FOOD!

FOOD. Its what I think about everytime I have a spare moment and it just so happens that the food culture in Senegal seems to really support that mentality, so why not translate these thoughts into writing? So, voila, my wonderful experiences of growth and knowledge - through food, that is.

I couldn't begin a post like this anywhere but in the markets. Markets were one of the first things I mentioned in my previous blogs, but my love for them has only grown and deepened with time. And while I am kind of joking, I also really am not. Markets, for me, continue to be a way to engage with and participate in my community here, something that I am starting to realize is incredibly valuable for me in order to feel rooted to a place – especially when that place is not home. It is also an excellent opportunity for me to practice Wolof, as that is completely the language of these markets. Plus, people seem to think at worst, that I am some kind of hilarious joke when I start off in Wolof (which is really fine by me at this point, especially if it gets me a good deal), or at best, someone who is invested in figuring out how food and market systems work in Dakar. And I’m sure in most instances both portrayals are pretty accurate.

I think I have already posted these two photos already in a previous blog, but I’ll bring them back just so that you all can have a visual idea, at least, of these markets.

My friend and roommate Giulia and I are weekly shopping buddies at Marché Tilène, not too far from the large university where I attend classes. Now 4 months into my year here, we have our weekly “vegetable ladies,” 2 wonderful women (one pictured above with my mom), who give us fair, reasonable prices on a full selection of veggies and who always throw in something free for us. Last week, I spent 2,000 CFA on produce (about $4) for the entire week, and got a bag of free, fresh hot peppers thrown into the deal. Now that is what I call fair and reasonable prices.  

  

These green beans are in season right now. On a recent trip back from St. Louis (a city on an island in northern Senegal), I bought these on the side of the road for 500CFA/kilo (about $1).

Giulia is pictured here next to the stand of the woman who she buys her “feuille” (greens) from. Since Giulia first bought from her for our Thanksgiving meal in November, she has not only been helping Giulia out with recipes, but has been actually leading her about the market to help her find the other ingredients. Now I feel like everytime we go, we find a new group of people who help the “toubabs” (white people) discover yet another little nuance about Senegalese cooking.

The latest addition to my steadily growing knowledge on Senegalese and West African food has been the variety of grains available to us at these markets, outside of rice. While the national dish 'ceebu jën' (fish and rice) kind of sets the tone for a culture that definitely loves its rice, there are so many other grains and carbs available at the market that I am just starting to discover. I thought I'd provide you all with a little on what I’ve been learning about:

1. Fonio – recently found some dried this week. Its apparently one of the oldest native grains of Africa, and for some reason, still relatively unknown.  This seems weird to me, especially given its potential for alleviating the growing issues of food security in this part of the world. Apparently, the Dogon people of Mali believed that the universe grew out of a single fonio seed, to give you a sense of the importance this grain has had for many peoples in West Africa. It is also highly nutritious, grows well in typically difficult growing conditions, and grows ridiculously fast – reaching maturity in as little as 6-8 weeks. We ate it like couscous (and the taste kind of reminds of what a whole-grain couscous might taste like) the night I cooked it, with a spicy peanut and eggplant sauce. I didn't think to take a picture, so here's one courtesy of Google Images: 

2. Casava – also known as yucca or manioc. Prior to my arrival in Senegal, I had no idea how important this crop is to much of Sub-Saharan Africa. There are just so many things you can do with it! The tuberous root is used as a vegetable in a lot of Senegalese dishes, but it can also be pound into flour, coucous, and processed into a variety of other products. The leaves are eaten too, particularly in the “sauce feuilles” (greens sauce) that Giulia likes to make so much. Anyway, this week in the market, I asked someone about cassava flour because I wanted to try and make fufu, a West African side dish that is either a yam, cassava, or plantain paste then rolled into balls. Its super yummy. Anyway, I asked one woman who directed me to a certain part of the market, where a couple other men finally directed me to a Guinean vendor (b/c fufu is West African, but not really Senegalese) who thought it was both wonderful and hysterical that I wanted yucca flour to make fufu.  I have a picture of it here, though this is actually yam fufu.

3. Millet – one of my favorite grains here. Healthy, lots of fiber, and super filling. Typically in Dakar and throughout Senegal, millet is eaten in the form of a couscous called ‘ceere’ (roughly pronounced like ‘ch-ai-ray’), or a number of different porridges eaten with sweetened yogurt that really only differ by the size of the cousous that is used. (called ‘laax,’ ‘funde,’ or ‘thiakry’ in order of largest couscous size to smallest and pictured below).  All options are delicious, though the process to make the couscous is long and laborious. However, you’ll have to wait for my next blog post to read more about this process, as my Wolof teacher, Giulia, and I are planning a Wolof class where we learn to make the couscous by hand. More details to follow!

funde ('fun-day'), with sweetened yogurt 

called sow ('so')

laax, (pronunciation: la-kh)

       thiakry ('chalk-rie')