44. A CASSEROLE DISH

At the Whangarei hostel one night at the dinner table there was one called Richard who said, as he was smelling Elle's casserole dish on the cooker, that it smelt yummy. He had just messed up his rice which, found to be too sticky, ended up in the bin. She offered to share her casserole knowing that there is nothing worse than eating on your own in front of someone who's just messed up his rice. Richard agreed with pleasure. He offered all the ingredients he had in store in his box in case she needed some.



- See here? that box marked Richard? you take whatever you want, when you like... mm! it's really nice, that dish.

- It's very easy to make, you know. It's a recipe from the islands. Listen carefully: you fry bits of chicken, you throw in some fresh ginger and garlic cut finely, shreds of capsicums of all colors for looks, you put a lid on, you lower the fire and you simmer. At the end you throw in a can of coconut milk. In a separate pot you boil a few sweet potatoes, kumaras, if you like...

- You have them, in the islands? Richard asked.

- In New Caledonia we have sweet potatoes, taros, yams, all that, but I find local kumaras here very tasty.



Liyan had just heard them talk about 'Caledonia'. That same evening she asked where it was. Elle admitted she had lived there. In fact that's where she came from before she got to New Zealand. Liyan would have loved to share this piece of information with F-sharp but the flute was stuck, filed away, snug in her box. "Too bad, I'll tell her another time", she thought.
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Liyan in the South Pacific, book 2 Polynesia is now available for purchase on the net at blurb.com
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