Never A Dull Month

Sorry for the uncharacteristic silence the last couple of weeks.

I am still here - I have just been sick.

I know in my last post, I said I was sick - but I was going back to post. Long story short it didn't really happen that way I am sorry if anyone was worried - I know most of the people who read this blog are my friends from home and therefore are also on facebook - still I wanted to apologize anyway.

Unfortunately, for me, being sick this time meant being stuck in the headquarters, sleeping a lot, taking lots of medications, and not doing very much else. Hence the silence. I am still here and I am getting better SO no worries. - It is just hard to blog when you have no energy and are sleeping all day. I kind of feel like I fell asleep mid April and woke up in May.

I don't actually have a topic to write about today either, just that I wanted to check in and give some updates.

Firstly, what I know everyone is wondering. My health is OK. I have a bad cough (that started with a bad flu) but it is finally (after 3 weeks!!) starting to go away. My energy level is also improving (mostly due to the fact that I am no longer on as many medications). I know volunteers love to complain, and our medical care is often at the top of the list. -- That being said people complain when things are bad - and forget to mention when things are good. I want to take this opportunity to say that the doctor here was incredible the last few weeks. She took great care of me - went above and beyond to make sure that my cough wasn't anything more than just a "chronic cough" sent me to specialists and tested me for every possible sickness - she was incredibly thorough and dedicated to making sure that I stopped coughing. I know that sounds silly, but it is true. Having a constant bad cough for weeks on end is exhausting, and she never made me feel like I was being a hassle - She wanted me to be better just as much as I wanted to be better, and even came in on weekends and holidays to check on me. I really appreciate the amazing care and attention I was given. *** I am not saying other volunteer complaints are unfounded I am just saying that I had a really amazing experience - maybe I'm just lucky *** I am being cleared to go to our Close of Service Conference this weekend and if all goes as planned will finally be back in post next week sometime. 

Secondly (and way more exciting)!! I am officially COSing from Peace Corps at the end of July!! My early COS (close of service) was approved for graduate school in August. YAY!! See you in July America!!! I will try my best to keep you updated during my last few months here in Benin on what wrapping up service is like - and of course reflections on all of the things I will miss when I am back home. 

Lastly, it is mango season!!! I know I am a few weeks late posting about this but Mango season is the best season and there are mangoes EVERYWHERE!! In honor of that - and in honor of the fact that I have been spending a lot of time updating our volunteer cookbook - I have a recipe to share with you from Burkina's PCV cookbook!!!

Mango Wine

What you need: 6 mangoes, 2 bananas, sugar, water, a large bucket and fabric to cover it with, a mixing spoon, and plastic 2 or 3 large plastic bottles. 

Peel the mangos, do not throw away the peels!! Cut the skin of the mango into small pieces. Keep the meat of the mango and throw away the seed. Mash the meat of the mango with the bananas (peeled) in a plastic bucket (or large bowl).  

Mix mashed fruit with mango peels. 

Add sugar. *The quantity should be about 2/3 of the banana/mango mixture* 

Add half as much water as the fruit/sugar mixture and mix well. Remember how much water you added, you will need to know later. 

Cover the bucket with fabric and tie string around to keep it covered. Keep it a room temperature and mix 3-5 times a day. After 3-4 days, you will see bubbles as alcohol begins to form. Filter your fruit mixture. Add the same amount of water as before to the filtered liquid. Put the liquid in plastic bottles and cover the tops with fabric, tied with a string.  Store at room temperature for 10-14 days. If you wait to long it will turn to vinegar.

VAC & Other Things

It doesn't always feel like it – but I am up to lots of different things over here in Benin.

This week I was in Cotonou – the land of the bonne choses – for my first VAC meeting. VAC stands for Volunteer Advisory Committee, which is a committee made up of one volunteer from each region (I am the representative for the Oueme-Plateau) and we meet every three months with the PC administration to discuss ideas and concerns on both the volunteer side and the admin side. This gives everyone a chance to hear the concerns from the “other side” which we are often, as volunteers out in the field, very disconnected from. After the meeting we were invited to eat a really great dinner at the PC Benin Directors house – I didn't know about this perk before hand but I'm not complaining.

It is really great to get to meet with and hear the concerns of the volunteers from other regions in the country. It always amazes me how different every region is – especially considering the small size of Benin. Every region has a different terrain, different languages, different access to foods, of course the volunteers in the north also have a much different relationship with admin... and so on and so forth. Everyone has their own Peace Corps experience.

Being situated so close to the major cities I often forget that not all volunteers have fruits and vegetables.. or even beans!!! available to them year round. There are some parts of the country where water is scarce. There are other places where it isn't completely abnormal for an elephant to wander into the village. Even though the south is “humid and crowded” a year into being here I am definitely glad to be living in the South. I am able to eat well and have made wonderful friends who I wouldn't have gotten to know if I had been living elsewhere.

