Letters arrived from various parts of the world this past week and it seems everyone is on the move. For a part of the four months son Strom and Jennette spend in Costa Rica, they go help Jennette’s son with his project School Box.
They leave their comfortable cottage and their volunteer teaching jobs in the village on the edge of the rain forest that they have learned to love these past four years, and go off to build schools.
Jennette’s oldest son started Project School Box, and helps raise money to build schools with a group of volunteers from his church, in the poorest regions of Latin America.
This year, just as last, Strom and Jennette travelled to Granada, Nicaragua, on the edge of Lake Nicaragua, which is inland, to help out. They travelled at the worse time to be on the road so they instead happily holed up in a motel in Granada and this is an account of their experience.
Hola amigos, Semana Santa (the week of the saints) has descended with it glorious urge to celebrate. It is a religious holiday in original but for many it is a time to let it all out. It is the biggest holiday of the year in Latin America. This is when there are more drownings in Lake Nicaragua than the rest of the year from people falling in the lake drunk and then with inspiration drowning. Definitely the time to stay off roads and not to expect hotel rooms anywhere. At the quiet motel where we are staying there are people all over celebrating, laughing, shouting, and often over drinking. It will escalate ‘til Good Friday, then suddenly be over.
Two impossible feats at this time, travelling and being in the center of the religious celebrations, so we settle into a motel and stay put. Lots of parades, lots of statues with hundreds of followers. One that gave me a scare was confronting the parade at night, turning a corner and seeing Jesus in a glass casket with hundreds of light bulbs and the usual accompanying figures, etc. These dioramas are carried with many people sharing the load. Lots of dirge-sounding bands, huge dancing ladies with transvestites and potato devils and other odds and ends. Definitely not something from Canada, Love Strom and Jennette.
The next letter came from my sister in London, England; it was forwarded from her daughter Elizabeth who just returned from Ethiopia.
She raised 2,000 pounds (I’ll let you figure the amount in dollars) for the project Maternity Worldwide, something I had never heard of. Elizabeth spent a lot of time at the maternity clinic in Gimbie, doing ward rounds with the doctors, and meeting patients and other medical staff.
The women who have and will benefit from donations are those in most desperate need. By supporting Maternity Worldwide, you help the hospital provide essential staff training and medical equipment. You have also supported the charity’s outreach programs, which provide health education and income-generation projects in the area, saving lives of mothers and babies as well as empowering women in the community.
It always amazes me how many, many people are raising money and giving holiday time to these projects all over the world.
The traditional meal at Easter used to be ham but now even turkey and beef have crept in and there is always the question of what to do with leftovers. A nice mustard sauce will give the leftover ham a new life.
Favourite Mustard Sauce
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup dry mustard
3 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup wine vinegar
1/2 cup 10 per cent cream
Combine all ingredients in the top of a double boiler. Cook over hot water, stirring constantly until thickened, about 10 minutes. Cool and store in the refrigerator.
With leftover turkey you can use any chicken recipe but the following is for chicken or leftover turkey:
Elegant Chicken and or Turkey Hash
1 quart leftover cooked chicken or turkey
1 cup half-and-half cream
6 tbsp. butter
4 tbsp. flour
2 cups milk
3 egg yolks, lightly beaten
1/2 tsp. salt
pepper to taste
1 tsp. grated onion
1/2 cup grated Swiss cheese
1 cup sliced mushrooms, canned or fresh
Simmer chicken in the half-and-half cream at low heat. Melt the butter in skillet, add flour and cook until bubbly. Pour in milk and cook until thick and smooth. Add egg yolks and cook over low heat. Mix half the sauce with chicken and cream mixture; heat thoroughly.
Season with salt and pepper. Pour into a 2 quart buttered casserole. Add onion and half the cheese to the rest of the sauce. Cook until blended. Put mushrooms on top of chicken in casserole and pour rest of sauce over. Sprinkle with rest of cheese and brown under broiler.
And are you ready to try a timely dessert?
Maple Mousse
4 egg yolks
3/4 cup of real maple syrup
2 cups whipping cream, whipped stiff
Beat yolks until light. Heat syrup in top of double boiler. When hot, stir in yolks. Stir and cook until thickened. Cool completely. Fold into the whipped cream.
Pour into a wet one-quart mold and chill, or freeze for Maple Glace.