Rice & Peanuts= Peanut Rice?

Now that I have daily access to internet and some down time, I will write those blog posts that I kept putting off my first two years of service. I was bogged down by updating you on my life that I didn't write about fun topics, such as food, transportation, and fashion. That all changes now....

I will NEVER look at a peanut the same way again. Or a grain of rice. Why? Because I've been a part of the entire peanut and rice growing process, from seeding to weeding to harvesting. Thank goodness I love peanuts and rice (and that I don't have a peanut allergy...that would be extrememly difficult). There is something magical about eating a product that you've put so much work into. I didn't garden much in the states, living in San Francisco and LA, but now I want to continue growing my own produce, even if it's only herbs (there's definitely no room for peanuts).                

I love rice and the rice that we harvest from the rice paddies is the best rice that I've ever had. It has a lighter consistancy and has a more buttery taste. However, rice paddies are such hard work. My host mom and my namesake would ask me to go out to the paddies with them all the time and I would go once in a while to see what the process was about. I would come home EXHAUSTED and I would've spent only a quarter of the time working. I don't know how the women do it; they're amazing. They cook and clean, and then spend hours preparing the soil, seeding, and weeding. I remembering telling my grandmother about it and she could relate to my stories. When i whined about how difficult it was, she said, that's how it is, now you know. Then she told me that when we take a trip to China, she's going to make my little sister plant rice so she can also know how difficult it is (sorry Heather).

Peanuts were my main source of protein in village and cracking peanuts (with one hand) is a village pastime. One of my first memories of being in village is going to someone's hut, drinking tea and cracking a large mound of peanuts while sitting on a mat. At that time, it took two hands to crack open the peanuts, but before long, I was able to tap the peanut against the floor with a resounding crack and open it up with one hand....skill. I love peanuts in every form: raw, boiled, roasted, cooked in sauce, peanut butter, you name it and I probably like it. The peanuts here have such a pure flavor. I remember going back to the states and feeling like the peanuts were so processed.

Being here makes me appreciated where my food comes from. Yes, there are a lot more machines involved in the process in the States, but it still takes an extraordinary amount of work to produce a simple meal. A post about food in Senegal to come...

Peace & Appreciation