Once a good book, always a good book

Today I used my battered, smattered, and partially torn copy of Mampalicious (it's a cookbook of course! when am I not talking about cookbooks?) that I received during training in the Peace Corps. "Mampa" is put before a verb in Malagasy which means "to make someone or somthing do something", so the title means "to make something delicious", (in the fun mix of english and Gasy).
Every so often, the ol' Mampa gets taken off the shelf to be used as inspiration for whatever I'm got left in my kitchen (ya know, the day or two before you make one of those awfully big trips to the grocery store to stock up on staples). It's a great cookbook because all of the recipes are easy, I repeat, EASY, and don't require unusual ingredients. That's because it's meant for people who A) may have just graduated college and haven't been cooking much on their own; B) don't have access to grocery stores or really to much of anything in general; and C) are wondering what else they can make with rice. In fact, there is a whole chapter dedicated to rice recipes, because let's face it, eating plain rice gets kinda boring after just a few months (at least when you're an American living in Madagascar).
When I first got my hands on Mampalicious, I was stoked, I mean, cooking is a huge part of life anywhere, but when you're out of your element and have limited supplies, it's so helpful to have a little guidance instead of spending your tiny peace corps budget on street food or hotelys (not a hotel, just a restuarant that is usually run by a family who probably lives on the back of the property). The book even has instructions on how to make your own oven, although I wasn't so successful with that one. Also, there's a small section on Vache Qui Rit, perhaps some of you know it in English as Laughing Cow cheese. Every so often, I would buy a round package of this wonderful stuff on a trip to Ambanja, about 50km north of the village I lived in. I would conserve it carefully, and try to make the 8 wedges last as long as possible. I missed cheese so much, and this was all I could get my hands on since I had no refridgerator (or electricity or running water for that matter). Pasta was another luxury, it being more expensive than rice, because really are there any Malagasy who would rather eat pasta than rice? There were a couple of mornings where I treated myself and made Mac and Vache for breakfast. (Just to change it up, to give myself a break from the normal katakata and mofo-vary). Then some vanilla-cinnamon coffee in my little coffee sock. Breakfast of champions, I tell ya. What a great way to start the day.
For this time however, I only wanted to make tapioca pudding, but couldn't remember the portions of milk to sugar and tapioca granules. It's 1/2 cup of tapioca, 1/2 cup of sugar, and 3 cups of milk, by the way. I also threw in a halved vanilla bean.
Thank you Mampalicious, for making my cooking experiences easier and more tasty here and in Madagascar. I'll be using you again soon, it's almost time to go to Jumbo. When I see Vache in the grocery store here, I always think of my Mac and Vache meals. But now I won't touch the stuff, because now, I have a vast array of cheese choices, swiss, bleu, cream, mozzeralla, ricotta, camebert, etc. Also, and perhaps more importantly, we have a refridgerator to keep them in!