"Guess what Maria and Jake are having?"

Kirsten never ceases to make me laugh.

Maria called Lara after Maria's doctor's appointment a few days ago to tell her the news regarding the gender of the baby. Lara then asked Kirsten if she could guess what we were having and she responded "Arepas!... I want some!"

I considered myself very lucky when I met and married Maria for several reasons one of which being the fact that we both served our missions in Venezuela. I have a great love for the Venezuelans and an even greater love for their food and it is nice to be able to share that love with Maria. Since being married we have enjoyed pabellon, empanadas, arequipe, malta and arepas on several occasions.

I lucked out even further in discovering that both of Maria's sisters love the food as well especial the Arepas. It is fun for me to cook them for people who appreciate and enjoy them. I have made them several times for different people but no one has taken to them quite as well as Lara and Kirsten.

After hearing Kirsten's response to Lara I could hardly turn them down, we invited them over and cooked up over a dozen arepas con queso cotija (arepas with cheese), ensalada venezolana (a Venezuelan Salad), caraotas (black beans), and arroz (rice).