Mali, Africa; Farmer's Breakfast, and Farmer's Lunch and Dinner; and Rich Person's Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner

Mali is the home of the city of Timbuktu. In medieval times, Timbuktu once housed the second largest library in Africa; Alexandria, Egypt housing the first largest. From 1230 CE or AD to 1600 CE or AD, Mali was an amazingly rich and powerful empire that controlled all of the gold, copper, salt, and grain trade in Western Africa. It was a trade route that connected to the Arab Iranian trade routes and then to the Byzantine Empire trade route, and then onto the Silk Road trade route to China and back. In fact, by 1300 CE or AD the Mali Empire was richer than any of the kingdoms medieval Western Europe. And way back around the Stone Age, the Mali region was the first place in Africa to progress to inventing iron. At that time, it was the region of the Bantu people. Now, Mali is one of the most stable countries in Africa. There has not been any war since 1960.

But, in 2008, Mali was rated as the 173rd poorest country in the world out of 177 countries. Eighty-five percent of the citizens are very poor, most eat the same foods every day. Some can't afford one of their favorite food ingredients, powdered milk, and some sometime can't afford to eat at all. The other 15% of the citizens are mostly rich business entrepreneurs who can afford to eat different kinds of foods every day.

Heretofore, I have provided recipes from the middle class or the largest class, but for Mali there is not much of a middle class, and the largest class eats the same things everyday, if they eat. How did Mali become poor? Long story short, a combination of Malian wars, the Bubonic Plague which began around 1346 A.D.or C.E., the collapse of the Silk Road to China trade route in around 1368 C.E. or A.D., the Fall of the Byzantine Empire in and the collapse of their trade routes 1453 A.D. or C.E., Malian political corruption, and terrible droughts have robbed Mali of its great wealth, even though its gold mines are still producing great amounts of gold.

The poor farmers in Mali eat mostly a millet-based cooked cereal, for breakfast, and couscous or rice for lunch, and dinner, every day. They pour peanut, tomato, spinach, okra, or baobab leave sauces over the couscous so that it doesn't taste the same every day. Sometimes they add little meat chunks, or a piece of meat. This reminiscent to the strategy of the Ancient Greeks, when their economy could no longer bear a meat-based diet. The rich people believe that it is healthy and wise to eat their traditional foods, but sometimes they eat recipes from other countries too. Their traditional diet is healthier than many because of its high vegetable content. The farmers also have fermented drink, like drinkable plain yogurt, made without milk, that is very healthy for the brain. It is called punon or pulon, but it can't be easily duplicated or even easily approximated in the US, at all. The closest drink we have to it in the states is the Russian kvass, but kvass is a brown liquid, and punon or pulon is a white liquid. There are not any McDonald's Restaurants in Mali.


Modern Farmer's Breakfast – Water and Millet Porridge or Kini (Rice)
Preparation Time: 10 – 30 Minutes
No Marinating needed.
Since millet can't be bought at Wal-mart, you can cook kini (rice) instead. Either kini or couscous (a small pasta) is usually served for lunch, but we'll make an exception and have it for breakfast due to the lack of easy access to millet in the US. For lunch kini is usually served with a sauce poured over it, but we will fix it like a Malian breakfast food.

Picture of Millet Porridge courtesy of Matsumoto, Azusa


Ingredients and Shopping List:

For Millet Porridge:
1/2 cup of Millet (Millet for human consumption is probably not available at Walmart. Available at health food store.)
4 1/2 cups of Water
1 tablespoon of powdered milk, crushed peanuts, or dried fish powder (fish powder is probably not available at Walmart).
1 teaspoon of sugar, or ½ teaspoon of Truvia, or stevia

For Kini (Rice)--just rice not rice porridge
1 cup of Microwavable Rice or 1/2 cup of Regular Rice
1 tablespoon of powdered milk, crushed peanuts, or dried fish powder (fish powder is not available at Wal-mart).
1 teaspoon of sugar, or ½ teaspoon of Truvia, or stevia

Equipment:
Microwave for pre-cooked microwave rice
Microwavable bowl for microwave rice
or sauce pan and stove top for regular dried rice or regular millet

Instructions:
For millet, don't completely follow instructions on the package. We are going to cook it with too much water so that it is swimming in its own starchy sauce. For rice, just follow the package instructions.

