Nom-Noms of Paris

Dear BlueBearies,

If you're anything like me, you are ALWAYS hungry. The mere mention of something delicious is enough to send the salivary glands into overdrive, eagerly anticipating satisfaction. Today's blog, unlike 90% of my usual posts or this last Nom-Nom episode, will be predominantly picture-based. This Nom-Nom episode will hopefully bring to you much visual joy as you travel along this gastronomical paradise that is Paris.

Bon appétit!!!

To be totally honest, the food tastes infinitely better when enjoyed with your fellow brothers and sisters. Sure, the country can be well-renowned for its cuisine, but what is all that without the grand company of your friends in the faith? To echo the words of Ecclesiastes 3:12,13: "I have concluded that there is nothing better for them than to rejoice and to do good during their life, also that everyone should eat and drink and find enjoyment for all his hard work. It is the gift of God."

Stay tuned for the next post!!

Love,

The Adventurous A.

Cassa(va) Blanca Part 2

Of  all the blogs, in all the towns, in all the world, you walk into mine...

Hello again readers! The last post left off with the conclusion of our first day of cassava bread making. Now it's time to hop into the second half!

CASSAVA ADVENTURES PART 2

I awoke much earlier than usual, already mentally geared to arrive at Sis Hendricks' house bright eyed and bushy-tailed. My normal time to leave Sherine's house each morning was 5 am, but I set out to meet up with the boys at 4:40 ish. What I did NOT foresee happening was another incident (yes yes ANOTHER one)...

Before my tale of early morning woe, I would like to share with you all a scripture. Why,  you ask? This scripture (unintentionally discovered by Senior Camacho,  thanks dad) perfectly describes the situation I found myself in.
Psalm 22:16 reads "For dogs surround me; They close in on me like a pack of evildoers, Like a lion they are at my hands and feet." Got the clue?

That's right, I was rushed by a gang of unhappy canines. I was not ready whatsoever when the first two pooches showed up on my route. Apparently they did not recognize me in the weak dawn light. At the sound of their growls, I sidestepped gingerly out of their way while they glared at me.  I thought I was doing pretty well when doggy #3 charged from my left. Like the first two, this one did not go past its designated yard area. I was completely unarmed, praying aloud in hopes of calming my raging  heart. #4 was the boldest, actively running in my direction until it forced me to walk into the ditch right alongside the road.

If you read the first half of the Cassava Adventures, you'll remember  that it ended on the wrong foot (PUN INTENDED), with a bloody toe injury. The endeavor to avoid the mangy furballs caused my wound to start bleeding and hurting again. *sigh* After a few minutes of walking away with my arms extended high above my head "menacingly", they left me alone to hobble the rest of the way to Josh's in pain.

Upon my arrival, a sleepy-eyed Charlie informed me of an unfortunate turn of circumstances: Josh could not join us for the day's cassava duties due to getting violently ill in the night. Apparently, the smoke of cooking casareep contains just enough cyanide that if exposed for long enough, can make one sick. He'd taken too much in while hanging out at the Hendricks' bottom house, and was finally sleeping it off. Charlie opted to stay and make sure he was ok,  leaving us Camachos to handle the job.

Ribz and I made great time and arrived at 5:00 sharp! Tete was already wide awake prepping the dried cassava blocks. Jonatán was put onto lumber chopping, and I was taken to the mother of all mortar and pestles I've ever seen in my life.  I kid you not, this thing is HUGE! Made of solid wood, it is most definitely an arm workout.

My job was to pound the cassava to the consistency of flour. I was taken off this duty within a half hour when sharp-eyed Tete observed the newbie blisters on my softened foreigner hands. The assignment switched to sifting the ground flour into a large basket, the fine powder drifting like snow. In the meantime,  Tete lit the fire and prepared her giant flat pan. It's essentially one large flat skillet balanced on 3 low burning stumps. She then would take the sifted flour and spread it across the pan, forming a large round flatbread. Watching her bread  carefully, she employed the use of a straw fan-like tool  to flip the bread when golden and toasty. She then proceeded to take it off and let it finish drying in the sun.

The whole thing took us from 5 am to maybe 12 noon. Tete rewarded us with breakfast and a nap in her homemade hammock. Along with this, she sweetly said that we were becoming more Amer-Indian, the best kind of compliment!

That's it for the Cassava Adventures. Stay tuned for the next post!

Love,

The Adventurous A.

