Saturday, December 13, 2008

What does one eat in Africa?

Nipe orodha ya vyakula? May I please have the menu?

samosas, chapatti (tortillas), Kenya stew, all kinds of different fish, chips(fries), lots of fruits and veggies, rice, chicken or beef tacos, pizza, salsa, soup and crackers, salad, eggs and toast, ughali, sukumawiki (cooked cabbage), goat, beans, mokimo (green mashed potatoes)...









There is a wide variety of cultural places to eat out, including my favorite Chinese restaurant, Four You. The key is to choose wisely, so that you don't spend the evening over the toilet.










Cooking is a time consuming process here. Everything is made by scratch. All fruits and vegetables are washed prior to eating, in a safe chemical we buy at the chemist or drug store. We soak everything for about 2o minutes and then slice and dice. Typically groceries are purchased from a local grocery store or a duka on the side of the street. Food is also expensive.












It is recommended that every six months you de-worm yourself. The process is fairly simple. You take two tablets with some (filtered) water, and supposedly this cleans out any unwanted intruders. I can't tell you how thrilled I am to think of how many worms I DID have in me.

4 comments:

brad said...

What a fantastic post! I wonder about this topic a lot (maybe because I am constantly hungry these days...) but I ALWAYS forget to ask... there always seems to be other things to say... anyway...

Oooo... You do love you some samosas... Nice... Sarah would be proud...

It's pretty awesome that your favorite place in Africa is a Chinese restaurant... I can't remember if I asked you this or not, but I was wondering if the food was "better" or more "authentic" being as you are geographically closer to its homeland, in this case China... And that, my friend, is a run on sentence...

I had been hoping that perhaps you are learning some local dishes, maybe for some of us back here to try on your return, but now I am not so sure...

OK, feel free to ignore this question, but as you know, I am a curious sort of fellow... and while typing, my one question turned into 2... 1. Did you/do you do a quick visual check for worms after said de-worming? (I know I wouldn't be able to resist... but maybe it is a guy thing...) 2. Have you named any of them?

Again, loved the post... keep 'em coming!

Unknown said...

The worms crawl in, the worms crawl out, the worms play Frisbee golf on your snout...or something. :)

Amy said...

I thought you boys might enjoy this post. Don't know that the Chinese food is more authentic here, but I can see your point. As far as cooking, I've got it covered. I already know what dishes I will recreate at home. Everyone is invited!

And last but not least, all I am going to say about the worm thing is that there was definite evidence that that is why my stomach had been bothering me. Good times here in Africa!

brad said...

What?!?! Again no pictures?!?! ;-)