The Exponential Power of Spices

If you think rice and beans are boring, solve this math problem. 

A true Mozambican Meal consists of 92% massa and 8% carril. Massa literally means mass, or dough. It’s a ball or scoop or chunk or plateful of some type of starch, consumed with the sole purpose of filling the stomach. Usually it’s either rice or xima (cornmeal mush patties – more on these later. They deserve a post all to themselves. Pronounced “she-mah”). The carril is something to give the massa a little flavor, to help wash it down, and to get some protein or fiber into your diet. The most common Nauelan carrils are beans, dried fish, cabbage, tomatoes, leaves (leafy greens, not like mango tree leaves), or, on rare occasions, chicken.

So let’s say every meal must have either rice or xima. And those two types of massa can be eaten with one of the 6 aforementioned carrils.

2 x 6 - 1 = 11

Already, we have 11 different meals! I took one away because cabbage doesn’t go well with xima.

Throughout the year, with the help of care packages (thank you! These are lifesavers for my mental health, and threats to my physical health) and trips to city grocery stores, I’ve built up a small collection of spices. I have about 10 different spices - chili powder, cumin, thyme, basil, cinnamon, curry powder, lemon pepper, parsley, ginger, and “spice for rice.” So each of those 11 meals can be prepared with a different spice.

11 x 10 - 1 = 109

Voila, we have now jumped up to 109 different meals! I took one away because I don’t think cinnamon would go well with xima and dried fish. Although, I’ve never tried it. Experiment for next week, puh-haps?

Here’s where the exponential part comes in. Think, just think! You are not limited to just one spice per meal! You can use two spices in the same dish! So in addition to the 109 different meals that can be made with one spice only, we have a whole new selection of entrees, using double spices! Oh, my taste buds are hurting just typing this!

109 + 109 x 9 - 36 = 1054

I took away 36 because “spice for rice” doesn’t go well with xima. And, now that I think about it, it’s not stellar in rice either. But I’m not looking for gourmet meals here, just something to wash down my xima. And since it’s 9:45pm, it’s 2 hours past my bedtime, so I’m having a hard time thinking through the math, but no matter. Even if I’m 10 or so meals off, I already have enough of a variety to eat a different meal every day for 2 years of Peace Corps. I would only have to repeat meals if I decided to extend a third year.

So have I convinced you that you wouldn’t get bored with a diet of rice and beans and dried fish and tomatoes and cornmeal mush patties for 2 years? If so, please contact me ASAP and help me convince myself.

And send any recipes you find that utilize a combination of the edibles mentioned in this post.

Just ignore the housefly on the rim of the bowl.