Greetings from Somoto, Nicaragua!
This quaint mountain town is located in the hills of northern Nicaragua, just 14 miles from the border of Honduras in the center of the state of Madriz. Somoto means the Valley of Geese, but so far we haven't seen any geese!
We are facilitating a training at the Fabretto Center, a school for students in the community. Today, many of the mothers of the students have arrived to learn about food safety and hygiene, receive information on nutrition and have a chance to try their hand at cooking with soy.
Sra. Francesa, Head Cook at the Somoto school, Nayeli Villinova and myself head up teams of mothers who roll up their sleeves and jump right in by incorporating soy into rice dishes, quesadillas and meat patties.
The kitchen space was small by Western standards, but the enthusiasm was huge and in no time the burners on the two cook stoves were sizzling with frying pans full of all kinds of local vegetables including tomatoes, celery, onions and greens. Sra. Francesa's team browned the rice, added the vegetables and TSP and simmered until done.
Nayeli's team seasoned their ground pork and TSP with onions, bell peppers, salt and dry chicken bouillon, shaped it into patties and fried. Another recipe used similar ingredients with the addition of eggs and some corn flour. The end result was enjoyed by all and everyone exchanged recipes and took notes on techniques.
My team worked on quesadillas. We re-hydrated TSP for the filling. Potatoes are usually used, so this soy solution adds beneficial protein to the dish. The women chopped tomatoes, onions and greens and sauted those before adding in the TSP. The quesadilla rounds were made with corn flour. Achiote powder was used to get a nice brown color. About 3 TBS of filling went into each round. It was folded in half, sealed and fried crisp. Aaah. Delicious!
All the participants were anxious to go home and try their new recipes. They were surprised and happy to learn how easy it was to use soy and how much flavor it added to their favorite recipes.
We said our goodbyes and stopped in town to buy more groceries for our next training session. The drive to Cusmapa was very scenic as we traveled over winding roads with many twists, turns, ruts and ruggedness. As we made our way down the mountainside, the breeze picked up, the temperatures cooled down as the sun began to set. We turned in early as it had been a long day and Thursday was shaping up to be another exciting, but busy day as over 36 parents were expected to participate in soy cooking at the school in Cusmapa.
It has been quite an adventure. I do have to admit, I am looking forward to taking a HOT shower when I get home.
Relación sana,
Marilyn Nash
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