How I became an instant international cook

"Ashley's bringing it."

"Buy a jar of Spanish olives."

"Are those the green olives or the black ones?" I asked.

Johanna shook her head.

"No olives," I told Ann.

I hung up, and Johanna's hopeful look transformed into one of desperation.

"I'll try Aunt Amy," I said, trying to make my voice sound reassuring.

"Johanna's class is having Christmas Around the World tomorrow, and we need a food from Spain besides Spanish rice, gazpacho, or Spanish olives," I said.

She left me on hold while she consulted her cookbooks. "Sevillian salad," she said when she returned to the phone. "It has rice, onion, and red and green peppers."

I echoed her suggestion. Johanna scrunched her face.

"Anything else?" I asked.

"How about Spanish corn? It's corn with chili powder and olive oil."

"Gross," I said, without consulting Johanna.

"Hold on a minute," Amy said. "Jon went to Spain."

"Honey," she hollered to her husband. "When you went to Spain, what did you eat?" She relayed his reply. "He ate at McDonald's."

At bedtime, we were out of ideas. I tucked in Johanna and told her I'd get something to school in time for the 11:30 a.m. feast.

"Nothing gross, Mom," she said.

The next morning, I hurried to the store to look for something with a Spanish flair. Instead I found skewers of chicken teriyaki, containers of German potato salad, and boxes of Swiss Miss hot chocolate mix. I wished Johanna had chosen Japan. Or Germany. Or Switzerland. Anywhere but Spain.

I steered my cart down every aisle - then retraced my steps.

Then I remembered the treat Johanna had taken to school on her special day in kindergarten. Her teacher had said the children loved it! I gathered the ingredients and picked up some party dip.

At home, I arranged the food on a serving tray and covered it with aluminum foil. Then I searched Becky's room for her Spanish-English dictionary. Carefully, I lettered an index card in Spanish and added phonetic spelling for the teacher (lay-GOOM-brays). Then I rushed to school, with little time to spare.

I walked into Johanna's classroom as though I were a footman presenting treasure to a queen. "Legumbres from Spain," I announced.

Johanna looked relieved. The teacher clasped her hands in delight. "Oh, I'll have to try one!" she said.

I left before the feast began.

After school, Johanna brought home the empty tray.

"Did the kids like the legumbres?" I asked.

"They liked them," she said, smiling. "But they're just vegetables and dip."

"I know," I said, beaming. "They have vegetables in Spain. And now I'm an international cook!"

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