Every breakfast or lunch, we enjoy lots of fresh fruit. We have bananas and strawberries with our cereal. Lunch includes papaya, pineapple and avocado (Julie).
While I can’t speak for the foods in other parts of PNG, there are all sorts of new foods here in the highlands. When we walk through the market area where nationals bring their produce three days a week, we’ve had to ask friends what these are called, what they taste like, and how they need to be prepared.
Sweet fruit is an example. Sweet fruit are about the size of tennis balls and have hard shells. Once cut, the center is jellied with large black seeds. You eat the concoction, chewing up the seeds. It tastes very sweet though I tend to spit out the black seed pulp, while Julie chews and eats it.
And even those foods that you might find in your grocery store can often be different here. That’s to be expected considering the climate and normal variations of the same plant worldwide.
Julie bought some peanuts from an old lady who was just sitting on the ground at the market with only peanuts to sell. They were already roasted, looked a little scrawny, but, when opened, proved to be much tastier than what we get from the stores and, surprisingly, often had 3 nuts and even 4 once.
We love grapefruit and, having not seen it the first two weeks of market days, had to ask a friend if what we saw on one vendor’s table really was what we thought it was. We brought one home and had it this morning. It was very firm, had a thick skin, and tons of seeds, many more than the 10 or less we’re used to. The taste wasn’t sweet but not that different from grapefruit we’ve found in the States.
Here’s a picture of “kaukau”, what we would call sweet potato. I’ve mentioned this before. It’s a staple of the nationals and, in fact, those without much money make this a major part of their diet.
I was rooting around in the garden a week ago and found what appeared to be a green zucchini-like vegetable that I thought our yard meri had overlooked. Then I found another. The yard meri scolded us for picking the pumpkin prematurely (‘Yu no pikim, mi pikim.” in Tok Pisin) and then proceeded to show Julie how to cook it. The insides were orange and it was sweet and tasty. Julie’s used it to make a delicious pumpkin soup (with a bit of hot spice in it) and also put a bag of cubes of pumpkin in the fridge to use in vegetable soup and other stuff.
Finally, there are those food items that we find in our own yard. We’re surprised to find that some of what we’ve been buying at the market will, when they’re ripe, be available to be harvested here for free.
As I’ve mentioned earlier, for example, we have several banana trees and have since discovered that we have a papaya tree and a lemon tree behind the house. We also have a tree loaded with guavas in the front yard. The garden has lots of stuff including several pineapple plants. The pineapple is so fresh that you don’t have to trim much of the peel and you can eat the core.
Finally, repeating what I’ve mentioned in some earlier blogs, there are many eating adjustments we’ve made in what we buy from the store and make. Examples:
The bottom line is that, of the cost for living here, store bought foods are the priciest item we have to pay for. After a while the sticker shock tends to pass since you know there isn’t an alternative.
If only we could remember and be in continual “sticker shock” about how much Christ paid for our personal sins through His suffering and death.
How deep the Father's love for us by Stuart Townend
How deep the Father's love for us,
How vast beyond all measure
That He should give His only Son
To make a wretch His treasure
How great the pain of searing loss,
The Father turns His face away
As wounds which mar the chosen One,
Bring many sons to glory
Behold the Man upon a cross,
My sin upon His shoulders
Ashamed I hear my mocing voice,
Call out among the scoffers
It was my sin that helf Him there
Until it was accomplished
His dying breath has brought me life
I know that it is finished
I will not boast in anything
No gifts, no power, no wisdom
But I will boast inJesus Christ
His death and resurrection
Why should I gain from His reward?
I cannot give an answer
But this I know with all my heart
His wounds have paid my ransom
 |
| Sweet Fruit |
And even those foods that you might find in your grocery store can often be different here. That’s to be expected considering the climate and normal variations of the same plant worldwide.
Julie bought some peanuts from an old lady who was just sitting on the ground at the market with only peanuts to sell. They were already roasted, looked a little scrawny, but, when opened, proved to be much tastier than what we get from the stores and, surprisingly, often had 3 nuts and even 4 once.
 |
| So many seeds! |
 |
| Kaukau |
 |
| This is pumpkin? |
Finally, there are those food items that we find in our own yard. We’re surprised to find that some of what we’ve been buying at the market will, when they’re ripe, be available to be harvested here for free.
 |
| Our very own lemons |
 |
| 80 cents for a huge papaya |
Finally, repeating what I’ve mentioned in some earlier blogs, there are many eating adjustments we’ve made in what we buy from the store and make. Examples:
- Cheerios (the only cereal we can stomach and is about the least expensive) instead of our normal Wheaties (not available here)
- Powdered milk instead of real milk because powdered milk makes 7 times more in volume and ultimately costs us ½ the price.
The bottom line is that, of the cost for living here, store bought foods are the priciest item we have to pay for. After a while the sticker shock tends to pass since you know there isn’t an alternative.
If only we could remember and be in continual “sticker shock” about how much Christ paid for our personal sins through His suffering and death.
How deep the Father's love for us by Stuart Townend
How deep the Father's love for us,
How vast beyond all measure
That He should give His only Son
To make a wretch His treasure
How great the pain of searing loss,
The Father turns His face away
As wounds which mar the chosen One,
Bring many sons to glory
Behold the Man upon a cross,
My sin upon His shoulders
Ashamed I hear my mocing voice,
Call out among the scoffers
It was my sin that helf Him there
Until it was accomplished
His dying breath has brought me life
I know that it is finished
I will not boast in anything
No gifts, no power, no wisdom
But I will boast inJesus Christ
His death and resurrection
Why should I gain from His reward?
I cannot give an answer
But this I know with all my heart
His wounds have paid my ransom
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