21. Cape Coast

This weekend we took a mini vacation and went to the Cape Coast.  We split into two groups on Saturday afternoon- some of us going to the castle and the others participated in a workshop learning to cook authentic Ghanaian good.  On Sunday we all went to the Kakum national forest and did a canopy tour in the jungle.  We had an amazing relaxing weekend.  

I went to the cooking workshop and really enjoyed myself.  Eddie, Sam, Frenchie, Zain, Amos, Rene and myself hung out with Esi for a few hours in her restaurant and prepared a three-course meal from start to finish.  We throughly enjoyed our experience and the food we made was delicious!

Esi brought out all raw ingredients and told us a bit about them.  On the table here from left to right is cassava, unripe plantains, spinach, onions tomatoes curry powder palm oil, bullion cubes,  ripe plantains, and yam.  

Esi was a great teacher and was very talented and passionate about food!  She has had her restaurant for 15 years and has been participating in a program called Global Mamas for 12.  The program is focused around empowered women in the community and offers workshops in the fields of basket weaving, cooking, and drumming.  

 We got to enjoy our meal together and ate in true Ghanaian fashion with our hands.  I enjoyed this much more then I thought I would and am excited to continue the tradition through out the rest of my time here.  The courses consisted of fufu wth peanut soup, red red (plantains and beans) , and boiled yam with palava (spinach) sauce.   

Fufu is a traditional dish made from smashing boiled plantains and cassava with a large stick and a lot of strength.  Esi is so talented- she can pound the fufu with one hand while turning it and kneading it with the other.  She had us practice turning and pounding together and we all had a lot of laughs and some fears about catching our fingers in the process of smashing. 

I will soon post about the meals we have in our home village.  We were excited to learn some of the recipes for things we have been eating all along.  

We all love Monday dinner which is rice with spinach sauce and we made some of our own!! 

I love plantains!! They are very popular here and I can never get tired of them although I am craving my mom's tostones with garlic and powder! 

I was so happy to cook and eat and learn with Esi and my friends.  I think this is my new favorite memory of the summer.  

Here are some other pictures from the mini vacation.