New Favorite Foods

Well, I must admit that I have eaten well since arriving in South Africa.  The foods aren't totally different, but there are some differences.  My biggest challenge so far is that since I have no transport (read that as "wheels"), I have to stay in for dinner...which means cooking...or eating the cooking of my fellow housemates here at the B&B.  My housemates have been very generous...and I'm trying to avoid "cooking" as much as I can...I'll assembled a few things for dinner, but haven't cooked from scratch yet.

Anyway, I've developed a favorite restaurant or two (called Dappio Zero...don't ask me about the name...I have no idea).  I've had pizza there twice and it was delicious.  I also enjoyed eating at a place called Fruit and Veg (but it's also a bakery).  They have quite the sense of humor.  All their sandwiches are named....after world leaders and African leaders.  Some are more complimentary than others....the one named after Nelson Mandela was like the super breakfast with everything in it - eggs, steak, toast, sausage, etc.  There was one named after Tutu - it had "Tu eggs, two toast and tu much bacon".  Quite clever.  On the back of their menu that had Q & A.  Questions they get asked, answers they give and answers they wish they could say out loud.  One question was "Do you bake everything here?"  Answer:  Yes, ma'am, we're a bakery.  Answer they wish they could give:  "No ma'am, we're actually a mafia front for a bordello.  We don't bake anything at our bakery".  Question:  What kind of wheat is in your wheat-free bread?  Answer:  There isn't any wheat in our wheat-free bread.  Answer they wish they could give:  Are you really that stupid?  Why do you think we called it "wheat free bread"?  They're not quite as PC here as we are in the states...

Anyway, when I was at Fruit and Veg, I decided to get the Washington.  It was a panini and had ham, cheddar cheese, pineapple, mayo and peppedews.  Now after my experience with Marmite, I decided to be cautious with new foods.  So I had the peppedews on the side.  When I meal was delivered to our table, I asked Tessa (our class CA) if the amount I had cut off to try was appropriate.  After she agreed, I tasted it.  Think sweet peppers with a little bit of chili mixed in....it was really good….sweet with a little bit of zest.  Really gave the sandwich a good flavor!  Tessa mentioned it was really good on pizza....

So the 2nd pizza that I had at Doppio Zero was this weekend...chicken, peppedew and avo (they don't say avocado here).  It was really delicious.  That's my new favorite pizza...forget boring mushroom and pepperoni (or ham).   I might even need to bring a jar of peppedews back with me.

Another piece of good news is that I found FRENCH'S MUSTARD on the shelf of Spar (grocery store) over the weekend.  They have mustard here, but it isn't the same….it tastes like they have added a lot of sugar.  So when I saw French’s on the shelf, I immediately grabbed it.  It was a medium sized bottle (only 1 size was on the shelf).  Guess how much in USD?  Yep...about $5.  BUT IT WAS WORTH IT!!!!  I was able to put it on the crust of my pizza this weekend.  Mmmmm...that was good!!!!

I was introduced to Cook Sister today (don't ask me from what nefarious origin that name came from).  It is basically dough rolled out into 6" long snakes (think playdo days), folded in half and twisted together so it looks like a small DNA strand.  It's fried (think donut-like) and then while it's still hot, it's dipped in a sugary mixture....sometimes flavored with lemon or orange....or just plain sugar.  Wow...that was good!  But sweeeeeeetttttt!  I only had one....I would have been hospitalized in diabetic shock if I had eaten more (and I'm not diabetic!).  But, delicious...and it wasn't even chocolate.

One thing (among many) that that I am loving here is the plethora of bakeries.  Wow...this isn't the place to be on a diet!!!  I've been introduced to pig's ears (fried dough rolled in big-grain sugar), cookies, cakes, brownies, etc.  Every restaurant has a bakery attached.  It's quite dangerous...but I'm enjoying trying so many different foods.

On a more serious note, I had my first leaders meeting and lecture last week.  I felt very welcomed, encouraged and embraced by the leaders and the class.  What a privilege it is to know women from a different culture, race, background, etc. but yet we have so much in common b/c of Christ.  I'm so thankful for this privilege to be here.  Tomorrow I have leaders meeting and then on Wed, I'm doing the homiletics seminar after lecture.  That's a lot of talking for an introvert!!!  That one day will use up my quota of words for the entire week!!!  :-)  But I'm looking forward to it...it's great that I get to teach the Seminars again!