This was really hard to quantify. Or maybe very hard. At least somewhat hard.

I was teaching a scientist; he got this almost immediately.

The Chimichurri I didn't wait long enough for -- Argentina, but not until at least tomorrow.

This fellow has some strong things to say about Chimichurri, and I suppose I should take his word for it.  Apparently it's one of those things that's become just popular enough for Food Network to get it wrong?

In any case, I couldn't wait to try it out. So much so that I forgot to read the recipe COMPLETELY through... Ah. See that, at the bottom of the page there? Yeah, where it says "make at least the day before." Hmm. I can happily report that this recipe, when made incorrectly, makes the world's most delicious salsa. No worries -- I kind of wanted to share Argentina Week with friends, and this was just a one-off with some sauce that looked good. Still, I have to admit that I won't actually know what a single food from Argentina tastes like until tomorrow, at the earliest.

Worst name for a love hotel ever?

Sometimes I teach

So I teach ESL, and today's lesson included the question, "Have you ever eaten something you didn't like?" The lady I was asking could only manage to remember one word at a time, so we started with "intestines."
"Wow," I said, "What kind?"
"Uh, fish intestines."
(I write this up on the white board and draw a little picture of fish with intestines to check that that's what she means.)
She consults a dictionary. "Anglerfish intestines?" I draw a little lure on the fish's head. She nods.
"Raw anglerfish intestines."
...
"Sushi."

Antigua and Barbuda -- Pork Chops with Banana and Bacon

Banana and bacon is not a flavor combination that I would have imagined, left to my own devices. That's why this recipe intrigued me.

Not the most attractive, is it? Roasted, the banana had a slightly sweet, but mostly starchy quality that complemented the pork chops fairly well, and you really can't go wrong rubbing pork chops with salt-cumin-black pepper butter, but like the Cocada Amarela, it just wasn't amazing.

D'you think maybe they meant that I should use a plantain?

Angola -- Cocada Amarela

Sorry about the long hiatus. More explanation to come, but at least for now, for Mom, a photo:

This is a dessert made of coconut and egg yolk -- surprisingly creamy. Very sweet. Not too difficult. Flavored with clove, cinnamon, and orange blossom water (optional.) I think it would be a good side to a bit of chocolate cake, and it isn't bad by itself, but it wasn't mind-blowing enough to make again. Still, a nice change from Salt Pocky, which are, in a word, an abomination.