When I woke up this morning, the power was off, so I decided I would enjoy a nice slow morning, as I wouldn't be able to use the internet or the printer at the mayor's office, which I would have needed for the work I had for the day. While I enjoyed my breakfast of oatmeal with honey and cinnamon, I read my book, Uncommon Grounds: the History of Coffee and How It Transformed our World, by Mark Pendergrast. Every time I open the book, I find myself either longing for coffee, or so disgusted that I never want to drink it again. This time the former occurred, so I went to Nina Gloria's and bought a packet of instant coffee. As the book points out, El Salvador and most other Latin American coffee-producing countries face a similar predicament. The laborers who grow, harvest, and process coffee work hard, long hours, carefully producing a fine crop. But they see little of the money. Pendergrast reports that if coffee laborers in Central America received the same wages as American laborers, coffee would cost upwards of $30 a pound in the US. The coffee produced here is of good quality—it comes from carefully tended, high-elevation, shade-grown plots, and is processed by the labor-intensive “dry method.” Then it is sold to post-processing plants owned by foreign companies which rake in nearly 90% of the profits. The money which the farmers receive is not enough for them to afford the luxury of enjoying their own coffee. Instead, Salvadorans make coffee in one of two ways. The first is to buy the low-quality stuff, the leftovers that the processing plants won't buy. This is over-roasted, then boiled for far too long in too much water. To make it palatable, several spoonfuls of sugar are added to the mix. Most families who enjoy their coffee this way make one pot in the morning, reheating it throughout the day. The other way Salvadorans make coffee is the way I did this morning—with instant. Instant coffee is made from beans grown and roasted in El Salvador, then shipped overseas to be turned into instant coffee and packaged, then shipped back to El Salvador. Typically it is served with heaps of sugar. This morning I mixed mine up with a packet of hot chocolate. At the first sip, I realized why I never buy instant coffee, and vowed never to buy it again. The coffee had ruined a perfectly good cup of hot chocolate. If you'd like to enjoy a really fine cup of coffee and help out Salvadoran coffee growers, then open up your phone book and call the coffee roasters in your area, or talk to the manager at a local grocery store. Ask them if the provide fair-trade coffee. Roasters who buy fair-trade coffee guarantee their providers a set minimum price, regardless of the market value of coffee, so the farmers always know they will have enough money to feed their families and grow their businesses. They also buy from cooperatives of privately owned coffee plantations, rather than large conglomerates, and work with the farmers, providing credit and opportunities to learn and institute safer, more environmentally friendly, and more efficient growing practices. Finally, because the roasters maintain such a close relationship with their suppliers, they know more about the coffee they are selling, and can assure its quality. It will consist of higher quality beans, more carefully processed, and more expertly roasted. And it will be more fresh than store-bought coffee 100% of the time, as they always buy small shipments.

Description: Ceviche (also spelled as cebiche or seviche) is a form of citrus-marinated seafood salad, popular in mainly Latin American countries. I prefer the Costa Rican/Mexican preparation/serving methods, but you can also read variations from other countries. I like to serve it with soda crackers and hot sauce! Enjoy! Ingredients: 8 oz tilapia fillet 8 oz mahi fillet (I also often use scallops and shrimp. I have learned though that if you use shrimp it can sometimes become tough with the citrus cooking method so if you choose shrimp boil or steam it separately and add to the mixture 30 minutes before serving. Personally I buy tiny frozen salad shrimp that are precooked and fit nicely on a cracker. Just thaw and add to your ceviche a half hour before serving) juice of 3 lemons and 3 limes (enough citrus to fully cover fish - have extra on hand in case it is needed) 1 bell pepper, chopped 1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and finely chopped (but of course I used an additional 5 or 6 banana peppers from my garden in addition in this photo) 1 small red onion, finely chopped 1 cup roma tomatoes, seeded & chopped 1 tablespoon olive oil handful of cilantro, chopped salt & pepper & oregano to taste cilantro to garnish Directions: Remove any skin and bones from the fish and cut the flesh into small cubes. Put the cubes into a nonmetallic dish with the lemon/lime juice; turn to coat all the fish and let marinate covered in the refrigerator for at least 5-6 hours. Drain SOME of the juice from the fish, but you want to keep the mixture moist (about half as moist as the above photo demonstrates; the ingredients will make more moisture as they sit). Add your chilies, onion, tomatoes, olive oil, and cilantro and stir well. Season with salt, pepper, and oregano and stir again. Chill until ready to serve. Garnish with cilantro and serve with soda crackers or saltines. Don't forget the hot sauce!