Learning how to cook--Mozambican style

A couple days ago, we spent the day with some of Jake's Mozambican friends, learning how to cook (and eat) their food and playing with all the neighborhood kids. It was so much fun I didnt want to leave! To prepare a meal here takes a lot of time and effort and it's amazing how hard these woman work! It puts a whole new meaning on "made from scratch!"
First I learned how to cut yuka root. It's tough and I was a slow poke, but I tried lol..

Then they taught us how to use a pilador. Basically you use a really heavy piece of wood and smash it over and over into tiny pieces. Every couple minutes you take everything out and  put it in a basket. You sift out the pieces that still need to be broken down, by tossing the basket up and down lightly. Then you repeat the process over and over until what you were smashing looks like flour (or at least I think that's what the goal is.. lol). For many meals this can take hours.

We also learned how to shred coconut using this cool little bench with a metal piece attached to it. Let me tell ya, it's hard!

I didn't even come close to preparing an entire meal and it was a ton of work! It gives me so much respect for the awesome women here!