Eating well

Note: I wrote this letter mostly for my Mom, but I'll include it since the rest of you may enjoy it as well.


Dear Family,

I just wanted to let Mom know that I'm eating just fine. She had concerns about how well two single guys would do at cooking. German does a great job cooking. He laughs and says the first months he cooked on his own; the dog gained a lot of weight. Apparently, he learned well, because he's got everything under control. In fact, he's a great cook and a very Ecuadorian one. I'm loving every minute of it.

For breakfast we had buns with cheesed baked into the inside along with hot milk with coffee mixed with the milk. We also had an awesome pineapple. The flesh was white, but so sweet and juicy. Oh yeah, I think I had a banana too. I've been counting the variety of bananas I've had since I arrived. So far, I think I'm up to 4. Three we ate fresh and this evening we fried up some sweet cooking bananas. So good! The fifth variety is on the counter waiting to be cooked. They are green and will be fried until they have the texture of chips. Bananas are one of my favorites.

Since I'm on the subject of cooking, hermana Blanca cooked us up a wonderful meal Wed. afternoon. There was soup, rice, salad, popcorn for the soup, and hominy as well. Oh yes, she also cooked up beef Ecuadorian style. It was sliced supper thin, and was loaded with salt and cumin. It was excellent. I don't think I'd had meat that good since the last time I was here. Somehow meat just doesn't taste the same in the states.

For lunch today, German and I went to a restaurant. I was tempted to have the Cuenca classic of chalafan, but opted instead to have some more Ecuadorian beef. I wasn't disappointed. The plate came with the beef, rice, platano frito, and beans. To drink, German had a cola, but I opted for tree tomato juice. What memories it brings back! It's not at all like regular tomato juice. It's sweet and has a very distinct flavor and so sooo good!

Well Mum, I hope that calms some of your fears, and your mouth isn't watering too much :-) Oh… and I almost forgot. For supper German whipped up a colada. It's a thick, hot drink made from oatmeal, naranjia, pineapple, and panela. I was realizing how different the food is compared to the states. This country just abounds in the varieties of fruits and foods in general. I think I could gain some weight on this Ecuadorian fare. To be perfectly honest, I haven't even missed the food we usually have in the states. The food here is totally scrumptious.

I was meaning to have this post be more on the ministry and the homeschooling. Pastor Santiago had a good time of prayer and planning this morning. I guess I'll have to fill you in on my next post. I'm writing this in bed and really need to get some sleep. I'm just rejoicing in the Lord and so enjoying the special culture here.