Cassa(va) Blanca Part 1

As time goes by and the regular routine sets in, I find myself reminiscing on not just the incredible theocratic activities but also the day by day activities of Orealla. My personal goal (which I plan on applying wherever my adventurous adventures take me) was and is still to integrate into the cultures of my current location. Anyone who knows me knows how much I LOVE hands-on kind of work. It'll come as no surprise, then, that one of my favorite moments experiencing Guyana culture was making cassava bread. The entire process takes approximately 3 days but seeing as I only got to participate in only 2 of said days, this will ergo be a two-part blog post. Fortunately they weren't easy days to forget, I remember every detail...

CASSAVA ADVENTURES DAY 1 (technically day 2 but eh)

November 16

The previous day (Sunday the 15), our adopted Amer-Indian grandmother, Janet Hendricks (otherwise known as Tete*), had approached our little gang and had offered us a chance to help with this quintessential task of making said bread. Naturally, we jumped at the opportunity to help! The beginning process would have been walking to her cassava farm uphill to gather the needed tubers. Sadly, it rained on what would have been our first work day and we ended up missing Tete going to harvest. She's a spunky granny, and quite the hard worker! She did not give up on us pitiful foreigners and told us to come back Monday at 3 to continue helping.

The four of us (Ribz, Charlie Brohard, Josh Westfall, and yours truly) prepped ourselves in the frumpiest work clothes, ready to tackle the work! We walked the 5 minute distance to the Hendricks house and found Tete and her friend Claudia already busy. We were put to our respective tasks: Charlie, Josh and I got put into scraping and peeling duty, while Ribz oversaw cleaning the cassava. The particular batch of cassava they had harvested was bitter cassava, a main staple but potentially deadly. Why, you ask? If not peeled and cooked correctly, bitter cassava gives off cyanide. You can imagine that we took our cleaning process VERY seriously. The Hendricks had the assembly line figured out to a T: grab a cassava root, chop off the end, scrape off all the brown bark-like skin, drop it in a quake or basket, wash it thoroughly, grate it, repeat. The locals do this quite regularly, so it was highly amusing to watch us amateurs going at it.

Here's looking at you, kid

Once the cassava was grated into a wooden trough and the juices ran off into a bucket, we were introduced to a most important tool of the trade: the matapee.

Shaped like the body of an anaconda, this cylindrical strainer is woven from reeds traditionally. There are two loops attached; one is on top where the opening is, whilst the other hangs below the sealed end. It is meant to hang from the top loop high enough above the ground to allow a bowl or bucket to be placed underneath. A large stick is then put through the bottom loop, and that's where it gets interesting. The grated cassava gets placed inside the matapee until almost full, and one person sits on the stick below to pull and drain out all the liquid from the cassava mush. This has to be done carefully so as to not force the mush to pop out into the liquid below, which is highly valued as a cooked sauce called cassareep. The trick is to SIT VERY STILL. Since the heaviest person there gets the privilege of stick-sitting, obviously to our delight we watched poor Jonatán try to converse and get the job done without moving. If you know my brother, I will leave how that went to your imagination...

Tete showing us how the pros do it

Two of us equaled one Jonatan #heftybai

After the cassava was squeezed of its poisonous liquid twice, it was popped out of the matapee to dry outside the rest of the night. This was the final bit to remove the cyanide prior to being turned into bread. At this point (between 5-6 pm) Tete informs us that the first part of the process was finished. We would be more than welcome to help with the actual bread making if we would arrive there the next day at 5 am. Here are the responses from each of us:

Adventurous A: Of course! We'd love to!!! *bounces excitedly*
Charlie: Mmmm sure. Ok *blinks twice* I'll come. *scrunches face thoughtfully*
Josh: *laughs maniacally* great, I'll see you at 9 then.
Ribz: *also laughing* you're joking, right Tete?

Tete: *eyes widen* I AM NOT JOKING. *sighs* You are not Amer-Indian...

That did it for me. As soon as this adorably feisty little lady said that, I knew that I HAD to be there at 5 am sharp. I was determined to become an honorary Amer-Indian and not wimp out on her. The opportunity to prove my willingness to integrate was too good to miss.

We gathered all the cassava juice and rolled it back to the main house, where it would cook for several hours in a GIGOSMIC pot on a rapid fire. In the meantime, in typical hospitable Guyanese style, Tete invited us sweaty young folk to eat dinner with the whole Hendricks clan. While Ribz stayed upstairs with Tete's gregarious grandson Matthäus, the rest of us stayed downstairs at the bottom watching the future cassareep bubble and brew furiously. As we settled into the calm lull of conversation, I inwardly rejoiced at the feeling of home that Sis. Hendricks and her family had extended towards us. Jonatán and I were taken in and treated so very kindly, a true example of the worldwide brotherhood. These friends, as honest as the day was long, were becoming family...

