Epicurious

One thing that defines Peace Corps life for me that I did not expect was how much we cook! We cook from scratch everyday. We also cook in-season. It's fun, and we really don't have much of a choice. Especially in our town there are few restaurants and no "convenience foods". Cook long enough and you start feeling pretty confident. And then you start cooking things you would never attempt in the States. Like Doughnuts!!

Yes, This morning Mathias made doughnuts. And they were honestly awesome. He also recently made chips by frying lavaş. After these two successes I noticed today after he went to the store that our kitchen is now stocked with an inordinate amount of cooking oil.

We make healthy things too. For dinner we made pizzas. I was especially proud of my "Garden Party" Pizza because every topping (Tomato, Onion, Garlic, Green Beans, Peppers, and Eggplant) was grown in our garden!! Mathias made Mexican BBQ Pizza.

Other foods we've learned to make from scratch include: Biscuits, Crumb Cake, Meat-Grinder Gazpacho, Curry dishes, Chicken and Beef Stock, Refried Beans, and Tomato Sauce.

It's been really great. So if any of you AZ7's out there are reading this, don't forget to pack your spices and measuring cups!