Oooo is that edible?

       One of the fantastic bits about living in a new environment is sampling the local cuisine. While that is possible in the region of the world I am now inhabiting it is done in a different manner. Here you just walk out into the bush and find them, though they can be grown as well. Africa has one of the greatest potentials on the planet for agricultural exports of both flora and fauna. Animals, fruits, insects, and critters are in abundance and always very interesting to study.The people of Senegal love to have animals around as a type easily maintained investment. If you need a little cash sell a goat, sheep, or chicken. If you need more than that sell a cow! Children can be seen selling bush fruits and berries on the side of the road. I was offered a root from the woods which had been set near the fire and tasted of baked potato. While there is no Olive Garden the African wild certainly isn't lacking in food.
       In training I'd heard about a tasty little berry which was first introduced to me as I drank tea on the side of a road. Several children with a bucket were selling fist sized bags for a quarter. My host brother purchased some and they little semi dry skinned berries with a large pit tasted like apples with a sweet tang. The pit can be saved and planted to get more berries or used as a spiky fence to keep animals out of areas.
       One of the first times I'd greeted my entire village I stopped and sat on a bamboo mat next to an older man making a colorful basket cover. The children were momentarily curious with me as the 'new white person' but soon after returned to their task of hitting a tree and collecting the seed pods which fell from it. I was given several of the pods to suck on and they are a nice sour treat which can be made into one of my favorite watery sauces to accompany most types of rice dishes.

       The majestic representative of trees in Africa is the Baobob. Technically an herbaceous plant and not a tree, their massive forms dotting the semi-arid landscapes of Africa are one of the sights I know I will miss most when I leave this continent. The people of Senegal, ever utilizing their surroundings, use the leaves to make a very slimy sauce which I enjoy although I've heard mixed reviews from Peace Corps volunteers in general. The fruits of the tree are gathered by children and snacked upon. Opening one up reveals many seeds covered in what one might mistake for an organic foam. Sucking on them for a time provides a sour treat. The fruit is also soaked and sold by many women vendors on the streets.
       Slightly less natural than these are the planted mangoes, cashews, oranges, grapefruits, guavas, pomegranates, and bananas seen growing mostly in organized and watered gardens. The only ones I have sampled as of yet are cashews I found and cooked (poorly), grapefruits, and guavas. Luckily enough for me it is also my job as an Agricultural forestry volunteer to try and increase land yields and income with trees just like these!
       Here are some photos for ya!

         This is a chameleon I found while working behind the school in my village. They sell for $100 in pet stores in the United States. The Fulbe (ethnic group I live with) also have many legends and their culture greatly dislikes them. They believe that the little charms often adorning babies and children are negated if touched by one of these critters. Also apparently if it pees in your mouth you die. Which begs the question 'how the hell did it get in position to pee in your mouth?'. I've seen five or so of them wandering around in country though and they're pretty neat!

       This here is a mostly full grown mango tree. As is visible each one puts out a great many mangos for my consumption alone. Certainly not to sell. I asked my host brother if people also cook with them when they are ready and was told there are many sauces. Several days ago while celebrating the departure of a volunteer heading home her host family mashed up unripe mango, onion, and something else to make a potent but scrumptious snack.

       Some almost ripe mangoes hanging into the path I take to get to a garden I help at. Can you spot the cow looking for drops? Cows, donkeys, sheep, and goats love to eat the unripe fruits that fall from the tree.

        GUESS WHAT THIS IS!?!

        Figure it out yet?

        This is actually what a cashew looks like growing on the tree. First the nut forms then the 'apple' fills in behind it, ripens off to a nice red or yellow and falls from the tree. To harvest cashews correctly the underside of the tree is cleared and one waits for the ripened fruit and nut to fall from the tree. Every other day you collect all the nuts which are sold off and processed elsewhere. If not sold children love to burn them in fields because of the toxic fumes the nut emits when cooked, then crack them open and eat the nut inside. Nuts which had been sold are roasted and opened then reroasted to give the desirable semi-hard density which we all love. Finally a secondary coat is removed from the final product we are familiar with. It is likely that most of us living in regions of the world without cashews have remained, until this reading, ignorant of the nature of cashew growth. The lengthy processing procedure may also help you rationalize the price difference in this nut and some others.

        I think one of the most startling things I've learned while being in Senegal is that the cashew tree produces TWO amazingly delicious things. Regrettably due to the fact that within 24hrs of falling from the tree the fruit is incredibly bruised and looses much of it's flavor and greatly reduces its marketability. Sorry! Have to be here the time of year they're ripe if you wanna try one! It tastes a little like a strawberry with a hint of maybe apple and is incredibly juicy but also does the thing to your mouth that chokecherries do and dries it out. One of the projects being worked on in Senegal is food transformation. Changing the form of something like fresh cashew apples or mangoes to something like jam or dried fruit so it can be marketed and not go to waste.

        SO TASTY!

        Here are a batch that will probably be ripe in three or so more days!

        While I have eaten warthog and many bush roots and seeds and leaves and berries I must thank my family for this wonderful treat I hide in my room in case I end up feeling a little undernourished from all the hunting and gathering lifestyle. Thanks family this stuff is fantastic and I dip into it especially this season (hasn't rained in three and a half months) and stored food is on the decline. Feel free question too! Au revoir!