By Miriam Lopez

New Hope School students had a wonderful idea to make some of the dishes Nicaraguans eat during the Easter season. Each grade made, explained the preparation, and gave the recipe of their dish to the entire school. As you will see in the pictures, the kids worked very hard together with their parents and teachers. Each grade also explained the meaning of Easter. The students shared that a lot of people here in Nicaragua use this week to go to the ocean and have fun. But, more importantly, Easter remind us of Jesus’ passion, death, and resurrection.

So instead of going to the ocean, we have to remember what Jesus did for us on the cross.  We need to remember that He gave His life to forgive our sins and to give us eternal life through salvation by His grace. This week is a reminder of what Jesus did for us. We need to remember each day why Jesus came to this earth.

When the kids were presenting their dishes they also shared about Jesus’ last supper and crucifixion. They shared verses from the Bible like John 1:14 that says, “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth”. So they did an awesome job. Next I am going to share with you about the dishes that each grade made.

7th Grade – Fruit Syrup

Fruit syrup is made with sugar, water, coconut, tamarindo, pineapples, and jocote. Almost everyone in Nicaragua makes this in their homes during this season. It may look different but it taste really good.

8th Grade – Cheese Soup

Ingredients: Corn mass, cheese, butter, eggs, milk, sour milk, onion, pepper, tomato, and achote. The rosquillas can be fried separately with corn mass, sour milk, and salt. We make this soup instead of eating meat during this season, especially when people go to the ocean. It’s a very typical soup and easy to prepare.

9th Grade – Fried Fish

Clean the fish from inside out then get a pan and put some oil in it.  Let it get very hot then fry the whole fish until is ready. It is typically served with rice, plantains, and tomato salad. That is a very typical dish in Nicaragua during Easter and it remind us when Jesus fed 5,000 people with fish and bread.

10th Grade – Fried Sardines & Tamales

First, dip the sardines in eggs then fry them in hot oil. Then make some pico de gallo, rice, and plantains. To make tamales, you just need corn mass, water, and salt. Cook the tamales by rolling them up in a plantain leaf and boiling them. Yummy.

11th Grade – Rosquillas, Cosa de Horno, & Pinol

Ingredients: corn mass, cheese, sour milk, sugar, and salt. To make las rosquillas you just need cheese, water, corn mass, and salt and bake them in the oven. To make Cosa de Horno (translated ‘Thing of the Oven’) you need sugar, corn mass, sour milk, and water.  Mix them together and put them in the oven. To make pinol (corn drink) you mix corn powder with cinnamon and clove before adding water and sugar.