Yeah, I'd Eat That (Take 2)

Yeah, I’d Eat That (Updated post)

Post by Lara

28 November 2013

It’s been a while since the first time we wrote a “Yeah, I’d eat that” post, and we decided to revisit it, since our tastes have changed some in the interim.  When we first arrived here, we had trouble liking a lot of the foods that were offered to us, and we were more interested in finding ways to make American food in Sierra Leone than in cooking and eating more local dishes. As we’ve spent more time here, though, we’ve learned that rice really is a good base for most meals (cheap, filling, and appealing to humans, cats, dogs, chickens, and monkeys), and we really like the various sauces that are traditionally eaten with rice—cassava leaf, potato leaf, and “granat” [peanut] soup, to name the most common 3.  Beyond that, we’ve taken to liking a lot of the foods that we either didn’t enjoy at first or were too turned-off to try.  Partly, this transition was fueled by the fact that fish is the cheapest source of protein here (we’re like 20 miles from the ocean, and have a river running 200 yards from our house), and so we’ve really gotten used to it.  Before, we would get tired of everything smelling or tasting like fish (they like to sell “meat pies” in our town that are filled with about 5 hot peppers and a spoonful of fish, bones included), but now, we’re regular connoisseurs when it comes to local fish—we know the ones that we like—smoky, tender and flaky or somewhat beef-jerky-esque, and the ones that we don’t like—I still don’t eat fish heads or tails, and I tend to pick around the small ones that they throw into dishes whole.  Another piece of the puzzle is that what we were used to in the states as far as the amount of salt, MSG, pepper, or sugar is concerned has become little more than a memory, and we’ve started to get used salty, spicy, not-so-sugary food here.  Of course, we still love American food and have gotten pretty good at making it over charcoal fire—last night, we made oatmeal raisin cookies that were worthy of my grandma’s kitchen.  Mostly, what we’ve found is that what we’re willing to eat as well as what we crave has just broadened as we’ve spent more time in Salone.

               

Here’s our revised list of foods we love, those we tolerate, and those we’re still not into: 

Fish bones—unavoidable in most meals. Yeah, I’d eat that.

Chicken bones—as in, gnawing on the ends and getting as much marrow out as possible. They are so delicious. Yeah, I’d eat that.

Pizza topped with canned corn and/or canned mixed veggies—this is how our favorite restaurant in Bo (Sab’s) makes veggie pizza. Yeah, I’d eat that.

Not-even-close-to-ripe or so-overripe-they’re-about-to-burst fresh tomatoes: when it comes to tomatoes, Salone certainly isn’t up to the standards that we’re used to, having grown up in Ohio with vegetable gardens and farmer’s markets. We get so little in the way of fresh vegetables here, though, that we get excited even about the sub-sub-par tomatoes that occasionally come our way. Yeah, I’d eat that.

Oyster cakes: fried donuts with dried oysters mixed in, served with a generous dusting of cayenne pepper and raw onions: this is actually Lara’s most frequent school lunch. Also, here’s a fun fact for you—oysters provide more protein and iron per ounce than almost anything, AND they taste like fishy pencil erasers. In a good way.

Termites! Roasted in oil with a bit of salt.  We’ve tried these. They were burnt and therefore not that good, but we ate them.

Giant grasshoppers—our neighbor girls, Fatu (16) and Hawa (11) have brought a few of these to show us. Apparently they are delicious fried. No one’s been willing to share their grasshoppers with us—they’re that sought-after. But if anyone decides to fry one up and pass it to us…yeah, I’d try eating that.

Gbengbe (water frogs) – This is another edible oddity that we’ve been spared so far solely because Sierra Leoneans love them so much they don’t bother “wasting” any on us publa [white people] who won’t appreciate them.  We can’t say that feeling isn’t mutual—we frequently keep goodies to ourselves on the pretense that they won’t be appreciated if we share them. Well, if anyone finally decides we deserve a shot at gbengbe, yeah, I’d eat that.

Binch Salad: lettuce, hard-boiled egg, spaghetti, and cooked beans topped with ketchup, mayonnaise, and pepper. Binch salad is a staple food of ours in Freetown, where we buy it from P-Money at his little stand right outside the Peace Corps compound. 

