March 4, 2025

Tuesday

Weekends are for exploring. On Saturday, C and I went to the Dededo Flea Market. It’s also a co-op farmer’s market, so I grabbed my tote bags with the idea of getting my ‘fridge stocked with fresh fruit and veggies for the week, hopefully with some new-to-me type produce.

We were not disappointed! I saw many familiar vegetables, including most that I had on my list. But also some interesting, new types.

The brown ones in the front are taro. I think the bumpy pumpkin-looking one is breadfruit. I bought a bunch of the ruffly cucumber-shaped wing(ed) beans because I couldn’t resist. I had to ask my Guam Foodies FB group what it was and how it’s best cooked. They are good stir-fried or used in soups, and I did cook them up on Monday.

I tasted one raw, and it was like a cross between a green bean and a pea in flavor. Very pretty sliced because they are four-sided…very unique for a vegetable! They are also a good source of vitamin C, potassium, and protein with iron and magnesium, too.

I will explore breadfruit in a later post as a quick search is proving fascinating.

We also decided to have breakfast/lunch from a food truck with many dishes offered that we did not recognize. However, I’ve been wanting to try to ubiquitous Chamorro kelaguen, especially the chicken variety. I was told to make sure to get barbecue chicken kelaguen, not boiled, but I honestly have no idea which this was. It is made of shredded chicken, coconut, lemon juice marinade, spicy peppers, and green onions at its basic recipe. (There are different types such as shrimp or venison or fish kelaguen, as well.)

I ordered a nice BBQ pork teriyaki to go with my lovely brunch dish.

When we arrived home, we had a large assortment of fresh veg and fruit as well as some mung beans (for making dal or even sprouts!) and some coconut milk. The vendor who sold me the tiny red donne peppers said she makes a simple donne dinanche (pepper paste) using red miso and the peppers, but the condiment usually includes garlic, coconut milk, and sometimes eggplant, onions, even crabmeat. I cheated and picked up a locally-made jarred dinanche (middle pic below next to the pork chop) at the commissary on Sunday, but I WILL make some myself.

Left to right: My new kitchen. Slow-cooker wing beans, sweet potato, and onions from the market with extra carrot from the commissary with pork chops in a tomato sauce (oregano, salt, pepper, and some of the hot donne peppers), served with couscous, all drenched in the sauce/juices. The farmers market haul.

This blog seems to have become a food and travel blog as much as a writing blog.

Writing

So after deciding that the next couple of years is going to be about writing and not “selling,” I promptly fell into a funk, not because of the decision but because with our stuff now here and getting settled, it’s hitting me that this is real, I’m halfway around the world, and I don’t know anyone except my husband. It feels a bit lonely, to be honest.

Once I get going on a project, especially researching Guam history, I’ll feel better. It’s time to get into a routine and force myself to sit at my desk, otherwise I will risk falling into a depression and getting nothing done. And I really do want to get stories written.

The next time I write in this journal, I WILL have some new words written. No excuses.

Did I mention my handwritten notes for Strawberry Moon Mystery did not arrive with my stuff? Ugh! I will have to re-imagine the story because I can’t remember exactly how I wrote it on that third long-hand try that finally satisfied me. Where did I put those notes?