Cooking with Ruth

We decided that it would be fun to cook with Ruth, Kate, and David on a monthly basis. (The cabbage and onions came from our garden - it really does taste better when it's ours.)

So this past Friday Ruth got the charcoal stoves ready and we began. The pots don't sit completely on the charcoal as the 3 pieces of metal hold the pot above the heat. This is how most Ugandans cook their food. The average person here does not have a stove/oven, so baking is rare. Most foods are fried, boiled, or steamed.

I was amazed at how tough Ruth's fingers were. She tore off paper from an old dog food bag to make pot holders (and that's only for the really hot stuff). Most of the time she didn't use anything. I felt like her mother warning her to be careful so she wouldn't burn herself. Apparently I was doing it more than I realized because I heard Joel finally say, "Jill, she knows what she's doing." Ruth just laughed at how protective I was.

This is the "kitchen" she and Kate share. They'll often use old branches as fire wood so they don't have to buy charcoal. Ruth is getting the fire going again so the rice will start to boil.

I was responsible for the meat and had a blast visiting with Kate and Ruth while we worked. You can see where Dara has played tic-tac-toe with a burnt stick. They love being around while cooking is going on.

Ruth even gave Dara (and Dade) her old charcoal stove. It was made from clay and broke. So Dara found a rock and cooked mud mixed with onion and garlic skins. Ruth laughed when she remembered doing this when she was a child too. But then she told Dara how they ate the dirt mixed with things. When I told the kids they would need to try a bit of everything cooked, Dara took the opportunity to add her dishes to the required menu. I just couldn't go along with it (no one else did either).

In the end, the menu consisted of meat stew; cabbage with green peppers, tomatoes, and onion; fried rice; and akatoga (g-nut sauce with matoke). It was all good, but the akatoga was my favorite!