Misadventures in Honduran Houswifery

Cooking tip #1:
Be an extra-cautious shopper if the labels are written in something other than your first language.


Ahh, supper was going to be so good. Fish fillets with fresh lime and butter, noodles, tomatoes with vinegar dressing...such a fun break from beans and rice. I got out the package of frozen fish fillet I had bought last time we were in Tegucigalpa and started the water for the noodles. I knew the fish wouldn't take too long, but since I am from the border between the desert southwest and the rest of the world, I am usually a bit cautious when it comes to sea food expertise. After almost 15 minutes I stabbed the fish with a fork to see if it would flake. It would not. In fact, it wouldn't even stab. Beginning to be worried that I had done something wrong, I cooked it for a little longer. Now fully convinced that it should be getting done, I tried stabbing it again. No such luck. I tried cutting it. With a big serrated Cutco knife I had brought from the States. It DID cut through it. But not without effort. :-? Something was NOT right. I went to the freezer and pulled out the other package of fish that I had bought at the same time. The label read "Caracol Limpio". I knew that "limpio" meant "clean", but I didn't know what kind of fish Caracol was. Stepping over to my laptop, I typed it into Google Translate. What it gave me back was the truth in cold, blunt type as only a computer program can do:

Caracol = Snail.

Yup. It wasn't actually a fillet at all. It was two huge snail feet. We ate our noodles and tomatoes with hard boiled eggs out of the fridge. We will bury the rubberized snail. Now the question is: what do I do with the other package? ;)