January 23, 2015

• Dinnertime.

  Mealtimes in Africa can be interesting.  They usually only eat 1 meal a day.  These pictures were taken many years ago, so food was not as scarce as it is now (due to the war.)  In the following picture, my son is sharing a meal with the 2 young men my husband trained to be mechanics, and the man who helped me with household chores.  The white/grey stuff is manioc.  We called it gozo.  It is also called manioc, or yucca.  There is a sweet variety that is kind of like potatoes.  The other kind is sour, and has to be soaked in water to remove the toxins, then dried on the ground, then pounded into flour.  It takes a lot of work.  Once the flour is made, it's cooked with some water until it's the consistency of a thick porridge.  It's kind of like library paste, if you remember that.  We really liked it, and my kids loved it.

  It definitely is an acquired taste.  It's served with a sauce.  Often the sauce is made from the leaves of the manioc plant .   It's usually flavored with peanut butter and a little hot pepper powder.  (Today when I cook chopped spinach I add peanut butter and a drop of cayenne pepper.)  Once in awhile it's a meat sauce.  The best sauce I ever tasted was a peanut butter sauce with mushrooms.  You break off a piece of the gozo and dip it in the sauce.  It''s best not to chew it in case it has sand in it.
  

  The men eat by themselves at a table if there is one available. The women eat together with the children around the cooking fire.
  

  Sometimes there is a bit of variety. My friend Alice caught 9 field mice running from the bush fire. I did Not eat with her that day!
  

  Field broiled grasshoppers........yumm.
  

  Actually I did not eat any of them either. My daughter probably did. At least she had fun hunting for them with the other kids.  I should explain that the fires are set each year to burn the tall grass.  They are controlled fires, but sometimes they get out of control.  That can be tragic.

  The next time you sit down to eat, remember to pray for the poor and hungry and oppressed all over the world, and especially the children.  Thanks

  • 8:49 pm
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