Cookin' in Africa

Do we have any idea how good we have it here in the good old USofA?

Been complaining about the cost of gasoline lately?

Well, in case you haven't counted your lucky stars of late...Be sure to drop over and read: Now I Know My ABC's... …of housework, that is!

The post is by a missionary wife, Richelle: in Niger, Africa - "...from the back side of the Sahara"

Here's a sample of her alphabet: The letter "G":

"Garbage disposal – yes or no? Do pets count? Our horse and dog eat almost any and everything. Otherwise, we burn burnables and a fairly recent development in Niamey is a garbage service that comes by and takes our garbage away after we haul it out to the barrel."

And her understandable concern about the falling dollar and rising grocery costs in the post: $$$$$ ????????s

Gas is over $6/gallon. If we want to fill up the Land Cruiser, it costs well over $100. Even filling up our little Toyota Corolla is way too much.
A friend bought 2.5 lbs of cheese to make pizza for her son's birthday party - and paid $34 for the cheese.
Last week, I tried to find a 100 lb bag of sugar (we tend to buy in bulk). After talking to a couple of different merchants, what would have cost us $42 a few weeks ago will now probably cost us $57.
The price of milk has doubled over the course of the last year. When we can find it in town, we buy powdered milk in a 50 lb bag, which will usually last our family about 10 weeks. That works out to nearly $17/week on milk - which we use primarily on cereal or granola, to make bread and to make yogurt.
Flour, too has shot up, from $.35/lb before Christmas to a current price of $.46/lb.
A 2 lb jar of jelly costs nearly $6.
2 sticks of butter cost $1.80 - $2.20.
1 liter of corn oil costs $3.50 - $4.
1 lb of ground beef is approximately $3.
The very cheapest box of cereal (a generic and small box of corn flakes) is $2.50 - unfortunately our kids don't appreciate it because it turns soggy immediately in milk.

I love well written stories about life and growing up in Africa. I'm reading one now in my spare moments called "When a Crocodile Eats the Sun - A Memoir of Africa" by Peter Godwin.

Richelle's posts could get addictive. With seven children and another "on the way", I'm sure she has no end of adventures.

Peggy

Retro Kitchen Chalk Board

Ran across this cute retro kitchen chalk board today...
























Unfortunately it's from the UK, so not that gettable in the US.

For those not deterred, it comes from Fun Gifts for Girls.

They also have coffee mugs and other kitschy stuff with retro prints.

Peggy

Bhel Puri

Recipe is very simple.

Ingredients:
Bombay bel mix (readily available in indian stores)
Chopped onions, cucumbers, tomatoes (1/2 cup each)
Coriander leaves to garnish
Lemon juice - 1 tsp
Salt - as required

For sweet chutney:
Jaggery - 1/4 cup
Water - 2 tbsp
Jeera - 1/2 tsp

For Hot chutney:
Green chillies -as per taste
Coriander - a handful
Salt - as required

Method:
To make sweet chutney, mix jaggery with very little water and boil(add jeera) in a pan for 5-6 minutes or till it becomes very thick. Cool.

To make hot chutney, grind together green chillies, coriander leaves, salt with very little water to make a thick paste.

Mixing everything together:

Mix chopped onions, cucumbers, tomatoes, coriander leaves, salt, lemon juice, both chutneys, bel mix.