In the Market for Learning to Cook

Grocery shopping, meal planning and cooking were a common Sunday afternoon activity for Heather and I over the past few years. We would often debate who had to do the shopping and who would cook what meals. After a month of living in Malawi I can easily say, Heather, when I come home I will happily do it all.

I will be the first to admit that I am not the best home chef. I have learned many tricks of the trade from experts like my Mom, but I certainly still have a lot to learn. Since being here in Malawi my culinary, shopping, and creativity skills have certainly been put to the test.

There are grocery stores here in Malawi, however the items in the stores tend to be expensive and there is nowhere near as much variety as there is available in the States. The bigger grocery stores that carry more items are located in Blantyre (an hour drive away from our house), so when we go into the city, we are mindful to get all the staples we will need to tide us over until we are planning on going back into the city. We have now stocked our pantry with rice, flour, sugar, snacks, and many other things we might need.

Besides the grocery stores in town, the other place we are able to get food is at our local market. Because of Malawi’s year-round warm climate we are able to get fresh produce all year round. Lately we have been able to get tomatoes, cabbages, potatoes, onions, oranges, and bananas all locally grown. We can also get eggs that are local! Since this amazing fresh produce is available and very reasonably priced, this is what we have been eating most of the time.

I have been coming up with as many different ways to use these ingredients as I possibly can. With added challenges such as limited spices, power that is not constant (which sometimes requires us to cook on a single small charcoal stove outside), lack of access to good meat, etc., this has been quite a challenge. Luckily both Lauren and I are not picky and we are willing to try new foods and make the best of the items we have available to us! If you have any suggestions for meals that would be easy for us to make here, I would love to hear from you!

Along with cooking for ourselves, we have also been enjoying some of the local recipes that our Malawian friends have been preparing for us, such as nsima (ground corn maze) and Relish (stewed cabbage and tomatoes). In a country that has such food security issues, I find myself being extra thankful for the food we have, even with the challenges that come with it. Please continue to pray for those who are struggling with food security.