For regular millet:
Place water and millet in a two quart sauce pan
Cook for 30 minutes, until millet is mushy and swimming in its own starchy sauce, if all the liquid is gone, you cooked it for too long.

For microwavable rice:
Microwave rice according to instructions.


Put millet porridge or kini (rice) in a bowl.
Add powdered milk, dried peanuts powder, or dried fish powder
Add sugar, Truvia, or stevia

You can drink water with this meal.

Eat.

Note: The brain and heart food in this recipe is millet.

Note: Brown rice is healthier for the brain than white rice, but it takes 1 hour to cook, if its not the microwave kind.

Note: For best brain performance water is essential. The brain simply won't function as well when the body is dehydrated. Pictures of Single Proton Emissions Computed Tomography Scans or SPECT scans of the brain show a stark difference in the same brain. It actually show much lower brain function during dehydration. So, I can't say it enough, if you want you brain at peak performance, you must drink enough water, about 6-8 12 ounce glasses a day or whatever you doctor recommends.

Modern Farmer's Lunch and/or Dinner – Water and Couscous or Kini (Rice) with Peanut or Tomato Sauce
Preparation Time:
No Marinating needed.
Malian farmers eat kini (rice) or couscous for lunch and dinner. To give variety to lunch and dinner, since it is basically the same food every day, they pour different kinds of sauce over it. This particular couscous recipe is for the kind of couscous sold in American, which is an instant couscous. African couscous is a non-instant couscous that is cooked differently than American couscous.

Ingredients and Shopping List:
1/2 cup of Couscous, or 1 cup of Microwave Rice, or ½ cup of Regular Rice
3/4 cup of Water for Couscous
1 cup of water for Regular Rice

Equipment:
1 Two-quart Saucepan and stove top or microwave-safe bowl for microwave rice
1 Microwave-safe bowl for the sauce

Ingredients for Peanut Sauce (for lunch)
1 cup of Beef Broth
1/2 cup of Natural Peanut Butter (traditionally without sugar, but you can use regular peanut butter if that is all you have).
1/4 cup of Spaghetti Sauce
1/4 teaspoon of Ginger
Salt and Pepper to taste.


Ingredients for Tomato Sauce (for dinner)
1 cup of Spaghetti Sauce, preferable Garlic Spaghetti Sauce or Spaghetti with Meat Sauce
1/4 teaspoon of Ginger

Equipment for sauces:
Microwave-safe bowls
Paper towels or wax paper for covering microwaving food

Instructions:

For Couscous:
Bring water to a boil in the sauce pan. It will take about 10 minutes. Pour in couscous. Put on the lid. Turn off the stove and remove the sauce pan from the heat. Let it stand with the lid on it for about 15 minutes. After 15 minutes fluff it with a fork.

For Kini (Rice):
Fix microwave rice according to package instructions, or boil regular rice 1 cup of water to ½ cup of rice for about 20 minutes until the water boils out. Don't burn.

For sauces:
Put broth in the bowl. Cover with paper towel or wax paper. Heat it in the microwave for about 3 minutes.
Mix in the peanut butter until it is all melted.
Add spaghetti sauce and ginger.
Salt and pepper to taste.

Place couscous or kini onto a plate. Pour one of the sauces over the top.

You can drink water with this meal.

Eat.

Note: The brain healthy food in this meal is peanut butter without sugar. To make this a more brain healthy food use almond butter instead of peanut butter.

Note: Brown rice is healthier for the brain than white rice, but it has to be cooked for 1 hour, if its not the microwave kind.

Note: Whole wheat couscous is healthier for the brain than white flour couscous. Whole wheat couscous is available at health food stores.

Modern Rich Person's Breakfast – Lemongrass Tea
Egg Sandwich
Preparation Time: 15 Minutes
No Marinating needed.

Ingredients and Shopping List:
1 French Baguette
Two raw eggs
1 tablespoon of Canola Oil
¼ cup of already Chopped Onions (or chop the onions if you know how).
1 tablespoon of Powdered Beef Broth (in the baking section at Wal-mart)
1 bag of Lemongrass Tea

Equipment:
Microwave
Paper towel or wax paper to cover microwaving food
1 medium sized glass or plastic jar with lid
Microwave-safe bowl

Instructions:
Spread canola oil around the microwave-safe bowl.
Crack eggs, and pour the yolks and whites into a jar. Add chopped onions and powdered beef broth.
Put on the lid. Shake well
Pour into the microwave-safe bowl.
Cover with paper towel or wax paper.
Microwave for about 3 minutes.
Cut French baguette down the middle, making a space for the microwaved eggs

Add microwaved eggs.

