Photos above top right to left - igname pile(dough) with sauce d'arachide, krinkrin (green slime) - Lasagna Primavera - Akassa with tomato sauce - rice, salad and eggplant!
Bonjour mes amis,
I want to share with you my menu for the evening. Bushrat with a side of slimy krinkrin.
Okay, all jokes aside, what do I eat? Well, I cook for myself almost all the time, with some exceptions, such as sandwiches from a food maman. I also eat a few Béninoise dishes.
Above the big picture is igname pile with sauce d'arachide. This is pounded yams and a spicy peanut sauce with cheese. The pounded yams have a chewy, delicious texture that goes well with the sauce. The local cheese called wagashi is similar to a spongey tofu with a milky flavor. It soaks up sauces nicely but doesn't melt.
I also eat pate, made with corn flour and cooked into a pudding-like dough. It is eaten with many sauces: tomato sauces, sauces with veggies and okra, and sauces with meats. I usually eat it with tomato sauce because I personally hate sauce krinkrin(greens that are boiled until they are slime)😅. Also, meat sauce can be good, but I don't like fish after my choking on a bone incident.
I also cook many dishes you are familiar with, like scrambled eggs, pasta, ramen, and soup, in different variations. Most of these things I can find near me or in a supermarket. It's also a popular lunch food to eat a baguette with an omelette inside and it's very delicious!! My recent obsession has been eggplant. I will cook it and eat it for 3 meals a day it's so good. I even planted some, so I hope they will grow well.
I haven't had much meat at all. Sadly, I haven't tried a bushrat yet, but I have eaten more pork intestines, port heart, chicken gizzards, and a pig ear now! Both are still equally unenjoyable. Chicken is so good and a treat. At my house, I eat meat maybe once a week, and it's from a can, so I don't eat it much.
My local market usually has only root vegetables, onions, garlic, tomatoes, herbs, flour, eggs, and fruit. I almost always just buy onions, sweet potatoes, and fruit, and then I'm good. In Benin, many soft vegitables dont stay fresh for very long and go bad easily. I have found someone who sells me cabbage and potatoes once in awhile.
In a day, I usually eat the same meal twice, for breakfast and lunch or lunch and dinner, to save ingredients and pots and pans. I have no fridge or way to keep food fresh, so it's just things that have to be eaten or thrown out!
Day in my life of food!
Breakfast 7 or 10 am
Eggs or peanut butter or Ata (bread made with bean flour)
Lunch 12:30
Ramen or fried sweet potato or rice with various sauces and veggies
Dinner 19:00
If I'm really happy, I'll make curry with tomato paste and onion seasonings and whatever veggies I can, beans, canned soup, or pasta/ramen that I continually experiment with. I now make myself breads and dumplings and panckaes!
Next time !
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