Flavors of Senegal

What do people eat in Senegal? Well that is an excellent question! One that was of utmost interest to me too. Because, well, I love to eat! Anyone who knows me, knows that I love foreign foods and am up for anything. So of course I did a little research to find out what the Senegalese people eat and drink on a daily basis.

The cuisine of Senegal is known to be the best cuisine in West Africa. Senegalese cuisine has been influenced by nations like France, Portugal and North Africa.

Because Senegal borders the Atlantic Ocean, fish is an important staple. Chicken, lamb, and beef are also used in Senegalese cooking, but not pork, due to the nation’s largely Muslim population. Peanuts, the primary crop, as well as couscous, white rice, sweet potatoes, lentils, black-eyed peas and various vegetables, are also incorporated into many recipes. Meats and vegetables are typically stewed or marinated in herbs and spices, and then poured over rice or couscous or simply eaten with bread.

Popular fresh juices are made from bissap, ginger, Buy (pronounced bouy) which is the fruit of the baobab tree also known as "monkey bread fruit", mango, or other fruit or wild trees. Desserts are very rich and sweet, combining native ingredients with the extravagance and style characteristic of the French impact on Senegal’s culinary methods. They are often served with fresh fruit and are traditionally followed by coffee or tea.

* Thiéboudienne or Ceebu jën flavorsome marinated fish cooked with tomato paste and a variety of vegetables, the national dish of Senegal.* Yassa, chicken or fish simmered in onion with a garlic, mustard, and lemon sauce.
* Maafe, seasoned fish, chicken, lamb, or beef cooked with vegetables in a tomato and peanut butter sauce.* Bassi-salté, seasoned meat cooked with tomato paste and vegetables over a local couscous called "cere".
* Sombi, sweet milk-rice soup.
* Capitaine à la Saint-Louisienne, perch stuffed with spices.
* Poisson à la braise, grilled fish flavored with lemon, garlic, and black pepper.
* Dibi, simmered, grilled lamb.
* Thiou, a bouillabaisse with vegetables.
* Fondé, rolled millet-balls in sour cream.
* Fondue, melted chocolate or cheese covered fruit.

I think it hardly comes as a surprise that we are very excited about trying all these wonderful dishes and experiencing all the flavors Senegal has to offer.
Bon appétit!

Nous parlons Français ici!

So what do they speak in Senegal? Lucky for me one of the main languages spoken there is French. So I will be dusting off my high school French and brushing up on my grammar. It won't be as easy for Scott but he is very gung-ho and will be learning French with the aid of Rosetta Stone.
From everything I've read you really can not get by with English so if we want to get anything done we will have to be able to communicate in French. It should be interesting for the children too. I'm sure it will seem strange at first but kids are so resilient at a young age, I'm sure they'll pick it up quickly if it means being able to make friends more quickly.
The local language is Wolof. That is far more interesting to me and I will be looking into possibly taking language lessons once we get there, to learn to speak it. But for now we concentrate on French.
Merci et au revoir.

Video on Senegal

I found this wonderful video on You Tube depicting life in Senegal. It's a nice way to spend to few minutes watching this and it features some lovely music.

The Handshake

Scott and I haggled with each other back and forth for a while and finally comprised our list of 10 posts we wanted to bid on. Our top 3 were unaccompanied posts which we'd decided would be a good way to kick start his career in the Foreign Service. Next came our top two preferred posts to go to as a family; Cairo and New Delhi.
When Scott was told that an unaccompanied post was not in his foreseeable future, we assumed we were all but guaranteed Egypt or India. Then Scott called and told me he'd been offered a handshake and could I guess on which post. I asked him for a clue.
Africa he said. Cairo! I thought.
No, try again.
My befuddled brain couldn't think of any other African posts we'd bid on, Abu Dhabi? That was The Middle East..we'd bid on 2 South American posts...then what?
Dakar he says.
Silence.
Did we even bid on that post?, I thought.
Turns out we did. It was towards the bottom of the list.

After swallowing away the disappointment of not climbing pyramids, enjoying cruises down the Nile or eating vast amounts of yummy Indian food, I remembered that we had signed up for adventure when we took this fork in the road.
As we researched this African country and our knowledge of it grew, we also grew more excited at the prospect of moving there. It is one of the most stable African countries right now and it's on the coast. Both good things in my book.

Dakar huh? Yes, Dakar! Bring it on! :)
It's Africa people! I am going home!