Looks Like Stir Fry Tonight

When I cook, I try to take inspiration from what is happening around me. The great African dinner disaster of 2011 was inspired by my reading Dancing In The Glory Of Monsters (a book tracing the causes of the war in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Burundi and Rwanda, and the rise of rebel leaders-cum-rulers in the Great Lakes area of Africa). This is why the Husband quipped "This looks like slop that refugees would eat" when presented with my attempt at an African meal.

*where the inspiration comes from*

Well, yes, I suppose that beans, potatoes and cabbage thrown in a pot and under cooked does seem like a refugee camp meal. I don't know, as I have never been to a refugee camp, but I am sure that even the hungriest refugee would have refused that mess I made last night. I refuse to be discouraged, though, and have plans to order A Vegan Taste Of East Africa, so that next time, I will have a wider variety of meals to try. I don't think the bean dish will be on the menu for a while, or the Husband might revolt.

Today, there will be no African influence in the meals.... Potato Salad with avocado for lunch, and a good fall back stir fry of some kind for dinner. The pantry and cupboards are beginning to grow bare, and my ability to make a meal is being challenged by the monthly budget shortfall. I have faith that I can take rice noodles and water chestnuts and make something fabulous out of them. At least, something that is pleasant to look at, and passable to eat.