3.21.11

(I realize it has been a while, my apologies.)

So, as Megan and I continue our Ugandan expedition, there are many stories to tell both hilarious and fascinating. It has been an incredible experience and I would just like to take a moment to express my gratitude to Megan for everything she's been helping me to learn and become. She has been a wonderful example to me and I am deeply grateful for her as a person and as one of my dearest friends. Thanks, Megan :)

One part of our adventure that I've absolutely loved is our many attempts (and shall we say, accidental triumphs) at culinary innovation. I document just a few such instances here.

#1: Banana pancakes

Golden, delicious, banana goodness - pancakes were one of the first things (if not the first thing) we cooked in our awesome kitchen. Megan spearheaded the project which resulted in a timeless success.

#2: Chapatti

Chapatti (a Ugandan flat-bread) was one of out next creations. I led this initiative myself which is probably the reason most of them turned out more like flour-flavored taco shells than their Ugandan relatives; but some of them actually tasted pretty good and they were a ton of fun to make.

#3: Hand-made hamburgers

I must say that these hamburgers were incredible. This was a joint effort: Megan made the patties and I cooked them. Good stuff.

#4: Gourmet mac-n-cheese

Definitely a culinary masterpiece and all the credit goes to Megan for this one. Most of the ingredients were improv and we didn't really know how it would taste until the very end. But lemme tell ya, it didn't disappoint: probably just about the best mac-n-cheese ever.

#5: Chicken a la amazing

Amazing breaded chicken with a hilarious story. You'll notice that the pictures allude to the fact that something went amiss. Well, the chicken turned out perfectly, but due to a very hot oven and the absence of oven mitts, there was a rather unfortunate incident. When reaching into the oven to turn the chicken, Megan accidentally burned herself a bit, causing her to, naturally, withdraw her hands rather suddenly from the oven. Upon doing so, the oven door slammed shut and, well, exploded. I was in the kitchen when it happened and, as luck would have it, was on the phone with one of the NGOs we will be working with. "Um, I...have to go," I said. Fortunately, we both survived the ordeal and I still count the chicken as an absolute success :)

There have been several others that I have not documented here, the most notable of which are Megan's banana bread (and chocolate cake!), my super-pepper sticky rice, Megan's spicy fajitas, and my chicken wonder-burgers. In short, the past two months have been a blast, especially when we're cooking up a storm!

Thanks for stopping by and stay tuned for more Uganda fun coming soon!