Saludos desde Colombia!

Put aside, if you will, the saga of my wild yeast bread. I've taken two lessons from that little mishap: 1) don't begin blogging a process until you have seen it through to its (successful) conclusion first, and 2) don't try to make bread with wild yeast, MK. Suffice it to say that while the final product was indeed edible, it looked more like a cross between a frisbee and one of Jupiter's moons than a the bane of Dr. Atkins. If I were to blame human error for my outcome, rather than taking the easy way out and claiming that the wild yeast in my kitchen was clearly at fault, I would have to admit that I refreshed the initial concoction 12 hours later than I was supposed to and that I forgot to reduce the heat in the oven from the preheat temperature of 500 ° to the baking temperature of 400° . Hey, I was trying to cook dinner for eight at the same time as bake my bread. I may come back to it, try again, and finish posting the recipe if it works. Until then though...

Moving on.

I have since arrived in Colombia and made my slow way by bus to the second largest city, Medellin. When many people think of Colombia, their first association may run along the lines of this, the trailer to Beyond Enemy Lines: Colombia. I am happy to report that the Colombia I am encountering bears no resemblance to this world of firefights, explosions, and secret jungle missions. What I have found, since my arrival Wednesday, has been an abundance of friendly people endowed with endless patience for my slow, grammatically-challenged Spanglish. Perhaps even more exciting, I seem to have landed in a Doctor Seussical land of strange fruits with unfamiliar names. Alina, my friend and guide in this new country, tantalizes me with the promise of a two story fruit and vegetable market somewhere nearby. I'm a bit worried that 10 weeks may not afford me enough time to sample sufficiently of Colombia's edible flora.