Prepare Lemongrass Tea.

Eat.

Note: The brain food in this meal is eggs.

Note: Whole wheat baguettes is healthier for the brain than white baguettes.

Modern Rich Person's Lunch – Lemongrass Tea
Your Choice of:
Thiebu Djen (Stewed Whitefish)
or Couscous de Timbuktu
Preparation Time: 30 minutes.
Whitefish Should Be Marinated for 4 Hours.
Next to salmon, whitefish is one of the healthier fishes for the brain. This particular couscous recipe is for the kind of couscous sold in American, which is an instant couscous. African couscous is a non-instant couscous that is cooked differently than American couscous.

Ingredients and Shopping List:

Ingredients for Stewed Whitefish:
1 can of Chicken Broth
2 Tablespoons of Hot Sauce or Tabasco Sauce
1 Whitefish or Trout
Spaghetti Sauce
¼ teaspoon of salt
1 cup of Already Shredded Coleslaw Mix without the dressing (from the fresh vegetable part of the produce section)
½ cup of Chopped Eggplant
½ cup of Frozen Okra
½ cup of Any Kind of Summer Squash
1 cup of Water
Microwave Rice or Regular Rice
1 packet of Lemongrass Tea

Equipment:
Microwave-safe or glass dish for marinating
Wax paper for covering microwaving food.
Another microwave-safe dish that can also be used in the oven
Microwave
Oven

Ingredients for Couscous de Timbuktu:
1 can of Beef Stew
1 cup of Pitted Dates
½ cup of Couscous
A pinch of Cinnamon, Nutmeg, Ginger, and Fennel Seeds. Optional.
1 packet of Lemongrass Tea

Equipment:
1 Two-quart sauce pan with lid and stove top
1 Microwave safe soup bowl
Plate

Instructions for Stewed Whitefish:
Mix the chicken broth, hot sauce or Tabasco sauce together in a microwave-safe or glass dish for marinating. Cut a pocket along the top of the fish. Put the fish in the dish, pour the marinate in the pocket, and let the fish stand covered with the marinate in the refrigerator for 4 hours. Longer than 4 hours marinating fish, often makes the marinate flavor too strong.

Pour the marinate down the drain.

If you are using regular rice. Boil it about 20 minutes before taking the marinating fish out of the refrigerator. You don't have to pre-cook the microwave rice. Pre-heat the oven at 325 Degrees. Cut and chop the squash and eggplant to bite-sized pieces. Put spaghetti sauce, cole slaw mix, chopped eggplant, okra, any kind of chopped summer squash, and water into a microwave-safe/oven-safe bowl. Add fish. Stuff some of the sauce and vegetable mixture in the fish pocket along the top of the fish. Cover with wax paper. Microwave for about 10 minutes. Take the dish out of the microwave, and cover it with microwave rice or the regular rice. Spoon some of the sauce and vegetable mixture over the rice. Cover the dish with foil. Bake in the oven at 375 Degrees for about 20 minutes, until done. Don't burn.

Pull out of the oven. Fix the lemongrass tea.

Eat.

Instructions for Couscous Timbuktu:
Pour 3/4 cup of the liquid from the stew into the sauce pan. Bring it to a boil. It will take about 8 minutes. Add the couscous. Put a lid on the sauce pan. Remove it from the heat, and let the couscous sit in the sauce for about 15 minutes with the lid on. While the couscous is sitting, chop the dates into as little pieces as you can manage. Set aside. Put what is left of the beef stew into a microwave-safe bowl. Add the chopped dates. If you have cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and fennel seeds add them. Stir well. Cover with wax paper. Microwave for about two minutes. After 15 minutes of waiting for couscous. Fluff it with a fork. Pour the couscous on the plate. Shape the couscous into a little mountain and then put a big crater in the middle, like a volcano. Pour the beef stew and date mixture into the crater of the couscous.

Prepare lemongrass tea.

Eat.

Note: The brain food in Thiebu Djen (Stewed Whitefish) is the whitefish.

