Last Thursday Kevin, Chris, Thomas, Luis and I went to Comeseb, better known in Sigua as "the Mennonite store", for donuts. This place is a must visit when in Sigua. Homemade ice cream, homemade breads, cinnamon rolls, cheeses, yogurt, granola, apple pie...so, okay, you get the picture, it's my kind of place. Anyway, I know it was Thursday, or maybe Friday, because they only have fresh made donuts on these two days. Unfortunately, there were only three left. So after buying them out, we went in search of a donut bakery I had only recently heard of. (and I thought I knew all of them here)
We finally found it in Barrio San Antonio in an old billiard hall. We bought a bag of 12, warm and fresh for 20 lempiras, less than a dollar and sat on the tailgate of the pick up and ate every one of them...and went back for another bag.
I stood at the doorway and chatted with the elderly lady and her daughter through the bars. I shared with them my lifetime love affair with donuts. She must have found in me a kindred spirit, because before I knew it, this 82 year old baker of donuts had unlocked the side door and ushered me into the inner sanctum, the place where it all happens.
She told me of a lifetime of baking bread, going back to her childhood. Her mother, she tells me, was an incredible baker. She shares with me her desire to get "the machine that flips the donuts on it's own" as she reaches in to the hot oil with a skimmer and expertly flips three or four at a time. It would cut down on labor cost she says. For 20 years now she has made donuts. She stopped baking bread a number of years ago and only makes donuts now.
I watch, fascinated with the speed her daughter exhibits as she grabs three donuts in each hand, rubbing them in the sugar and placing them in a bag.
We finally found it in Barrio San Antonio in an old billiard hall. We bought a bag of 12, warm and fresh for 20 lempiras, less than a dollar and sat on the tailgate of the pick up and ate every one of them...and went back for another bag.
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| Nice selfie. |
I stood at the doorway and chatted with the elderly lady and her daughter through the bars. I shared with them my lifetime love affair with donuts. She must have found in me a kindred spirit, because before I knew it, this 82 year old baker of donuts had unlocked the side door and ushered me into the inner sanctum, the place where it all happens.
I felt honored...and privileged...and awed.
She told me of a lifetime of baking bread, going back to her childhood. Her mother, she tells me, was an incredible baker. She shares with me her desire to get "the machine that flips the donuts on it's own" as she reaches in to the hot oil with a skimmer and expertly flips three or four at a time. It would cut down on labor cost she says. For 20 years now she has made donuts. She stopped baking bread a number of years ago and only makes donuts now.
3500 donuts a day, over 300 lbs.
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| Racks of fresh donuts line the walls |
I watch, fascinated with the speed her daughter exhibits as she grabs three donuts in each hand, rubbing them in the sugar and placing them in a bag.
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| The "sugaring" process. |
I have made new friends.
I leave them, with the promise that I will be back...soon!
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| Kevin, one of our new language school students and me. Muy contentos! |
Warm donuts!! Matt will want to come visit at just the right time!! Thanks for sharing this story. New friends - - I'm sure the blessing goes both ways. Blessings, Ellen, for Matt too!
ReplyDeleteTell Matt to "come on". I will show him the way!
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