C is for Cheesecake

The other day, I thought of cheesecake and I couldn’t stop thinking about cheesecake. So I made a list. I’m a list-maker. Sometimes I even make lists of lists that I want to make.
True story.

The One Dozen Foods I Crave Most Right Now

I think I am having sugar withdrawal.

1. A giant slice of Strawberry Cheesecake and a mug of hot chocolate from House of Pies.
2. Caitlin’s delicious cheesecake. Forget a slice – I’ll eat the whole cake.
3. Cheesecake milkshake from Katz' Deli (Noticing a cheesecake theme here?)
4. Sweet cream ice cream with strawberries and crushed Oreos from Amy’s Ice Cream.
5. Flank steak, homemade macaroni and cheese, German cucumber salad and a strawberry banana smoothie.
6. Filet mignon wrapped in bacon, with mashed potatoes and freshly-squeezed orange juice.
7. Sour cream enchiladas, nachos with Creamy J sauce, and a strawberry daiquiri from Chuy's.
8. Beef quesadillas (with guacamole, salsa, and pineapple), a slice of tres leches cake, and a margarita from 100% Taquito.
9. Red velvet cupcake from Crave.
10. White chocolate mocha or caramel frappucino from Starbucks.
11. Vanilla Cappuccino with boba, not blended, from Teahouse.
12. Home-cooked food. Of any variety.

One Dozen Mozambican Foods I Can’t Get Enough Of

Matapa and feijão with rice

1. Xima. The staple of the Mozambican diet, made of corn flour boiled into a thick consistency and eaten with absolutely everything. By itself, it doesn’t taste like anything, but with other stuff it absorbs all the flavors -- yum! (Incidentally, this is what my dog eats practically every day.)
2. Galinha grelhada. Delicious freshly slaughtered chicken grilled to perfection over a charcoal stove. As far as eating out goes, it’s one of the cheaper options, and oh so delicious. The gravy tastes great with xima!
3. Batatas Fritas. French fries. Beloved by Americans and Mozambicans alike and eaten here all the time. French fries for breakfast? Bring it on!
4. Mangos, avocados, litchis and pineapples. So cheap. So nutritious. So tasty. However, I have discovered the hard way that you can in fact eat too many mangos.
5. Couve. Possibly my favorite Mozam-meal. Delicious collared-green type leaves cooked with coconut milk and peanut flour. Simply scrumptious! And very nutritious, too!
6. Matapa. Made from the leaves of the cassava plant, also boiled in coconut milk and peanut flour.
7. Cacana doce. This meal seems to be quite divisive amongst volunteers. Cacana is a bitter leaf, sort of like arugula, and when made with sweet coconut milk and peanut flour, the combination of flavors is wonderful. However – stale, badly grown, or ill-prepared cacana has the potential to be really bitter and unpalatable. My host mom made awesome cacana. Then again, my host mom made the best everything. (Well, the best Mozambican everything. My real mom makes the best everything else.)
8. Feijão. I could eat feijão every day and not tire of it –beans prepared in the traditional Mozambican fashion, normally eaten with rice or xima. Throw some meat and vegetables in there, some spices, and mmmmmm. Perfection. Plus, it’s a great source of protein, which is good because at this point I’ve become 98% vegetarian and get my protein from beans and peanut butter. Speaking of which, the next item on the list is
9. Black Cat Peanut Butter. OK, technically it’s from South Africa, like a lot of specialty products here, but it’s so creamy and delicious and it deserves to be on this list due to its status as a PCV and personal favorite. The perfect way to end a day is to curl up in bed with a jar or Black Cat, a spoon, and a good book.
10. Chamussas. Known in the rest of the world as “samosas.” OK, maybe not a traditional Mozambican food either, but widely eaten here and pretty darn delicious. Reminds me of hanging out at Xavi’s after class during PST with my fellow volunteers – much like the next thing on the list,
11. Manica beer! Mm, tastes like PST and friendship!
12. Piri-Piri Sauce. Otherwise known as “African Bird’s-Eye Chili.” It’s hot, spicy, and it’s in pretty much everything I make. There are few foods in the world that wouldn’t taste better with a dash of Piri-Piri sauce. (Cheesecake is one of them.)

Note: I may have stolen this idea from Lissa’s blog.