Bora, Boulanger, and Beans

My nutrition interest has switched from the earthy ‘nuts and granola’ of organic/raw/vegetarian food to “can I count this small can of tomato paste as a vegetable?”

Since arriving in Aishalton, I feel the “Three B’s” can sum up the better part of my diet. Owing largely to Aishalton’s location - a Savannah - farming is limited and cattle raising is prevalent. The traditional diet is wild meats, fish, beef, cassava products, and local fruits. The cassava is grown on farms, located 3-10 miles from the village. Farms are in the forest, created by slashing and burning. In addition to cassava (a root vegetable), farms often grow plantains, bananas, and possibly papaya. Recently, more people have begun growing a variety greens (vegetables) to supplement their diet. There has also been a push for ‘kitchen gardens’, small-scale gardens around the home, growing greens.

Thankfully, we have arrived just after the advent of the ‘kitchen garden.’ Still, there are not plenty of gardens, and there certainly isn’t plenty of produce coming from them. So a few times a week, Chris and I go home to home, searching for greens. One farmer may have Boulanger (eggplant), the next may have a few green peppers. It may be a few more days before we find bora (a long green bean) and we may go weeks between a rare treat such as tomatoes or calliloo (spinach).

Since the rainy season, we have been able to find bora and bulonger fairly regularly, so we’ve been eating plenty of them. My favorite way to eat eggplant is to char it over an open flame, peel off the skin, and fry up the soft insides with onion, garlic, and peppers. Whip up some flat bread and dig in, delicious!

In addition to fresh greens, we rely on dried goods, mainly rice and beans, sometimes flour. While I didn’t eat beans before coming to Guyana, I have learned to enjoy channa (chickpeas), black-eye, and split peas. We make cook-up, an African rice and beans dish, dahl, an Indian split pea sauce, and we pretend to make hummus by stirring some peanut butter into the mashed chickpeas.

In other good news, we are 'plowing ahead' with our garden! Everything's planted (pineapple, banana, boulanger, bora, squash, lettuce, shallots, basil, cilantro, and more!)