Look at that smile, that sauce was made with love.
Sarita is excited to try our creation, Saran doubted anything Gordon cooked.
The big boys (Dhiraj, Amrit and Babit) take care of cleaning duty for the night. There was no rice on the floor for the first time in a long time. 
Rina tells Gordon that she doesn't want him to cook anymore.
He agrees!!
KC and I tried our hand at making 20 kids and 5 didis snack and dinner on Thursday night. We thought we would go with typical American meals.
For snack, the obvious choice was PB and J. It was the first time many of the children have had peanut butter. They all flew threw their two sandwiches and came back for more. We did not want to spoil their appetite for dinner.
For dinner, it was pasta in a bolognese sauce. We made two trips to the main shopping center (about a 30 minute walk) to get our supplies. The first trip was 4 1/2 kg bags of pasta, 8 cans of crushed tomatoes and tomato sauce, a kg of mozzarella cheese, oregano and peanut butter. The second trip was another 2 bags of pasta more tomato sauce and minced mutton. We stopped at a local food stand for vegetables. There are local food stands throughout our neighborhood. We bought several carrots, three heads of garlic and a kilo of onions for $1.30. . . not bad. (A large majority of the vegetables are grown locally and organically.)
Now it was time to cook. The PB and J assembly line was easy. KC, Sushma and I knocked out 50 sandwiches in under 15 minutes (2 per child plus didis). The pasta meal was more complex. Most kitchens consist of two gas range tops hooked up to a gas tank outside. Only the very wealthy have an oven or appliances installed into their counters, very uncommon. So, it starts with the sauce. Luckily KC asked if there was a can opener in the house 10 minutes prior to commencing the prep. Sushma pulled out a small metal can opener like the ones used to open large cans of fruit juice. KC and I smiled and I was out the door to find a can opener, I had 10 cans to open. After stopping at 6 stores locally, I accepted the fact that food in Nepal does not come out of a can. Its made fresh. . . so it was time to go home and come up with another solution. Luckily, my brother gave me a Swiss Army knife for Christmas and it of course has a can opener (way to go Youngester!!). It took longer than normal and drew lots of inquisitive looks from the kids and didis but all the cans were opened in no time.
KC had the cooking under control so I followed orders of cooking the minced mutton and seasoning. Before we knew it, the pasta was on and dinner was being served. The response was mixed. It was the first time many of the children had cheese. About 50% came back for seconds, not to bad.
We considered the cooking to be a success. The children were enthralled by the ingredients, flavors and textures and the didis got a well deserved night off cooking.
For snack, the obvious choice was PB and J. It was the first time many of the children have had peanut butter. They all flew threw their two sandwiches and came back for more. We did not want to spoil their appetite for dinner.
For dinner, it was pasta in a bolognese sauce. We made two trips to the main shopping center (about a 30 minute walk) to get our supplies. The first trip was 4 1/2 kg bags of pasta, 8 cans of crushed tomatoes and tomato sauce, a kg of mozzarella cheese, oregano and peanut butter. The second trip was another 2 bags of pasta more tomato sauce and minced mutton. We stopped at a local food stand for vegetables. There are local food stands throughout our neighborhood. We bought several carrots, three heads of garlic and a kilo of onions for $1.30. . . not bad. (A large majority of the vegetables are grown locally and organically.)
Now it was time to cook. The PB and J assembly line was easy. KC, Sushma and I knocked out 50 sandwiches in under 15 minutes (2 per child plus didis). The pasta meal was more complex. Most kitchens consist of two gas range tops hooked up to a gas tank outside. Only the very wealthy have an oven or appliances installed into their counters, very uncommon. So, it starts with the sauce. Luckily KC asked if there was a can opener in the house 10 minutes prior to commencing the prep. Sushma pulled out a small metal can opener like the ones used to open large cans of fruit juice. KC and I smiled and I was out the door to find a can opener, I had 10 cans to open. After stopping at 6 stores locally, I accepted the fact that food in Nepal does not come out of a can. Its made fresh. . . so it was time to go home and come up with another solution. Luckily, my brother gave me a Swiss Army knife for Christmas and it of course has a can opener (way to go Youngester!!). It took longer than normal and drew lots of inquisitive looks from the kids and didis but all the cans were opened in no time.
KC had the cooking under control so I followed orders of cooking the minced mutton and seasoning. Before we knew it, the pasta was on and dinner was being served. The response was mixed. It was the first time many of the children had cheese. About 50% came back for seconds, not to bad.
We considered the cooking to be a success. The children were enthralled by the ingredients, flavors and textures and the didis got a well deserved night off cooking.
1 comment:
@mmm...minced mutton. Way to go! You're a regular Jaime Oliver over there. But where did you get the peanut butter?
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