Welcome to The Gambia, the West African paradise for retired European women. Have you heard of the Gambian “pants down” – a term used for young unemployed men who persecute Western women, hoping to get to Britain and Europe. However, there is a growing number of British grandmothers who shatter their dreams – they have fun with charming young people, but keep their wallets tightly closed. It is impossible for European tourists to walk on the beach and not be overwhelmed with compliments and suggestions, as well as an offer for the “true Gambian experience”. Which means sex. The Gambians themselves don’t see anything wrong with that – they think they don’t use the women, it’s mutual. Europeans get treated like queens and have good sex, and young Gambian men get money to survive, and possibly a visa. What’s wrong with that? Much better than illegally crossing the seas in dubious boats that you can drown in or crossing countries where there are conflicts and they can kill you.
The Gambia is among the poorest countries in Africa. Until recently, it was run solely by its president, Lieutenant Yahya Jammeh. After the military coup in 1994, he is still a lieutenant and downright you are brazen, if you have ambitions in Gambia to become a senior lieutenant, let alone a higher rank. The second most popular person there is simply named Charlie. He is a crocodile and he is 27 years old and he still has exactly 73 years to live (if indeed crocodiles live to be 100 years old). Charlie probably brings more honest money to the economy than the lieutenant. His image is in hats, T-shirts, bags… A real pop star. Because even the capital in the Gambia looks like a scattered African village, many capricious foreigners believe that the lieutenant and Charlie are the only landmarks in the country. Since 2017, the lieutenant has been in exile in Equatorial Guinea and Charlie remains the only attraction. 🙂
But this is certainly not the case. There are endless beaches along the quiet and straight hot Atlantic waters, because of which you can hear that they call the Gambia Caribbean Africa. Many birds and the closest relatives of Homo sapiens, the baboons, can be seen in Abuko and Kiang National Park. The sacred Makasutu Forest is a real home for baboons. There they live quite freely and do not pay any attention to human intruders with cameras. 🙂 The nature of The Gambia is beautiful and exotic. Most of the territory is occupied by savannas and rare subequatorial forests. As we move away from the Atlantic Ocean, vegetation becomes increasingly scarce and increasingly dependent on the moisture provided by the Gambia River. The savannas of the Gambia are home to lions, antelopes, and leopards. Hippos and crocodiles live in the Gambia River. In general, year-round temperatures are around 30-32 degrees. There are two seasons – dry winter and rainy summer. During the rainiest month of the year, August, it sometimes rains as much as a year in temperate countries. But during the dry season it happens that a drop of rain does not drip for months.
85% of the working population is employed in agriculture. The Gambia is a major producer of peanuts. This is one of the most important export crops in the country. In addition to peanuts, sorghum, millet, rice and corn are also produced. Cattle, sheep and goats are raised in this African country. In general, people are far from starving in Africa. They have a decent standard of living. They live mainly around the shores of the ocean and, in addition to producing peanuts, make a living from tourism. Less than half are literate.
The national cuisine is influenced by the cuisines of those peoples who lived in this area. Borrowings from English, French and Portuguese culinary traditions are observed. The main product on the Gambian table is rice. It is usually served as a side dish in combination with vegetables, spices, fish or meat. One of the most popular dishes is stew with rice, meat and peanut butter. In the coastal areas you can enjoy fresh fish and a variety of seafood dishes. Due to the fact that large quantities of peanuts are grown in The Gambia, they are served in literally every dish, regardless of what you order at the restaurant. Of the drinks, sweet green tea is especially popular, which is served with a lot of foam. While on holiday in The Gambia, you can try palm wine, a decoction of sour flowers and baobab juice – such exotic drinks can only be found in Africa.
To my delight, this time I had no particular problems finding a cake recipe. We will make Banana Upside Down cake together. 😉 Here are the necessary products for this purpose:
1 tea cups brown sugar
6 tablespoons butter
2 bananas
1 1/2 tea cups flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
pinch of salt
3/4 tea cup brown sugar
1/4 tea cup sugar
1 tea cup mashed bananas
1/2 tea cup kefir
vanilla
1/3 tea cup oil
2 large eggs
Steps of preparation:
Grease a pan about 26 cm in diameter with butter. Melt the butter slightly and mix it with the brown sugar. Pour the mixture into the bottom of the pan and distribute it well.
Cut two large bananas into circles or as you like and arrange them on the brown sugar in the pan. Arrange them well, because in the end the bottom will be on top of the cake. 🙂
Turn on the oven to preheat to 180 degrees and start preparing the mixture for the marsh. Beat the eggs with the brown and white sugar. Add the banana puree. I crushed them quite deliberately with a fork so that there were larger pieces in the mixture. If you wish, you can grind them with a blender to a smooth puree. Who as likes it. 🙂 Then gradually add the kefir and oil, and finally the vanilla.
Mix the flour with the other dry ingredients and finally mix everything lightly in the egg mixture. Do not overdo the stirring. Pour the mixture over the arranged bananas and put for about 40-45 minutes or until ready in the oven to bake.
Remove the pan to cool slightly (for about 5 minutes) and then turn the cake over on a plate or serving tray. Don’t wait too long, because there is a danger that the caramel on the bottom will harden and you will not be able to peel off the cake.
You can serve the dessert while it is still warm, but it can also be chilled. It tastes divine, especially for people like me who love bananas. 😀 I have in my golden recipe book a very similar one, which I have prepared probably hundreds of times. In it, instead of bananas, fruits of compotes are put – from peaches, apricots, and the best is with blueberries. What they have in common is that both desserts are light, fragrant and quick and easy to prepare. So far, I’ve never seen anyone not like it. Specifically in this cake because of the brown sugar and bananas the taste is more exotic, more African 🙂 Try to make such a delicious cake, because I am convinced – each of you can cook! 🙂
Next destination – Ghana.