Acheke: gari [pounded dried cassava root], spaghetti, lettuce, hard boiled egg, fish or chicken, and raw onion topped with ketchup, mayonnaise, and pepper.  Lara loves this, Kevin doesn’t…but he’ll eat it in a pinch. Yeah, I’d eat that.

Street meat: that’s our name for any red meat that’s grilled and sold on a skewer in public places. We’ve taken to getting street meat sandwiches when we visit Bo, and we frequently buy it from car windows at stops along the Bo-Freetown highway when we’re traveling.  Yeah, I’d eat that—with onions and cayenne pepper on bread, pretty please.

Powdered “cheese sauce” mix: Kevin’s mom Jane has so far given us 3 bags of this stuff from GFS, and we are obsessed.  Enough said.

Cassava root—raw, boiled, mashed, grilled, dried, fermented (see below)—you name it. This is the most common tuber here. Visit a farm, and the farmer may just dig one up, wash it off, and hand it to you to cham [chew].  Once a friend gave us a variety they call “candy” and it tasted like a sweet carrot—delicious! Other varieties can taste more like raw potatoes or even chalk.  Cassava root has a not-insignificant amount of arsenic in it and apparently can be poisonous if you go to town eating it (I think it’s somewhat similar to the amount of arsenic in apple seeds—a few won’t hurt you but a stomach full could be fatal).  Well, arsenic or no, we’re into cassava root. Yeah, I’d eat that.

Foo Foo: fermented cassava root shaped into balls and then boiled, served with fish or chicken “soup” poured on top.  The foo foo is kind of sour, very sticky, and fairly bland. This used to be something we ate to be polite. Now, we actively pursue it and even find ourselves craving it. Kevin’s current favorite school lunch is foo foo and fish ball soup.  Times have changed.

Fish balls:  No, not the reproductive bits of fish. These are made of fish meat spiced up with pepper and other herbs, mixed with something to hold them together, and formed into quarter-size balls. They’re cooked with “soup” and served on top of foo foo or with bread. Fish ball and bean sandwiches are sold at my school during lunch.  If you close your eyes and ignore the bones, they taste somewhat like meatballs.  Yeah, I’d eat that.

Chicken balls: Yes, the reproductive bits of chickens. Turns out, they're scrumptious...if a little awkward to talk about.

Monkey/cat/squirrel/bush rat/mystery meat: as far as we know, we still haven’t eaten monkey or cat. I say “as far as we know,” because sometimes it’s better to just not ask.  (Yeah, I’d probably eat that—as long as it’s not a monkey or cat that I was acquainted with.)

Chicken feet: These show up all over the place and we frequently see people chowing down on them—most commonly sold along with soup or sandwiches on the street. As for us? Lara tried one once—she hardly got her teeth into it before she decided it was not for her, and offered it to the nearest child who gladly accepted it. Kevin has yet to try chicken feet and is fairly sure that he will not be attempting anytime soon—everyone’s got their own standards, after all.

Guest Post-- Five Senses Unleashed in Africa by Jane Flaute

25th November 2013

Hi all!  Kevin's mom did us the honor of writing a post after their trip here in July-- enjoy!  -Lara

FIVE SENSES UNLEASHED IN AFRICA

FEEL

            Africa woke up my senses. The minute we stepped off the plane, I could feel the humidity in the air. I knew it would be very warm there, and being the rainy season, humid. My hair was damp most of the time, either from sweating, humidity, or raindrops. I was happy to discover that the rainy season was not a constant rain. During our visit, we only had rain twice; the first 6 days and the last 8 days. That being said, the rains can do some real damage. It makes the dirt roads almost impassable if not down right treacherous. Our long drive from Freetown to Mattru was better than our trip from Mattru to Bo. Of course, the day we left Mattru, it was raining, no pouring. An hour into the drive our driver was very hesitant to drive through a huge puddle or small lake. Not sure which one it was that was in the middle of the road. Only after a truck made it through did he decide to try it also. Did I mention the cozy nature of these trips? On a few trips Lara or Kevin had to sit where there were no seats, and the rest of us were simply crammed in, shoulder to shoulder, cheek to cheek. Don’t get me wrong, I am very grateful. The trips on public transportation would have been a great deal worse! Unless, of course, people hanging out the back doors of a van or sitting on top of the roof would be what one would like to do. When we left Bo, we saw many people wearing winter coats. To them 75° - 80° is cold. I thought it felt great. I guess that is another reason they don’t mind getting so close when they travel.

