DINNER ON THE GROUNDS
The table was loaded with good things to eat: potato salad with chopped apples, fresh pineapple and cabbage salad,
chicken roasted over charcoal, meat pie, beans and rice - a local rice dish flavored with vinagreira (Hibiscus sabdariffa)
leaves.
It was a warm spring day, the Seventh of September which is Brazil´s Independence Day, and just right for
dinner on the grounds. I filled my plate, being careful to take a little of everything. The ladies were watching.
Would I try their favorite dishes? After all, just what does an American eat? They were especially concerned
that I like the rice. I did. It had dried shrimp in it and was well seasoned with onion, garlic, cilantro, green
onions, olive oil, salt... but what were the green specks throughout? The vinagreira leaves gave it a slightly
sour flavor.
`Had I ever seen the vinagreira plant?` they wanted to know. I had...one day while walking through the country. I was so
impressed with its wild beauty that I had sketched and painted it. Later, when I asked an older farm lady what it was, she
explained that the leaves were often used for flavoring. This was my first time to experiment. Umm. Good.
Darrel and I were visiting Pastor Francisco Bezerra and his family, in São Luis, Maranhão. Francisco was one of the first
people we knew when we moved to Juazeiro do Norte, in 1973. He was Darrel´s right hand man while studying in the Seminary.
He took care of our milk cows, kept the cars running, fixed the plumbing. We laugh when we remember his first sermon and
how nervous he was, how a gopher snake crawled across the beams of the one room church and how the entire right side of the
audience lept to the left side of that room!
Francisco and his wife, Cileir, have two sons and a daughter who all participate in the ministry. Next year they will
celebrate their silver wedding anniversary. It was very special to be with them, to see the results of their missionary
efforts and to see the place they were in the process of purchasing to begin yet another
work.
Brazilians and Americans have helped them purchase these two buildings. If any of you would like
to participate, a third
lot is available for $1500.00. The people we were with for the dinner on the grounds will be joining with Pastor Francisco
and his family to begin this new congregation.
RICE WITH VINAGREIRA LEAVES
(Makes 10 servings)
To make this dish you will need the following ingredients:
2 cups sesame seeds
2 lbs. small dried shrimp
4 bunches vinagreira (hibiscus sabdariffa) leaves
fish filets for 10 people
2 lbs. rice (or enough for 10 servings)
To prepare rice, cover bottom of large
saucepan with oil. Toast garlic, onion,
chopped tomato, and rice. Cover with
8 cups boiling water (twice as many
cups as the rice) and 1 Tbs. salt.
Cover tightly and cook over low flame
for 20 - 30 minutes. It is done when
wells appear in the rice:)
Three steps to prepare the sauce.
1. Soak dried shrimp in water
with juice of one lemon. Toast sesame
seeds. Cook vinagreira leaves in
3 qts. water with 1 Tbs. salt.
2. Use mortar and pestle to pound toasted sesame seeds. Add drained shrimp
and pound some more. Add lightly browned
onion, garlic, cilantro and green onion.
Pound some more.
3. Remove the vinagreira stems from the
leaves. Set water aside. Squeeze excess
water from the leaves and mash them into
pulp with a fork. Add to sesame seed mix
and cook the mixture in reserved vinagreira water
(First taste the water. If too sour, measure, dilute with more
water and pour out excess using original
amount of liquid). Cook until thickened...like gravy.
Serve hot rice on platter and cover with
the vinagreira sauce. Serve fried fish on
the side. A green salad is good with this
dish.
Use sliced oranges or sliced fresh pineapple
for dessert. Enjoy.
