Macaroni Saturday

I've lived with my host family for 6 months now and haven't cooked or baked anything for them. This has to do with my host mom/ grandma being awesome cooks, my Peace Corps budget, and the fact that I'm sort of intimidated by a kitchen that two women share. You know, that whole 'too many cooks in the kitchen' thing? Well, I finally decided to man up and make the easiest food to prepare aside from toast or a frozen pizza: macaroni and cheese. 

I bought two boxes of the good stuff in the blue box: Kraft Macaroni and Cheese, what else? My position 2 hours from Trujillo with a big Target-style box store lovingly referred to as Tottus allows me access to Kraft products and almost anything else American I could want (just bought some Nature's Valley granola bars as a little treat last week. Nom!). 

Anyway, Saturday morning after a quick trip to the market, about 2 blocks from where I live, my host mom and I set to work on our little project. It was as easy as I promised her it would be and the box was printed in Spanish, so she could double check my instructions- which she did, I assure you ;)

My favorite part of this entire endeavor was the moment I discovered via the blue box that the cheese powder, aka the best part, was produced in none other than...drumroll please... Wausau Wisconsin! Right next door to the place I called home. You can be sure I mentioned that about 16 times throughout the rest of the day. 

In the end, I had about a 50% approval rating on the mac and cheese. Our neighbor (in the picture below) liked it so much he had seconds, as did my host dad, and later the grandpa. Two more refused to try it, and the remaining two ate about a half a noodle and decided they "liked it" but not enough for a whole plate. "Too much cheese" or "I don't like cheese" were statements thrown out there. These are also statements I do not believe in. And yes, I realize that the numbers I just gave you don't match my percentage, but if you're reading this, you probably know that I hate math. Figure out the percentage and I'll send you a post card. 

My second favorite part of this adventure, behind the Wisconsin cheddar, happened at dinner time when it was time for round 2 of the mac and cheese. I walked into the kitchen to find our beautiful cheesy carbs... served with rice. Why wouldn't they be? I couldn't hold my giggles in about the irony of this. And you know, it didn't taste as bad as you might think it would. 

Wisconsin meets Peru. Pretty much perfect. 

Anything look... local? ;)