SMELL

            I was immediately made aware of the different smells when we stopped at our first stop for lunch. I think it may be the palm oil they use, but there was a definite unyielding smell.  Along with that, there was always the charcoal or kerosene stoves cooking dinner somewhere. Most meals seemed to be fish or chicken, rice or potatoes, and hot peppers! I do not eat hot peppers because they kill my sense of taste. It was funny, but as much bread that everyone has and everywhere is sold, I never smelled the bread baking. Walking along the crowded streets in market areas, I can say I never noticed body odors. The obstacles of washing clothes and bathing never kept people from keeping themselves clean.

SIGHT

It was still dark when we took our first car ride to the ferry to get to Freetown. Kevin and Lara marveled at the few street lights we drove under. Once on the ferry, we marveled at the sunrise coming up while traveling on the opposite side of the Atlantic. Our first African meal did not look all that appetizing. The rice was not fried rice nor was it white rice. It was tastier than it looked. The cassava leaf sauce with lots of hot peppers went over the rice and did not look appetizing. The fish was most unappetizing to set eyes on. Fish heads with eyes kill an appetite. Lara mentioned how “sterile” we are here in America. She is right. The motel we stayed at in Bo would never have passed OCEA and our health department. Out of the 3 rooms we rented in Bo, my room was the best. We had a toilet seat. It looked like it was cleaned about 5 years ago, but we had a toilet seat. The walls in the bathroom were tiled, those that were still on the wall. We also got one towel for Bill and I. I wasn’t sure if it was used to mop a floor or not, but when I ventured to smell it, it did not smell dirty, so Bill used it. The 4” foam mattress we slept on looked dirtier than those I have seen in alleys to be taken to the landfill. Needless to say, I made sure the sheet  covered the mattress. I snapped a picture of the steps going up to our rooms, but it did not show how uneven these steps were. I felt drunk walking up the steps because they were so uneven. Kevin and Lara painted their wash room and the toilet room making them bright and cheery. This was good because you need all the light you could get in the toilet room to be on the look out for spiders, BIG spiders, tarantulas! I am very grateful we never had to encounter the tarantulas that they have. Usually the spiders would hide by or under the towel by the little pot we used to wash our hands with soap. It was said that they always knew when Cheryl or I went to the toilet as we always, and that is no exaggeration, always lifted the toilet seat a little and let it drop to scare away the spiders that liked to linger in the toilet. Another thing that took us by surprise were the women who were not concerned about keeping themselves covered on top. As it was explained to us, once the women have kids, it is no longer a big deal. We only saw one or two women who did not cover themselves. The bar we went to one Saturday night was located next to a stream going into the ocean. People wash their clothes and literally beat the dirt and stains out of them in these streams. Since it was their bath night, they also bathed in the stream (Note: For Africans, everyday, sometimes twice or three times, is a bath day. ~K&L). That was eye opening to say the least. Another experience we had was walking in the market in downtown Mattru. There was a boy about 10 years old who had his shirt on but no pants. I mean, no pants. One of the people near him asked him where his pants were. They were at home. Duh! Our drive from Bo to Freetown, was a beautiful scenic view of green land and green mountains. Bureh Beach was one of the most scenic beaches I have ever seen! There was very little population on the beach, probably because it a cold season for them. On one side was a mountain and a river that flowed into the ocean. On the other side were lots of coconut trees lining the beach and a small island not far from it. There were some “resorts” along the beach, but not high rise and luxurious resorts (Yet. Bureh is going to explode with tourism in the next few years. ~K&L). Bill and I slept in a mud hut which was actually very nice. Our 4” foam mattress lay atop a bed of sand. It was very comfortable until someone got up in the middle of the night and sand sprinkled all over the sheet. Kevin, Lara and Cheryl all slept in a tent inside a big tent (since it was the rainy season) on a foam mattress on the sand. They stayed dry too. Looking behind the mud hut, were three small buildings. The first one was a toilet over a big hole in the ground; but with a toilet seat! The second building was no bigger but actually had a shower head in it and you could wash under a trickle of water, as long as they pumped water into the tank on top. The third building was a latrine which I did not venture to try it out. Driving into Freetown I had to restrain myself from screaming “watch out” several times. I was sure we would get hit or hit someone with the crazy traffic flow. Freetown was lined with shops after shops and bustling with people and traffic.

