasted it, he went to the cupboard and came back with a tin that said "baking powder" but contained "baking soda"! We both had a very good laugh.

We've had a lot of fun trying to get some things done in the kitchen! His broken English, my hand signals, Dennis' help as well as some of the staff who are able to translate for us. He's a very good sport - probably better than me.
They bought two live turkeys on Tuesday, killed one on Wednesday and I roasted it on Thursday. They don't have yeast bread here so no stuffing :( But we did have mashed potatoes, gravy, squash, apple pie and "pumpkin" pie (actually made from squash). No ice cream and no whipped cream but we did manage to find cranberry sauce while in Kabul which we brought here.
Yesterday I taught the cook how to cook down the carcass and make delicious turkey soup. We enjoyed that for supper last night.
The other day the cook asked me to explain how to cook nearly every recipe in the cookbook that was given to him by an American - all using broken English, Dari, and hand signals! What fun! He's a very good cook and an eager learner. He would very much enjoy attending a cooking school.
(In the picture are Dennis, Jim (his boss) and me at our Thanksgiving dinner)