I found a lot of interesting food. Some I know and some I do not. Melinjo Is an excellent example of something I did not know. Melinjo Is a nut. It is high in nutrients and works like an anti-bacterial. Processing the nut takes a lot of work. First, someone takes off the skin. Reminds of when I was a kid and we would sit around the table shelling pecans. Second, they roast them over hot coals. Third, they shell them again to get the hard part off the nut. Fourth, another person pounds the nuts until they are thin. Once the nuts are pounded out into something that looks like a chip, the chips are placed out in the sun to dry. After they dry, they deep fry them. I am thinking after all that the nut probably looses all the good nutrients!

If you would rather see the video version, check this out. I love the pig!

The family processing the melinjo had a pet wild pig. He showed up at their house with no Mom. They take care of him. They are Christian so having a pig does not bother them. He was so cute!! He kept trying to bite my feet after I gave him a little sugar. I think he just wanted a belly rub. Every time the woman rubbed him under his belly he would fall over. Reminded me of when Daddy would take in animals.

Do you know what pepper looks like? I did not. I had no idea. Now I do! This is pepper a pepper plant and pepper. I ate one. It tasted just like pepper. The difference between white and black pepper is when you take off the outside before grinding it is white pepper when you leave it on it is black pepper.

Here is another one I have never seen. Nutmeg!! This is nutmeg. The middle part. It is really pretty. I love the red. They use all of. The outer part is used for medicine.

Indonesia exports cacao beans to Belgium and other countries. The beans are used to make chocolate. This is a cacao plant and the beans drying before they are shipped out.

OK so this is not food, but I decided to put it here because it was at the same house where I saw the pepper, nutmeg, and cacao. They grow tobacco to make their cigarettes. As soon as I saw it, I told him he needed to top it. He had never heard of topping tobacco. I explained it would keep it from growing so tall and spindly. They use the same process we do for curing. Thought that was interesting.