My neighbors celebrated the engagement of their eldest daughter over the weekend. From Eritrea...

M

michael-in-phoenix

Well-known member
...originally, they have an outdoor kitchen where they prepare all manner of very spicy foods. The aroma of their spice mixes hits my backyard on a regular basis, and I love it!

Whenever they celebrate something they bring me plates of this wonderful food. It's warming up in the kitchen right now!

Woo hoo!

Michael

 
I'm jealous. I'd do about anything for a plate of my Colombian friend's family's lechona Tolimense

at Christmas. Sadly, he doesn't live here anymore.

 
My son's high school spanish teacher (yes, I now have a high schooler... )...

...is from Columbia. I'm going to have to ask him about it.

Michael

 
A few years after I got married there was a Mexican family. . .

that bought the house two doors down from us. It seemed like there were a LOT of people there, but they were quiet, friendly neighbors and were away working to improve their house and property. Even though she did not speak english and I did not speak spanish, I became friends with the mom of the house. I traded her a birthday cake for an exercise bike and we would do stuff like that with one of her kids translating. I always told her that good food is good food.

One day she brought me a plate with a chile relleno on it. It was perfectly fried and the batter was as light as air. The sauce over it was clear, savory and tomatoey-chickeny. This was the BEST chile relleno, bar NONE I have ever eaten. I still remember it VERY fondly; it was made with skill and great love for the food.

 
Here's the story:

The macho male members of the family go buy a live pig and take it home and slaughter it. (I know this because of the year my friend limped from getting kicked by it and his Ford Explorer smelled for a few weeks BECAUSE THEY PUT THE LIVE PIG in it). The pig is hollowed out and trimmed of meat as much as possible without piercing the skin. Extra pork meat in chunks is purchased. A stuffing is prepared with rice, meat, onions, green onions, garlic, potatoes, peas, cumin, etc. This is all piled in the pig and roasted. It is divine. The leftovers are used to make big banana leaf tamales.

 
Isn't it fun to get food from other parts of the world?

I teach English to adult refugees and immigrants from all over. My current students come from Eritrea, Ethiopia, Somalia, Uganda, Burundi, Congo, Sudan, Burma, Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, China, Bhutan (Nepali), Mexico, Guatemala, Russia and Ukraine. (Who did I forget?)
Lucky me, they like to share food with teacher who obviously loves to eat!
If only the world got along as well as we all do

 
And the world would get along like you and your students do Anna, if the men would leave it up to

us women. Don't you agree?

 
Karen, something tells me if women ran things there would be a few hiccups...

...about every 21 days or so.

One thing for sure... THOSE wars would be over QUICK!

Michael

 
I love you, Michael, BUT:

It's one thing to think something like that, it's another to post on a board that probably 90 per cent female.

Methinks you may be in for some scolding.

 
Forgive me... I'm kinda out of it...

...I'm wearing my fat pants today, my hair won't behave and I can't have my coffee because, well, you know... caffeine makes it ten times worse!

This whole world just doesn't make any sense to me right now, and I'm just irritable enough to slap the next teenager that says to me, "Dad, a t-shirt IS a collared shirt. It has a collar."

I'll be ok in a few days.

Michael

 
Really? Do men still really believe that? well then, even more so for women to rule

the men would know that every 21 days they had better clean up their act;)

 
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