Have I bragged to you guys about Minerva yet? Even if I have, I'm sure I haven't bragged enough. I know she would want me to tell you that all the glory goes to our Lord Jesus. In fact, I mentioned that I was going to write a little about her on my blog and she told me to leave her name out and claim the following recipe as my own. But I want you all to know her name so you can constantly be lifting her up in prayer. Minerva is our house mom in Casa de Fe, our girls home for 8 of the sweetest, kindest, most loving girls you will ever meet. Our girls range in age from 7 to 18 in that home, and Minerva is the most incredible mom to them. Our girls love and respect her in a way that both inspires and humbles me. For many months over the past year, Minerva was also the only house mom on the entire property. She was basically playing mom to 20 orphans, and I'm pretty sure if you look in the Bible, it mentions something about that. Minerva is wonderful, and I pretty much want to be her when I grow up. It's common to come over in the afternoons and see her playing dominoes with our older boys while the laundry she washed earlier is drying outside, while the leftover food she made is being eaten by 5 kiddos, while she is asking someone if they already finished their homework, while she's talking to one of the older girls about making good choices, while she's making me a "cafecito" (small cup of coffee). She does it all, and we love her.
This week, Minerva invited Lydia and I over for a cooking lesson. Ok - that's not exactly how it happened. Lydia and I basically begged her for a cooking lesson, because she makes the most incredible Dominican food and (like I already said), we want to be her when we grow up. Minerva taught us how to make Moro, which is Dominican rice with gandules (pigeon peas). The recipe is below...if you can find pigeon peas with coconut in America, you should DEFINITELY make it!! And while you're making it, thank the Lord for Minerva and the other men and women like her who are serving as house parents for our orphaned Kids Alive children all over the island. They have the hardest job in the world and the Lord is using them in mighty ways.
Moro de Minerva - Arroz con Gandules (Rice with Pigeon Peas)
*Minerva doesn't measure anything, sorry!
8 cloves of garlic, smashed with a pinch of salt (we do this in a "pilon")
2 cans of gandules con coco (pigeon peas with coconut)
onion - chopped
green pepper - chopped
cilantro - chopped
tomato - chopped
oil
vinegar
sopita (chicken bouillon cube)
oregano
salt
rice
1. Lightly brown the onion and garlic in oil on the stove
2. Add pepper, cilantro, tomato, pepper, vinagre, oregano, 1/2 cup of water, and sopita
3. Mix on stove OR blend together in a blender or food processor
4. Add gandules to the mix on the stove, add more water (the amount of water is based on the amount of rice you are cooking)
5. Add rice and some salt, mix with a spoon
6. Let cook on stove for 20 minutes covered, then stir, replace cover and cook for another 15 minutes until rice is done
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