The Toby Eats This blog is undertaking a new project!
As most of you know we homeschool, and as a result we often get side-tracked but sometimes
As most of you know we homeschool, and as a result we often get side-tracked but sometimes
it works in our favour.
Toby and I are in the process of adding flag stickers to a huge map of the world we have. Moving through each continent we locate landmarks and discuss the culture/animals/landforms of the area.
One day Toby suggested that we do another Eat The Alphabet project, only this time we move through the continents in alphabetical order and look at the foods of each country within that continent.
I looked at the daunting number of countries in Africa and Asia, and thought that maybe looking at every single country might be too time consuming (since my two other jobs leave little time for structured schooling as it is), so we decided we would do an overview of each continent.
Based on alphabetical appearance AFRICA came first.
Since Africa spans two hemispheres and has a huge mix of indigenous people and European and Asian settlers, so it's not possible to pick one distinctly African dish.
We decided to focus on regions, picking a distinct food item or flavour to work with.
Toby and I are in the process of adding flag stickers to a huge map of the world we have. Moving through each continent we locate landmarks and discuss the culture/animals/landforms of the area.
One day Toby suggested that we do another Eat The Alphabet project, only this time we move through the continents in alphabetical order and look at the foods of each country within that continent.
I looked at the daunting number of countries in Africa and Asia, and thought that maybe looking at every single country might be too time consuming (since my two other jobs leave little time for structured schooling as it is), so we decided we would do an overview of each continent.
Based on alphabetical appearance AFRICA came first.
Since Africa spans two hemispheres and has a huge mix of indigenous people and European and Asian settlers, so it's not possible to pick one distinctly African dish.
We decided to focus on regions, picking a distinct food item or flavour to work with.
First up was western Africa.
We chose a Nigerian style couscous with vegetables and lamb, and kelewele - a spiced, fried plantain snack from Ghana that goes by different names and flavours all over western Africa.
Couscous is widely eaten all over north-western Africa and paired with various veggies and meats.
We used a corn couscous because of gluten allergies, and we used lamb instead of the goat meat mentioned in the recipe.
We chose a Nigerian style couscous with vegetables and lamb, and kelewele - a spiced, fried plantain snack from Ghana that goes by different names and flavours all over western Africa.
Couscous is widely eaten all over north-western Africa and paired with various veggies and meats.
We used a corn couscous because of gluten allergies, and we used lamb instead of the goat meat mentioned in the recipe.
The flavours for this were very natural and simple, allowing the fresh vegetables to work their own magic, heightened only slightly by some Bragg (soy) sauce (recipe called for Maggi), and the juices from the lamb.
Kelewele/alloco/dodo/makembe is a fried plantain snack eaten all over Africa.
We cooked some plain and some with ginger and chili which is how kelewele is prepared in Ghana.
We cooked some plain and some with ginger and chili which is how kelewele is prepared in Ghana.
Plantains look very much like large bananas and have a slight banana smell, so at first I wasn't sure about frying them as I had visions of it all turning to mush. However plantains are much higher in starch and are not as soft and readily palatable as bananas are.
I still has my reservations about the banana taste since we were mixing it with spices and serving it with main course, as every article I had read said we should do.
I still has my reservations about the banana taste since we were mixing it with spices and serving it with main course, as every article I had read said we should do.
I was delightfully surprised.
The fried plantain lost the banana flavour and became very similar to "homefries" in texture.
Crispy and salty on the outside, and fluffy on the inside.
I see now why they are sold by so many street vendors and eaten with meals!
Toby loved both!
Now to southern and eastern Africa.
The fried plantain lost the banana flavour and became very similar to "homefries" in texture.
Crispy and salty on the outside, and fluffy on the inside.
I see now why they are sold by so many street vendors and eaten with meals!
Toby loved both!
Now to southern and eastern Africa.
South Africa is nearly as diverse as Canada, recognizing 11 official languages (!), one of the highest official language counts in the world. With a strong Dutch influence from early colonization, several words and foods we came across reminded us of European dishes we'd come across.
Boerewors is a coiled sausage that originated in South Africa ('boer' being the Afrikaans words for farmer, and 'wors' being the word for sausage - extremely similar to the
Boerewors is a coiled sausage that originated in South Africa ('boer' being the Afrikaans words for farmer, and 'wors' being the word for sausage - extremely similar to the
Dutch 'worst' and German 'wurst'). Boerewors is made mostly of beef and traditionally seasoned with pepper and coriander, sometimes with the addition of other spices depending on the butcher (ours had the addition of cloves).
I was fortunate enough to be tipped off about a South African butcher near to where we live, so we were able to find authentic boerewors for our meal!
It's often eaten at outdoor barbecues with a side of pap and tomato gravy.
Pap (pup) is a fine white cornmeal that cooks up like oatmeal or polenta. It's crumbly and chewy all at the same time and soaks in the flavours from the sauce, which we flavoured with onion and powdered coriander. Making the gravy or relish varies by region and family, much the way chili is regarded over here.
I was fortunate enough to be tipped off about a South African butcher near to where we live, so we were able to find authentic boerewors for our meal!
It's often eaten at outdoor barbecues with a side of pap and tomato gravy.
Pap (pup) is a fine white cornmeal that cooks up like oatmeal or polenta. It's crumbly and chewy all at the same time and soaks in the flavours from the sauce, which we flavoured with onion and powdered coriander. Making the gravy or relish varies by region and family, much the way chili is regarded over here.
Usually a side of steamed leaf vegetables is served, but we had made some githeri - a simple bean and corn dish from Kenya. Corn, or maize, and beans are incorporated in to nearly everything in rural Kenya because the dried kernels keep for a long time and when
mixed together are very high in protein.
Toby liked the boerewors and sauce, but wasn't too sure about the texture of the pap.
I loved the pap but found the boerewors a little rich, but still good.
Northern Africa is lengthy so I will post our results when we are done!
Happy Eating!!
