Soul Food 2/6/2009

I lucked out with Togo. Naturally, my day revolves around it (food). And I think it's what I am going to miss the most when I leave. The fruit alone is reason is come. I have at least 28 coconut trees right outside my house. I can have freshly squeezed orange or grapefruit juice whenever I'm not feeling lazy. Pineapple, plantains, bananas, avocadoes, and papaya are all growing around me. And the mangoes tress! I'm counting down the days until mango season!
I eat more protein here than I ever did in the states. They make an unbelievable tofu here - which I crave all the time. It's made fresh the same day and seasoned. I think the soy ladies in village are my favorite people. Aside from the girl who does my laundry. I eat fresh eggs from the hens that I share the village with.
When I cook for myself, it's often American meals adapted for life in Togo. Salad, stir-fry, spaghetti, sandwiches, omelettes; the list goes on. But sometimes, I want to immerse myself in culture and maybe not eat alone all the time. And sometimes I just crave fufu and want to eat with my hands- but just the right one! So I usually wander over to my homologue's house around meal time and an invitation is extended to stay. I eat very differently from everyone else in village. Usually a protein source for them only shows up for a holiday. The kids have long limber arms with no fat on them. When they're a little older muscle appears from pulling water from the well, working in the fields, and pounding fufu. Often their bellies are swollen from the lack of good nutrition. But it's hard to ignore the big smiles on their faces.
Although drink is ignored in my little Muslim village, it lives on in my heart. Tchouk is a fermented millet drink which is consumed by the calabash. When I go to the marche in the next biggest village, I can find tchouk stands and easily lose track of time and forget to buy my food for the week. In the south the preferred drink is sodabi. It is a hard liquor and burns on the way down. There's also palm wine which is produced more in the soth from palm trees. For the kids, Togo offers delicious citron-lemonade. And bishap juice which is made from the hibiscus flower.