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The return of mondogo August 2, 2013

June 17, 2013

The OTS course left this morning and we had mondogo for lunch again. This time when I presented myself in the kitchen, I received a bowl of soup with only two modest pieces and lots of vegetables. I’m not sure if this was because the cook accurately deduced who left mondogo in her bowl last time, or if the fact that I was a few minutes late meant that everyone else had already gotten most of the “good bits”. I was very pleased that there was no gagging this time.

Acquiring a taste for mondogo seems prudent, if only in self-defense: I think the cook would serve it at least weekly if possible. (In other words, if there aren’t any courses or tourists at the station.) The over-rational part of me (the one that tries to talk people out of their aversions to spiders, roaches, and the like) also maintains that avoiding mondogo solely because it is tripe makes about as much sense as avoiding tofu because it’s a solidified bean-water emulsion. However, I have no intention of asking for the recipe so I can make it at home.

Postscript, August 2^nd: Mondogo has not been served again as the primary entrée, although it has occasionally made an appearance as an alternate one, usually on nights the station director is here, as it seems to be a favorite of his. I’ve passed up these opportunities and only partially because I only become aware of it as an option after I’ve filled my plate.