ESWATINI: THE FOOD

Spring might actually be here now as my kids’ spring break winds down to an end. For the first time, we actually took a short day trip during spring break. My son has a Famous Hoosier project and his person was Orville Redenbacher, so we headed up to Valparaiso, Indiana to have his picture taken next to the statue the city put up for him -- just so we could put it in his powerpoint presentation. I somehow escaped making a powerpoint presentation during college (I pawned that off on other people when we did group work), so this was a first for me to help with.

It tasted a little too healthy.

I actually cooked on a Saturday this time, which totally messed up my sense of time. The first thing I made was Swazi Cornbread. This simple recipe started out by mixing 2 beaten eggs, 2 ½ c of wheat flour, 2 ½ c yellow cornmeal, 3 tsp baking powder, and ⅛ tsp salt. Once I got it all generally mixed together, I poured in enough milk to make it a somewhat liquidy batter. I think I ended up using almost a half gallon of milk. It seemed like it made a lot of batter, so I opted to bake this in a cake pan instead of loaf pans. I baked it at 375ºF for about 35 minutes. No one in my family liked this. The wheat flour seemed to overpower the cornmeal and didn’t really blend the flavors very well at all. I’m not a super huge fan of wheat bread to begin with. But if you like wheat bread and/or earthy flavors, you might like this more than we did.

Amazingly good. Could've used a little bit more garlic and cumin. Then it would've been fire.

The main dish I made was called Sidvudvu. I don’t know that I’ve ever made a butternut squash soup before, and if I have, I just don’t remember it. To start with, I bought a butternut squash and cut it into chunks. But pro-tip: it helps if it’s ripe; mine was way too hard to cut. Then I put the pieces into a baking dish, drizzled it with some oil, and roasted it for 45 minutes. I let it sit for a few minutes after I took it out before mashing it like potatoes. In a separate large pot, I boiled some water before adding in some cornmeal, salt, cumin, and nutmeg. It took a lot of work to break up the cornmeal that formed into thick balls in the boiling water. But eventually I got it to only small lumps. Then I added in my mashed squash and some sour cream and stirred. I still had trouble getting all the lumps out, so I used my handmixer for a few minutes until it was all smooth. (I think I did add in a little more cumin and some garlic to it!) I topped this this soup with some roasted pumpkin seeds. My husband and son, who made it very clear they do not like butternut squash, actually admitted they like this soup. Then they realized they don’t like squash in chunks because it’s slimy, but they did like it this way. I’ve only been telling them to try new and different ways foods are prepared for like, I don’t know, the whole time.

This sparks joy.

And to go with this, I made Slaai. I loved this so much, and it’s super easy to make. To start with, I put 3 Tbsp of lemon juice in a medium-sized bowl, along with 1 tsp of ground ginger and ½ tsp of salt and mixed this together well. Then I took two large avocados, cut them into cubes and put it in the same bowl. After that I sliced a handful of radishes into thin slices and added them in there as well. I put the lid on the bowl and shook it to mix everything together and then let it sit for a while (like maybe 20-30 minutes). And just before I served it, I topped it with some crushed honey-roasted peanuts, which made it taste amazing. I loved everything about this, and I think my daughter liked it too. But my husband thought I used too much lemon juice. He’s such a wimp. This is perfect for a summer picnic or cookout, so he better get used to it.

My two kids just hanging out with Orville Redenbacher.

Minus the bread, I loved this meal. I didn’t realize until later that it was vegetarian. I was never a strong vegetarian because I enjoy meat and fish. But I have tried to have at least one vegetarian meal per week. My husband almost throws a fit every time, but one non-meat-based meal won’t kill him. I doubt that anyone has ever been at a funeral and someone asked, “How did he die?” “Well, he had spaghetti -- WITH NO MEATBALLS!” “Oh, no! What was his wife thinking?” “For shame. She’ll have to live with that guilt.” Hey, he should be glad it’s not vegan.

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