Note: The brain food in Couscous de Timbuktu is low fat beef, because it is high in CoQ10 and L-Carnitine, but fat beef cancels out the brain benefits of beef.

Note: Brown rice is healthier for the brain than white rice.

Note: Whole wheat couscous is healthier for the brain than white flour couscous. Whole wheat couscous is available at health food stores.

Note: If you want to be more authentic than healthy the traditional version of this dish is made with Jasmine rice, which is available at Wal-mart in the Asian food section.

Modern Rich Person's Dinner – Lemongrass Tea
Yassa au Poulet (Stuffed Chicken)
Meni-Meniyong, (Sesame Honey Sweet)
Preparation Time: 30 Minutes
Should be Marinated for at least 1 hour.
Sesame seeds are excellent brain food.

Ingredients and Shopping List:
1 cup of Toasted Sesame Seeds
1 cup of Honey
4 tablespoon of Butter
1 can of Cooked Chicken
1 cup of lemon juice.
½ cup of Mustard
2 tablespoons of Onion flakes (or chopped onions)
1 teaspoon of canola oil or peanut oil
¼ teaspoon of Thyme
Microwave Rice, Regular Rice or Couscous
½ cup of Chicken Broth
½ cup of Natural Peanut Butter (no sugar added)
½ cup of Already Shredded Carrots or one carrot shredded
½ cup of canned Sweet Potatoes or Yams
1 bag of Lemongrass Tea

Equipment:
Cereal bowl
Cookie sheet
Small microwave-safe or glass bowl for marinating
Microwave-safe plate
1 two-quart sauce pan and stove top
Small microwave-safe bowl
Microwave

Instructions:

Pour half of the lemon juice, half of the mustard, and half of the onion flakes or chopped onions into the bowl. Put the chicken in, and marinate in the refrigerator for at least one hour, but not more than 14 hours.

About 30 minutes before taking the chicken out of the refrigerator, put honey and butter in microwave-safe bowl. Heat for about 2 minutes. Mix well. Mix in toasted sesame seed. Spread mixture onto cookie sheet. Make it about ¼ and inch thick. Wait until it cools, about 20 minutes.

While that is cooling, cook the microwave rice, regular rice, or couscous. (To cook microwave rice, follow instructions on package. To cook regular rice put ½ cup of rice into 1 cup of water and boil until the water boils out for about 20 minutes. To cook couscous boil 1 ½ cups of water. Then add ½ cup of couscous and boil until the water boils out.) Put the peanut butter and chicken broth into a small microwave-safe bowl. Microwave for about 2 minutes. Stir well. This is the sauce to serve over the rice or couscous. Set it aside.

Open the can of sweet potatoes or yams. Cut them into smaller bite-sized pieces. Add shredded carrots and sweet potatoes or yams to the couscous or rice. Stir in about 1 teaspoon of the other half of the lemon juice, mustard, and onion flakes or chopped onions. This is the stuffing. Set this aside.

Pour the marinate down the drain.

Put the chicken on a microwave-safe plate. Add the other half of lemon juice, mustard and onion flakes or chopped onions, oil, and thyme to the chicken. Microwave for about 2 minutes.

Put chicken, and rice or couscous, and sesame honey sweet together on plate. Pour the peanut sauce over the rice or couscous.

Prepare Lemongrass Tea.


Eat.

Note: The brain food in this meal is sesame seeds.

Note: You can use a piece of raw chicken if you know how to fry it in a skillet, in the canola or peanut oil; after marinating it.

Note: Brown rice is healthier for the brain than white rice.

Note: Raw honey is healthier for the brain, but it shouldn't be fed to children under 1 years of age, or to people with compromised immune systems.













A website about Malian humor was difficult to find. It seems that there is a national joke that all Malian families are cousins with each other, since there are only a small number of different Malian surnames. It seems that Malian humor is their own special version of boisterous roast humor, reserved espeically for all of their 'cousins'. --information from a Peace Corp volunteer blog.




One finger can’t pick up anything.
Bolondio kelen te se ka foi taa.
This is used in the context of “two heads are better than one.”
Malian Proverb









Lost Treasure, Partially Found
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iYMkTxNQGGU












A book about beauty tips from Somali. Somali and Mali don't share politics, but they share a lot of culture.
http://www.hiiraan.com/2005/nov/somali_news10_3.html