Chiles en Nogada

Yesterday we went to the market to get the things we needed to make Chiles en Nogada (a traditional Mexican dish). This is what we saw when we walked into the market:

Just took my breath away! 

Then we got to the meat section, which is something I really get a kick out of. Everything is so fresh and...I don't know what it is, but it is fascinating to me. :)

I don't know if this is a goat or a dog or what!

Look at it's toungue :D

Chili grasshoppers

We used to eat these when we were younger, but they gross me out now. 

The feeling of legs going down your throat is just nasty.

A dog sleeping in the market...

This little girl was working in one of the stores in the market and was so adorable!

She knew the prices of everything, she amazed us all. :P

When we got home, we got busy making the chiles. 

They had me on the walnuts..I cracked open about 50 of them. It was rough! ;)

Charred delights

Nicole chopped up fruit

The people here believe that if you put the outer shell of an onion on your head while your chopping an onion up, it won't sting your eyes and make you cry. 

Then I peeled the chiles and deveigned them

 Frying the fruit

 Popping the pomegranate seeds out

 Pretty!

Frying the chilis...

 Yum yum

The finished product!

 We invited the elder Wakefields over since this is one of our Grampa's favorite foods!
While he was here, he entertained us with a few songs on the guitar. 

 And here is everyone eating! 

Cooking on La Kuka

 It has been SO COLD lately....So we have been having fires in la Kuka and warming things up! 

This thing gets pretty hot, as you can see. 

Taking Puebla to Mexico City

This weekend we loaded up a big-O tourist bus with 55 people from the Puebla churches and went over to Mexico City! We headed to El Valle de Chalco, which is one of the biggest slums in the world. 

There is a church there and we went to have services with them!

Our volcano, Popo (left), and Itza (right), which is Popo's girlfriend, according to legend. 

Flipping coins to see who was to preach first ;)

Yeah, I caught you guys haha :P

Grampa getting his shoes shined

We were all expecting an actual church, but when we got there, they had a tent set up! There was a circus set up right behind us :))

There were two services, all out in the open, in a very busy part of town. 

I watched as a man of the street got out of his truck and went to the back to start unloading it. He pulled out a box and glanced to the side, inside of the tent. When he saw Hna. Elvira on the drums his mouth just fell open and he froze.  Hna. Elvira does an amazing job and is so talented! 

As you can see, we had church like normal! 

(See the blue circus tent in the background?)

In front of the tent there was this herd of goats/sheep/etc

Elder Wakefield preached the day service

"Hijitos, teneis de comer?!"

Altar call...

After the first service, there was a lunch break so Austin and our assistant pastor went to play on the teeter-totter...

...and El Pastor went to study. 

During lunch time, the pastor's wife from Mexico City came over and asked me if I liked cuerito, which is pig skins boiled in oil. It's slimy. I said "Umm, actually I don't..." And she said, "Well you just haven't tried mine!" Then she left. A minute later she came back with a chicharrin with cueritos on it!!!!

I said thank you and tried to be grateful, but my stomach was absolutely churning. 

(This here is my first adventure with cuerito).

 

But, as has happened many times in past situations like this...Mario (Elder Wakefield's assistant) completely saved my life and ate the whole chicharrin with the cueritos for me! 

For the record--I did taste her cueritos, just to be safe and polite. I licked one of the cueritos. 

Ok so just to add insult to injury....this cuerito was PICKLED. No kidding. 

Sour AND slimy. *My favorite!*

Anways. Back to church.....

During the services there were people around the tent that would stop and listen, and some even came in and sat down. This was an awesome outreach event for the church there! 

El Pastor preaching

Then it was time to head back home!

Gramma getting on the bus

 

Haha, some people from church taking pictures of the bus with their phones :P

It got dark on the way home so our driver flipped on these really cool blue overhead lights. 

I felt like I was on a spaceship ;P

 

Aaaaaand that was our trip! 

I do believe this is the longest post I've done in a very long time. :D