Future Cassareep

In process Cassareep

 I would like to say that the adventures of the day ended on that high note, but alas, that would not be the case for us. Josh took his leave first, feeling very tired, leaving Charlie, Ribz and myself to head back to the boys' house before dropping me off at Sherine's. After our goodbyes and promises to return early the next morning, we started walking in the dark. Ribz took the front with his head torch, as I tried to put on the flashlight app on my ever-present tablet. As I turned it on, all I felt was my entire left side collapse and fall straight down. Unbeknownst to me, the little wooden bridge right outside of the Hendricks house was rotting away on one side and I'd made the terrible mistake of stepping on that spot carelessly. It was only about a 2 foot drop into a ditch, but I could feel pain radiating from my entire leg. Holding back tears, I got out onto stable ground, only to see my left foot soaked in blood. I could see that my big toe was the culprit, a large ugly gash angrily gushing red liquid all over my flip-flop. The boys helped me steady myself and lit the way back while I limped along. Every step only exacerbated the wound. Ribz, being the gentleman he is, offered to give me a piggyback ride, but I didn't want to get him all stained. With wounded toe and pride, we made it back with no other incidents. After a thorough cleaning with some vodka at hand (and a couple of swigs for pains sake haha), I got the toe wrapped up and ready to go. Fortunately no stitches were needed, much to my mother's relief. I now bear it as a trophy from that day.

Whew, well that's it for the first half! Hope you have enjoyed it as much as I have enjoyed penning it. By the way, if you want to see my scar, just ask next time you see me. Just kidding, just kidding.... or am I?!? Hmm maybe instead of your last thought being a bloody toe, here's the gorgeous sunset prior to my injury!

"This scene could TOTALLY be in Vietnam. Except with more rice patties. And Asians." - Joshua Westfall

That's better.

Stay tuned for the next post!

Love,

The Adventurous A.

*Tete is the local Arawak word for grandmother

Nom-Noms of Guyana: Orealla Edition

Hello lovely readers! I apologize for the long periods between posts. I am recently back in the States (two weeks at the time of this post), and am falling back into my regular home/service/work pattern. Your patience and audience is much appreciated! I have my photos downloaded and will attempt to post more of our fun adventures in the days to come.

 Now then, are you feeling hungry? I know I am!! I think it's high time for yet another food-related post.

BRING ON THE NOM-NOMS!!!!!!!!!!

Before we begin, I will note that it is very interesting the noticeable differences of cooking between Skeldon and Orealla. Culturally, there is a strong Indian/East Indie influence in Skeldon, proven by the frequency of roti, curry, and turmeric. How would I describe Orealla's cuisine? Hmmm. I just consulted my partner in crime and travel and he captured it well: totally dependent on what is available, but still outstanding. Due to the fact that Orealla relies heavily on either home-grown crops or the twice-a-week boat arrivals from the coast, the food supplies can vary from day to day. This, however, does little to impede the generous hospitable personality of her residents. Put simply, whatever the people have, they will share. Their palms stay open and their hearts are even more so.

Now that I have boasted sufficiently about my dear lovely little Orealla, ONTO THE FOOD!!!!

Cashew: (the sound of a nut sneezing)
For future reference, Orealla is PACKED with fruit trees. EVERYWHERE. This ended up being a refreshing blessing, especially for hot service days when your water bottle would run dry. This happy-colored fruit grows plentifully and is delicious. The cashew fruit is an extremely juicy fruit, commonly harvested for the popular nut-seed hanging from the bottom. One bite and immediately juice begins squirting out. Be warned, though! This very juice can stain like nothing else, leaving unpalatable yellow and brown streaks that take plenty of washes to remove.

Padoo: The ice-cream fruit! A favorite among Orealla's tiny tykes (or as I affectionately refer to as "miniature humans"), the padoo resembles a pea pod at first glance. Inside lies the REAL treasure. Hidden within are usually 3 dark brown seeds enveloped in a white soft pulp. THAT. IS. DELICIOUS. No wonder children and adult alike adore it. We caught the very tail-end of its growing season, but at least we got to savor the flavor. This was high up on my favorite fruit list, most definitely.

 

 

 

Guinep: Now this fruit I was already somewhat familiar with prior to our trip. Latin Caribbean markets carry this tiny gem, usually under the name mamoncillo or quenepa. Reminiscent of a tiny lime, it is as well a seed fruit encased in a bright light-orange pulp. A bite into the skin bursts it and reveals the goodness inside, mmmmmm.

 



 

 

 As a quick side note, just last week out in service, a young lady from El Salvador offered us guineps as a snack during her study. One taste took me straight back into my beloved village. *insert dramatic sigh* Meeeeeeeemoriiiiies....

 

 

ANYWAYS.

