Finally it's a rainy day in Maputo. The temperature has cooled from last week's record of 41C (it felt as if you were standing in front of a hair dryer on high the entire day) and is now a comfortable, if not a bit humid, 25C. This part of Mozambique has been in a moderate drought for the past few months, while the central provinces were hit with floods from nearly all of the major rivers that cut across the country before flowing into the Indian Ocean.
The cool, fall-like weather - combined with a mild hangover from throwing Erik a New Mexican themed going away party last night - put me in the mood for some comfort food. I made up a recipe for butternut squash lasagne with curry and bechamel sauce and it turned out really well, exactly the taste and texture I was craving.
I can't believe I was actually willing to cook today, since I spent about 4 hours in the kitchen last night in preparation for the party. I made carne adovada with red chile and pork, fajita style green chile chicken, and ground beef with cumin and tomatoes. Erik was a great sport and volunteered to help me make a dozen flour tortillas, which came out perfectly burned and bubbly thanks to the heavy cast-iron griddle Jenny lent me. Patty and Luis brought some tequila and I tried my hand at making margaritas. We even managed to find margarita mix and triple sec at the bottle store to make the drinks authentic. A couple other friends showed up for the party, and by the end of the night everyone had a full stomach and a little buzz to make falling asleep a super easy task. I was so sleepy, in fact, that I didn't even get a chance to say a proper goodbye to Erik. I had to excuse myself from the party (okay, by this point it was just me, Rico and Erik) and hit the sack.
Today has been a slow day. In a few minutes a woman from UNICEF who is a faithful jewlery client of mine is coming by so that I can work on a custom design for her using some mother of pearl she got at Ilha de Moçambique. I love doing custom projects, and I am really looking forward to this one in particular because she's offered to pay me part in cash and part in-kind. This means I will have some beautiful mother of pearl to play around with for future designs.
I'm off to have some mint tea and a piece of chocolate before my client arrives. Hope you all are having a lovely day.
6 comments:
i am so clueless as to how to blog and email and such, but if you ever want to talk about the birthing process...fear...and bliss please email me at jekinek(at)hotmail it's not as bad as everyone makes it out to be! ;-D
Can we see the finished product? Please!
P.S What sorts of chocolate are available in Maputo?
mmmmm......this post was a feast for the imagination. I'm hungry! JP
~Jenica - Well, we're still several years off from actually starting a family, but I'd definitely like to talk to you more. I will drop you an e-mail.
~Safiya - Girl, not a scrap of the New Mexican food was left over (and I didn't want to leave the table to get my camera in fear that I'd have no food for me when I came back!). As for the lasagna, it's half gone, and a photo now is not going to be very pretty. I'll try and take one on the plate at lunch.
Chocolates - here we get all the standard issue stuff imported from South Africa: Cadbury's, Ferrero Rocher, Mars, etc. There is also a local chocolate company run by Belgians called Deja Vu that makes absolutely delicious truffles and handmade bars. Yum!
~Jane Poe - Between Wed. and yesterday I think I'm up 5 pounds just in lasagna and tacos! Totally worth it. :)
A quick PS for Safiya:
I keep trying to put one of those digital media player links on my blog so I can share music...I am so technologically challenged, nothing has worked so far. :(
If you find something tha works, pass it along to me please...
it was great food!!!!! you guys should come visit me in Nacaroa: I have a house, but no electricity, only a small solar powered generator. I will have cold beers though!!!
El Erik
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