Lighting a Stove, Opening a Tin Can, and other Feats of Cooking in the Andes!

Buenos Días! It´s another beautiful - yet somewhat chilly - morning here in Junín de los Andes. Im afraid they may have to force me to leave this gorgeous place and the cozy comfort of their house. So, in an effort to do something around the house other than wash the dishes, help feed the rabbits, clean the toilet, and sweep, I have actually attempted to make dinner. As in many houses in the States, work is very much divided here - women cook and clean, men work, cut the grass, and fix things that are broken. However, in the last week and a half during which the only two people in the house have been Vanina´s brother-in-law and myself (Noelia and the kids are with the fam in Pasman), against all the values of my Southern upbringing (you´re right, mom, I guess I SHOULD HAVE gone to cotillion!), I have not been pulling my weight in the "female chores" department. Thus, the decision to suck it up and try to cook something edible...

And folks, I cannot even begin to express to you how much the idea of cooking stresses me out. First of all, I swear I have no cooking skills whatesoever. And, unfortunately, my usual meals of cereal, simple salads, sandwiches, and/or meals out of a box do not seem like a fair exchange for the homemade from scratch meals I have been served recently. Second, just to use the tools in the kitchens here requires skills which I seem to utterly lack. For instance, I must open the gas and then light the stove with a lighter. I am pretty sure I can count on one hand the amount of times I have used a lighter. Combine lack of actually having tried to light a lighter (which may be easy for some people, but lord have mercy on my soul for how much trouble I go through just to get a flame - I even had a 5 year old - FIVE YEAR OLD - showing me how he adeptly lights it with one quick flip of his finger...) and a somewhat fierce fear of fire and, well, you may manage to create a picture of the funny scene that ensues each time I must light the burner. I have taken to putting a bit more space between myself and the fire by lighting the end of a paper towel and then introducing the flame to the gas. However, when not done quickly enough, I definitely find myself running quickly to the sink (or one time outside) to throw down the paper towel and put out the flame before the whole thing goes up in smoke. Yep, pretty pathetic. But, hey, I like to think it´s moments like these that make one really appreciate people who can pull off such skills. I will NEVER take someone who can manually light a stove for granted again. And to add fuel to the flame (har har), the tool used to open a can here is basically a sharp point that one must jam with all her strength into the tin can and then manually saw her (ok, my) way around the lid. That is the description of what it looks like when I use it. All others I have seen using it, do it so smoothly and quickly that I didnt even have a clue for the challenge I was in for. Needless to say, I try to engage in these activities (lighting the stove/opening a can) when NO ONE is around to witness the folly. And finally, I do not even understand how one uses many of the ingredients in the kitchen. I hardly cook as it is with the ingredients we have in the States, so imagine my look of complete confusion when I search through the pantry and do not recognize ANYTHING.

So night Number 1, I gave in and bought a box of risotto. I figured if I cant make anything from scratch, I will at least make something Tay´s never had. I threw in a few random veggies and (after getting help lighting the stove - Tay was standing next to me so I didn´t feel like playing the "how-ridiculous-can-I-look-trying-to-light-this-thing" game)managed to prepare a rather tasty meal. Tonight, however, I am going to try so very hard to step up my cooking to the next level. Seeing as how breakfast (and the food we typically associate with said meal) is not consumed by 99%of the population here and it just so happens to be my favorite meal, I am craving super tasty breakfast foods like no other, so we purchased some sweet potatoes with the idea that I would make some sort of baked good with them. Im thinking sweet potato pancakes. If you do not think this is going to be quite a feat for me, then please go back and read what I previously wrote!

I´ll report back and let you know how they turn out. Hasta entonces... VIVA!