Hotcha! Gotcha!

Finally, I did it!

Natacha, who lives with us is from Western Africa - Congo (NOT the Democratic Republic of Congo, just Congo). They eat hot food over there. I’m not talking about stuff that is a bit picante, or even stuff that sets flames coming out of your nostrils at a Thai restuarant when you bravely say, “Yea, I like it really hot”.

No, Congo and African culinary hot is from another universe of hotter than the back gate to hell itself.

So I’ve been shopping the aisles of international supermarkets and other out of the way spots, in addition to the internet to keep this woman in a steady supply of ohjesusmotherfuckingchristalmightyonastick hot sauces. She says our food is just way too bland and she misses the flavors from home.

Yup, I take her word for this. She’s a Christian and doesn’t lie. While she was pointing out why she thought they might be too hot, I could feel my eyebrows start to singe. Five minutes in close proximity of these things and I believe my hair would have ignited.

Last weekend I was at that marvelous Marin Farmers Market just down below the Marin County Civic Center (you know, that Frank Lloyd Wright building with the blue roof) and found some peppers that looked like they should be hot. So a bought a small bag and brought these little bad boys home.

Well, she’s cooking gumbo ( Gumbo simply means okra in Africa) tonight and she told me that they are too hot. Too hot for Ron and I - and she said almost too hot for her. Ha!

She’s going to fry them and grind them into a paste or something to put little tiny dib dabs of on her food.

I feel so vindicated. Ha!

Update on Sunday, September 7, 2008 at 18:23 by mavenandmeddler

So, Natacha went on to make dinner for us this same evening, and it was really, really good. Even my New England husband gave it a positive thumbs up.

She did a simple green salad with strawberries and chopped pecans, dressing it with the basic vinegarette that I taught her to make. I haven’t bought salad dressing in a bottle for many years. I just couldn’t stand the goopy chemical laden crap that would take up permanent residence in the door of the refrigerator when in less than two minutes I can make fresh.

I had some German Butter potatoes and some patty pan squash which I cut up and tossed with olive oil and some salt and pepper and tossed into the oven to roast. My new Electrolux Convection/microwave Speed Oven is a stroke of brillance in the kitchen. I highly recommend it.

Then Natacha produced something so wonderful: her shrimp gumbo. It isn’t thick like in Louisiana. There is no roux here. Just big meaty shrimp, purple okra (‘gumbo’) in this case, onions and red bell peppers. I don’t know the recipe. I’m hoping she will write it down. The only thing I asked her to add was a bit of anchovy paste to get the Umami index up some.

Anyway, let’s hope she writes down the recipe and I’ll see that you get it.

maven