Food
I find myself thinking alot about food lately. I am constantly on the search for new recipes to make with the fresh foods I am able to get. My problem is two fold: 1. I don't like to repeat recipes much and 2. Alot of recipes, though they may not be difficult, when using vegetables are time consuming because of how much chopping is involved. So I am on the look out for new recipes that do not take much time to prepare. Sometimes that cannot be avoided given that pre-prepared vegetables do not exist (there are some canned ones, but few frozen and definitely not pre-prepared ones).

It's greens season now. The other day I tried a new corn bread recipe that a friend had sent me over a year ago that has spinach in it. It was really good. But the recipe called for a 10 oz. package of frozen spinach. I don't have 10 oz. of frozen spinach. I have a random amount of fresh spinach, which after soaking in water and bleach to sanitize it, I chopped and boiled to prep it for the corn bread. Mozambicans prepare greens (mostly collard greens) with ground peanuts and coconut. It's quite yummy and is a complete protein when combined with rice or shima (corn meal mush). But I like to try new recipes and so am constantly perusing my cook books for a recipe that calls for any type of greens that I can. In the past week, we've cooked a mashed potato-greens dish, a spicy potato and greens dish, a sumptuous curry vegetable-chicken soup and a chick pea-greens salad with tomatoes. Joel wonders why we can't just prepare the same thing on a regular basis. I like variety in my meals, to the detriment of my husband who would like to eat things multiple times. My parents had/have similar conversations. So if any one has any good recipes for greens, send them my way!

Maputo has a plethora of fresh fruits and vegetables. I was afraid I would really miss the 25th of June market in Chimoio, which was 2 blocks from our house. I miss it but for different reasons than availability of produce; I miss the vendors and how low key shopping there was. Across the street from our apartment here in Maputo is Mercado Janet (named after the American wife of one of the heros of the Mozambican independence movement). The vendors have their produce beautifully displayed, as if it is a grocery store or a market like the Reading Terminal in Philadelphia. The first time I went, I was shocked at the prices. I'm not in Chimoio anymore! I'm in the capital city and though, Mozambique produces alot of fruits and vegetables, it seems like the majority come from South Africa. So now, instead of buying 15+/- bananas for 10 meticais, I pay 20 meticais ($0.75) for a kilogram which is 6 or so bananas. Perhaps the prices are more realistic for the labor that goes into the cultivation and harvest or perhaps the prices are elevated because of the location in the city. I just have to adjust my thinking to these new prices.
Sometimes it is difficult to make purchases, knowing that people in North America donated the money to support our life and work here. We expected higher prices than we had in Chimoio and yet the reality is an adjustment to renegotiate prices in my head.

I've read that the majority of the world spends a significant amount of their income on purchasing food. We in North America might complain about food prices but in reality the amount we spend on food in proportion to our income is relatively low compared to our neighbors around the world. For example, our housekeeper in Chimoio took out an advance against her salary equal to 2 months' worth in order to buy corn for the year. This will not be enough for her family of 5 and does not include breakfasts or accompanying stew or rice (for variety). She tried to plant a field last year, but because the rains were delayed and she was helping her parents cultivate their field, she lost her crop. It's sobering to think about it.