A number of people have asked me what I've been eating, so I figured it was time to write a post about food. Sorry in advance if this is going to make your mouth water. Maybe you should go get a snack so you can munch while you read. You went right for an Apple and some Sour Patch Kids, didn't you? Yep. That's what I would have done. Now that you can snack and read at the same time, I'll break down what I've been eating by meal:
BREAKFAST
My favorite breakfast happens on mornings after soup night (I'll tell you about soup night later). There is part of a fresh loaf of bread left over, so I have two slices of fresh bread toast with a hefty amount of salted butter because Paula Dean knows what's up, and she and I share a love of butter. If there isn't bread, then a bowl of yogurt with homemade granola and fruit is a fine substitute. Then I have a serving, or maybe two, of fruit that has been in the fridge overnight, so it is super cold and delicious. It's always pineapple chunks soaked in passion fruit and sometimes papaya or mango slices and Japanese plum. Unless you've been here and eaten the fruit here, you just don't know. It's so much better than grocery store fruit. There's no way to describe it, but it's just the best. Then I grab a mug of tea (I like it without milk or sugar) and go sit by the window in my room to read or email or whatever.
LUNCH
There is always beans and rice or peas with potatoes and rice. Then there is always a fresh vegetable like cucumbers, tomatoes, salad (with lettuce from our garden), avocados, carrots, or some combination of those. There's one or two forms of cooked vegetables depending on the day. This usually includes squash, eggplant, zucchini, tomatoes, carrots or cabbage. There is usually some form of potatoes whether that be french fries, scalloped potatoes or mashed potatoes on shepherd's pie (shepherd's pie always follows taco night, which I will tell you about later). Two days a week are what we like to call Cake Days. On these days, lunch always ends with - you guessed it - cake. These range from lemon cakes with glaze to chocolate cake with vanilla icing to chocolate chip zucchini bread to white cake with chocolate icing. Basically, they are all really delicious.
DINNER
Dinner has the most variation through the days of the week, so I'll just start with my favorite night. Soup Night. There are actually two soup nights throughout the course of the week, but my favorite one is on Mondays. The soup is a pureed vegetable soup that is thick and delicious. There is always a fresh loaf of bread (which means breakfast tomorrow is gonna be awesome!), a salad, and a small wheel of cheese. There is nothing wrong and everything right with that. I will likely do soup night at least once a week for the rest of my life with these exact parameters. Tuesdays are pasta night with white sauce, tomatoes and left over bread (sometimes pesto, too). Wednesday nights are taco night complete with ground beef, cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, guacamole and homemade tortillas. Friday nights are pizza and a movie night. Yeah, you didn't realize when you started reading this that I get to eat pizza once a week. It's pretty stellar. Pizza night always comes with a salad and guacamole. Basically, salad and avocados are ubiquitous in my meals.
SNACK
Peanuts.
I bet you are wondering who makes all of this delicious food. Her name is Beatrice, and she is such an amazing woman. Not only does she make the most delicious food of all time (I don't know if survival is possible without her fresh bread), she always makes sure we don't leave for school without a snack for break time, and I'm pretty sure the sun shines a little brighter when she laughs. She and I don't actually speak any of the same languages (even though she is a boss and speaks Kinurwanda, French and Swahili, I and lacking and need to do my part on this language learning thing), I've learned how to say good morning and thank you and the kids will tell me what to say when I want to say something to her. She and I also share a good number of significant glances and emphatic faces that often convey the point. She is a dream and takes care of me so much.
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