Plate O' Chicken

Before we left on this amazing adventure, Beth gently asked if it was o.k. with me (the resident vegan) not to eat a vegetarian diet while in Africa. "It will be virtually impossible to travel in Africa and not eat meat," she said. I took this as a pessimistic view and assured her I would be fine no matter what. I also harbored a secret hope that perhaps there would be more options than my faithful travel companion was aware of. Oh the naivette of the first time traveler to Africa!
I need to preface my discourse on West African cuisine with a heartfelt acknowledgment of the people here who have fed us, giving us the best of what they have in bigger portions than one person could ever comfortably consume. Having said that there have been some...challenges for a visiting vegetarian. The one that stands out above all is a little lunch spot I dubbed "Plate O' Chicken".

En route to Dirze we stopped in Ponga, a neighboring village. It had been a long, hot, dusty drive and we were ready for a bathroom and something big and filling for lunch. The village itself was bustling and colorful so our hopes rose as we pulled in to what looked to be the only restaurant in town and settled into plastic chairs beneath a large thatched canopy. The server brought us enormous bottles of orange Fanta (shockingly cold and delicious after a long drive in 90 degree weather) and we were joined by the local chief of police who was a friend of our host. There was no mention of ordering food and so it was with some relief that we saw a large plastic tray of food being brought to our table. Mouths watered. Conversation paused and the lid was lifted to reveal...the biggest plate of chicken I have ever seen. This was no clean and anonymous pre packaged breasts and thighs from the grill either. This was the entire chicken- claws curled, legs in full glory, liver and other parts all laid out in glistening array. Everyone dug right in. I went to the bathroom.

Food in West Africa is delicious. Most commonly there is a starch (rice, cous cous, pasta, yams) accompanied by a mildly spicy sauce with meat. Jollof rice is a great favorite and is served with a spicy shito sauce that our friend in Ghana taught us to make. We also took part in making Fufu, a traditional West African food made by pounding plantains, yams, and cassava together. Fufu is made with an enormous wooden mortar and pestle, the pestle is about six feet tall and the mortar is about three feet high and about two feet in diameter. Each of us took a turn pounding the mixture as it turned from seperate ingredients into a PlayDough-ish consistency. Fufu is served with a light sauce and eaten with the fingers (an art that we never quite mastered and always brought an amused smile and offering of a spoon from our dining companions).

Drinks are generally soda, beer, or water and when juice is available it is spiced with ginger and beyond delectable. Bread in Burkina is french baguettes and in Ghana is large white loaves similar to a dense Wonder bread. Sugar is reserved for flavoring morning tea in heaping amounts and dessert is nonexistent.

Street food is varied and fascinating. I have looked with longing wonder at dried fish on platters, bread pastries filled with unknown delights, and fried wonders that have gone untasted. Beth and her self proclaimed "stomach of steel" have tried more than I. My one experience with an eggroll bought impulsively in a moment of desperation at the market went...badly. All in all the food is an experience not to be missed especially here in Cape Coast eating crepe- like pancakes coated in brown sugar and staring at the ocean.