Food — Beans and Bread
Food is a language and it is also a story
I remember the first time I had the infamous beans and bread combination. It was my second full day at school, on a warm Tuesday afternoon in 2007. Every Concordian knows the famed meal and I particularly had some beans-loving characters in my class who over the years would spread their excitement by writing on the chalkboard every Tuesday, in different fonts and formats, ‘Today is beans’
I went to the refectory with my cup, spoon, and fork, very oblivious to the meal table I will come to know by heart, like clockwork, down to the seasonal fruits to expect at lunch. The ref was abuzz mostly with restless masculine teenage energy and graceful, sweet-smelling feminine aura. Someone dished out our food from the stainless steel pot every table had. There was enough for ten ravenous teenagers. Before the volunteer serving our table could finish, two prefects on duty were moving from table to table handing out three slices of Tasty Menu bread. Bruh, Tasty Menu bread was really good bread! I don’t know if the bakery still functions.
My eyes popped out like okay?? What are we doing here? Now, I’d been to many camps, CEM, Girls Brigade, Church Sunday school and such. The mix I usually saw, which by the way, shocked me to my roots was beans and Garri — with the Garri sprinkled on the beans! My horror. I understand soaking the Garri in a different cup, Mrs Asen used to hand out Garri in the queue at CEM camps but I loved it more when she made her delicious okra soup.
Back to the story. I watched as everyone dived into their stainless steel plates of beans but before I could blow hot air on the piping beans, the teachers on duty were rolling in behind two cooks bringing large basins. I didn’t have to wonder what was in them for long because they soon counted ten bananas per table.
Yes, I sang the one banana, two banana, George George George of the Jungle song. I was also late to the party because all my classmates had been in the school for at least 6 weeks so they were already baptised into the CCY beans ritual. Me? I resumed after the mid-term break and apart from receiving one heavy anxiety-inducing knock from my maths teacher, I was excitedly experiencing everything with novelty and wonder.
Once I was brave enough to do like all the ladies on my table, I was in palate heaven. So the routine was to peel your banana and give it a beautiful seat on your plate. The coolness and sweetness of the fruit in contrast to the salty, spicy and hot beans will give your tastebuds mini explosions. To cleanse, you can have a spoon of beans and a piece of bread or do the sandwich style. You guys, I finally understood what the rave was about. And I have to give it to the cooks at CCY, there was never a ‘bad beans’ day. It was always a hit! Yes, I try concoctions of all sorts. But this was one of my favourite discoveries. Here’s what happened in Ghana.
First of all, I still feel slightly sanctimonious and offended when Ghanaians call beans porridge beans stew. Why? No, what are you trying to achieve guys? Ghanaians also call it red-red, like ewa agoyin, served with a sprinkling of garri, thick slices of plantain and some avocado (because what is food from the Gold Coast without avocado?)
What I found is, most foods along the southern coast of West Africa are similar. We’re not as different as we think oh. Hakeem, my former colleague understood my plight of craving miyan kuka and man-shanu like I will cry more than my Fante Line manager. Why? Because Hakeem was from northern Ghana, our culinary line-ups are uncannily similar.
And what was I trying to achieve other than to make you salivate and think of food? I want you to enter the world with openness. Explore foods with sincerity and curiosity. Don’t be closed off. In my house, beans is made with accompanying Irish potatoes, yams, sweet potatoes or some green vegetables like spring onion or spinach. Imagine if I went everywhere in the world expecting everyone to make it the way my mom does. For starters, hunger for don kill me. This is about food, but this is also about adapting to life and acclimatizing to situations outside your normal habitat or comfort zone.
I truly hope you are open to exploring and trying new things. Especially food. Yes, I’ll never stop. If you didn’t know, I love talking about food. It makes up over 60% of the conversation in my book, Growing, Up North. What do you love talking about? Have you ever tried beans and bread? How about the Triple B combo? What’s your favourite food combination? Let me know in the responses so I can try them
Love, Ballie 💖
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