The Meeting

German and Peruvian uniting. As a tradition in my family, started with my brother, as he was the first to get married, the two sides of the families meet each other. Usually my mother insists that she do all the cooking and the dinner/lunch is done at her house. Well for Chancho and I it wasn't any different. She set a date and time and demanded that both families be present. It sort of went that way. Chancho's sister and mother showed up. My parents and brother attended. Missing from the dinner on Chancho's side was: Grandmother, father and father's mistress. Missing from my side: My sister, sister in law & brother in law.
My mother cooked an entire German menu, to share our culture with Chancho's family. I'm not entirely sure they liked the food, but they did eat whatever was on their plates. Our menu consisted of 4 different sausages, German potato salad, pickled beets, red cabbage, and 3 bean salad. This is a usual summer meal for us.  I love everything, but the pickled beets. That is something I refuse to eat. Chancho later told me that he didn't like any of the salads because they were served cold. That if they were warmed up, he may have liked them. I was really surprised because the potato salad had bacon in it. And not just bits of bacon, actual pick a piece of bacon up pieces. For dessert, my mother made strawberry pie. That was a big hit. She also had marzipan candies and pineapple.
I thought it would be awkward having everyone meeting together, but my mother is such a talker that it went pretty well. There were rarely an awkward pauses. Recently, my parents have had the pleasure of having a wild turkey hanging out in their backyard and it was present while we were eating so that was some entertainment. My parents are also avid gardeners so that was also something to talk about. Chancho's mother took a walk around the yard looking at everything.
By the end of the meal, everyone was still happy, very full and Chancho's mother suggested we all meet up again for Peruvian food next time. She said she wanted to cook and share her food with us. I'm very happy that everyone can get along.

Quote of the Day: "There are always flowers for those who want to see them" ~ Henri Matisse