Certain people come into our lives and with the smallest of gestures on their part, make a great impact in our lives. Like the woman who like an angel has made it possible for my friend M to get the labour she wants.
In my case the "angel's" name is Pierre. Pierre is no one in particular, he may be a cruel man in his personal life and in his mind all he did was his job. However, for me, he is the man who finally sorted out my internet issues after 20 days of starvation. And the fact that he did it on a Sunday (I had given up all hope and was going to call the company again tomorrow) makes the act all the more heroic.
Gone are the headaches, tense neck and shoulders and the irritated frown I've carried for the past few days after each time I've tried to go online without success. I can now erase my letters of complaint out of my brain, no need to even keep a copy in the recycle bin! Pierre will probably go ahead and call another customer after finishing with me, not realising how much his bit of weekend overtime(?) work makes a difference to us customers out there.
To make life extra sweet, the lovely babygirl decided to take a nap from just as Pierre called, for two hours right until now, leaving me just enough time to do all the necessary and unnecessary browsing I needed to do. And the fact that all this happened after I had devoured some palmnut soup with both fufu and yam (pounaa, of course) here in Gothenburg, after months without Ghana foods, makes my Sunday just about as good as it gets.
Hope you've enjoyed your Sunday as much as I have!
Showing posts with label palmnut. Show all posts
Showing posts with label palmnut. Show all posts
Sunday, 19 July 2009
Thursday, 4 September 2008
Pressure
The pressure is mounting, at work and privately. It will all hopefully have a happy ending by the end of the month (a whole 26 days away!). On top of it all, I've gotten a mild cold/flu (fever, stay away, I really don't have time for you now!) and after a very active night I can conclude that my body is unable to digest palm oil in a pleasant way. At first I though it was the spinach that caused me a sleepless night, because I know of people who've had allergic reactions to the Ghanaian spinach leaves. But I always eat spinach without problems when my dear mama has cooked it.
Then I remembered a Saturday morning two years ago when I had a rendezvous with my lunch of kontomire (spinach stew) and plantain from the previous day at Country Kitchen...in my mother's sink! She wasn't pleased I can tell you. And although I haven't made it back to Country Kitchen since, I know it wasn't their fault.
It was only a few hours ago that I remembered that my mum makes a special kontomire for me, using sunflower or olive oil instead of palm oil, because I've always complained of the taste of palm oil. So I am pretty sure it was the oil that caused my problems. Has anyone else experienced the same problem? The strange thing is that I can eat abenkwan (palmnut soup) without any issues.
For now, it means the delicious kontomire will be given to others, and I can only hope that my detailed account of my bowl problems form last night, won't make your bowls turn. ;)
Then I remembered a Saturday morning two years ago when I had a rendezvous with my lunch of kontomire (spinach stew) and plantain from the previous day at Country Kitchen...in my mother's sink! She wasn't pleased I can tell you. And although I haven't made it back to Country Kitchen since, I know it wasn't their fault.
It was only a few hours ago that I remembered that my mum makes a special kontomire for me, using sunflower or olive oil instead of palm oil, because I've always complained of the taste of palm oil. So I am pretty sure it was the oil that caused my problems. Has anyone else experienced the same problem? The strange thing is that I can eat abenkwan (palmnut soup) without any issues.
For now, it means the delicious kontomire will be given to others, and I can only hope that my detailed account of my bowl problems form last night, won't make your bowls turn. ;)
Wednesday, 9 April 2008
Food for thought.
Mmmm, It's almost time...
Food is a funny thing. Generally, you would expect people in countries to eat what naturally fits in with their country's climate, e.g. hot, heavy foods to keep you warm on a cold winter's day in the North, or a fresh crisp salad in the hot Mediterranean sun.
Ghanaians seem to breach all those rules. You'd expect us to eat salads of avocado, lettuce, tomatoes, beans etc. or be living of smoothies and fruit salads, with all the beautiful, "exotic" fruits and vegetables that grow naturally here. Instead, the most common dishes are hot, heavy, often oily soups. There's light soup, palmnut soup, groundnut soup, green green, and if not soup, an equally hot, heavy stew: okro stew, garden egg stew, kontomire, red red. Each of these dishes, made from a tomato and onion base, usually cooked in palmnut oil. And are these soups & sauces served with a light array of vegetables? Nooooo! Rather an equally heavy ball of starch in the form of fufu, banku, kenke, omotuo, tz, or alternatively gari!
It is a wonder that we get anything done after feasting on our national dishes! Even the Spanish have realised that a siesta is in order after a good meal in the heat, and yet we, after eating one of our local dishes, struggle to keep our eyes open at work, when our productivity has decreased by 80% and count the minutes til the working day is over.
When Smoothys opened in Osu, I thought the tide may be turning towards a lighter, healthier way of eating, but after meeting the proper Kenyan there one Sunday evening, I realised, smoothies will not be considered a snack option in the place of a burger or Kofi Brokeman (roasted plantain), but rather a dessert for couples after a lovely plate of hot, heavy, starchy food!
Food is a funny thing. Generally, you would expect people in countries to eat what naturally fits in with their country's climate, e.g. hot, heavy foods to keep you warm on a cold winter's day in the North, or a fresh crisp salad in the hot Mediterranean sun.
Ghanaians seem to breach all those rules. You'd expect us to eat salads of avocado, lettuce, tomatoes, beans etc. or be living of smoothies and fruit salads, with all the beautiful, "exotic" fruits and vegetables that grow naturally here. Instead, the most common dishes are hot, heavy, often oily soups. There's light soup, palmnut soup, groundnut soup, green green, and if not soup, an equally hot, heavy stew: okro stew, garden egg stew, kontomire, red red. Each of these dishes, made from a tomato and onion base, usually cooked in palmnut oil. And are these soups & sauces served with a light array of vegetables? Nooooo! Rather an equally heavy ball of starch in the form of fufu, banku, kenke, omotuo, tz, or alternatively gari!
It is a wonder that we get anything done after feasting on our national dishes! Even the Spanish have realised that a siesta is in order after a good meal in the heat, and yet we, after eating one of our local dishes, struggle to keep our eyes open at work, when our productivity has decreased by 80% and count the minutes til the working day is over.
When Smoothys opened in Osu, I thought the tide may be turning towards a lighter, healthier way of eating, but after meeting the proper Kenyan there one Sunday evening, I realised, smoothies will not be considered a snack option in the place of a burger or Kofi Brokeman (roasted plantain), but rather a dessert for couples after a lovely plate of hot, heavy, starchy food!
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