Food Blog Within a Blog – CBT

So… if you aren't interested in hearing about the food here, just skip this post.

 

But hopefully you are.

 

Overall, the food has been decent. Some very good, some very bad.

 

The thanksgiving feast the other day was awesome, and those 2 bites of zebra I got were pretty special. Very tender, and the way it was prepared, the whole thing ended up tasting a lot like Jewish brisket. (Story: The guy who brought the zebra says he shot it at a legal game reserve in South Africa a few months ago. He donated 700 pounds of it to an orphanage, and kept the tenderloin in a freezer for a few months, before using it for thanksgiving. Pretty noble use of a zebra carcass.)

 

Makoeneas (Ma-QUEN-yahz) – Street/junk food. Deep fried "fat cakes," which is almost exactly like a giant munchkin, but served hot. Very tasty.

 

Papa – The #1 staple of the Basotho diet. Here's how you make it. Boil water. Add corn meal until it turns very thick. Stir it with a big wooden stick. Add a shitload more corn meal. The whole thing is now like a very thick dough. Cover, heat, and let the bottom almost burn. Stir some more – this now requires a lot of elbow grease. That's papa. It's about as exciting as white rice.

 

Samp – Another corn-based starch, but it's totally superior to papa. I love it. I'm not sure how it's made, but I think it is full of cream. Probably my favorite Basotho food.

 

Lesheleshele (Li-SHELL-ay-SHELL-ay) – A pretty common breakfast food. Hot porridge, made from sorghum. Nothing special, but very edible. I've started adding instant coffee to it just to give it some flavor. I don't think this is how the Basotho do it, but I eat it alone in my room so no one knows.

 

Bohobe (Bow-HOE-bee) – Basotho bread. Not totally sure how it's made, but I know it takes a lot of work, and it is steamed in a kettle. It is very dense, doughy, and served in thick slices. Pretty delicious when fresh, but merely edible thereafter.

 

Moroho – cooked vegetables – a pretty broad term. At our training facility, it's a mix of cabbage and onions and carrots, which tastes way better than I'd ever expect. At my CBT house, it is some sort of steamed and chopped greens. I don't know what it is that my 'Me ('Me = mother) adds to this to make it taste so awful, but it is pretty harsh. I think it might be sulfuric acid (only half-kidding).

 

Dessert – A common dessert this sort of layered dish, which has pudding, jello, pudding, jello, fruit, pudding, and graham cracker. Looks nasty, sounds nasty, tastes surpsingly good.

 

When you are sitting on a bus/taxi/kombi at the taxirank (taxi depot) waiting for it to fill up before departing (which can take a LONG time), you are continually offered to buy things by street vendors who walk around the area. The other day I bought a 4-pack of what is basically a sweet English muffin, for 3 rand (~$0.40). Delicious carbs.

 

Yesterday, by the way, my 'Me served me a lunch that was that H2SO4 moroho, papa, and some kind of sardine stew. My feeling of obligation forced me to swallow three bites of sardine stew, but after that I gave up. It is with full confidence that I say it was the most offensive food I've ever eaten. Sorry, 'Me Ilina. Anyway, afterwards I gave her a blanket "I don't eat fish," so I think I'm good from here on out.

 

Also, mutton is very common here. I've had it in chops, in cubes, and in a sausage. The sausage is the best. It tastes very much like lamb, only less good.

 

Aside from the above foods, I do eat a good amount of apples, bananas, salad, some pasta, chicken… "normal" things like that. Right now, the things I miss the most are pizza, buffalo wings, and bacon. I think pizza is #1. Oh, except for ice cubes.