Random Food and Drink Thoughts for the Day

Fruits and Vegetables
Pineapple is YUMMY here. It’s the best pineapple I have ever had. It has a pale, almost white look to it, but it is extremely sweet, and not tart at all, like those in America. They can be purchased from a roadside fruit and vegetable stand for about one cedi, and they are grown locally. I hear the best ones are just north of the city.

Another local fruit is the mango. Evidently, there is a mango season, and I suppose it’s now because the fruit is plentiful at the stands. While I think they are good, they aren’t really my fruit of choice. Dave, however, really likes them.

The avocados grown here are enormous – three times the size of a Haas Avocado. But, once you peel off the skin and start digging in, you don’t get as much fruit as you would expect. There is a huge pit in the middle that takes up most of the space. The avocados lack a certain sweetness or flavor, so they are a little blander than a Hass. I made guacamole the other night to serve with our fajitas, and in an attempt to spice it up added garlic, onions, and lemon juice. It wasn’t like the guacamole that is served in the U.S., but it will do. I’m going to try and sneak back a few packets of guacamole mix on my next trip home in an attempt to add some better flavor.

Plantains are a local favorite and look like a banana; in fact, according to the Internet it is “a close cousin to the banana.” Plantains are bigger and firmer than a banana. I’ve tried one “raw,” and it basically tasted like wax; they are meant to be cooked. Plantains are a staple of the Ghanaian diet and can be cooked in any of the stages of ripeness. When they are green, they are more like a yam or a potato (somewhat bland). As they ripen up and become yellow, they are slightly sweeter. When they become black, they are at their sweetest. They are usually baked or fried. I remember eating a fried plantain on our look-see, and it basically tasted like a bland french fry. I need to try it in a different stage of ripeness, evidently.

Cleaning fruits and vegetables takes a lot more time here in Accra that it did back home. It’s not pesticides that we are concerned with, but rather the cleanliness of the food. Who knows where it’s been sitting, stored, and by whom it’s been touched (and how clean their hands were). So, when I bring the fruits and veggies home, they must immediately be washed. I’ve had three people tell me three different ways I can wash them.

First, when Katherine (the first maid) was at my house, she produced a little bottle called “Microdyrm” that she said Mary (previous house occupant) brought from the states and had her use. She would fill up a bucket of water, add six drops of the Microdyrm, and let the food sit for 20-25 minutes. Then, she washed the food and let it air dry.

Michele, my ex-pat friend who has lived in Peru and Indonesia for a combined total of 9 years, swears by bleach. Like Katherine, she fills up the sink with water and adds one capful of bleach and places the fruits and veggies in the water for 20-25 minutes. The food is then rinsed off well and air dried.

And then there’s Charity. I brought home some lettuce yesterday and she came and asked me how I wanted her to clean it. I gave her the directions using the bleach, since I have no Microdyrm, and she just cringed. She said, “Oh no! That is not safe!!” I asked her how Leslie (her previous employer) cleaned her fruits and veggies. She fills up the bucket and adds salt to the water. I went with her suggestion as I figured Leslie has been living in this country the longest and Charity worked for her the entire time.

Regardless of the way in which the food was cleaned, I haven’t gotten sick, so I guess there’s a little truth in each of the methods; although bleach sort of freaks me out!!

Drinks
The most popular drink in Ghana is most definitely water! It is so hot and humid here, it is important to always have water with you. I carry a bottle in my purse, and inevitably, by the time I get home, it’s empty. Although locals can drink from the tap, foreigners cannot. We have a water dispenser in our house and we go through a huge bottle every 2-3 days. You would be surprised how much water you use out of the tap in a single day. It takes some conscious thinking to refrain from putting my toothbrush under the spout each morning, noon, and night!!

Coca Cola is alive and well in Ghana, especially Coke and Diet Coke (or Light Coke, as locals refer to it). I’ve seen Sprite, Fanta, and a few Pepsi’s, but not much else. For those of you who know me at all, I’m a Diet Mountain Dew junkie. I just HAD to pick the one soda that has the most caffeine! I haven’t had one since Sunday, April 3rd, and can’t say that I really crave it right now. I think the stress of the move, adjusting to different food, the time change, and just living in a new country so foreign to me, superseded my caffeine withdrawal! I do drink a Coke or Diet Coke from time to time, but finally made myself some sun tea this weekend. So, all is good in the caffeine department!

People over here like to drink!! Not sure if it’s the Ghanaian culture or just the need for ex-pats to unwind, but we have been inundated with social invitations since we arrived. Again, if you know Dave or I, we are not the most sociable people in the world. We have a close group of friends that we spend time with occasionally, but mostly our free time is spent with our families. Well, over here….we ain’t got no family!! We have been to a pizza/poker night, a 40th birthday party, and three work dinners; all of which included lots of food and even more drinks. I have joined a group – NAWA (North American Women of Africa) – in an attempt to meet people, and have attended two of their functions (more on that in another blog entry).

Beer is the choice of many. Local brews include Star and Club. Either one tastes fine to me. They’re not Coors Lite, but they’ll do. Heinekin and Becks are other beers we’ve seen and purchased.

Lots of vodka is drank here, and everyone puts it in the freezer. I think that’s so that ice doesn’t have to be added to the drink, as it’s a pain the butt to freeze a whole bunch of ice for a large group of people (no, there are no ice makers in our freezers). There are liquor stores all over the place, and I have found the prices to be pretty comparable to those in Nevada. The selection is quite extensive as well. You can buy tequila, Jack Daniels, whiskey, lots of different flavored vodkas, port, brandy, etc. In addition, they have lots and lots of wine in their stores. I even found a Reisling, but have yet to have a glass.

And finally - Milk. Milk, milk, milk. When Dave and I came to Ghana in March 2010, the first morning we got up at the Newmont Guest House (basically a scaled down version of a Motel 6….yes, I said scaled down), we went downstairs to have some breakfast. Ah! There was milk and some cereal set out – something familiar, and so we each took a bowl of what appeared to be corn flakes. As soon as we took the first bite, we knew something was terribly wrong. The milk was 1) warm; and 2) yucky tasting (that’s the sophisticated writer in me coming out). The lack of American flavored milk almost had me refusing to allow Dave to accept this assignment. I love milk – even more than I love Diet Mountain Dew. I need my milk in the morning. Just like my dad needs peanut butter, his daughter needs milk. I don’t drink coffee, unless it’s a Starbucks White Chocolate Swiss Mocha, and in that case Dave tells me it’s just milk with a whole bunch of chocolate and sugar in it! Nothing coffee about it, he claims.

As a result, I came to Accra knowing, or at least thinking, that I would not be able to enjoy my daily glasses of milk. When we first arrived we bought some “milk” at the store, and we have it in our refrigerator. Basically, the milk here is preserved so it can sit on your shelf for weeks and weeks, perhaps even months without spoiling. It has a different coloring (more yellow) and obviously a different taste. I have used the milk with my cereal, and found it to be palatable. But, still….there’s nothing like cold glass of chocolate milk in the morning.

Last week I was invited to a “tea,” where I learned that I could actually buy American flavored milk. So, yesterday I stopped by Shop Rite (the grocery store in the Accra mall), and I bought four pints (I think) of 2% milk. And let me tell you, that glass of chocolate this morning was AWESOME!!! All was right with the world. Dave asked me how much each pint cost and I just told him not to worry about it, but that hopefully gold prices will continue to rise so that I can continue to enjoy my milk! 