Cactus Flower

After the recent retreat over Easter weekend, I came home with lots of leftover fruits and vegetables, not to mention all the extra rice, beans and other grains that I carefully counted and stored in a protected place to be left on the island for another day.  Seems my menu planning and the last minute drop out of some of the expected campers made my best laid plans all awry, to say the least.  And if there is anything I hate more than coming home tired and weary from a retreat, it's having to deal with leftovers. But I am thankful this time!  On Sunday night arriving home at 5 pm as we ran around to get ready for our evening church service that starts at 7 pm, I was thankful for 5 beef steaks all cooked and waiting for my family to eat with hearty servings of a rice and bean casserole dish salvaged from the last lunch on the island.  On Monday, I was happy for the fresh lamb given to me by the island caretaker that went in the crockpot with potatoes, onions and ...

 chopping tomaters at camp Here's a post on a different note... Cooking in Brazil has been a long haul of flops and successes.  I should probably say lots of flops and a few successes.  Someone I know wanted to know about making good biscuits with ingredients found here.  I have made biscuits for a long time but recently Byron has declared that I have finally learned how to do it.  I take that for a compliment although it could be construed as a half compliment! This past Monday I made an all-American meal for 5 local pastors.  We had fried chicken, mashed potatoes, green beans, chicken gravy, cole slaw, sliced tomatoes and cucumbers, sweet iced tea, and biscuits with butter.  The biscuits were all but eaten during the meal.  After everyone finally seemed full and satisfied and I had refilled the bowls on the table numerous times, someone got the jelly out and then the last of the biscuits disappeared.