Food

For those of you who were worried about what I would be eating while overhere, this blog is for you. Yesterday Lina and I decided to cook our own meals. Up until this point we have only had to fend for ourselves for breakfast and the lunches and suppers we have been invited to share with the married couples.
as our cupboards were stocked full when we arrived and we had purchased a few items in lusaka we figured we were all set. first we went down to the garden to see if there were any fresh vegetables ready. we discovered the garden is overflowing with peppers, eggplant, carrots, onions and beans. after choosing a basketful of veggies we went back to our little kitchen to raid the cupboards.
we made up the following basic recipe:

Lina and Beth's Losu Casserole
1/2 cup rice
1 1/2 handfulls of green beans, snapped
3 small carrots, chopped
1 red pepper, diced
1 can mushrooms
1 can mushroom soup
1 can ham
chopped spring onion to taste
dash of garlic powder
2 dashes italian seasoning
salt and pepper to taste

1. Cook rice
2. while rice is cooking boil carrots and beans until slightly tender
3. mix together mushoom soup, mushrooms, onion, red pepper and seasonings.
4. chop up ham and add to mixture.
5. when rice and veggies are cooked, drain and add to mixture.
6. put everything into a casserole dish and place in (approx 350 F) oven for about 10 mins until warmed throughout.
Will serve about 4.

We weren't sure how it would taste but it turned out quite good. infact we will probably prepare it again sometime.
some of the other "exotic" foods i have sampled here includes....spaghetti, hot dogs, pancakes, potatoes and roast beef, ham and cheese sandwiches. :)
not all of the food i will eat will be this 'normal' but most of what i will be eating will be prepared by canadians (or zambians following north american recipes) so i'm not all that worried. although i am a picky eater i am trying my best to sample everything placed before me. i have discovered, to my amazement, that there are certain types of mangoes that i like. unfortunately they don't grow at Sakeji, but we brought a few up with us from Garneton to enjoy.
i am really looking forward to when pineapple is in season. the pineapples here are the best in the world!

before i sign off i just want to add a few quick prayer items.
1) please pray for the students and their parents arriving on tuesday. there has been a lot of rain lately and the road to sakeji is a MESS! we barely got through with 4-wheel drive on the landrover and many of hte parents driving will be in small 'town' cars such as corollas etc.
2) please also pray for the students who will be coming for the first time. this will be the hardest term for them as they adjust to being away from their families for 3 months.

thanks again for all your prayers! feel free to try our recipe and comment leave a comment on how it turned out! or any comments are welcome on any of my postings.