The problem is that all the dishes have meat, and the families can't always afford to buy it. It sounds to me that the result is rice and a fried egg for lunch every once in a while. Being a vegetarian cook, I can tell you that there are a lot of other meatless options out there. Last week my neighbor told me she'd like to know what I make.
My housekeeper and I are jointly working on four meatless, inexpensive recipes that might fly with our neighbors. I'm choosing and typing up the recipes in Spanish. She's cooking them and telling me if they're worth distributing. My ideas for now are
- Grace's Lentil Chili
- Mexican Beans (the bean part of vegetarian tamale pie-- no ovens so they can't make it "right")
- Garlicky Black-Eyed Peas and Greens
- Sweet Potato Pancakes (like latkes, not breakfast)
I'm laughing to myself imagining how this will look. I would serve Sweet Potato Pancakes with a tasty fruit smoothie and a mango avocado salad. They'll serve it with rice and brothy soup. To each his own.
If it works, I hope this endeavor will give my friends some new options when they have less than 2 dollars to prepare a lunch (their main meal) for 6 people. We'll see.
