27th February 2009

I just made the best ‘chicken fajitas potatoes’ in the world. I know they are the best in the world because I’m the first person to make them. They say necessity is the mother of invention, and I’m starting to run out of ideas for eating at home.

Basically, for the next two months I am vegetarian. All Ethiopian Orthodox Christians fast for the two months leading up to Easter, which means no animal products at all – no meat, no dairy etc. In Addis it doesn’t make that much of a difference, there are all kinds of religions there and not everybody fasts, but I’m in Lalibela, one of the holiest Orthodox Christian sites in Ethiopia, and you can’t even buy meat for the two months.

So I am eating a lot of pasta and tuna fish, and a lot of shiro (a kind of chickpea sauce) and injera. Oh, and carrots. Then when I found some potatoes at the market, I needed some inspiration – which is where my packet of chicken fajita spices came in …

Tomorrow will be ‘Chilli Con Carne Potatoes’ and then after that I will be serving ‘Cheese and Bacon Pasta Potatoes’ … just think, the possibilities are endless!


Ps. On a slightly connected note, ‘Hip Hop’ biscuits have appeared on sale in Lalibela. There are two flavours here, orange and strawberry, but only the orange are ‘fasting biscuits’. Does this mean the strawberry ones contain meat? The mind boggles!