***

Also this week, In an attempt to prepare ourselves for the inevitable departure of some of our favorite volunteers who will be leaving over the next month... we threw a Oueme-Plateau get together during the day on Saturday. Normally we just make “taco beans” because that is quick and easy. We were feeling adventurous however – so we had a lentil burger party and someone even made pasta salad!!

Lentil Burger's
(partially adapted from a recipe I found somewhere on the Internet)

1 cup uncooked red lentils
1 cup uncooked rice
1 cup carrots, grated
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 ½ cup uncooked oatmeal
1 Tbsp lemon & herb old bay
1 tsp salt

1. Cook lentils and rice in 4 cups of water, simmering over low heat until well cooked and all water is absorbed. Let the mixture cool.
2. Add remaining ingredients (in order listed) and mix well (you will probably need your hands for this!).
3. Shape into patties (you will definitely need your hands for this).
4. Cook in a frying pan over med-heat (using a small amount of oil) until both sides are nicely browned.

Here in Benin we served ate the patties on baguettes with ketchup.. feel free to eat yours on a burger bun.

Wash down with sodabe.

***

News of the week? Thanks to my wonderful friends (who I can't believe are leaving me) I finally have a dinning table and a couch with cushions!! Not to mention a stacked spice cabinet. Love You All we will miss you terribly! Don't forget that if you decide you don't like America you can always come back to us here <3

Z

Snack Break

You are probably sick of hearing me talk about food.

I am a food person – you know this – don't act surprised.

After a whole month of talking about “Food Security” related projects. I would like to this week talk about “Personal Food Happiness” aka a what's happening in Zoe's kitchen update. - Also I am currently on Safari – So I set this post up ahead of time for today (and it's an easy subject).

Before leaving Benin I joked about how long it would take me to change this into a food blog – I am doing my best here.. talking about food makes me happy. I promise no more food posts for at least a month :D

At home – as we all know – cooking and baking and decorating said items was one of my biggest hobbies (thank god exercising is the other one).. and an American kitchen was and still is the hardest thing for me to not have here.. but harder than not having a kitchen (I can make due) is not having people to cook for. The reason I love to cook is that I love watching other people enjoy the results.

When I first settled into my house – I had a lot of trouble cooking (and by trouble I mean zero motivation). Not because of the supplies, and not because my kitchen is smaller than most American closets.. but because I truly don't enjoy cooking for myself. I was perfectly capable of cooking, I just didn't feel like doing it. During college I would cook one or two meals for the week on Sunday – and that was that. I would only really cook a good meal if Erik was visiting or Laura and I were eating together. So while I already knew I didn't like cooking for myself, I never considered what this would really mean when I lived in a place with no refrigerator.

What this means is I HAVE to cook for myself everyday – even if it makes me sad. It also means I had to learn to cook in single portions. I spent my first few months eating pasta, lentils, beans, rice.. really boring stuff. Somewhere earlier on in this blog I even provided you with one of my incredibly boring (although rather tasty) lentil recipes – in case for some unknown reason you wanted to try eating what I was eating. 

***

Here are some better recipes for things I have since come up with!

Homesick Potato and Carrot Hash

¼ kilo potatoes, chopped small

¼ kilo sweet potatoes, chopped small

3-4 carrots, chopped small (carrots are very tiny here)

as many cloves of garlic as you want, sliced

handful of green beans (if available), chopped small

peanut oil

red pepper, cumin, salt and black pepper to taste

Chop up all of the veggies. In a large frying pan add peanut oil and spices. Add potatoes and carrots and cook.. stirring fairly constantly. Once the potatoes and carrots look well cooked add the onions and garlic and some more oil if needed. Add the green Beans Last. Cook Until everything looks ready to eat. [You can add any veggies you want to this recipe just add them where you see fit based on cooking time] Eat with ketchup.

Peanut and Pineapple "Kinda Fried" Rice

2 cups water and citrus juice mixed (maybe 1/12cup h2o and the rest juice)

1 cups white rice

peanuts (as many as you like)

left over pineapple (from eating pineapple for lunch) diced

*all pineapples are different so you will really just have to guesstimate

peanut oil

1-2 tablespoons soy sauce

1-2 onions, thinly sliced

diced carrots

Use citrus water to cook rice (like normal). Once rice is done cooking -- or almost done cooking. In a heated frying pan cook peanuts until they are warmed and slightly browned. Add oil and soy sauce. Saute onions and carrots with the peanuts. RIGHT BEFORE adding the rice add the pineapple to the frying pan just long enough to get it warm and allow some of the pineapple juice to mix with the soy sauce and oil. Add Cooked Rice. Stir and Heat until everything is cooked and well melanged.

