Location: West Africa Population: 236.7 million Capital: Abuja Geography: Tropical rainforest and plateaus, cut through by the Niger River Language: English, Hausa, Igbo, Yoruba Signature flavours: Chicken, beef, beans, rice, tomato, onion, thyme, plantain, hot peppers The Menu Nigeria’s culinary tradition is vast and diverse, a nod to the various peoples that live there. In…
Category: Africa
Assignment 136: Zambia
Location: South-Central Africa Population: 20.2 million Capital: Lusaka Geography: A landlocked, tropical nation consisting mainly of high plateaus Language: English Signature flavours: Groundnuts, maize, freshwater fish, leafy greens, pumpkin, root vegetables The Menu The weather in Ontario was as un-Zambian as it gets when Eric started planning his menu at the end of February. Two…
Assignment 130: South Africa
Location: The southernmost end of the African continent Population: 62 million Capital: Pretoria, Cape Town, Bloemfontein Geography: Mostly plateau with some mountainous areas, desert, and coastal areas Language: Afrikaans, English, Ndebele, Sepedi, Sesotho, Setswana, South African Sign Language, Swazi, Tshivenda, Xhosa, Xitsonga, Zulu Signature flavours: Beef, pork, chicken, seafood, bush meat, dairy, corn, rooibos The…
Assignment 124: Gabon
Location: West Africa Population: 2.3 million Capital: Libreville Geography: A heavily forested coastal nation on the equator Language: French Signature flavours: Chicken, seafood, palm nut, okra, root vegetables, leafy greens, hot peppers, pumpkin The Menu Eric didn’t know what to expect with Gabonese cuisine, though he expected to find some similarities to neighbouring Cameroon, once…
Assignment 121: South Sudan
Location: East Africa Population: 11.5 million Capital: Juba Geography: A tropical nation of wetland, grassland, and forest Language: English (official) and many recognized regional languages Signature flavours: Sesame, sorghum, legumes, root vegetables, goat, chicken The Menu South Sudan is the newest country in the world, at just 12 years old. It’s no wonder, then, that…
Assignment 115: Benin
Location: West Africa Population: 13.8 million Capital: Porto-Novo Geography: A nation of savannah yielding to a southern coastal plain on the Atlantic Language: French, Fon Signature flavours: Cassava, yam, corn, rice, tomato, crab, beans, hot peppers The Menu At first, finding Beninese recipes was challenging, until I remembered to consult the wonderful Africa Cookbook, which…
Assignment 113: Burundi
Location: East Central Africa Population: 11.9 million Capital: Gitega Geography: A landlocked, flat nation on Lake Tanganyika Language: Kirundi, French Signature flavours: Beans, corn, banana and plantain, cabbage, beef, mutton The Menu It seems to have become a tradition of the Wooden Spoon Wanderer blog that every so often, I’m apologizing again for a long…
Assignment 108: Libya
Location: North AfricaPopulation: 7 millionCapital: TripoliGeography: A mostly flat desert nation on the MediterraneanLanguage: ArabicSignature flavours: Mutton, fenugreek, tomato, date, fig, citrus, nuts, olive oil The Menu Compared with its North African neighbours Tunisia, Egypt, and nearby Morocco, Libyan cuisine was more of a mystery for Eric when he headed into this assignment. One of…
Assignment 107: Comoros
Location: Off the east coast of Africa Population: 851,000 Capital: Moroni Geography: An archipelago of three main islands and many smaller islets Language: Comorian, French, Arabic Signature flavours: Seafood, rice, coconut, plantain, tropical fruit, beans The Menu If you have ever experienced seafood-induced anxiety, then you will know how I felt as I compiled my…
Assignment 103: Ethiopia
Location: East Africa Population: 117.9 million Capital: Addis Ababa Geography: A geographically diverse nation comprising mountains, deserts, and tropical forests Language: Amharic, Afar, Oromo, Somali, Tigrinya Signature flavours: Teff, berbere, nigella seed, ajwain, pulses, beef, garlic, ginger, leafy greens, hot peppers The Menu I was SO EXCITED to take on this assignment. Eric and I…
Wooden Spoon Wanderer 