Cooking with Seynabou: Macaroni Sauce #Sweet2Senegal

Okay, this is a late post about an amazing meal. I ate it everyday during Ramadan, it is still my favorite and deserves its own post. In Bambara, this meal is called, “Macaroni Sauce.” No joke.

This meal is only served by my host family during Ramadan when we broke the fast for our first dinner. Side note, if you missed my blog about Ramadan click here.

It was my favorite not only because I didn’t eat anything all day, but because it had fresh fish, macaroni and french fries....YUM! Now, don’t squirm away just yet...it is actually pretty good!

Wanna know how to make it? Read below:

What you need:

-          Macaroni

-          2 Fish

-          4 Onions

-          4 Potatoes

-          1 sache of cooking oil

-          2 Tapalapa bread loaves

-          2 packets of Adja seasons

Instructions:

1)     Start by making the fish meatballs by adding in chopped onions and rolling them  as balls on a plate.

2)     Create a fire (ovens work too...) and fry the fish meatballs in cooking oil. Once they are done and cooked, remove them from the pot into another bowl.

3)     With the oil still in there, add in the potatoes and onions together until they are done.

4)     With the potatoes and meat done, add them all in together and add in water and macaroni with the Adja seasoning. Let it boil until completed.

5)     Once the macaroni is cooked, serve the meal in a large bowl and add in the bread to the bowl.

6)     Enjoy!

Seynabou is an amazing host aunt and we laughed the entire time making this meal because she knows I love it! Although I have to wait until next Ramadan to eat this meal every day, my family agreed to make it for my birthday just because it is a special occasion! So on September 1st, you know what I will be eating for dinner.

Recipe for Tacos in Village #Sweet2Senegal

In the Peace Corps we have three main goals to accomplish. One of them has to do with teaching the American culture to the people of the country that we serve. So, when my host sister approached me and said she wanted to eat a meal that we as Americans ate we of course had to make and eat my favorite food, TACOS! Yes, we made tacos in village and this is how we did it:

What you need:

(This fed my family of 18!)

-          2 big cans of beans (you can make real beans however they take like 6 hours....)

-          6 Tomatoes

-          4 Green Peppers

-          2 Garlic Bulbs

-          2 Heads of lettuce

-          1 kilo of flour

-          Cooking Oil

-          2 Limes

-          4 Onions

-          Salt and Pepper

-          Motivated siblings to help you cook for your family!

Instructions:

-          Cook the beans first because they take the longest time!

-          While the beans are cooking, cut up the tomatoes and onions to make a little sauce

-          After the beans are done, sauté the green peppers with the onions with some garlic

-          In the beans, add some garlic and some seasoning and then put them in a large bowl for the family

-          Tortillas: Add water to flour until it is a nice paste to create tortillas. Flatten them out on a plate until they are the shape you want it. Create a fire* and use a metal plate and oil to cook the tortillas until they are cooked through

-          Wash the lettuce and add it in the bowl

-          Cut the limes in half

-          Put everything into a bowl and hand out the tortillas to the family

-          ENJOY!

As I was cooking the meal, my family was super interested and helped me the entire time! However, when it was actually time to eat the meal, I have never seen more apprehensive faces in my entire life. Once my host mom took the first bite and said it was good, they all went for it....AND LOVED IT! I have never been more happy cooking a meal and getting the reactions that I did from my family. I almost feel like one of the chefs you see on TV, and was treated like a one as well! I don’t know what the next creation will be, however I know that we will enjoy it all together.