For the last few months I have been able to eat fresh fruits everyday. The pineapples are extremely sweet and cheap. Due to the areas remoteness, more pineapples are produced than can be transported. As a result I can buy a pineapple the size of my head for 50 cents or less. Our house is surrounded by mango trees. Everyday I simply step outside and pluck a fresh mango from the trees. The season is almost over I will miss them but I am a bit tired of eating mangoes everyday. We have also successfully grown watermelons, carrots, cucumbers, beans and a variety of other edible plants. The forest provides a variety of fruits, mushrooms and greens. The fruits are usually about the size of a date but mostly seed. The mushrooms are very "meaty" and it seems to be impossible to get all the dirt out of them. I do believe these mushrooms would fetch a good price in an American market as they are similar to some of the fancier types available at home. The forest greens are actually very nice and have a bit of a sweet taste. All in all it is nice to be able to eat products picked wild in an African forest.
We also get honey from the area. We held a beekeeping workshop a few weeks ago and processed some freshly harvested honey comb. Afterwards, we had almost 20 liters of honey. It is fantastic! I like to sit with a spoon and just eat it. However, if I keep it open for long it attracts African killer bees. More than a few times I have had to stop processing because more bees were falling into the hot liquid and dying than I was actually removing. Also, these guys have earned their name of killer bees and you definitely do not want to excite them too much. The forest also provides another insect based food, flying termites. The locals simply fry them and eat. They actually taste just fine and are not at all bad to eat.
Meat is by far the most difficult thing to come by, but I have had a variety of types. In Lusaka, I tried crocodile and warthog. The crocodile is excellent. It is a soft and tasty white meat. On the other hand, warthog is awful. I have never had anything so gamey and its skin was tough like leather. The best meat I have had has been purchased right in the village. One afternoon a man on a bicycle came through the village with a mealie meal sack of fresh meat strapped to the back of the bike. At one time, buying meat off the back of a bicycle would have seemed absurd but I was excited. It was suppose to be some kind of antelope but since they do not know the English name and I do not know the Lunda name it is impossible to be sure just exactly what you are eating. I bought the mystery meat and Kelly made an excellent stew. If it truly was antelope then we probably ate poached meat taken from some reserve since their are not any free roaming animals of decent size left. However, I am still looking forward to my next chance to buy a slab of meat of unknown origin from the back of a bicycle in the middle of a blistering 90 degree day!
Up next: John gets in a car accident!
We also get honey from the area. We held a beekeeping workshop a few weeks ago and processed some freshly harvested honey comb. Afterwards, we had almost 20 liters of honey. It is fantastic! I like to sit with a spoon and just eat it. However, if I keep it open for long it attracts African killer bees. More than a few times I have had to stop processing because more bees were falling into the hot liquid and dying than I was actually removing. Also, these guys have earned their name of killer bees and you definitely do not want to excite them too much. The forest also provides another insect based food, flying termites. The locals simply fry them and eat. They actually taste just fine and are not at all bad to eat.
Meat is by far the most difficult thing to come by, but I have had a variety of types. In Lusaka, I tried crocodile and warthog. The crocodile is excellent. It is a soft and tasty white meat. On the other hand, warthog is awful. I have never had anything so gamey and its skin was tough like leather. The best meat I have had has been purchased right in the village. One afternoon a man on a bicycle came through the village with a mealie meal sack of fresh meat strapped to the back of the bike. At one time, buying meat off the back of a bicycle would have seemed absurd but I was excited. It was suppose to be some kind of antelope but since they do not know the English name and I do not know the Lunda name it is impossible to be sure just exactly what you are eating. I bought the mystery meat and Kelly made an excellent stew. If it truly was antelope then we probably ate poached meat taken from some reserve since their are not any free roaming animals of decent size left. However, I am still looking forward to my next chance to buy a slab of meat of unknown origin from the back of a bicycle in the middle of a blistering 90 degree day!
Up next: John gets in a car accident!
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