ok, i must've spoken too quickly. the food i've had lately has gotten much better. let's see if i can remember the highlights...

a.) i think it was wednesday, june 2, one of the guys from the church here took us to this restaurant called Brios for dinner. it was really fancy and the food was great! i had this steak with a blue cheese crust on top. it was so soft and juicy, an absolute pleasure to eat. i've heard people talk about steaks melting in your mouth, but this is the mouth-meltingest i've ever had. well...till recently. but that's for later.

b.) one other major highlight was dinner at one of the houses of one of the church members. the house in itself was beautiful! i can't describe it well enough to do it justice, so i'll just talk about my favorite parts.

we drove up to the house, which is at the end of the road. the front yard slants downwards to the house, and there are big stone steps that they brought in that you use to get to the door. the house is on a slant, that continues all the way down to a pond. the pond is teardrop shaped and is probably 40 feet long and is 10 feet wide at the fat end. patrick, the 15 year old son of the house owners, took me down to the pond, where he keeps his kayak. he takes the kayak to the deep end and swims there. there are fish and turtles in the pond. patrick showed me a turtle shell that he had taken from one that had died. right by the pond is a bonfire pile that they've cleared up. the dad brought in huge tree stumps to serve as chairs around the fire. it's just wonderful sitting there looking down at the pond, looking up at the trees, hearing the birds sing, and all. like the perfect place to get away, read a book, have your quiet time, or something.

the house also has a deck on the same side as the pond, where they have a bird feeder. the birds sing all around, and come to the feeder all the time. (at least, while we were there) there are cardinals (these bright red birds), woodpeckers, finches, and other stuff i've never seen before except in books. just sitting on the deck is great, and that's where we ate, watching the setting sun and all.

but enough with the ponds, birds, and sunsets! this is about the food! and what a feast it was! we first had crackers with cheese. the cheese was really good: mild, creamy, and soft. we had a homemade salad first, which was good, but it got better. we also had these baby potatoes, boiled, then sauteed in butter and spices. i dunno how they did it, but the skins had a reddish tint to them. maybe that's how the potatoes were to begin with. we also had fresh applesauce.

but the main course were these chicken breasts and thighs that the dad of the house grilled just as we got there. it was so soft! i usually don't like white meat because i find it dry and tasteless. but this was just so soft and juicy. i had two and a half servings of it. and that wasn't all.

and for dessert!! we had cheesecake with mixed berries for toppings! it was so fresh, pure, and flavorful. man..i was stuffed.

c.) another highlight was dinner at this other family's house. the setting was quite different from the house described above. this was a farmhouse out in illinois. this is apparently farm country, and the whole state almost is completely flat. pop and i were driving on the highway (excuse me, interstate), and we just saw fields and fields for miles. It was like a sea of corn and soybeans, with an occasional island of a farmhouse. well, that's how this house was, pretty isolated and very self sufficient. i have a few pictures from there, which i'll try to upload on to friendster and/or myspace sometime.

our meal consisted of a salad. which was good. we also had a green bean casserole. now, if you'll remember i hate green beans. i said so back in my tomato entry. but this casserole was just great! i still don't like green beans generally, but cooked that way, they're great!

the highlight of the meal were some steaks and a slab of salmon that were cooked on the grill also, just as we got there. the steaks were really good. probably the best i've ever had here, and that's saying a lot because we've had quite a few in some very fancy places. so that was really good. i had around two of them.

for dessert, i had chocolate pie and strawberry pie. both were excellent. the strawberries tasted so natural and fresh.

---i've got two other meals that should be up here but i'm tired of typing already. i would like to make a disclaimer though before i go. lest readers think that all i'm doing here is eating, we've been meeting with people day in and day out, speaking at cell groups, holding meetings, etc. all in all, it's been really fun. eating good food is just part of it. meeting all of these great people, being able to minister to them, seeing new scenery, exploring the interstates, and everything, that has all been just phenomenal.