 

 Butterflop and Bake: These ALMOST deserve a post of their own. Both breads are staples of the greatest kind. If you love bread(goodness knows Ribz and I do!), you would definitely enjoy them. Bake is a treat you'll find pretty much all over Guyana, so it seems. Vendors on the street, gramophone-bearing taxis, and restaurants alike sell them inexpensively. It's a triangular fried bread, simple in itself but tasty. It can be stuffed with anything from saltfish to potato to coconut shreds, very versatile.

 

  

Bake and Cart-Witnessing, perfect combo!

 

Butterflop is the perfect marriage of LOTS AND LOTS OF BUTTER, fresh bread and MORE BUTTER. There is one man in Orealla that, despite knowing his actual name, we would refer to as "Butterflop Man" due to his buttery prowess. If and when you can make it to Orealla someday, look for Winston on a Wednesday or Friday. For $1,000 Guyanese (or $5 US) you can get 10 hot butterflops and have a yummy companion for your morning coffee.

 

The secret to life is.....butter. (read with a French accent)



We tried an assortment of meats down there as well; bush cow, jungle deer, even paca (labba in the local Arawak language. It's an ROUS. If you understand this reference, you get a virtual hug). Not as many pictures of said meat, but still tasty!

 

Mouth watering yet? If you travel to Guyana, you will have a culinary experience for sure!

 

Thanks a lot and stay tuned for the next post!

 

Love,

 

The Adventurous A.

Nom-Noms of Guyana: Georgetown/Skeldon Edition

If I have anything to say regarding the food here in Guyana so far, it's DELICIOUS! The Guyanese have a penchant for having savory hearty meals for every time of day. Snacks? Hearty. Breakfast? Hearty. Lunch? Hearty? Dinner? Hearty.

Hearty Har Har.

Here's a run-down on the yummy tummy treats Ribz and I have enjoyed in the small period of time in Georgetown/ Skeldon.

Baigan: eggplant. The way I enjoyed it at Kayla's house was roasted directly on the gas stove. It's cut open and stuffed with chopped onion and garlic. After that, the flesh is scooped out of its skin and smooshed together and eaten with crackers.

Channa: garbanzo beans fried in coconut milk and various spices. Common street snack. Basically whatever you want to season it with is fair game.

Chow Mein: Apparently there's a large Chinese influence in Guyana, so you'll find quite a number of Chinese restaurants scattered through Skeldon. Personally, the place I went was not impressive at all, in my opinion. Here's hoping that the next time I'm in Skeldon I'll find a better experience than the first time.

Curry: GAAAAAAAH. The staple!! I can't even begin to describe the deliciousness of curry. Saucy, spicy, flavorful, I only have good things to say. It's a culinary chimera chameleon. Fish curry, chicken curry, you name it they've got it! Paired with white rice, it's used for whatever meal you so desire.

Eddo: The edible corm of the taro root. Boiled into the consistency of mashed potatoes, if seasoned correctly it is very "crave-worthy".

Icee: You remember the frozen juice/syrup/chemical liquid sticks that haunt every single summer, cutting the  edge of your mouth but taste AMAZING? Well here in Guyana they take the same liquid but use it to make soda. Excellent idea, Guyana, good job.

Iguana: yes yes I did it. I ate it. I ate iguana. Sorry Sandy, you were an awesome pet but my goodness, your kind make a great lunch. This is what Lena (Day #2) made us. Believe me, I had quite the mental debate prior to consumption. Refuse to eat and save face, or have bragging rights FOREVER....tough no? Sure, when it's cooked it still has very dark green skin attached to all the ligaments but still! If you ever get the opportunity to try iguana, I highly recommend it.

Pepsi: But wait, there's Pepsi in the States! Why is THIS here?!? The one-up Guyana gets in the soda department is that instead of high fructose corn syrup, they use real sugar (FROM REAL SUGARCANE GROWN HERE). So yes I believe I may never enjoy a soda (or "pop" as my brother's Midwestern roomies may vouch for) in the U.S. ever again...

Pilao: white rice and beans cooked together.  Same principle as Cuban congrí but different flavor. Guyanese food favors Indian spices generally.

Roti: the Indian bread of goodness. Perfect for sopping up curry sauce, it's a delectable finger food. It's soft and chewy at the same time, a most excellent accompaniment.

Tart: A sweet pastry that you fill with the jelly of your choice. The one I tried was pineapple.

Water Lily Seeds: I've seen these plenty of times before, but never assumed they were edible. Arranged very prettily in the pod, there are about 10 spaces where the seeds nestle in. You pop the pod off the plant and start shaking the seeds out and eat them straight. They have a hard nutty quality that'll jar your jaw but still taste great.

And there you have it folks! The first leg of the food posts! Stay tuned for more of the blogs!

Love,

The Adventurous A.