Rolling out the dough...
Alternate uses for a wine glass...
Look at that skill....
and technique!
Aren't they beautiful?
Browning the butter....
Delicious!
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
Pierogies in Moçambique
Okay, so this one is mostly for my mom, who I had to email for the family pierogi recipe after I promised to make them for my roommates (I happened to find cottage cheese in a store and got excited about the possibility of making them...which turned into insistence on my friends' parts that I actually make them!).
Rolling out the dough...
Alternate uses for a wine glass...
Look at that skill....
and technique!
Aren't they beautiful?
Browning the butter....
Delicious!
Rolling out the dough...
Alternate uses for a wine glass...
Look at that skill....
and technique!
Aren't they beautiful?
Browning the butter....
Delicious!
Birthday celebration, part 2
Clearly we couldn't limit the double birthday celebration to one dinner....so we also had a birthday party for the girls at a bar in Maputo on Friday night.
The birthday girls....
Me and Rhett....
The birthday girls with their cake....
I don't know who arranged these candles but they were fabulous....
Me and the bartender, who was kind enough to mix us up several (decent!) margaritas....
Me with my friends Max and Lau...
The birthday girls....
Me and Rhett....
The birthday girls with their cake....
I don't know who arranged these candles but they were fabulous....
Me and the bartender, who was kind enough to mix us up several (decent!) margaritas....
Me with my friends Max and Lau...
Rhett and Alexis' Birthday Celebration, part 1
As chance would have it, both of my roommates celebrated their birthdays last week. Rhett's birthday was mid-week, so we began our birthday celebrations with a dinner at Maputo's brazilian bbq restaurant, Rhodesio Real. I think the pictures pretty much speak for themselves...
The birthday girls - Alexis and Rhett...
This restaurant was all about meat...
and grilled pineapple!
Me and Rhett...
The birthday girls - Alexis and Rhett...
This restaurant was all about meat...
and grilled pineapple!
Me and Rhett...
Catembe
Last weekend a couple friends and I took a day trip to Catembe - a small island just off the coast of Maputo (it was about a 15 minute ferry ride). Our original plan was to go to a restaurant recommended in my Lonely Planet guidebook for lunch (they claimed to have make-your-own pizza) and just check out the beach there. None of us had ever been....but we figured that, being a small island, how hard could it really be to navigate?
The dock to the little ferry boats...
Looking back at Maputo...
Shuen, Jason and myself...
Clearly, we were mistaken. Upon arrival, we found a sign pointing towards the restaurant we wanted to eat at. So we started walking. And we kept walking. And kept walking. It turns out that Catembe hasn't really been developed with tourists in mind, and there isn't actually much there.
Catembe's main road...
Eventually, after no signs of tourist-targeted establishments, we stopped to ask some local fisherman if they knew where this place was. They told us we should have gone the other direction when the road split (we had elected to walk along the beach....aren't all tourist things along the beach if at all possible?). So we started backtracking...and decided to ask for a second opinion. Our next candidate informed us that we had originally been going the wrong way but were now headed in the right direction...the restaurant we wanted was actually right next to the ferry dock. How about a third opinion? This time we were told that the restaurant was back in our original direction...where we thought it was.
At this point I thought it wise to use a lifeline and call my roommate - who had stayed home and would therefore have access to the guidebook (which I had neglected to bring with me). She informed us that the restaurant was where we had originally thought....but it was just a little farther than expected (4 km from the ferry, to be exact). Now, it was hot. We were tired. And we had been walking up and down the same road for about an hour. But we were determined to get our pizza....so we turned back around and headed for make-your-own pizza land.
Several hot kilometers later, we arrived at our destination. It was a nice little hotel, complete with a small art gallery, a classy looking dining room, and a deck with tables and chairs. We opted for a table outside and, since we were parched and no one seemed to be coming to us, I got up to ask the waiter for a menu and a big bottle of water. "I'm sorry," he says, " we are out of water". Need I describe my surprise at this statement? He then went on to inform me that all they had to eat was shrimp or portuguese style beef (I'm not quite sure what that even is). Apparently they had just hosted a month long workshop, the kitchen was all cleaned out, and the big boss hadn't gotten back from his shopping trip to Maputo yet.
I don't think I can accurately describe the emotions we were feeling at this point....so I'll just say that we opted to catch a chapa (i.e. minibus) back to the ferry where we were told there was another fancy restaurant. Now, our chapa was an open pick-up truck, which was relatively full and we had to stand in the back of. About half way back to the dock it broke down, and all the guys had to get out and push (sometimes it's nice being the non-dominant sex). When that didn't work, we enlisted the help of another chapa to tow our chapa back to the dock.
We opted to walk back at this point (we had been walking all afternoon....so why not?), and headed back down to the beach to stick our feet in the ocean.
