"Got Your Back, Sis"

Just before all the wedding travelers began to arrive in Brasil, the Gringa went down for the count.  A 'simple cold' is no longer 'simple' for this old respiratory system.  Crummy timing, for sure.  By the Tuesday night before the wedding, after Iris and Doug's arrival, I knew I needed to quarantine myself and not 'share the love' with anyone else.  I sent an email to all the couples who would be arriving during this week, letting them know I had benched myself.  Iris' reply simply said, "Got your back, Sis."

On Wednesday, Iris and Doug found a market, shopped for ingredients for chicken noodle soup, showed up at the apartment, and began to work magic in the kitchen.  The soup was the first thing I'd been able to eat without coughing up a lung.  It was tasty too.

On Thursday, the Kitchen Angel showed up again with ingredients to make fritatas.  Jo and John had arrived the day before, and Iris picked Jo for her sous chef.

Iris, the Kitchen Angel, works on a Potato Fritata.

Jo, the sous chef, takes on clean-up duty.

Fried Plantains (Banana Terra) were a sweet bite.
There are so many different kinds of bananas in Brasil--each with a different name, of course.
Sort of like all the names that Eskimos have for snow, I guess.

Iris displays a finished Fritata.
This one was made with Batata Baroa--a slightly sweet, golden potato.
Hmm . . . Batata Fritata!!

A Spinach Fritata in the making

Luey and Steve arrived from Texas just in time to enjoy the fruits of the labor
of our Kitchen Angel Iris and her sous chef Jo.

Now, two days into Iris and Doug's 'vacation' she had spent each morning shopping for and cooking delicious lunches for a table full of family.  But she wasn't finished yet.  On Friday she came to the apartment prepared to make a generous pasta salad.  Her sous chef of the day was John.

Chef Iris and sous chef John presented their Friday lunch offering.

The table practically groaned with plates of cold cuts, fresh bread, and relishes. She was able to use up the last of the olives and asparagus!  (Remember all those jars that were needed for The Gringa's Table Decorations? I told you the products inside didn't go to waste.)

Pasta Salad is flanked by a platter of cold cuts and fruit on one side,
and fresh sliced Beira Mar bread.
Sous chef John interpreted Sugar Loaf Mountain with baguettes!

Pasta Salad had lots of yummy olives.
"Sugar Loaf Mountain" interpreted in baguette is surrounded by
ham rolled around asparagus spears.

Cecilia sent teams out to gather tropical juices.
Luey and Steve walked across the street for coco water from a stand on the beach,
while Will scouted out their favorites around the corner at Compao.

Michelle and Fred arrived from the airport Friday
in time to enjoy a cool lunch complete with fresh juices
(see the cups on the piano behind Michelle's elbow?)

The second shift at Friday's lunch table:
(l-r) Cecilia, Will, Anna, Troy, Steve, Luey, Fred

Cecilia answered a knock at the door.
Are we expecting more wedding travelers?

With another wonderful meal provided by the Kitchen Angel and crew, I was blessed.  Blessed with fresh, wholesome food seasoned with a huge dose of love and laughter.  Dear ones had come to South America from both Europe and the United States to celebrate Cecilia and Will.  And here we all were--breaking bread in an apartment in Niteroi, RJ, Brasil.

When Iris said, "Got your back, Sis," she meant it.  I'll never be able to thank her enough.