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ranga
USA
149 Posts |
 Posted - 05 Aug 2006 : 06:18:29
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Are there many varieties of peanuts sold in Gambia? If so, are there a few varieties that are particularly delicious? Are some varieties associated with special recipes?
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ranga
USA
149 Posts |
Posted - 07 Aug 2006 : 07:36:15
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BTW, NY Times reported that Plumpy'nut, a peanut-based food has worked well to reduce malnutrition in children in Niger. More at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plumpy'nut.
Wonder if these are manufactured in Gambia, given the traditional strength in peanut growing in Gambia.
Are there some favorite Gambian peanut snacks available for sale in the US? I checked out an African grocery in the SF Bay area, but they didn't carry such a thing.
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T.K. "Ranga" Rengarajan
Founder, Geoseed Project
http://www.geoseedproject.com
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ranga
USA
149 Posts |
Posted - 01 Oct 2006 : 22:41:58
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Slow and spicy wins the raves
By Jane Dornbusch, Globe Correspondent | September 27, 2006
Isatou Jack has worn many hats in her life -- farmer, teacher, and doctoral student among them -- but her favorite role may be cook. ``I enjoy cooking," says the 49-year-old native of Gambia. ``I don't find it a chore; it's therapy. When I'm stressed, I go into the kitchen and create."
On a recent Saturday morning in her Roslindale kitchen, Jack was preparing domoda, a popular and traditional Gambian dish, as her 15-year-old niece, Amie Jack, visiting from London, looked on. As Isatou Jack moved unhurriedly but deliberately around the room, she good-naturedly teased her niece -- sometimes in English, sometimes in Wolof -- about learning to cook the food of their country. Domoda, says Jack, is so well loved that it's ``the first dish Gambian men learn to cook when they travel overseas. At home they are not domesticated. But it's so easy to cook, all Gambian men know how to cook domoda."
The dish is essentially a spicy peanut butter sauce used for chicken, lamb, or fish. Back home, says Jack, dried conch adds a smoky undertone to the dish; here she substitutes smoked turkey legs and smoked whiting, which she buys at BJ's Wholesale Club. Hot pepper and lime juice also enliven the dish. Simple as it is, domoda requires many steps and a long cooking time; it's not quick weeknight fare. ``In Gambia," says Jack, ``it's all slow food. Women spend a lot of time in the kitchen." Here, she prepares large batches of her time-intensive cuisine on weekends and refrigerates or freezes them to serve through the week.
The Republic of the Gambia is a tiny, narrow sliver of a country in West Africa, with a geographic area that's only about 4,000 square miles. Jack seems accustomed to meeting Americans who know little about her homeland. When it's suggested that the country is surrounded on three sides by Senegal, Jack remarks with a smile, ``We prefer to say we share three borders with Senegal." The fourth border is seacoast, and Jack has vivid childhood memories of traveling from her home in the capital city, Banjul, to visit fishing villages along the coast, watching the boats come in and sometimes purchasing some of the catch.
``I don't think anything beats Gambian fish," she says a bit wistfully, recalling the native tilapia. By contrast, she says, tilapia she buys here ``tastes like wood." Fresh fruit and vegetables were also first quality, she says. Jack should know. After earning her undergraduate degree in horticulture at the University of Florida, she returned to Gambia to work as a vegetable farmer and extension-service researcher. Soon, she became involved in teaching local women how to farm more profitably. ``I moved from the technical aspects of farming to the social ones," says Jack. ``I did a lot of work with small farmers."
Along the way, she honed her cooking skills. ``I learned a lot from watching my mom and practicing. We start at an early age," she says. Her mother, she says, is a good cook who made a point of passing along her kitchen wisdom to her daughters.
Later, Jack returned to the United States to earn a doctorate in adult and extension education from Cornell University, which she has nearly completed. She's not sure yet where that degree will take her, but at times she's considered opening a Gambian restaurant in Boston. While the domoda simmers, she casually prepares a feast that also includes a tart spinach side dish and perfectly cooked rice. To serve the meal, she changes into Gambian garb.
It's easy to imagine Jack, with her warm smile and sure hand in the kitchen, presiding graciously over an eatery of her own. To hear her speak, it's a role that comes naturally: ``Where I'm from," says Jack, ``the women take pride in how they cook."
See http://www.boston.com/ae/food/articles/2006/09/27/slow_and_spicy_wins_the_raves/ for the original. |
T.K. "Ranga" Rengarajan
Founder, Geoseed Project
http://www.geoseedproject.com
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