Cooking with Juliet - or rather watching Juliet cook

 I had the idea one day to do some Ghanaian cooking. I met Juliet our first Sunday in December and she told me she'd bring me some peanuts. Juliet supplies all the peanuts and peanut butter I need. But there is only so much I can eat myself as Jeffrey doesn't eat nuts. My great idea was to have Juliet show me how to cook Ghanaian food.

Today was the day!

Juliet cooking in my kitchen while I took pictures and wrote notes.

We met at the area office where I gave her an envelope with money and sent her off with Brother Dumevi a member of our ward who is a tour guide. He supplies taxis, directions, and sometimes gets things to deliver at my apartment. He is a ward leader and very helpful. Because of COVID he felt it wouldn't be good for me to go to the market, so I walked home (buying plantain chips on the way), while he took Juliet to the market.

First I have to tell you a little story. This is the first time I have walked home from the Area Office, it is not far away just a few blocks. But, there is one tricky corner with a long ditch and not much room for cars turning and pedestrians walking. So as I approached the corner I prayed I would be safe getting around the corner. Two men who were walking faster than I pulled ahead of me and I walked directly in their footsteps and sure enough a car comes whizzing around the corner and we are all safe. 

I thanked the gentleman in front of me for going in front and he didn't turn but gave a grunt. The man in front of him turned around and said, "Good morning Sister Adams." With a name tag everyone knows who I am. He came back and walked with me and told me he was a teacher at the MTC. He has been around since the missionaries were learning at the MTC and now learning remotely. It was a nice walk.

 After he dropped off to go in the back of the Temple grounds I passed a security guard for the bank that I'd said hello to on my way to the Office and he asked where my car was and I told him it was at the office for my husband. I noted that he remember me, he remembered my car and knew I wasn't in it. Then I bought bananas and apples from Patience at her fruit stand, and arrived home just 10 minutes before Juliet and Brother Dumevi arrived with bags of groceries.

This is not the ditch or corner, I had been watching too closely to take a photo, but it is like it on another street closer to my apartment - when I could think again.

Juliet immediately puts my largest pot on to boil to make rice.

She washes the chicken

Then then we are off and running! It was so much fun. There seemed to be so many running parts, but when it was all done, there was basically a stew to put over rice. I had told Brother Dumevi that he would be taking home a dinner and some banana bread and asked if he would rather have peanut butter cookies. He said he hadn't tried peanut butter cookies so I told him I'd give him the banana bread and a few cookies to try. There was four dinners made: us, Juliet and family, Dumevi's family and whomever the driver turned out to be. After waiting for the stew to cool we put it in ziplock bags along side of the rice containers. My note to self is to find liquid containers and get more carrying containers because this was so much fun. 

In my quest to "do good things", I'm hoping that learning a new skill and providing a few meals will count. 

Boxes with Kontobre stew and rice, I'd already given the banana bread and cookies

Brother Dumevi reported later that the cookies were "nice', very nice. Juliet hadn't had peanut butter cookies and she liked them when she tried them out too. I told her the missionaries who come study with Jeffrey on Saturday nights  like them too. I guess cookies are an American thing. So we are sharing cultures with each other. Stew and cookies:)