Regional fare

To categorize food as African is a bit of a folly because Africa is not a country, it's a continent.  More importantly, the political boundaries that were imposed during the Scramble for Africa do not reflect the cultural realities of the landscape.  The cuisine that exists is a hybrid of the original cultures with a hint of influence from the colonial powers that dominated the continent for so long.  Though there are similarities within regions (east, north, west, south); each country has its own flare.  I'm going to classify tonight's dinner as West African.  The move from South America to Africa is not that drastic considering that both continents are south of 30 degrees latitude; hence not only is the vegetation similar, but the legacy of extraction, exploitation, and purposeful underdevelopment is also a commonality.

We finished off the Eid last night by having dinner at a rodizio. I was shocked that my son aka "carb boy" exhibited a more carnivorous side as he devoured flank steak, leg of lamb, and beef ribs.  Although I was stuffed, I was underimpressed with my picanha (largely because I kept wondering about where/how it's produced) and I knew I had to do something to put our bodies back in balance.  Unfortunately I couldn't attempt a vegetarian cleanse because I had taken lamb chops out of the freezer.  However, I could attempt to balance all of that meat with some alkaline vegetables.

That's how I crossed the pond to the gateway of the trans-Atlantic slave trade.   

I marinated the chops in bizaara, garlic, olive oil, lemon juice, and cilantro.  For the veggies I wanted to go heavy on garlic and onions so I did kale (with colored peppers) and okra (with ginger)...and for good measure I pressure cooked yams and acorn squash in coconut milk and ginger. I also made a side salad, which my son devoured.   He later exclaimed that dinner was delicious.  Not only did it taste good, it smelled good - my neighbor called to ask what I was cooking because she smelled it when she pulled into her driveway. 

Although tasty, the lamb was an accompaniment, with the vegetables taking center stage.  This is probably more in line with how dinner should be.  If we had to hunt and gather everything we ate, dinner would take on a entirely different form.