Yes, that was an actual sentence out of my mouth in a conversation Donatira and I were having last week. Overripe bananas, perfect for banana bread, nice and mushy and a lot of me going “NO! The banana’s are NOT dead! Do not throw them out! They are good to cook with!”…”I am cooking tomorrow…No! They will not be dead tomorrow either, they will still be good for cooking. You will see, be patient, do not throw them out!”
Such is the closest thing to an argument I’ve had with my umukozi, Donatira. Next up for challenges, we need to change the cooking styles. After giving myself food poisoning (I just hate admitting when food has gone bad, in this case, coleslaw). and eating plain food, not overcooked and NOT cooked in oil I realize my body just can’t handle the Rwandan food anymore. Granted, I can do it sometimes, but basically everyday….no, not happening anymore. Even with running 3-4 times a week I was feeling like a sluggish, gross piece of junk. And after a week of oil free food, I haven’t felt this good in a while.
**So, I wrote this blog post a while ago and am just getting around to posting it now. UPDATE: Taught Donatira “very, very VERY small oil” which is good. Small victory.**
I’ve really started prepping for the marathon these last couple weeks, like running longer, pacing, sprints and yeah, it sucks. But, now I can easily run 1hr at over 6000ft in lots of hill, a feat I never accomplished in the states. My legs are kind of beasts and my workout clothes…are pretty smelly. It’s a Catch 22 really: wash workout clothes often and I’ll ruin the decent running capris and shirt I have here…plus then my clothes will be wet and no one likes wearing wet workout clothes. But, wash them once a week, they’ll always smell a little dank but they’ll last longer…and hey, I’m in Africa, being smelly’s okay, right? Ohh, the choices I make on a daily basis.
**UPDATE: I ran my leg of the marathon, 11k, wanted to die but it felt good. For more details, refer to other short blog with more short details**
In other pointless news, I’ve perfected banana bread in the Peace Corps oven and figured out how to make multi-level mac & cheese. Now, some of you might say that homemade mac & cheese isn’t that hard. You’re right…but in a country that sells a grand total of 1 types of cheese (“Gouda”) that half the time takes kind of like rubber, this is a big accomplishment. Heads up, this might gross some people out, but I live in Africa. Standards change, and when things don’t go your way…you still try to make it work. So, here’s what went down:
Bought cheese a while back while I was in Gitarama with the pure intention of using it to make mac & cheese (I’ve got my priorities straight). So, the next free weekend arrived and I assembled all my ingredients for a good bechamel sauce: fresh milk, butter, flour, cheese, seasoning. Little did I know my “fresh” milk was slighly on the side of sour. So, when i started to cook it, it started to curdle and my thoughts went “Oh crap, seriously Rwanda?! No, ruined, fail.” quickly followed by “Nope, not letting this happen, we’re going to keep going and see what happens…even if I give myself food poisoning again it’s worth it for the mac & cheese” So, onward I forged with the funky milk. Long debacle short, sauce ended up being a mix of Rwandan-rubber-gouda and something ricotta like. Which makes for some nice variety in taste, texture which is pretty hard to come by here sometimes. Add in some tomato, onion, bread crumbs (stale bread, whatever) and BAM, it’s almost like you used real cheese…with some imagination. Like I’ve said before, it’s the little things.
Mail has slowly been trickling in, I’ve been thanking y’all as it comes through via the blog, facebook or Mother dearest. Also, outgoing mail to the US is being accepted, Aunt Lynn, Linda Fox and Erkka…keep your eyes out. Timing and price tag will determine whether I send anymore snail mail.
And that’s all for now, enjoy!
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