Bon Appetit
Sure, Arid Extra Dry, Mitchum, Secret. When we first arrived here in Dakar, we would put ourselves to sleep by trying to recall every brand of deodorant we could think of. Instead of visions of sugarplums, what danced through our heads were visions of wide shiny aisles, one lined high with cereal, one with pet food, one with cushy bread, one with paper products. It wasn’t so much that we missed all that, there was just something familiar and cozy about all those deodorants. Most people here in the American community speak longingly of their wild, uncontrollable and unsatisfied food cravings. Dare to say the words “double stuff” and face the glares and hissing in return. Many succumb to ordering this and other “traditional American foods” online and having them shipped through the diplomatic pouch. We’ve been doing OK without. I think of it as the kind of challenge they give to students at the C.I.A. Here are seven random food items to work with. Make dinner for six. Listen, there’s a lot you can do with an eggplant, an onion, a cabbage, a tomato, a banana, an apple, and an egg. Every trip to l’epicerie promises to not provide something basic-what, no coffee today? No bread the next time. No eggs the third time, but Aha! buy every can of coffee on the shelf today. Our placard is still plein with foodstuffs that I sent here from our friendly little Costco in Alexandria. Two thousand US Dollars goes a long way at Costco, and the very next time I move to Africa, I’ll be sure to shop there again. Some of the things I bought turned out to be very useful- fourty pounds of dry milk, twelve gallons of Chlorox, a case of Gatorade. Some not so useful-a case of cilantro walnut pesto. Some are waiting for just the right occasion-a gallon jug of artichoke hearts, a two pound can of chickpeas. And now …. The truth….
What started all this food thinking was the disappointing sight in our cupboard tonight of the penultimate box of Kraft Macaroni and Cheese. Good eating.