Benin Style Tofu Scram aka Zoe's Happy Belly Nosh

*In Benin we have “soy fromage” which is similar to really really firm tofu

As much “soy fromage” as you think you can eat in one meal, crumbled

1/2-1 teaspoon Tumeric

Olive Oil as needed

1 cup of quick oats

ginger powder and red pepper and black pepper to taste

dried basil to taste

Garlic, sliced

Onion, chopped

3-4 tomatoes (probably less in the states)

Your choice of leafy green – 3 or 4 handfulls

This is a tofu scram.. so it is pretty basic. First you need to crumble or chop the “tofu” into the size that you prefer. In a frying pan heat oil and tumeric (this is really just for color) add “tofu” and saute until well colored and heated through. Add oats, spices, and basil. Add Garlic and Onion. Once everything appears to be well cooked add the tomatoes. Once the tomatoes and leafy greens. You want to tomatoes warm and the greens wilted into the mixture. At this point adjust any spices as you see fit.

Zoe's Chickpea Smash

1 tbsp olive oil

Juice of 1 citron (this is like a lemon-lime) (probably a little less than 2 tbsp)

* In the US I would say use a VERY small lime and add a small amount of lemon

1-2 teaspoons dried thyme

pinch or red pepper powder

1-2 cloves garlic, sliced

1 small onion (onions are very small here), diced

1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed

sesame oil

black pepper to taste

In a bowl (big enough for the can of chickpeas) mix together olive oil and citron. Stir in spices, garlic, and onion. Add Chickpeas and stir until well coated. Drizzle in a small amount of sesame oil and smash chickpeas with a fork (for those of you who have had it this similar to when I make chickpea of the sea). You want the mixture to be mashed but chunky.. there should still be some recognizable chickpeas. Eat mixture on a fresh baguette, season with black pepper if you so choose. *Note: if you are not hungry enough to eat a whole can of chickpeas then this is not a one serving meal.

***

I still frequently make fried plantains because they are delicious.. I eat them as a snack or with rice and beans for dinner. My french fries have evolved to garlic fries on most days (the day I realized that I had been gifted some red vinegar was a happy one for my french fries – and it only went up hill from there). I wish I ate more eggplant, but I always end up wasting most of the eggplant due to its size – so I don't buy them all that often. I don't eat nearly as much pasta as I did when I first moved it – mostly because the woman I buy it from started picking up only spaghetti for me – not macaronis – and I really don't like spaghetti. However I have learned to make a decent enough tomato sauce out of a small can of tomato paste when my kitchen is feeling empty.

I hope you enjoy the recipes!

Z 

The Food Issue

In Benin people eat A LOT and being called fat is a compliment...

They also drink A LOT but not water only beer and oranges.. water is for when you are sick.

If you are not fat or you lose weight.. or you drink water... then people think you are sick or unhealthy.

I guess you can imagine where that leaves me.

As I have said before on this blog... people are accepting of my weird eating habits. I am not saying they understand. Basically, anything weird I do in this country is just brushed off as a weird yovo thing that the yovo does. [That being said I think I should mention that I have met a few vegetarian nationals]

At some point during my first month in Misserete I became sick.. not incredibly sick.. but sick enough that I called out from work and made an appointment to see the doctor (luckily for me I was already scheduled to go to Cotonou the next day). When I returned I found out that everyone at my office had collectively decided I must be starving.. why else.. is this overly hot tropical country where she isn't even supposed to drink the water could she possibly be sick. At which point I had my privacy completely infringed upon. It was insisted that I let some of my coworkers into my house to see that I had a kitchen set up and that I had food in my kitchen. Sometimes I really wish I could give the people I work with a piece of my mind.

On another occasion I had a man tell me – honestly – that people who don't eat animals don't have blood in their bodies. In case you didn't know.. human bodies are not capable of making their own blood we need to extract it from other living creatures. Sigh.

I have had people come to my house offering me food – with the intention of convincing me that I should pay them to cook for me everyday since I obviously don't know how to cook or care for myself since I don't make pate or akassa (the staples here.. both of which I don't mind the problem is I hate the sauces that they are served with).

My neighbors are convinced I eat only crackers and oranges. Unfortunately, this doesn't keep them from asking on a regular basis if I have food to give them as a gift for their nagging. If one more person asks me for chocolate I might scream at them.

As much as no one here believes it – I do eat – I eat very well. AND I am slowly mastering the one portion cooking. We really take for granted the ability to refrigerate left overs at home.

I eat beans. I eat lentils. I eat pasta. I eat a lot of rice.

I eat vegetables. I eat bread. I eat fruit...

