Kitchen Capers

So we have been getting progressively better in the kitchen, some nights are better than others, but we have returned to having Mexican night once again! I just don’t go in the kitchen while the evil pressure cooker is on. Thankfully my hand is healed, and you can’t even tell I was attacked. But we found avocados the other day, so we had fresh salsa, guacamole, fresh tortillas, and a can of corned beef, which we added a pack of taco seasoning, and it made the taco meat taste just like taco bell! That’s gourmet stuff here! But really adding the other fresh stuff to it, really did make it delicious. Our second Mexican night was bean burritos, with a European flair. We made beans, then added sautéed eggplant, okra, and green bell peppers (a rare find at the market!) with some fajita seasoning. An odd mix, but it tasted delicious! We then made refried beans with the leftovers…we are getting quite creative. We have also made chili, and then our basics of stuffed bread, and spaghetti. I am surprised at the variety of stuff we can manage. We even splurged the other night and brewed up some sweet tea!
Brenda Marsh has got to be one of the best bakers I now know! She hails from New York, and is Dave’s wife, who is a nurse at the hospital. We are in Africa and she turns out some of the best sweets/dessert I have tasted! We have just commissioned her take make us brownies once a week. And when you can make good brownies when there isn’t even real cocoa powder, I feel that says something. However, I have yet to find a cook who can hold a candle to Serg, the Harvey’s cook. He is Congolese, and turns out the best food. We had electric catfish the other day with a ratatouille and it was one of the best meals I have eaten here. Considering he knows the foods, and the flavors of Africa, he can come up with the best stuff, and the bread he makes is perfect. He has his own boat so he goes out on the river himself to catch the fish. Talk about some fresh food.
Just a little spiel on food. If you’re curious to know, Sarah and I did survive on night shifts, but our one of two days off in between was pretty much a catch up on sleep day. Definitely not my favorite time to work, but thankfully we only have to do 6 more this month. A lot of work still needs to be done with organization and maintenance of the system, but I think that’s going to be a progressive task.