Three Meals, A Dozen Stories

So, I saw this prompt and thought of myself how possible it was for anybody to have one food that they would eat alone for the entirety of their lives. I, for one, think it’s impossible for anyone to have an easy choice but yeah, when you think about it critically, you can’t help but have a few preferred choices.

I’ll start by saying that I did thrive a lot on junk and fast foods in the past and while it’s no more a prerequisite to my survival, I still indulge in it occasionally._{not so much, though.} However, there are some dishes. And when I say dishes, I mean actual food, that I hold dear to my heart. Each of them has a story to it though.

Take jollof rice with salad for example. There’s a reason I absolutely adore this particular combo. I don’t know if I started loving it because there was this really cute nice guy who served it to me once, long ago at an event and even claimed to have made it himself or because the actual taste of the food was superb. But, either way, I fell in love with jollof rice that day. The salad is basically the cherry on top of a nicely done cake. It kind of completes the ensemble, but at the same time, I can definitely enjoy the foot without it, which is a plus.

Or a delicacy like Oha soup with eba. I’m sure a lot of us may not know it but if you’re from the Igbo tribe, particularly, I bet you would already be smacking your lips at the thought of it. Oha soup made with Oha leaves and more. I visited my Mom’s village when I was nine years old and I kept crying that everyone had eaten the rice and left me with something as miserable as soup. Upon entreaties of all forms, including adding that I’d have the biggest share of rice the next day when it was cooked, I ceased my hunger strike and proceeded to eat this funny-looking soup.

Esteemed ladies and gentlemen, I can’t even begin to narrate the absolutely sublime feeling I felt after just one ball. It’s not something I can truly explain if you’re oblivious to the meal on its own but it was like a slice of heaven just handed to me on a platter of gold. I was utterly happy to have eaten it and when rice was offered to me the next day, I gave my dearest aunt a rather scathing scowl for daring to offer rice to me when I’d found the light.

Then we move on to my biggest baby, more or less. I wonder what you think it would be and I doubt you’d get it anyway. It’s beans, but with plantains. Notice I’m not saying beans alone. Yeah, it’s cause I’m not a sole beans fan. I could eat it as a combination with something else, but on its own, it’s going to be a no for me. So, my favourite beans combo, which translates to one of my favourite foods is beans with ripe plantain sliced sizeably and cooked with the beans.

Notice how specific I am about it? Yeah, because it’s got to be done in that way to count as my favourite food. I absolutely adore this food combo and I always look forward to eating it.

Now, after dallying for so long, we move to the subject matter. Which of these foods can I choose to eat alone, for the rest of my life. I have a few other favourites but since I’ve got to make my choice, it will just have to be my last food, which is the beans and plantain dish. There’s no background story to this one surprisingly. We have a lot of plantain trees at home so Mom got creative. I just ate it once and I said to myself, this is it...

So, yeah, the choice is placed in front of me and I have this as the option to eat for the rest of my life, it will be undisputedly beans with sliced ripe plantains. I don’t know, what do you think, for anyone that has tried the delicacy, that is. If you haven’t, I suggest you do. Would love to hear from you as always.

Jhymi🖤

_{Sorry about the noodles picture that doesn't even relate to the post, for some reason, I have none of the pictures of my choice delicacies at hand. Lol}