I've been absolutely terrible at updating this lately. My mother has reminded me of this.
So I did get a new cat. Her name is Phoebe, like I said. She was given to me (shots included) by the administrative officer of Peace Corps Mali. Her cat had kittens awhile back and she still had three to get rid of. Although I do love cats just for being cats, I especially am enjoying them in Mali because they keep bugs and mice away! Phoebe is very affectionate and likes to nuzzle under my hands and arms to get pet. She's a sweetheart.
Living in Bamako has been good as of yet. Most of my days are, admittedly, slow. I don't have a lot to do yet since school doesn't start until December. I have been trying to find projects that can fill the time between now and then, and supplement my schedule once I start teaching. I've also been running and working out most days and just "yalayala-ing" around my neighborhood (yalayala means wander around). I've met most of my neighbors, and they're very nice and we exchange greetings several times a day. I can't wait to start my Bambara tutoring so I can actually talk to them. I'm actually going to schedule with my tutor later today, so hopefully I can get going on that! Also, I've been hanging out with the Ex-Pat community. I play football on Sundays, basketball on Tuesdays/thursdays, and soccer or softball on Saturdays. They're all really nice and, because they actually make good money here, are willing to feed me occasionally!
I've also been enjoying being able to cook for myself. I've learned the joys of eggplant. I've never in my life cooked eggplant, but now it's a staple to almost everything I make. I've made a simple ratatouille several times which is cheap, filling, nutritious, and delicious. As we speak I'm munching on a eggplant pizza I made with some pita bread (available here due to the large Lebanese population), hummus (which I got from a can but then added garlic, lemon, paprika, and olive oil to), and stir-fried garlic and eggplant. It's fabulous. I think I'm going to try and make some fried eggplant either tonight or tomorrow to eat with the left over hummus. I used to get fried eggplant from the falafel (which, by the way, I've also made here) guy at the farmers market near my house. I really liked it, so I'm going to give it a go.
I've also located a bakery that makes whole wheat bread! Yay! Peanut Butter and Jelly is my usual post run snack :) yay america. Sometimes I couple it with some koolaid people have sent me. SOOO GOOD! The produce quality in Mali is pretty good, it's just limited to what can grow here and the seasons. For example, mangos are delicious but we only have them for 4 months or so. Green beans only come around for a few months too. I should be able to do just fine for myself, and, on top of that, I'll learn how to cook some new foods since my old fall backs from home just aren't feasible here.
Cheese is really hard to get, for example, because it is so expensive here. A kilo (2.2 pounds) of cheddar cheese is about 35 dollars. Emmentaller is the cheapest cheese by far, but even that is about 20 bucks for kilo.
I'm really telling all of you this so that you can send me recipe ideas :) So here's an idea of what I can get:
- Potatos
- Eggplant
- Onion
- Okra (LOTS AND LOTS OF OKRA...Any good recipes?)
- Carrots
- Cucumber
- Tomatos
- Flour
- Eggs
- Corn Flour
- Sugar
- Baking Soda
- Yeast
- Green Peppers
- Pasta
- Pita
- Soy Sauce
- Greek Olives
- Most spices
- MANY asian and middle eastern sauces/condiments
- Rice
- Corn
- Olive oil
- Green beans
- Watermelon
- oranges
- Apples
- Canned and dry white/red beans
- Lentils
- Canned corn, peas, tuna, tomatoes
- Tomato paste
- And most meats are available....really good meat is expensive though, I should be buying meat in the market (think 3rd world....) but i can get good ground beef and good cuts in the white people stores. The market meat is not BAD, it's just hit and miss in quality. Chicken is available, but chickens here are scrawny and there isn't a lot of meat on them and I've never seen boneless skinless chicken breast....
Okay everyone...send me your best recipe. Either by email or just post a comment. JR i expect something good. I'm in a country of savages, help me out here ;)
Money is a bit of an issue...for example I can't go buy like 40 spices for a dish. I have the salt, pepper, garlic salt, paprika, cayenne, garlic, oregano, cinnamon and basil. I can buy some others, just don't give me a giant list.
I think I'll attempt to make some cornmeal soon. I haven't been able to find it here, and i've got enough time on my hands to try making my own pioneer styles. After that I can make corn pone and fritters or something :) (After reading Cold Mountain I've been craving something corn-like...maybe some corn mush)
Anyway, nothing exciting I know, but such is life for the next couple months.
Gypsy on
