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Meal One - Latin America

 
Lent Meals - Latin America

Spotlight on Nicaragua


  • Region: Latin America
  • Population: 5,995,928 (July 2010 est.)
  • Life expectancy at birth: 71.78 years
  • Population below poverty line: 48% (2005)
  • Literacy rate: 67.5%

    • Printable Table Tent

    Download and print this table tent, designed for the Nicaragua meal.  This table tent includes conversation starters and information about your gifts to ELCA World Hunger in action.

    Placemats

    Download, print and use different placemats during your Lenten meals to raise awareness about hunger, poverty and related issues.

    Table Prayer

    O God bless this food we are about to receive. Give bread to those who hunger, and hunger for justice to those of us who have bread.  Taken from the National Farm Worker Ministry.

    Nubia Story: Nubia
    Nubia owns a herd of 60 dairy cows on her ranch on the outskirts of Chinandega, Nicaragua.  Three years ago, when her husband died, Nubia didn’t think she could keep the land, much less run a successful dairy…
    Read the full story. 

    Download and print this story to share at the meal. 
    Download this story:  PDF  |  DOC

    Local Recipes

    Cheese Soup with Rosquillas, Gallo Pinto and Maduros Dessert
    Download and print this recipe
    Taken from Food for Life: Recipes and Stories on the Right Food and www.nicaragua.com/recipes
     
    Cheese Soup with Rosquillas
    • Serves 8 people
    • Prep time: 45 minutes
    • Cooking time: 35 minutes

    		 Ingredients for Cheese Soup with Rosquillas
    • 1/2 lb. corn meal
    • 1/2 lb. cheese, grated
    • 2 eggs
    • 3 sprigs mint
    • 1 cup vegetable oil
    • 1 cup hot milk
    • Tomato
    • Onion
    • Chiltoma (sweet pepper)
    • Salt and achiote to taste (achiote are annatto seeds ground and used as an almost flavorless but colorful additive. Possible substitute: 1.5 tbsp paprika, 1 tbsp white vinegar, 3/4 tsp dried oregano, 1 minced garlic clove and 1/4 tsp ground cumin. Stir until well blended).
    • 4 cups water
    Directions
    Make tortilla dough by mixing and kneading corn meal with water and half a cup of milk. The dough is ready when it no longer sticks to your hands. (Note: If using freshly ground corn, you won’t need water.)
    Put water in a soup pot and heat; while waiting for the water to boil, mix the tortilla dough well with the grated cheese, a little achiote and salt to taste.
    Dilute a quarter of the mixture with some of the hot water, then pour it into the pot and boil for 20 minutes until it thickens. Add tomato, onion and chiltoma.
    Form small rights (rosquillas) with the remaining dough and fry them in hot oil. Then drop the friend rings into the simmering soup, add two beaten eggs and cook for about five more minutes without stirring. You can then add fried onions to improve the flavor.
    Add the remainder of the warm milk to the soup just before serving. The rings can be served in the soup or separately.

    Gallo Pinto

    Ingredients for Gallo Pinto:
    • 2 tbsp vegetable oil
    • 2 lrg onions – thinly sliced
    • 2 cups cooked red beans
    • 1/4 cup water
    • 1 cup cooked white rice

     
    Directions      
    Cook 1 cup of dry red beans with 6 crushed cloves of garlic and water in a pressure cooker for 15 to 20 minutes. Sauté the onion in a pot. Add in the cooked beans and water. Cook for 5 minutes at a low heat whilst stirring. The beans must remain whole. Now add the cooked rice and simmer for a further 10 minutes, still stirring.

     

    Maduros Dessert

    Ingredients for Maduros:
    • 4 maduros (sweet bananas) peeled
    • 3 cups milk
    • 2 cinnamon sticks
    • 2 cups sugar
    • 1 teaspoon vanilla

    Directions
    Place maduros and milk in a bowl and boil until tender. Add the sugar, cinnamon and vanilla, boiling for another 5 minutes. Place it in a dish and bake in the oven for 30 minutes at 350°F.

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