TASTE

With the limited resources to cook on, I am very impressed with Lara and Kevin’s skills to make different tasty meals for us. We had gumbo, spaghetti, pizza and one of the sauces with rice. We got to experience country chicken and English chicken. English chicken was bought in the Mattru market frozen. Country chicken is fresh. One of Kevin and Lara’s neighbor gave them a gift for us while we were there, 2 live chickens. I am touched by their thoughtfulness. I chose to not participate in the butchering of these chickens. The neighbor kids around age 10 and 16 did help Kevin and Lara. I would have just been in the way (right?). Our first meal in Africa was on the ferry trip from Lungi to Freetown. Kevin and Lara brought some bread and laughing cow cheese. Laughing Cow cheese is pretty much the only cheese they get in Sierra Leone. After  driving about 3-4 hours on our trip from Freetown to Mattru, we stopped at Moyamba
Junction for lunch. Cassava leaf sauce and granut sauce served with rice along with a Fanta for me and Star Beer for others. I do not like hot and spicy and could not eat either sauce as steamed poured from my ears after one bite. I did have some rice though and a cool Fanta orange pop. Cool is the coldest I got in Africa. As I said earlier, the fish was not appetizing to look at but I did taste a bite of Bill’s fish once. It really was good, but I do not like eating around fish bones. Almost every meal we had out we were offered rice or potato fries. Sometimes the potatoes were white and sometimes they were sweet potatoes. They were always very tasty. While at Mattru market we had a Binch Akara sandwich. It was a ground bean, deep fried and put on bread, rather, a roll with hot pepes and onions. As I said, I do not eat hot peppers. My sandwich was very bland for those who live there but I still enjoyed it. One thing I realized was they do not have much sugar and sweets in Sierra Leone. That is really a very good thing. Obesity is not a problem there. We had one of their donuts or fry kek, as they are called. It was a fried cake. One without much if any sugar. What did awaken my taste buds were their fruits. Pineapples, coconuts and bananas were plentiful and delicious. We did have mango but they did not seem to be as readily available, but full of sweet flavor. Mmmm. While at the motel in Bo, breakfast was included with our room fee every day. And every day it was the same breakfast. Scrambled egg, 2 slices of fried plantain and a loaf of bread, tea or instant coffee. While at Bureh Beach, we had the same breakfast every day there, scrambled eggs, 2 large bread rolls, and laughing cow cheese, tea and instant coffee. It was tasty. When we ate out, Kevin and Lara did request that they hold off on the peppers. I can’t thank them enough for doing that.

HEARING

For not having electricity, you would think it would be very quiet in Sierra Leone. It was actually very noisy. Kevin and Lara met us at the airport in the early hours of the morning before even the roosters began to crow. Our ride to the ferry was quiet and dark. After getting off the ferry, the sun was up, the people were out selling their goods and wares, dogs were barking and horns were beeping. It was a long ride from Freetown to Mattru, about 7- 8 hours. We did not see many cars on the road and walking seemed to be the most popular transportation. By the time we got to their house, we had been traveling for over 72 hours and were exhausted. With no electric lights on after dark, we were in bed before 9. Tucking our mosquito net into the bed every night, I was lulled to sleep by the sounds of the crickets, frogs, and barking dogs. My alarm clock was the mosque a mile or so away at 5 AM starting the day with their prayer and the cock-a-doodle-doo of Kevin’s rooster named Dinner or was it General Tso (It was actually General Tso II. ~K&L)? I missed these sounds once I got back. Sitting on Kevin and Lara’s verandah and playing with Seamus the monkey provided hours of entertainment. The monkey would squeak when he was happy and to have him jump into my arms and squeak was quite amusing. With no transportation other than walking, we sat around watching the rains, catching buckets of rain to fill the large container in the wash room. For some reason, Toto’s song “Africa” kept ringing in our heads. I did notice that when it got really dark out and we knew the rain was coming, 20 seconds before it would actually rain you could hear it raining as though it was right in front of you. While sitting on the verandah, we met many of Lara and Kevin’s neighbors, friends and students. I loved listening to them speak Krio. If you listened close enough, you could understand most of what they were saying. Mende not so much. Surprisingly, in the big town of Bo, we heard bleating goats throughout the night. The most prominent sound in Bo was the motorbikes and their beeping horns. With a mosque a half mile away, morning prayer and the roosters continued to wake us each day. Spending a few days on Bureh Beach, frogs and the ocean became our new din. As we made our way back into Freetown to begin our journey home, beeping horns became a constant sound.

