Nuff food

Today I got up early and heard the call to prayer from the nearby mosque around 4:50AM. That was a first on this trip because I’m usually knocked out asleep. I was to help my aunt make bakes this morning early so it worked out. She’s already made the dough by the time I got downstairs so I helped portion it out and roll it out. The rolling step is key in making the bake smooth and ensuring it cooks through. And hot oil covering the bake is key to having it swell up. My aunt also has a nice big pan which really helps expedite the process. 

Yesterday we made chowmein with mince.  (basically ground meat that my uncle strips of fat then grounds by a meat grinder). It was very tasty and mostly involves a lot of cutting initially of bora, carrots and challots. I definitely need a better knife at home because all of mine are quite dull. 

When I arrived there were 3 meals ready to go. Of course the traditional pepperpot which is served always at Christmas. You can eat it at anytime, but always a staple at Christmas. We ate that with fresh bread made by my aunt. It’s made with cow heel, other parts of beef and pork.

We also had curry mutton with Dahl pouri. Super delicious especially with the pouri! I tried making dahl pouri once and all the crushed split peas split through the dough! AND. It was super dry smh. 🤦🏾‍♀️ Maybe I’ll try again and freeze them. I think I’ll grind the split pea into more of a powder in my dry-blade Vitamix. 

My dahl pouri fail! 

We also had potato and pork and baked chicken with barbeque sauce. Also very good. I need to start cutting up whole chickens instead of buying only drumsticks which is probably more wasteful. Cooking requires work and mostly prep. I think if I can embrace the prep more I can get back into a cooking routine. These past few months have been brutal with school and have allowed little to no room for spontaneous cooking. Next semester will be better but I know food prep will be better if I want to avoid fast food, scavenging for food, or factor _75 and other meal delivery services that I can’t really afford right now.

Today I’m feeling tired at 2:15PM. Probably because I went to sleep later and work up early. I definitely don’t want to be eating and laying around all day, but today might just  be the day for that… enjoy the food and sleep vicariously!