People and patience

Five months is a long time to wait for a meal!  But that's how long it took me to make that one.  I'm shocked with myself.    When we came back from Peru in July, I told my friend Margie that I'd have her and her family over and serve them a Peruvian meal, never dreaming it would take me until November to get my act together! 

As if in punishment for my procrastination, things began to go wrong with this meal.  The main course was to be Lomo Saltado (a beef stir-fry), with a guacamole salad, (not Peruvian really, but definitely Latino), and some dessert using manjar blanco (similar to caramel).  Sounds simple!  What could go wrong?

The cake refused to unstick from the foil I had greased to take the place of the parchment paper we didn't have, the substitute dessert, alfajores, refused to stick to themselves and crumbled because I used whole wheat flour instead of white, and the avocados were too hard to make guacamole.  It was  discouraging! 

Josh came along and peeled the foil off the cake and it became usable. I added a little more butter to the cookies and they were OK, though not a bit pretty.  And we got a plain ol' American/South African salad with a little crunchy avocado thrown in for interest, or something. 

We had a good time!  The big thing was time and fun with Nick, Margie, and Oliver Collins.  Tim remembered they wanted to see some clips from a Bible Institute social, and that brought a lot of laughs.

  Yes, it was annoying when I thought my desserts failed, two in a row, but I've had things like this happen before, and I could remind myself, "Once they're here, it will be fine and worth it." 

"Keep Calm and Cook On" was the motto. 

"And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also:  knowing that tribulation worketh patience,  And patience, experience, and experience, hope"   Romans 5:3, 4

I just looked up Patience on my Bible on my phone, My Sword.  I need that virtue, and a little stress in the kitchen is worth it to see that virtue grow in me.