Preparing papaya and other concerns in Sierra Leonian cuisine...

 
 
 
 

So, today's brief blog is about food. It seems I am constantly thinking about it here; on second thought, I'm probably constantly thinking about it no matter where in the world I might be because, simply put, I love food. But here, in Sierra Leone, in Fudia's kitchen, it is a source of constant conversation because one has to plan assuming that there will be no power. This means making things that can be consumed in 1 or 1 1/2 days without spoiling. If there's power, great; in the little fridge/freezer, after 5 hours of power, items start to freeze, so all is fine except for one's salad (consisting of lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers and onions). This must be carefully monitored as frozen thawed lettuce is especially unpleasant. The slimy consistency does not please me.

BUT, here's how the eating schedule seems to be shaking out. There is usually fresh bread which Tommy has gotten early in the morning. These are sort of like baguettes but they're softer. Delish. I have one of those and make a little sandwich. Stuffings consist of one of the alternating following: fried spicy egg/onion/pepper/tomato thing; peanut butter and banana; hard boiled eggs and Laughing Cow cheese. Usually there is fruit, too. Options at the moment are banana (mentioned above) or pineapple (quite great especially when it's been frozen), pineapple, or more pineapple. Don't get me wrong: I'm not complaining; fresh pineapple is a real treat especially when it's been plucked off of someone's head basket. Fudia says oranges aren't great at the moment. The coolest thing is that papaya just got added to the list and, even cooler is the fact that it's our own private papaya tree! One of the security guards, Monseray (completely incorrect spelling of his name I believe), has a very long wooden pole with which he recently attacked the pictured tree. Down came papaya. Out came Fudia's knife and out came Mary's fork. FYI, frozen papaya is as nice as fresh. Breakfast beverages consist of swapping out the now warm over-the-night water for some that is colder (hopefully some frozen if there was any power the afternoon/night preceding) and a cup of coffee. I alternate between making some in the French press or making a quick cup of instant Nescafe. Powdered milk and sugar cubes complete the preparation. Yes, coffee snobbery has to go...

Let's move on to lunch. Lunch is often bites of leftovers from dinner. The other alternative is the other piece of bread with peanut butter and banana or with tuna and some left over salad (hard to beat a good tunafish sandwich). I have gone over to the CRC and eaten lunch there as well but I find that I feel better if I have something lighter or less "saucy" (lunch there is always rice and groundnut stew or cassava with fish or some such dish). At this time of the day there is sometimes a cold Diet Coke to be had (this is also an item to be monitored as after about 8 hours of power it will explode in the fridge/freezer) or my tea has gotten super cold and is now iced. FABULOUS. So, I am fortified by some swallows of a cold caffeinated beverage. Amazing what a difference in one's outlook this can make; it's really the small things in life...

Dinner happens anywhere from 6 to 9 depending on the evening activities. I tend to like to eat later as a general rule and dining in the dark has taken on a whole new meaning - speaking of which, I must adjust my light because I'm not able to see the left side of my keyboard. Hold, please. Right. I'm back. We were discussing dinner...So here is where the conversation with Fudia comes into play because earlier in the day we have discussed this meal. She goes to the market most every day in the late morning or early afternoon. Hold again. Need to change batteries in fan...the dribble of breeze is not working for me... LOVELY! Mission accomplished. Where was I? Ah, dinner. So, I seem to be falling into the rut of chicken, some sort of starch, and salad. It's not really a rut, though, in that I'm not sick of it yet. Fudia fries up 3 or 4 chicken leg/breast combos and I eat them for 2 or 3 meals. She also makes a huge bowl of couscous or pasta which is also good cold and will keep. This is always delightfully spicy with vegetables in it (I think she uses a bag of frozen peas/carrots, etc.) and then adds onions and peppers herself. She also prepares a large plate of salad (described above). She lays it out for me covered in saran wrap and I eat it for consecutive meals until it's done or we determine there hasn't been enough power to keep things well and we throw it out. The chicken does occasionally alternate with groundnut stew or cassava or something similar. These dishes are always served with rice. Fudia is big on not mixing her starches. I don't see why cassava can't go over couscous, but apparently it cannot. Okay. We also have to plan based on expense and what she can find that's fresh and looks good to her. In addition, although she always asks me what I want, sometimes when I ask for something she'll say no. For example, I wanted her to make a dish that contains yams, plantains, potatoes and something else which I can't remember at the moment. She thinks it won't keep well - it works better for a group so they can eat it all up in one sitting. So I think I'm out of luck on that one.

Fudia also likes making french fries and fried plantains and in her mind these two things go together, so, for example, the other night she made me a huge platter of fried chicken, french fries, and fried plantains (and salad). I'm not sure how many gallons of palm oil were ingested over the next few days...Her french fries and fried plantains are to die for. I'm working on the popcorn (also delicious; I'm telling you, it's all about the oil which I would bet is not on the "healthy fats" list). Regarding treats, I have some Digestives (which I hoard in my own freezer in the USA b/c they're hard to find seeing as they're a British product) and there's always ice cream in town as a blow your mind treat(okay, it's not THAT great but all is relative...). I'm also currently sucking on a lollipop of which I have a small stash. They're really cheap and available on the side of the road (yup - it's a bit random, I agree). I think tomorrow night there will be rice to go with some leftover groundnut & fish stew (if it's still good which I think it might be because it has spent some of its last few days frozen) but tomorrow's day-time will consist of finishing up couscous, eating bread and eating my last piece of chicken. Monday we will plan for something new and Wednesday hopefully I'll be going out for dinner, so that will be a nice change as well. At some point, too, I need to check out some take-out (or eat-in for that matter) options at a restaurant that serves up Lebanese food - might be time for some hummous!

So there you have it! I had the vague notion that I might lose the 10 pounds I gained this fall due to an overindulgence in Fritos and Cheetos; perhaps that is happening although the diet here is heavy on starches (and there's the afore-mentioned oil issue). I'm working out maybe twice or three times a week (when the fan is overhead - can't do it otherwise) to Denise Austin which is quite trippy and weird. Who does Denise Austin in Sierra Leone?! I'm trying to work up the gumption to do some PX90 workouts which are on my computer but the heat factor might be a bit much...My brother Peter would just knock it out and be into the miserableness of the experience, but pouring buckets of sweat is not something that I ever voluntarily jump at the chance to do.

Speaking of sweating, it's about time to see if I can find some colder water, so, goodbye! I hope your next meal is highly enjoyable; bon appetit!