We eventually made it to the other restaurant, which we decided was not that great. So we just got back on the ferry, went back to Maputo, and ate at a restaurant there. Very anti-climactic. But we did get to see a lot of Catembe...which was actually pretty nice. Next time, however, I will be better prepared!
The dock to the little ferry boats...
Looking back at Maputo...
Shuen, Jason and myself...
Clearly, we were mistaken. Upon arrival, we found a sign pointing towards the restaurant we wanted to eat at. So we started walking. And we kept walking. And kept walking. It turns out that Catembe hasn't really been developed with tourists in mind, and there isn't actually much there.
Catembe's main road...
Eventually, after no signs of tourist-targeted establishments, we stopped to ask some local fisherman if they knew where this place was. They told us we should have gone the other direction when the road split (we had elected to walk along the beach....aren't all tourist things along the beach if at all possible?). So we started backtracking...and decided to ask for a second opinion. Our next candidate informed us that we had originally been going the wrong way but were now headed in the right direction...the restaurant we wanted was actually right next to the ferry dock. How about a third opinion? This time we were told that the restaurant was back in our original direction...where we thought it was.
At this point I thought it wise to use a lifeline and call my roommate - who had stayed home and would therefore have access to the guidebook (which I had neglected to bring with me). She informed us that the restaurant was where we had originally thought....but it was just a little farther than expected (4 km from the ferry, to be exact). Now, it was hot. We were tired. And we had been walking up and down the same road for about an hour. But we were determined to get our pizza....so we turned back around and headed for make-your-own pizza land.
Several hot kilometers later, we arrived at our destination. It was a nice little hotel, complete with a small art gallery, a classy looking dining room, and a deck with tables and chairs. We opted for a table outside and, since we were parched and no one seemed to be coming to us, I got up to ask the waiter for a menu and a big bottle of water. "I'm sorry," he says, " we are out of water". Need I describe my surprise at this statement? He then went on to inform me that all they had to eat was shrimp or portuguese style beef (I'm not quite sure what that even is). Apparently they had just hosted a month long workshop, the kitchen was all cleaned out, and the big boss hadn't gotten back from his shopping trip to Maputo yet.
I don't think I can accurately describe the emotions we were feeling at this point....so I'll just say that we opted to catch a chapa (i.e. minibus) back to the ferry where we were told there was another fancy restaurant. Now, our chapa was an open pick-up truck, which was relatively full and we had to stand in the back of. About half way back to the dock it broke down, and all the guys had to get out and push (sometimes it's nice being the non-dominant sex). When that didn't work, we enlisted the help of another chapa to tow our chapa back to the dock.
We opted to walk back at this point (we had been walking all afternoon....so why not?), and headed back down to the beach to stick our feet in the ocean.
We eventually made it to the other restaurant, which we decided was not that great. So we just got back on the ferry, went back to Maputo, and ate at a restaurant there. Very anti-climactic. But we did get to see a lot of Catembe...which was actually pretty nice. Next time, however, I will be better prepared!
Sunday, October 5, 2008
Chicuque - the cast
Here is my adopted family of Chicuque, who I recently spent a long weekend with :) It's the mom and the three youngest of her five daughters (the older two moved away since I left).
The mom....Tia Hortência
Suraya
Saquina
Mamu
Plus a few random cousins...Edinho...
Nede with her younger sister
The mom....Tia Hortência
Suraya
Saquina
Mamu
Plus a few random cousins...Edinho...
Nede with her younger sister
Chicuque - cooking
Chicuque - the beach
Last weekend I took advantage of a four-day weekend to take a trip up to Chicuque - the village I served in as a Peace Corps volunteer - to get out of the city and visit some old friends. For those of you who never saw photos from my Peace Corps days....here you go.
Chicuque is a fishing village right on Inhambane bay, and has a beautiful beach. This is the path down to the beach...
The beach, with some of the fishing boats...
The girls I was with, playing around...
Lobster traps...
Chicuque is a fishing village right on Inhambane bay, and has a beautiful beach. This is the path down to the beach...
The beach, with some of the fishing boats...
The girls I was with, playing around...
Lobster traps...
Ladies Night II
The second part of the entertainment (again, I think the pictures speak for themselves)....
#1
#2
#3
The grand finale...
#1
#2
#3
The grand finale...
Ladies Night I
About a week and a half ago, my roommate's bar held a very special event. Ladies' Night. They only allowed ladies into the bar from 10-12, and the cover to get in paid for all you can drink cocktails during those hours. There was also some very special entertainment hired....actually, I think the pictures say it all.
The ladies....Ermelinda, me, Rhett (one of my roommates), Cynthia and Sara
The first part of the entertainment (they didn't do anything other than serve drinks.....but they did so shirtless)...
The ladies....Ermelinda, me, Rhett (one of my roommates), Cynthia and Sara
The first part of the entertainment (they didn't do anything other than serve drinks.....but they did so shirtless)...
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