Since I have been recovering from the 'flu I have had this inordinate craving for Apem and Kontomire Abom. I don't have a photo to go with this one but when am next in Ghana, I will do well to photograph this. This kind of food is the source of the wiry strength of the forest peoples of Ghana, namely the Akan: a people not very tall, not given to obesity, dark skinned and gifted with oratory, proverbs and symbolism. All this is of course my opinion which probably continues to hold sway in the rural forest regions, before urbanization and the introduction of fatty foods and meats, too much carbohydrate, too little exercise and too much stress. In short, the products of city life.
This is how my grandparents stayed healthy and lived long:
On a typical day, they would rise up early and prepare to trek to the farm. My mother has several farms and although I've been to one or two of them in my youth, my memory is very faint because I was more or less city bred. Her Akwadum farm had a stream passing through it and I remember the other children collecting little freshwater crabs.
Soon after arriving at the farm, one would either set to work, clearing land, or digging up weeds, harvesting food or collecting firewood. Invariably one would need a machete (cutlass or a short handled hoe for the work. Someone would be assigned to do the cooking.
A farm would typically have a makeshift stove of rocks and firewood and an old soot stained pot in which peeled plantain and cocoyam (from the farm) would be cooked: plantains at the bottom, cocoyams at the top, barely covered by water, with the leaves of the cocoyam plant placed on top with a few red hot peppers and covered with a lid. Kontomire cooks preferably by the steam generated within the pot.
While the food cooked the potoyewa -crushing mortar and it's wooden pestle would be made ready. After removing the boiling pot from the stove, onions, tomatoes, koobi -salted fish and fresh fish would be prepared for roasting on the open fire. Next, the roasted tomatoes, onions, and salted fish would be mashed together in the potoyewa with the kontomire leaves and hot peppers. This is Abom.
The finish: Palmoil is red saturated oil, rich in vitamin A. It is however a very saturated fat which solidifies at room temperature. Only a little is needed and one would heat this in a pan on the open fire with a small onion to fry and flavour. Pour the ngo-oil over the Abom in the potoyewa, and it's ready to be eaten with the the plantain and cocoyam. Some people mash cooked okra with the abom. My mother loves okra. The grilled fresh water fish is healthy too!
So if a stream passes through your farm, you can't get any luckier for being a farmer!
This is how my grandparents stayed healthy and lived long:
On a typical day, they would rise up early and prepare to trek to the farm. My mother has several farms and although I've been to one or two of them in my youth, my memory is very faint because I was more or less city bred. Her Akwadum farm had a stream passing through it and I remember the other children collecting little freshwater crabs.
Soon after arriving at the farm, one would either set to work, clearing land, or digging up weeds, harvesting food or collecting firewood. Invariably one would need a machete (cutlass or a short handled hoe for the work. Someone would be assigned to do the cooking.
A farm would typically have a makeshift stove of rocks and firewood and an old soot stained pot in which peeled plantain and cocoyam (from the farm) would be cooked: plantains at the bottom, cocoyams at the top, barely covered by water, with the leaves of the cocoyam plant placed on top with a few red hot peppers and covered with a lid. Kontomire cooks preferably by the steam generated within the pot.
While the food cooked the potoyewa -crushing mortar and it's wooden pestle would be made ready. After removing the boiling pot from the stove, onions, tomatoes, koobi -salted fish and fresh fish would be prepared for roasting on the open fire. Next, the roasted tomatoes, onions, and salted fish would be mashed together in the potoyewa with the kontomire leaves and hot peppers. This is Abom.
The finish: Palmoil is red saturated oil, rich in vitamin A. It is however a very saturated fat which solidifies at room temperature. Only a little is needed and one would heat this in a pan on the open fire with a small onion to fry and flavour. Pour the ngo-oil over the Abom in the potoyewa, and it's ready to be eaten with the the plantain and cocoyam. Some people mash cooked okra with the abom. My mother loves okra. The grilled fresh water fish is healthy too!
So if a stream passes through your farm, you can't get any luckier for being a farmer!
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