Brasil!: My day with Ina

Ina and I

Let me start by saying, not only is Ina my landlady, but she's a total sweetheart. I met her on my second day in town. She immediately took me under her wing, made me feel so welcome, rented me a scooter for half the cost of the original one I got in town with poncho included, gave me a cell phone to use while here and got me a Bali sim card, and then proceeded to show me around town! Her mantra is: Don't Worry.

Randomly I went over to her place (right next door) one morning to ask a question and she invite me out for a day on the town! First she brought me to her husbands favorite restaurant: Bali Buddha. It's reasonably priced, beautifully indoor/outdoor decorated with red and purple against the natural wood.

Bali Buddha

I ate the BEST food I've had on my journey so far. Can't wait to go back and eat it again!

Crispy Sprouts/nuts, Tempeh and Tofu, Sweet Onions, peanut sauce, red rice, spinach and local greens, and toasted young coconut served on a banana leaf and some other leaf! YUM

Ina showed me where the best supermarket is: Bintang! These are quail eggs.

After we went to the supermarket and brought home all our goodies, Ina wanted to show me her favorite market in Sukawati. So we geared up and took the 45 minute drive on our scooters down to the market. Ina was a great resource to have there! She told me about what prices she can get on items I was interested in, and she showed me how she bargains. Whenever I bargained she gave me space, and I did pretty well for myself! (see earlier post on the art of bargaining)

Ina performing "the Walk-Away", to her success.

A view of the street in front of Sukawati Market. Everywhere in Bali that there is any hint of traffic or parking problems there's usually one or two of these guys lingering around to help direct the flow.

Go Parking Dudes!

After we got home from Sukawati, Ina and I made dinner together. She taught me how to cook Indonesian BBQ fish and chicken wrapped in banana leaves and spices, and I showed her how to make a California-style salad with Feta, avocado, bell peppers, mushrooms, crazins, cucumber, and my special caramelized nuts. She said she's excited to learn things to cook for her husband that aren't spicy!

After dinner Ina wanted to make "cake". So I'm super confused as to why we're boiling potatoes and the batter we're making is super thin and full of eggs and milk and sugar. Sometimes there's a language gap that's hard to bridge, so I just go along. Then we're grating the potato into the batter. In the end we pour it into cupcake tins and steam it in a boiling pot. Add some raisins and presto. Here's the result: