Wednesday, September 14, 2011

Furahia!

So sadly my life as a Peace Corps Volunteer has come down to this - where can I get a good meal (standards vary). This leads me to my other sad point: I am now blogging about food. Comfort food here in Uganda has been redefined for me. Back at home I had a plethora of ingredients at my disposal not to mention I worked at my father's restaurant all through college which spoiled me to a glutenous end. I find myself constantly craving whole wheat lasagna, spinach salad, a steaming pile of garlic mashed potatoes and a big scrumptious plate of Thai food. At this point in the game of my Peace Corps service I find myself thinking anything is comfort food other than the typical rice, beans and sweet potatoes that I eat on a regular basis.

This is why my holiday to Kenya was even more magical than just having a life altering nature experience in the Mara: the food was out of control! Now I am not one to post about food that I make here at home or food I eat along my life long foodie journey, but after over a year of 50/50 attempts at a decent meal I must share my excitement.

During a stop over in Nairobi on our way back from the Mara for lunch the meat lovers went to the newly opened KFC while Lisa and I went to a magical land known as a real cafe. This place had lemons in bowls, shelves built into the walls that were lined with wine and champagne as well as nice and friendly staff to make the overwhelming menu seem a little less daunting (choices are even harder for me now because I have forgotten what options are). I finally decided on the best sandwich in the whole entire world. The bread was soft (not hard or dry like here in Uganda), the ingredients were fresh and the mustard was delicious.

I also ordered myself a macchiato latte that was the babiest of babies when it comes to coffee, but man it was the best beverage I have had in over a year.


I also got the chance to have my first dark leafy green salad in over a year - a fabulous plate full of greens, veggies and a truffle oil vinaigrette. I might still be having dreams about this sucker.


To follow that experience up Rashida and I had the pleasure of sharing a delicious Camembert cheese bake topped with sage, walnuts and truffle oil served with rye bread. Holy Hannah it was mind boggling.


On top of this meal I had another amazing one that I did not take a picture of - vegetarian California rolls (ten in total) with delicious soy sauce/wasabi/ginger along with three pasty dough shaped samosas filled with thinly sliced artichokes and Camembert cheese. I now understand why Besigye said during the Walk-to-Work Campaigns to be 'peaceful like a somosa' - they were zen in my belly.

Lisa also had this amazing dinner of calamari stuffed with more calamari. The risotto was perfect and the veggies were steamed to perfection. Calamari being the only seafood that doesn't send me into anaphylactic shock I had to try it and it was sinful.

The desserts were delectable and might have been my favorite part of the trip (screw the migration, right?). I had real ice cream for the first time in over a year, tiramisu and a delicious mocha and Bailey's truffle.




Now that I have realized a) how hungry this post has made me and b) how embarrassing it is that I just wrote a blog entry devoted to food I'm going to go get my ever faithful rice and beans for dinner. I might even throw in a chapatti to spice things up a bit. Man I hope there is chili sauce.

2 comments:

  1. On a totally unrelated note, I met your mom yesterday! I was walking into the Y with the kids and she was behind us. She said ~ Is this the family that my daughter, Becca, is so crazy about? It was too funny. She picked us right out. And she said she'd like to take my running class someday. Wouldn't that be great? I thought you'd appreciate knowing that McKayla is now a Barracuda! She made the swim team and couldn't be more thrilled! Kristian, for his part, is along for the ride for now. His day will come I gather. Keep the posts coming. I love reading about your adventure! We miss you!

    ReplyDelete
  2. She told me she met you all! She enjoyed meeting you and the kids because she hears me talk about you all the time! That is fabulous about McKayala! She should be swimming circles around us all in no time. Will she have any meets in December? I'm planning on being home and would love to go to one! How is Kristian doing? Hopefully school and social life is keeping them busy and stimulated. Mom has talked to me numerous times about your running class and definitely wants to take it at some point! I love following your blog as well - it makes me feel like I still see you guys on a somehow regular basis! Tell the rest of the fam I say hello and send my love! See you all in December :)

    ReplyDelete