SUCCESS!

We kicked off our week of medieval meals with Sunday dinner...

~A slow-cooked, thick and hearty stew made with lots of onions, potatoes, garlic, some carrots and a bit of ground beef.

~ "Trench" bread - and no, that is not a "typo," where I really should have typed French bread. Trench bread is round or oval loaves with a crispy outside crust, but the bread also serves as a bowl for your soup or stew.

~Last but not least, we enjoyed gingerbread cookies, dipped in milk, as our dessert.

Tim was preaching out in Boankada (one of the bush churches) this morning and took Brendan and Anna with him, but everyone else particpated in the preparation of this meal:

~Rebekah taught Nadia how to make the Trench bread.

~Jonathan and Elsie Mae helped Mama with the potatoes. Elsie was busy washing potatoes - both before and after they were peeled and diced. Jonathan started learning how to use the potato peeler and worked for quite a long time dicing the potatoes after they were peeled. It takes a loooooong time to peel and dice 4+ kg of potatoes.

~Victoria was busy helping clean/wash dishes and then helped lots with measuring and mixing for the gingerbread cookies. We were able to make this treat with REAL molasses - one of our friends who worked at the embassy gave us what she had left when they returned to the States recently, so this was a real treat!

~Rebekah, Nadia, Victoria and Jonathan all helped roll out and cut the cookie dough. Then Rebekah and Nadia helped keep and eye on the cookies while they were baking.

The girls then decorated the dining/living room to give it a medieval atmosphere. They closed all the curtains, turned off all the lights and fans. They set the table with our nice dishes, set out the candles for light, made a poster welcoming the rest of the family to the feast, and made sure the place was swept and picked up.

Although we had to wait until nearly 3 p.m. for Tim and his gang to return, everyone agreed this meal was definitely well worth the wait and the effort!