Tonight is the last night for recipes from Benin. This is Caramelized Bananas in Pineapple Sauce. Ordinarily I don’t like fruity desserts especially on ice cream. But when I decided to move forward with this project I made the decision I was going to step out of my comfort zone and try some things I haven’t tried before. I have to say this tastes like something you would get in a fancy restaurant. Oh my goodness it is so good! Highly recommended. It’s very inexpensive and easy to make. The photo on the left is from the website the one on the right is mine. Tomorrow starts Brunei. đ§đł Can hardly wait! đ #beninfood #internationalfood #bananadessert #westafricanrecipes #moreish #liveyourdreams #dinnerwithyoursweetie https://foreignfork.com/caramelized-bananas/
This week on January 2nd I started a project I have been wanting to do for a number of years now. And that is pick one country per week (at random) and make some authentic recipes from that country.
The first country selected was germany. So I made: pork schnitzel with dill sauce, German potato dumplings, and German chocolate cake which I have since learned is not authentically German. đ
So far I’ve had an absolute ball. Next up on Sunday, is the country of Benin located in the northwest portion of the continent of Africa.
âDid you know when we were little, I used to pretend those flashing lights were morse code and I was a spy in the war?â Carla accepted the mug from Bill.
â Oh yeah. I think I remember reading about all the little girl spies in history classâ
âYeah, yeah. Did you get the cake?â
âWhat cake?â
âWhat cake? Bill please donât stand there and tell me youâŠâ
âCalm down sis. Yes, I picked up the cake. Man, sixty years. Can you just imagine?â
âA lifetime. Whatâs written on it?â
Bill grinned ââHappy Bar Mitzvah David, Mazel Tov!ââ What else?â
I first heard that phrase a number of years ago and to be honest I can’t remember where or when. It was said by a woman with a very strong southern accent who was telling about a situation which was less than desirable. She said at one point during the event she said ‘This is gonna have to be sumthin’ differnt’ (something different) The general idea being whatever it was that was going on, needed to change for the better. I can’t tell you how many times I have said that since then. With that said, this year for Thanksgiving, I did ‘sumthin differnt. I made wonton soup, Mongolian Beef, and pumpkin mousse. I had full plans to make the traditional meal of turkey, dressing, mashed potatoes and on and on. However, I decided I simply didn’t want to spend all of the money it takes to do that nor did I want to do the work.
True confessions, I stopped making the traditional meal a few years back. It was to help myself focus less on who and what was missing, and more on being thankful for what I do have. It’s actually a lot of fun coming up different things each year. Sometimes they work out and others not so much.
This year I am particularly proud of my accomplishment because I am still dealing with fatigue and the general feeling of malaise from long Covid. No fun. It took some doing but I got it done. One tradition I did honor was a trip to the grocery store. Believe you me I was not the only one there. I felt a weird mix of guilt and gratitude. Guilt because I knew it was because of people like me they have to be open on Thanksgiving but at the same time gratitude the store was open so I could get what I wanted.
All in all I had a perfectly lovely day. Yes, I missed my family but, in some ways I felt they were right here with me.
Tracy and Andi shouted and pointed at the boot at the same time.
“Jinx! You owe me a Coke” Andi joked.
“What a weird thing to include in a scavenger hunt.” Tracy said crossing it off the list. “Of course then again, Morgan is weird. Why this childish game? I don’t understand why we can’t just sit down and eat whatever bizzaro world, tree hugging thing he’s concocted for us to eat this time and have done with it”
“Hey, the winners of this childish game get a hundred bucks a piece. For that, his tofu can wait!”
“For someone who has a presentation to give in half an hour you don’t appear to be anywhere near ready Dr. Franklin-Lewis.”
Mona glanced up and grinned. “As the saying goes, appearances can be deceiving Dr. Lewis. As it would happen, I finished my speech an hour ago. I’m actually sitting here working on the grocery list while giving the plants a good steam bath. You want anything special this go round?”
Derrick looked down at his watch.
“Yes, to be on time for once”
“They’ll live if we’re a little late. Afterall, my talk is on linear time being a manmade thing.”
“For someone who has a presentation to give in half an hour you don’t appear to be anywhere near ready Dr. Franklin-Lewis.”
Mona glanced up and grinned. “As the saying goes, appearances can be deceiving Dr. Lewis. As it would happen, I finished my speech an hour ago. I’m actually sitting here working on the grocery list while giving the plants a good steam bath. You want anything special this go round?”
Derrick looked down at his watch.
“Yes, to be on time for once”
“They’ll live if we’re a little late. Afterall, my talk is on linear time being a manmade thing.”
Peter and Jamie looked at each other, down at the photo in their hands, then back at the dilapidated building in front of them.
Jamie giggled
âWell, the description does say, you will be able to enjoy natural light throughout the entire well-ventilated structure. So, they didnât exactly lie.
Peter smirked âTechnically no, however, I think their definition of a âreal fixer upperâ and our definition may be just a wee bit different. So much for buying something sight unseenâ
âWell look at it this way, you said youâve always wanted to sleep out under the stars, hereâs your chanceâ
decoratingpumpkinsdifferently 