Home On the Range

Yes, I've been back to cooking again since we've been in Angola. We were thoroughly spoiled with Emi, our cook in Indonesia. Although I originally protested the idea of having someone else in my kitchen, she was amazing. Not only did she prepare lunch and dinner, but she also made tortillas, bagels, breads, you name it. (Come to think of it, she's to blame for the weight I gained there!) But an empregada (maid) in Angola is not only more expensive and difficult to find, but rarely does she cook Western food. So I am back to full time cook, and I am actually loving it. Although finding ingredients locally for a particular recipe is a challenge, I normally start with what I have available and adapt. Sometimes the substitutions in the recipe outnumber the original ingredients, so it truly is a new creation. We have come across some new favorites, as well. I am including a few of these for you to try. We had some fantastic BBQ ribs that a friend prepared, and she shared the recipe for Absolutely Awesome BBQ Sauce from a website. A favorite dessert (for which I can easily find ingredients) is a fruit sorbet, and I think my current favorites are mango and melon. One of the local desserts I've grown to love is Banana Paõ, commonly called fried bananas. I recently prepared Lemon Cream Sandwich Cookies (from Bon Appetit) for a coffee we had and got great reviews on them. So I hope you'll try some of these, too.