Sacafo
My malagasy sister asked me if I would cook dinner one night last week and while I was up for the task wanting to give her a break I was a little nervous. I wouldn't consider myself a great cook under normal circumstances, throw in a coal top stove and a pan I'm not familiar with and we could have and inedible disaster on our hands.
When the day came I thought my sister had said she was going to go with me to find ingredient so I waited and even checked in with her a few times. Around 5:45 I asked again and she said she couldn't go because she needed to stay and make the fudge-sickles for the next day's sale. I clearly had gotten that wrong. So, with 45 minutes until I needed to start cooking in order to eat around 7:30 I was on to plan B-crepes (plan A being taco with homemade tortillas). Off to the grocery store I headed buying everything I needed and spending 1.5 times what I normally pay for a week of food.
When I got into the kitchen to get started I expected to cook on my own but wasn't surprised when my family came to watch since the cookies I had made at Kara's earlier in the week had elicited a lot of interest. I was surprised however, when everyone jumped in to help. With the brother-in-law working on fixing the lamp to eliminate the outdoor stove while my sister poured and the teenager staying at the house swirling the mix in the pan to thin out the crepes we all had a wonderful time. I have to give the success of the meal to the pan. This particular pan, purchased by Kara, was the best pan I have ever used. The crepes turned out amazingly and the whole experience was just right.
With one successful meal down I was up for trying again and this time on the menu was tacos. When I told Mamato my plan she showed me cut corn expecting that's what I meant since the word for corn sounds like tacos. I was excited for the education ahead as well as for the hearty meal since a few towards the end of the previous week had not been as meaty. I was also looking forward to actually shopping in the market this time since I now had a few friends within. Armed with my list I got what I needed with the help of the ladies. By 5:30 I was excited to start cooking. As was true the previous week I couldn't have guessed how the experience would go.
When I started the mix for the tortillas I realized I had grabbed yeast instead of baking soda packets. Without that ingredient I was hoping they would still taste okay. After mixing everything together I felt like we needed more, so I had to run to the shop on the corner for more oil. Thankfully, my family was very good at rolling out tortillas and my brother-in-law worked on that while my sister flipped and I chopped all the extras. I felt a little bad because rolling was a hard job and it took a while with as much mix as there was, but I was impressed with my brother-in-laws abilities.
When it came time to cook the meet my sister shared my love of our new pan and it's lack of need for oil to cook. Once the meet was ready I drained the water, which I was surprised they let me do, and then added the packet of taco seasoning Kara had given me (the same as what you can get in the states).
My aunt upon seeing the seasoning: oh, curry
Me: no, taco seasoning
My aunt: in Malagasy - curry, laughing
Me to myself: curry isn't even a main ingredient
When it came time to eat we sat down to the works including, avocado with lime, cilantro, tomatoes, cheese, lettuce, meet, beans, chips, pop and rice (just in case). After directing the process of filling a tortilla we were off and I was in heaven eating one of my favorite meals.
My uncle came to join in on the experience and that's when the fun began. As they explained what to do my mama told him to add the foreigner's red beans since I had made them from a can. At this I was in stitches. When I brought out my camera my uncle promptly shoved lettuces in his mouth which hung out onto his chin and again I laughed from my tummy. For a second time we had enjoyed a wonderful "American" meal and a wonderful time together. Next week on the menu...pizza.
P.S. no one touched the rice.
When the day came I thought my sister had said she was going to go with me to find ingredient so I waited and even checked in with her a few times. Around 5:45 I asked again and she said she couldn't go because she needed to stay and make the fudge-sickles for the next day's sale. I clearly had gotten that wrong. So, with 45 minutes until I needed to start cooking in order to eat around 7:30 I was on to plan B-crepes (plan A being taco with homemade tortillas). Off to the grocery store I headed buying everything I needed and spending 1.5 times what I normally pay for a week of food.
When I got into the kitchen to get started I expected to cook on my own but wasn't surprised when my family came to watch since the cookies I had made at Kara's earlier in the week had elicited a lot of interest. I was surprised however, when everyone jumped in to help. With the brother-in-law working on fixing the lamp to eliminate the outdoor stove while my sister poured and the teenager staying at the house swirling the mix in the pan to thin out the crepes we all had a wonderful time. I have to give the success of the meal to the pan. This particular pan, purchased by Kara, was the best pan I have ever used. The crepes turned out amazingly and the whole experience was just right.
With one successful meal down I was up for trying again and this time on the menu was tacos. When I told Mamato my plan she showed me cut corn expecting that's what I meant since the word for corn sounds like tacos. I was excited for the education ahead as well as for the hearty meal since a few towards the end of the previous week had not been as meaty. I was also looking forward to actually shopping in the market this time since I now had a few friends within. Armed with my list I got what I needed with the help of the ladies. By 5:30 I was excited to start cooking. As was true the previous week I couldn't have guessed how the experience would go.
When I started the mix for the tortillas I realized I had grabbed yeast instead of baking soda packets. Without that ingredient I was hoping they would still taste okay. After mixing everything together I felt like we needed more, so I had to run to the shop on the corner for more oil. Thankfully, my family was very good at rolling out tortillas and my brother-in-law worked on that while my sister flipped and I chopped all the extras. I felt a little bad because rolling was a hard job and it took a while with as much mix as there was, but I was impressed with my brother-in-laws abilities.
When it came time to cook the meet my sister shared my love of our new pan and it's lack of need for oil to cook. Once the meet was ready I drained the water, which I was surprised they let me do, and then added the packet of taco seasoning Kara had given me (the same as what you can get in the states).
My aunt upon seeing the seasoning: oh, curry
Me: no, taco seasoning
My aunt: in Malagasy - curry, laughing
Me to myself: curry isn't even a main ingredient
When it came time to eat we sat down to the works including, avocado with lime, cilantro, tomatoes, cheese, lettuce, meet, beans, chips, pop and rice (just in case). After directing the process of filling a tortilla we were off and I was in heaven eating one of my favorite meals.
My uncle came to join in on the experience and that's when the fun began. As they explained what to do my mama told him to add the foreigner's red beans since I had made them from a can. At this I was in stitches. When I brought out my camera my uncle promptly shoved lettuces in his mouth which hung out onto his chin and again I laughed from my tummy. For a second time we had enjoyed a wonderful "American" meal and a wonderful time together. Next week on the menu...pizza.
P.S. no one touched the rice.
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