The first week we stocked up on college kid staples: mac n cheese, soup, pasta, chips n salsa... but I've been branching out. I've been trekking to the farmer's market every week. Well actually, they come to us once a week on campus, so that's a stretch. Having no vehicle makes it difficult to trek anywhere.
This is an excellent opportunity especially for stranded first semesters to acquire provisions. Egg man has a box of fresh eggs. Another picnic table is covered in produce. Examples: potatoes, avocado, squash, watermelon, cucumber, okra, bell peppers, carrots, all of which I've bought. They also have starfruit, grapes, and bananas are abundant and inexpensive here. I've been avoiding them until I break down and attempt banana bread. We all know fond I am of any sort of fruit...
Meat man, whom I've not yet had the pleasure of meeting, apparently runs meat sales out of a creepy white van in the evening. He's popular though, if somewhat evasive. Milk only comes in once a week, from FL go figure, with a mad frenzy over the skim to follow. I doubt that there is a dairy on the island, but you never know. There is a meat processing facility, although there is no real regulation. In the grocery store, meat is plastic wrapped with no labels or dates so I've got to tap into those handy animal science skills to pick out the best cuts.
For those of you who ever saw me cook in undergrad - my skills are pretty basic but extremely well-intended (that may not even be a word). But so far I've pulled off some tasty omelets and spaghetti, and with the help of some neighbors have made a chicken stir fry and fish + okra dish.
I've made some killer chocolate chip coconut cookies (betty crocker + local coconut shavings = delicious!!) and the watermelon, which I figured would either be horrible or great - was the best I've ever had. Baking is quite and accomplishment because you have to get real creative with our dorm-issue toaster ovens. If you love coconut, these cookies would make you weep. That's right - that good. Will be bringing some shavings back home; they're like gold.
-til next time-
lkc
Your undergrad cooking skills were better than most. I remember some pretty yummy strip steak with soy that was made on one of those tiny George Forman grills. If you can make that, then I have no doubts that your cooking is quite tasty. I'll wait for the recipe for coconut chocolate chip cookies...yum :) The meat guy sounds like a real adventure...can't wait to hear how that plays out. Miss you. ~Alanna
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