Familiar Foods With An African Flair

Many of the foods that we eat in Missouri we can find here to eat.  Sometimes, though, they just look a little bit different from what we are used to.  

Oranges are very plentiful here, and when they are in season, they are quite cheap.  But they're not eaten the same way here as where I come from:  here, oranges are peeled; then you cut off one end, and suck all the yummy juice and goodness out from the inside.  So far, I haven't been able to do this without making a big mess, but they sure do taste good.  

People eat bread here.  Lots of it, in fact.  For many people, breakfast is a piece of bread (often spread with margarine or mayonnaise) and a cup of coffee (think sweet, warm milk with a hint of coffee flavor).   Sandwiches are often eaten for lunch, with egg or beans for filling.   The French have a reputation for their bread, but the bread we've been getting here is every bit as good.  Maybe even better, because we buy it straight from the baker, fresh out of an old-fashioned wood-burning bread oven.  

And strawberries!  Who knew you could eat strawberries in West Africa?  Well, you can't. At least not in the part of the country where we are. But every once in a while, someone will travel to the cooler, higher parts of the country where strawberries are grown, and bring back some of those delightful little morsels.  And this is how they are sold:  in a cute, little woven basket, covered with some fresh greenery to protect the berries, and all tied up in a pretty little package.  We almost didn't want to ruin the wrapping job--it was so nice.  But then again...these were fresh strawberries we were talking about!  They vanished quickly, but they were definitely yummy.