with only a charcoal stove

I've spend the last two years trying to find an African cookbook. That doesn't involve those garrish spreads from the 1970's. That doesn't feature westernized versions of African dishes. That isn't for gourmet chefs with access to ingredients I've never heard of. I just wanted to know a few of the dishes that the average African -- Rwandan, all the better -- eats.

And it turns out there's a reason they don't make those cookbooks. It's because the average African eats a plate of rice (or cassava or potato or maize flour mush) and beans. And nobody wants that recipe. And even if they did, it makes for an awfully short cookbook.

Here's another reason they don't make those cookbooks:

Because this is the equivalent of a commercial kitchen. This is Mama Fils making lunch for 250 boys who live on the street. There's one charcoal stove for the beans, two for the posho, a maize-flour mush that is a staple in East Africa. The typical kitchen just has a small charcoal stove and well, no kitchen. Maybe a covering or maybe an outbuilding to store a sacks of rice or beans. A couple pots and utensils. A dishpan.

Yep. No counters. No fridge. No running water. No well-stocked spice rack. No electric knife sharpener.

And it turns out there's a limited number of dishes you prepare, given these constraints.

Added to that, when the majority of your culture is eating to survive, there's just not a lot of attention given to culinary creativity. Eating to live is a whole different activity from the dining we do that serves more as a form of entertainment than sustenance.

Of course, this isn't the story for everyone. The middle and upper class (though remember, in Rwanda 60% live below the poverty line so this middle and upper class is not by a majority) have western-style kitchens or at least more than this most basic kitchen setup.

And can I just say that I love the food in Rwanda? The food is fresh, no weird colors or additives. Starches sing the lead and proteins and vegetables are the backup. Fruit - pineapple, passionfruit, tree tomato, papaya -- rounds off a meal. I love the matoke and peanut sauce, the spiced rice, the sweet bananas, the blackened fish, the beef brocchet, and the fries, I love the fries. Or chips. Or whatever they call them. And the akabanga, the spicy pepper sauce that I was given so much of I could start my own retail store. (And I'd do well, the stuff is great.)

But I have yet to eat the beans and posho. Maybe I can get the recipe from Mama Fils and create the very first Rwandan cookbook...