Superdate cooking lesson

happy holidays from Guyana!

as many of you know, robO and i take turns twice a month planning ‘superdates’ for eachother. last sunday, robO surprised me with what i rate as the best superdate to date!

i got up in the morning and went for a jog while rob made us one of our favorite breakfasts of hashbrowns with veggies, cheese, and spices. we relaxed, reading in the sunshine, until 1:00, when he had organized for us to go to a Guyanese woman’s house to learn how to make curry, roti, and gluten free bread options. it was definitely my best day here so far.
cecilia (our host chef) cooks curries and roti every day, and she was comfortable experimenting with gluten free ingredients.

the curries here are really amazing, and she showed us how to make a restaurant quality potato curry that i think we’ll be able to replicate at home. get ready for some dinner parties once we’re home!

‘roti’ is a type of bread that’s sort of like a cross between a tortilla and indian naan bread. it’s really great to dip into sauces or gravies, or it can be made with chickpea or potato filling. yum. the ingredients of it are really simple (flour and water), but it’s the preparation that looks pretty tricky. they are usually made on a ‘roti pan’ on the stove top, and we learned how to ‘clap’ them to make them light and separate the layers after they’re cooked.

Check out the roti clap video here Hi | Low


now for the coolest part… we learned how to make ‘cassava bread’, which is gluten free and made from the cassava root (sort of like a potato). after peeling and grating the cassava, we had to wring out the excess fluid and let the cassava (now a flour-like consistency) dry in the sun.

we then pressed it together on the griddle, and it magically formed into a pancake type product. once cooked on either side it tastes a little like a dense bread. we don’t have any pictures of the finished product because i think robO devoured it all too fast! we’re thrilled that he’s now got a ‘bread’ type option here, and that it is only one ingredient (we didn’t even add water to mix it!!).

the real test will be when we try to make these things without Cecilia…

in other good news, robO is at work right now installing the INTERNET on all of the computers!
yesterday i got approval from the medical director at the hospital to start my cardiac education groups, and today i got approval from the ministry of labor to start making some changes in the public geriatic home to make it more accessible. now i’m going to start trying to fundraise to pay for the changes that need to happen (ramps, handrails, grab bars). if you’re feeling in the holiday spirit and would like to donate, my aim is high – just over 2000 US dollars – to allow these geriatric residents to access their bathrooms and dining areas safely and independently.
and maybe the best news of all, we successfully trapped our house mouse. now we’re working on our other house pets – mosquitos, lizards, ants, and the odd cockroach. we’re enjoying our pet bat because he eats the mosquitos.

we’ve got lots of other pictures to share, so i think rob’s going to blog again this week. on the weekend we’re doing a road (and boat) trip to visit another volunteer who is in a different region. we’re looking forward to getting out of the city again.

take care,
dawnO