For breakfast I usually eat a cliff bar or any other various granola bar that I have received in a care package from home :)... (Hey GUYS Maple Nut Cliff Bars are my favorite (I also like the oatmeal ones) – yes I know they are hard to find on the East Coast – but I know a secret place that usually stocks them). On weeks where I am feeling a little more decadent (or should I say homesick) I will buy chocolate spread.. and eat chocolate banana sandwiches for breakfast. I don't attempt the peanut butter banana – Erik just does them so much better I could never hope to replicate.

Lunch is more varied. If I am going into Porto Novo for any reason I have voandzu for lunch. These are Bambara Ground Nuts.. and they are delicious. I usually eat them on bread or with gali (powdered manioc). The women who make voandzu here in Misserete make it way to spicy. During training I ate avocado sandwiches for lunch (there is a lady at Songhai who makes them with onions and tomatoes and is there everyday until 11) If I am feeling lazy I will just get some hot bread from my local boulangerie and eat it with peanut butter or I will buy a bag of oranges to “Drink.” If I am feeling more ambitious I might make myself french fries with chopped up garlic. I am not really a big lunch person – never have been.

Sometimes.. If I am visiting someone.. I end up eating a early dinner late lunch. Usually if you are visiting someone anytime between 2 and 5 they will give you something to eat. However since this is Benin they expect you to eat a lot. This is usually where I get my salad (salads here are served over pasta). I don't usually make myself salad because I don't want the lettuce to spoil if I don't eat it quick enough. I still seem to stumble on salad about once a week.

My favorite things to cook for dinner are lentils or plantains. I like to fry up plantains and eat them for dinner with rice and beans. Most often I cook up lentil with veggies and eat it with rice or on a baguette in a sloppy joeish type of fashion. I have found that lentils are really versatile and easy to cook in one portion – plus they are great when I am feeling low on energy. When I eat pasta I usually cook it with avocado or carrots and onions sauteed in olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Another thing I make is a vegetable and potato hash.. this is really good if I have veggies that are starting to go and it is very filling. Occasionally, I will just heat up a can of beans with a spice packet from home and eat it over rice or bread.. just to change up the flavor a little.

I eat a lot of onions carrots and potatoes. I sometimes buy green beans and cucumbers. I would say I usually have an eggplant once every two weeks (the problem with an eggplant is it is too big for one person). I eat “soy cheese” which is really a tofu like thing that the people here call soy cheese. But I only eat this on the day I go to the market in Porto. I am not sure what the shelf life is so I eat it right away and they don't sell it at my local market. Oranges, bananas, and pineapple are plentiful this time of year.. and Papayas are easily found in Porto Novo. Mango isn't in season yet.

On the rare occasion that I drink something other than water – my drink of choice is Youki Pamplemousse aka grapefruit soda. If they don't have that.. I will drink Judor which is an orange soda. It is really nice to splurge on a cold beverage from time to time.

Lentils and Rice (Adapted from my Peace Corps Cookbook)

Ingredients: Lentils, Rice, Chopped Onions, Carrots, Sliced Garlic, Green Beans, Olive Oil, Balsamic Vinegar, Thyme

Cook The Lentils and Rice Together.
In a Frying Pan Cook the Carrots Onions and Garlic until well cooked in olive oil. Add Green Beans. Once the Green Beans Are Cooked add the thyme and balsamic vinegar. Add cooked Rice and Lentils and melange Until everything is well cooked and it tastes good.

*I will adjust this recipe with actual measurements next time I make it.

Much Love

Z

Two Things Benin

1. Pate (pronounced pot) 

One of the staple foods of the south of Benin. Its made of corn meal and water... you (are supposed to) eat it with your hands... and dip it in sauce.

To make pate, boil 2 cups of water. Separately mix together 1 1/2 cups corn meal and 1 1/2 cups (additional) water. Once the water is boiling add the cornmeal mixture and let cook for 15-20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add an additional 1 1/2 cups cornmeal, stir vigorously (really) until really thick this should take another 5-10 minutes. Serve it with sauce. 

Its basically flavorless corn glop and they eat it with everything. Yum. So I know I am adjusting to living here when the other night, as I ate my corn glob with “tomato” sauce, I thought to myself, “Wow this tastes like mashed potatoes!!” But apparently this isn't a normal adjustment, so maybe I just forget what mashed potatoes taste like.

2. Everything Can Wait

Yesterday I saw a birthday cake with candles. Which isn't a normal occurrence here and I quickly discovered why.

I am not sure if I have emphasized this but in Benin everything takes at least ten times longer than it should, and no one is ever actually focused on the task at hand. Its just a fact of life here.

So when the birthday candles were lit... the lighter of the candles then promptly answered her phone. People continued with their small party tasks (refilling drinks, clearing plates, wandering...) and by the time everyone finally was assembled to sing happy birthday... the candles had melted down all the way to the cake. I think it was the sense of urgency that finally brought everyone together. It was actually pretty amazing to watch... and how efficient, no wasted candle!

Love and Kisses

Z