Just How We Roll

I feel like I should be Martha Stewart’s apprentice these days with all the baking and cooking I’m doing. Don’t get me wrong, I cooked before, but the process now is just a little more involved than before. 

If I want dinner rolls I can’t go to the frozen section and buy whatever that delicious brand was...ya know...the ones that come in the round pan?? Maybe they're called Mrs. Schuberts? Or Mrs. Bee’s? I can’t remember, but they were fabulous...and the hardest part? Waiting 20 minutes before they're done!

Now if I want rolls? It’s up to me and my “helper” who usually provides more work for me in the aftermath of whatever we’re cooking up. 

Fun fact: I have officially gone through a 10kg bag of flour in exactly one month. That amounts to pancakes a plenty, countless loafs of bread, cookies, and yes, even a wonderfulchocolate cake...using the last drops of my cocoa powder I found just before village living. (Insert my sad face.)

Another adjustment...high altitude. At 5200 feet sometimes things don’t bake, cook and boil exactly how I’m used to. I’m learning to give myself extra timing in the prep of meals “just in case”.

Also in the adjustment process is working with the limited offerings of our store. They do what they can, but so much relies on transporting items here from all around the world via boats, trucks and planes, that it’s hard to have consistency. Menu planning is a week by week decision based on availability and how easily I can find a substitution. No chicken? How do you feel about mince (like beef)? No beef? How about lentils? 

Needless to say, I preface every meal with “So...this is experimental...” 

There was a point in our first 2 weeks here where we would sit down to eat and one of my children would inevitably say, “Well...another meal.” I’m not sure whether they said it out of astonishment or disbelief that I was able to put something edible together or what?!

Then on this night I made homemade pizza and there was much rejoicing...and not a crumb of a leftover.

(Yes, we do occasionally have cheese and we feel it’s sometimes worth the price to partake in such a lavish item. Is it odd that we think cheese is a lavish item now?!)

One thing that doesn’t take much effort? Texas sweet tea! There is plenty of tea and sugar available so a pitcher of it was one of the very first things in our fridge!

Of course, I took a picture of it. It had been 3 months since we’d had sweet tea...or an ice cube for that matter...and we were all just a little excited to have a taste of Texas in our part of the world.