Coming up with a
title for a blog post, a thesis or any piece of writing is probably one of the
most difficult parts of preparing it. More often than not, the content of the
material almost comes “naturally” to you as you attempt to break down the “big
theme”. By now, you should know what problem I am confronted with about this
blog post; the title! You got that! Just when I had “dumped” 3 or 4 blog post
titles, my mind went back to the motherland; to a TV show my family used to
enjoy watching. This show was basically about a funny guy named Kwame Djokoto who
went round different eating-places and tasting different foods. His humorous
antics and hilarious nuances upon eating the food, made that TV show a family
favorite. The
show was called “edziban” in Fante, which literally means; “food” to which he
would self-respond in utmost "jokestry", “dzi dzi”, meaning eat! It was one of the
few shows my family took time to watch and laugh into the evening, in the absence of good old television; "The Cosby Show, 227, Fresh Prince of Bel Air"...well it goes on...
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| Latina flan |
I love to eat, but then, who doesn’t? My
half Fante lineage prescribes that not only must I like to eat, but that I take
the extra effort to ensure that the food I eat, is tasty and leaves a lingering in my mouth, until I delve into the next plate. From Fante-fante to “estew”,
to “banku” to some good hot chicken soup, Ghanaian food is what i'd like to call
a Mr. Right! With all the right attributes! It holds you when you are afraid
and satisfies you when you are dry! Some good waakye garnished with the right
amount of gari (cassava flakes, Gey Hey girls' where you at? ) "wele" (cow skin…don’t worry its perfectly safe) is all you need
for your Saturday mornings to feel like “heaven on earth”. The tenacity to stay
in the Waakye line till it’s your turn to be served is one of persistence and
patience. For most, depending on their level of tiredness, it may not be worth
the wait. And oh, when the waakye seller gives you special treatment, you would
have made it, at least for one moment! And then there is my never failing banku
with some good okro soup and “wele”
which never fails to make my day after its tumultuous affairs. This section
on Ghanaian food would not be complete without the mention of Fufu! Oh the joy,
as they tell me since my mother mentioned to me my not eating fufu was
due to her offering for the first time and my refusal to eat. Well that was the
first and last time I tried this Ghanaian delicacy. Yet I can tell you, the
vibrancy I have seen with which people pound that food and the perfect
blend of the cassava and plantain into a perfect harmony, like an old couple whose soul twines
into one, and finally the delight with which a morsel dipped or better still scooped in some chicken soup or goat
meat soup brings to the faces of the “patronizers” assures
me there’s a whole world out there I have been denying myself all these years.
Nigerian food is
not very far from home. Though I haven’t had the typical "yam fufu" or
"pepper soup" before, I am accustomed to “Nigerian” Jollof which I must say
tasted good but not like my Mama’s “Ghanaian” jollof. Oh yes, I just tried to
start the debate all over! But then again, I love me some good Nigerian “Eba”
which I always try to combine with something more familiar like some good "ole"
spiced Tilapia. The joy it brings, like falling in love all over again!
I find joy in talking about food and maybe
this piece will highlight the euphoria I feel every time I try
something different. Brazilian food isn’t far from home either! My folks over there, eat "gari" too! Rice
and beans is what I normally go for at the Gauche Brazillian grill in
Blacksburg. Some good old khebab was all I needed to make the meal
complete! My Mama always used to say
“sweet after meals”, for which reason I have a special solidarity to eating
dessert after a meal. I have had all kinds of desserts, but the day I had flan,
life returned to a whole new understanding! Flan had a melting caramel taste
with an “orgasmic” effect to it! Don’t think too far now! But if you ever had
to visit a Latina restaurant, don’t deny yourself some “flan”! You can thank me later!
When in Rome,
they say you do what the Romans do and yet, here I was in London, the Queensland, eating Indian food! The experience though, was interesting. I have
always been a “spice girl”. My food has to be spiced at
all cost, sometimes to a fault! So when I was informed that Indian food was
spicy, I assured myself that out of the lot in the buffet, Indian was “the
one”. I made my way straight to the Indian section and heaped my plate. And why
not? I believe in healthy eating but every now and then, I excuse my portions,
especially after I learned that becoming slim in my life was “genetically
impossible”! After I got my plate of some good old Indian food, the first morsel
was “never-to-be–forgotten”. Good taste, definitely, but it was hotter than I could imagine! I had to bear the pain for the next
30 minutes, constantly gulping down some cold water to pacify my mouth, whew!