I have always taken trips or vacations with comfort in mind. A cruise ship spoils you with fancy restaurants, luxurious décor, rich foods of all kinds at all hours of the day or night; light, day or night. Cleanliness is always expected.

This trip was not a trip of luxury. We had many issues to get over, like learning to pour water over our head to wash up, toilets with no toilet seats, (yes, there were many toilets with no seats), getting used to the distinct smell in Africa, humidity, dampness and using flashlights after dark. Looking back, I will always cherish the time spent in Sierra Leone getting to know some of the people there, learning their culture.

Thank you Kevin and Lara for hosting us and showing us around. More importantly, showing us why you are there. You are needed and making a difference!

Luk Insay Wi Sto [Look Inside our Kitchen]

Post by Lara

17th November 2013

Here's another photo post to show you what our kitchen looks like, and some of the things we keep in it.  In Sierra Leone, a "kitchen" is a place you cook food, usually made of thatch and sticks. The place you store all your cooking utensils and food items is called your "store".  We just had a kitchen built last month, so we have an outdoor place to cook over wood fire where the smoke won't "humbug" (yes, that's a Krio word) us too much. The store is where we prepare food, keep our water filter as well as water storage, and lock everything up safely when we're not using it.  Here's a view of the shelves in our store:

The first shelf is home to 3 big bottles of oil (palm oil, canola oil, and coconut oil to be specific), sugar, honey, rice, Nescafe, and a number of other items we use pretty much every day.  The second shelf holds dry goods, spices, and sauces. Between the two we've hung a used fishing net to hold our onions, ginger, okra, garlic, and other produce. We also have a nifty little blue shelf for silverware and fresh fruit that we bought on the streets of Freetown.  Under the shelves you can see the tops of our water buckets-- they hold 3-5 days worth of cooking and drinking water in them.

By the window is one of two water filters we have-- it can hold 2.5 gallons of filtered water. We refill it every few days, and clean the ceramic candles once a month (or less often, if we're honest). Under that counter top you can see the giant aluminum pot we use as a Dutch oven as well as the brightly colored "bafs" (baths) that we use to collect rain water, wash dishes, and hold produce at times.  There's also a lovely pumpkin sitting next to the water filter-- we're saving that guy for a special occasion.

We keep 4 different "foot brushes," all labeled with their purpose: for cleaning the table, clothes, food (like potatoes), and ourselves. With all the dirt that manages to get on/in everything around here, these guys come in handy!

 With the help of some very strong concrete nails, we took advantage of all the space in the corner of the store for our pots, frying pans, and some utensils.  Before we did this, the pots cluttered the store and made it very difficult to use the counters for anything.

Finally, here is a nice sampling of the special foods that we keep. Most of these were bought in Bo or Freetown. The Skyline chili and Parmesan cheese came from the states.  Usually at least once a week we'll incorporate a can of fruits, veggies, or meat into a meal.  The last meal we made with Bo food was hot and sour soup with canned mushrooms.  We're excited about the 2 cans of corned beef we scored for about $2.00 each last time we were in Bo, as well as the Butterscotch syrup that cost us about $3.00 and is still unopened because we know once it's open a) we will put it on everything we eat until it's gone and our blood sugar is through the roof and b) if we take too long finishing it, the ants will come to help us. 

That's our kitchen! Please let us know if you have any blog post requests-- we're hitting a lull again and we like to keep the blog updated at least weekly. Thanks in advance!

Still Alive!

15th Nov 2013

Post by Lara

Hi everyone!

I am SO sorry we haven't updated in a while-- it's been a slightly busy few weeks paired with spotty internet coverage and not a lot of juice in the battery.  We're working on finishing up classes for term 1, which is officially over December 13th, with exams starting in early December.  We have some blog posts in the works that we hope to send out soon, so bear with us! 

Love,

Lara and Kevin