The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

Lest any of you think all I'm consuming here is cornmeal and goat meat, I figured I'd devote a post to describing some of the food I eat on a daily basis. The cuisine options here are surprisingly similar to the United States--something I was expecting in Cape Town, but not small towns like Empangeni (Some of the more pleasant realizations: I can drink the tap water! I can even order a (decidedly African, and thus, kind of weird-tasting) BBQ chicken pizza! Delivered to my house by a guy on a motorcycle!).

I thought my arsenal of Nutella (I'll take the 2 jumbo tubs, thankyouverymuch), Kashi granola bars, and Jolly Ranchers wouldn't be enough to sustain me for the first month, but, surprisingly, I've been rather good at pacing myself. Running right on schedule with only one box of granola bars left, but I was (surprise, surprise) spooning my way through the Nutella pretty fast (try for breakfast, an afternoon snack, and dessert), but I'd like to think I've learned some self-control.

Especially when one has stuff like this to distract oneself:

The Good:

All South Africans (Zulu, Xhosa, British, Indian, Afrikaner alike) are famous for being tremendous carnivores (really sometimes I think the only thing that really unites this country is a love for anything slaughtered, wrapped in sausage casing and tossed on a grill), but they also love their carbs, in any and all form.

1) My favorite carb is, by far, what the Zulus call ipapa or "stiff pap." Basically, South African grits. If one is feeling so adventurous, one can pick up ipapa with one's hand and use as a sort of spoon-type device. Fun, safe, delicious. You really can't go wrong. Even KFC has picked up on the wholesomeness of pap. With some fried drumsticks, it's a match made in heaven.

2) KFC. It deserves its own category, that's how big it is here. I've eaten it probably 6-7 times in 8 weeks, and I don't know what they're doing to their chickens (ahem, probably letting them run around), or what kind of spice they rub on the final product, but I've never had more addictive chicken in my entire life. It's getting to be an issue with our group.

3) Ijeqa, or steamed bread. My host mom made this the first week, and it tastes like very dense, moist Irish soda bread. I nearly cried when it was all gone.

4) Chutney. My region of South Africa has a huge Indian population (the closest big city, Durban, has the largest Indian population outside of India), so even my South African mother has learned to make a mean tomato chutney. I made a omelette for them the other weekend and folded the leftovers into it, and they thought it was too good to be true. So did I.

5) It's not all simple carbohydrates (though most of the time it is!). Veggies are, admittedly, few and far between (hey, we're just getting out of winter down here, ok?). My favorite is ikhabishi, or cabbage. I actually have no idea how to describe this. It's basically just boiled cabbage, with spices, but so much better than you would think.

6) Spinach with garlic.

7) Milo, this addictive hot chocolate mix made by Nestle and I think, based on the packaging, is more marketed towards eleven-year-old-boys who play soccer, not sedentary female college students. I drink it twice-daily anyway. I bought a bulk container at the grocery store just to ensure I don't run out. Everyone else drink tea or coffee during tea time (yes, we have tea time. I think if the US adapted tea time people could be happier), but I'll take my sugary chocolate energy beverage, thanks.

The Bad:

Surprise, surprise, there isn't that much I don't like to eat here.

1) Sheep: Sheep's actually one of the most expensive meats, and reserved for special occasions, hence why the only time I've tasted it was at a surprise 40th birthday party for one of our host parents. I put a small piece experimentally in my mouth and chewed. And chewed. And chewed. I usually don't eat things that take a lot of time and patience to consume.

2) Mincemeat: This is one of those British influences that I wish they'd have kept to themselves. My host family keeps this in their fridge and seems to use it only on hurried weeknights when there's really nothing else all that great to cook. This is the opposite of sheep--so mushy you can just swallow it without chewing. Too weird.

3) Tripe: Another gross British import. I didn't even try it. Just yuck.

The Ugly:

Not necessarily bad, but just stuff that's weird. Among these being fish stew, which is fine once you get over the fact that there's still skin attached to the fish. It's the healthiest part, my friend assured me.

Perhaps South Africa, ironically, will turn me vegetarian? Also I love how my most detailed post so far is a lovingly written one about food.