Indian food is definitely like a painful love experiece, you should have
enough of and have it no more! But then some good old dessert restored my
confidence in food, for after some ice-cream, which melted in my mouth like a
sweet first kiss, my "Indian first love" had soon been forgotten!
Food from
Bangladesh, had its good sides. My friend who offered it, is definitely a good
cook and having “Bangla food” was like an Indian “rebound”. You know those
“love strings you get into which are a simple reminder of what you just left?
It's no surprise since Bangladesh is a neighbor to India! I should try other
"Bangla" dishes though, something tells me, it may be a better sequel to my
Indian episode and I might just fall in love again!
Having Banku and
Okro stew in Northampton, was like falling in love with a French man! I have
always thought French men, had the inherent propensity to understand and
perpetuate the word “romance” better than any male species under the sun. Or
maybe it was like being serenaded by a Mexican man, just before he goes down on
one knee with my heart thumping out of my chest; “literally” (the effects of
allowing young girls to watch romantic comedies and soap operas is definitely
rearing its ugly head in this piece! Which is why my daughter is only watching
“National Geographic Channel” after which she will submit a piece on how to
preserve wildlife and end the menace of “Global warming” ….hahahahaa). Back to Banku in Northampton! Except, after our good
old Ghanaian friends went down memory lane with us, asking us about what was
happening in Ghana, as if, they had never lived there before; a medical term I have conveniently termed; “diasporan
amnesia”- which is the ability to forget the occurrences in your native country
once you leave there, even though you may be endowed with Wifi in your current
location”. This medical condition is a real life problem and it manifests
itself in many ways. One of its most familiar symptoms is the change in
pronunciation or tonation of the sufferer’s last name. The sufferer would have
an European/American rendition to names like “Ofori” or “Asare” in a tone, you
wonder whether its European or American, so you conclude it’s Afro-American,
just for the purpose of avoiding further probing into the date they arrived
where this meeting was taking place. Our good old Ghanaian friends mentioned to
us the cost of this meal, to be about
£14! After doing the conversion into Ghana cedi and realizing the "gastric liability" I had just caused, I could only mutter to myself; "never again"!
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| Ghanaian Fufu and light soup with goat meat |
Since I am a crusader of spice, I should
have totally tried to do an ad for Maggi cube back in the motherland! So when a
friend suggested Sushi, I naturally baulked at the idea of eating anything in
my life that was not spiced! Sushi was not a bad idea at all, especially on a Friday after the week’s work! My
friend once mentioned that for the love of Sushi, he might marry a Japanese
woman! I had to taste, to understand how this dish could have a “marital
influence” on my friend. I did understand after tasting, for it was like a "new love experience". Not very familiar but you could ride on that boat for at least a while. Thinking about it, though, Sushi for me, is
like the kiss you never want to remember! No, it wasn’t bad, but it would be
better left in the archives of your memory! Don’t get it twisted, Sushi is
good, I would just not want to remember it for a little while. Maybe we will
pick it up again, like that good old friend, whose conversations are like you
both were never apart.
I am yet to talk about American food yet and that’s because there’s no such thing as American
food! Anything, Vietnamese, Japanese, Chinese, Lebanese, Italian is also
American! Take for instance, hot dogs, which is the only thing close to
American I can think of, or sandwich which I always thought was only for
breakfast, at least that was the situation in the motherland. And yet, here in
Obamaland, bread is for breakfast, lunch and supper, which makes it almost like
the side dish to every meal! Well, if I ever walked into a buffet and saw, the
American food section, I will try and let you know. In the meantime, let’s just
say American food is hot dogs and its alright! It’s like that friend you
neither hate nor like! They are just ok!
The movie love
and basketball was a good one and like many of my old time classics, like the
“Sound of music”, you can never have enough of it! Just like love,
food is that "thing" you can never have enough of. Food comes in different hues; it can rekindle all lost hope and at the same time spark new fires. It's also that rebound that leaves a lot to be
desired and it remains that endless love, that will keep riding with you till
your hands are wobbling, your hair is greying and your feet can barely hold you
down!
My next foodie
adventure should be “Aussie food”. I am not sure how that will turn out, but I
will keep you in the loop! Bon appetite! "Dzi dzi"!
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| Japanese sushi |
