So What Do You Eat?
I was asked to write about what we eat. : ) As a mother of four growing boys (by the way, Aubrey has officially passed me at 5'6'') food is a big part of my "work" day. In America I thought I cooked everything from scratch, but perhaps we should define "scratch" clearer????! ha Right now we are more limited than we will be in about 6 months because I don't have an oven. However, if you have been to Osh Kosh Camporee and camped with thousands of pre teens and teens.....one can survive here! : 0 I knew that experience was shaping me for something. Along with my student missionary experience, where Dawn taught me to cook with the bare basics in a true third world remote jungle setting. Also, my mother who taught me how to create food from whatever you have on hand! Mother you are an inspiration!!!!! : )
I am sure that there are many more things we could eat, but shopping takes great effort and concentration. Trying to decipher labels and figure out if we really think the food is what we think it is...... hmmm.... now that is another story. In time I know that shopping will be done with great speed and efficiency and I will know what I am grabbing off the shelf.
So far we have found red, black and white rice. Potatoes and really almost any kind of vegetable and then some that Americans are used too. Fruits.....well I best not torture you with the stories of mangoes and pineapples for only 0.50 cents! : ) Peanuts and cashews are readily available. Popcorn. Mungo beans, they cook quick and make great patties. Noodles (like Ramon). Pasta (a little pricey). Cheese (expensive), milk and soy milk are all available. Pasta sauce....haven't quite found anything like what we are used too.....it all seems a bit sweet. Bought a big bag of "Sauce Tomato" the other day to discover it was ketchup. We will be eating ketchup for a long time. Tried to find salt, and almost purchased a bag of MSG. I told the family, that perhaps if I put it in their vegetables they would crave MORE! Snack food is available, like crackers, chips, cookies, etc. Portion size in snacks is much smaller. Also their bread is not sweet as in the Philippines. Tofu is readily available. Though if sitting out in the markets it has been treated with formaldehyde to preserve it. Peanut butter one can buy. Oats are available. A box of American quality cereal is over $5 a box.
As you can see, we are not lacking. Thankfully, we are very blessed. Even though it is not "like home", we have many choices. Hopefully this will give you a clearer picture of what we eat and let you know that we are not suffering! Oh we purchased a box of "Magic Ice Cream". It sounded like a fun treat. So we whisked the contents with cold water and put in the freezer overnight. Today, upon eating it, we decided it was chocolate frozen pudding. Chocolate frozen pudding can taste like magic ice cream with very little imagination. Especially if you are living in Indonesia!
I am sure that there are many more things we could eat, but shopping takes great effort and concentration. Trying to decipher labels and figure out if we really think the food is what we think it is...... hmmm.... now that is another story. In time I know that shopping will be done with great speed and efficiency and I will know what I am grabbing off the shelf.
So far we have found red, black and white rice. Potatoes and really almost any kind of vegetable and then some that Americans are used too. Fruits.....well I best not torture you with the stories of mangoes and pineapples for only 0.50 cents! : ) Peanuts and cashews are readily available. Popcorn. Mungo beans, they cook quick and make great patties. Noodles (like Ramon). Pasta (a little pricey). Cheese (expensive), milk and soy milk are all available. Pasta sauce....haven't quite found anything like what we are used too.....it all seems a bit sweet. Bought a big bag of "Sauce Tomato" the other day to discover it was ketchup. We will be eating ketchup for a long time. Tried to find salt, and almost purchased a bag of MSG. I told the family, that perhaps if I put it in their vegetables they would crave MORE! Snack food is available, like crackers, chips, cookies, etc. Portion size in snacks is much smaller. Also their bread is not sweet as in the Philippines. Tofu is readily available. Though if sitting out in the markets it has been treated with formaldehyde to preserve it. Peanut butter one can buy. Oats are available. A box of American quality cereal is over $5 a box.
As you can see, we are not lacking. Thankfully, we are very blessed. Even though it is not "like home", we have many choices. Hopefully this will give you a clearer picture of what we eat and let you know that we are not suffering! Oh we purchased a box of "Magic Ice Cream". It sounded like a fun treat. So we whisked the contents with cold water and put in the freezer overnight. Today, upon eating it, we decided it was chocolate frozen pudding. Chocolate frozen pudding can taste like magic ice cream with very little imagination. Especially if you are living in Indonesia!
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