Food

So a few of you have asked about a couple of things involving food. First, am I working on my cookbook...ah...Marshall is teaching me about the kinds of goals I should really make with a small baby living on Mali time. In otherwords, the answer is no. The other question is what do I do with my days...I've been nesting in my new home and getting to know my neighborhood and city. Everyday I basically live the life of an American housewife. There is cleaning to do, always lots of laundry with cloth diapers. I go to the market pretty much everyday to get fresh food for dinner and the next day, meat, veggies and bread. We go for a long walk once a day to get out and see something new, or perhaps just fun. And this is interspersed with naps from Marshall that allow me to return some emails, update this blog and take care of odds and ends logistically for our lives.

I have also been asked what we eat as the image for some is of a small African village, which this is not, and others, a place with limited food choices. Let me tell you, we are actually eating quite well and not too different from the average American family. Once a week we go to one of the few Western style grocery stores in town and get some luxury items like Nutella, cheese, butter, toilet paper otherwise, we eat very well from the small and large markets that aren't too far from our home. For Chirstmas dinner we had a fantastic beef tenderloin(ummm...a $40 cut of meat in the states for about $4...it was sick), mashed potatoes and green beans with mushrooms. The mushrooms and butter were the only add on items.

Another thing about the cookbook is that there are new things I am discovering here this time around that keep getting added to my list of things I want ot learn how to make...frufru, black eyed pea sandwiches...and seriously, I had something that tasted like some of the best pork rind ever the other day, but I know it wasn't pork...so many treasures, so little time!

Below are some recipies of some things we've made recently/new staples here in Mali. Some of these things, honestly, we would have never cooked in the states

Last nights dinner (serves 2)
Spicy Guinea Fowl and Green Beans

1 small Guinea fowl or chicken
1/3 c dijon mustard
1/2 t hot red pepper flakes
1 t salt
1/2 t black pepper
1 small onion
6 cloves garlic

1/2 lb green beans
1 T butter
salt and pepper to taste

Boil the green beans in water until tender. Add butter, salt and pepper. Toss, cover and set aside.

Ok, I honestly can't give a temperature that this was cooked on...it was number 7 on our strange oven thing...I'd check the standard per pound roasting times for a chicken(or duck if you are using guinea fowl) online or in a standard cookbook like Joy of Cooking. Preheat to that temperature.

Rinse the poultry. Rub with dijon mustard and set in roasting pan. Sprinkle inside and outside with salt, red pepper, and black pepper. Coarsly chop the onion and 3 cloves of garlic and stuff inside the body cavity. Mince the other 3 cloves of garlic and rub all over. Cook according to instructions above.



Viande Hachee Sandwiches(ground beef sandwiches....this is Malian street food....)-Serves 4
1 lb lean ground beef
1 medium onion
1 green pepper
2 cloves garlic
1 medium tomato
1 T vegetable oil
2 T white vinager
1/4 t red pepper flakes
Salt and pepper to taste
Mayonnaise
Crusty French bread

Dice the onion, green pepper and tomato, mince the garlic. Sautee all of that in the oil over medium heat for about 5 minutes or until the onions begin to sweat. Add the ground beef, pepper flakes, salt and pepper. Brown the beef. Add the vinegar and cook 5 more minutes while stirring. Serve on french bread spread with mayonnaise(or mustard and ketchup).

Hard boiled Egg Salad- Serves 2
1 head romaine or red tipped lettuce
1 cucumber
2 roma tomatoes
1 carrot
1 large potato
1 T vegetable oil
6 hard boiled eggs
1/4 c peanuts

Dressing
1/4 c olive oil
1/3 c white vinegar
2 T dijon mustard
1/2 t salt
1/2 t pepper

To make the dressing, whisk all ingredients together in a small bowl. Refrigerate.

Slice the potato into french fry slices. Fry in the oil over medium high heat until golden. Peel and chop the carrot and cucumber. Dice the tomatoes and eggs. Divide lettuce evenly onto plates. Divide other ingredients evenly and top with chilled dressing.

As for the street food. I got all excited, as you may recall, about learning the technique for cooking many things here. Yeah, so this is for the RPCVs laughing at me about now, I quickly forget, its all in the oil...a kind we can't get in the states...thats really all there is too a lot of it...

Happy eating to you all and happy new year!