What it Costs to Eat!

What it Costs to Eat! / Rebeca Monzo
Posted on August 11, 2014

This week I invited to lunch a couple who are friends of mine. I have
among the more "respectable" pensions in this country: 340 CUP (Cuban
pesos) — the type of currency which is also used to pay salaries.

I set out early in search of the necessary elements and ingredients to
prepare for my friends a "criollo" [traditional Cuban] menu. They live
outside the country, and I wanted to treat them to a home-cooked meal.
Since there would be four of us to feed, I purchased the following:

Four plantains to make tostones, 10 CUP for the four; 1lb onions, 30
pesos; 1lb peppers, 20 pesos; two small garlic heads, 6 pesos; one
avocado, 10 pesos; 2lb rice, 10 pesos; 1lb black beans, 14 pesos; 3lb
pork steak, 120 pesos; one large (3lb) mango, 7.50 pesos. After that, I
stood in line to buy one loaf of Cuban bread for 10 pesos.

As you might have noticed, a simple luncheon for four cost me "only"
257.50 Cuban pesos. My guests brought a bottle of wine.

The meal was a success and we had a great time, but as you can imagine,
my pockets are wobbling until my next pension check. Now you see what a
simple meal costs on my planet!

Translated by: Alicia Barraqué Ellison

10 August 2014

Source: What it Costs to Eat! / Rebeca Monzo | Translating Cuba -
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