Beginning today, I will introduce a new series for the month of April entitled A TUESDAY IN APRIL. This series will be of a personal nature, allowing a glimpse into the personality behind this blog.  You’ll read posts featuring interesting little tidbits, personal stories from my childhood, photos and anecdotes that will hopefully leave you with a deeper sense of who I am and why I began this blog.

Today I thought I’d share with you something that anyone who interacts with me for any period of time will come to learn and that is my love of and tolerance for insanely hot and spicy foods.  I was born in Accra, Ghana and came to the U.S at the age of nine.  Growing up in Ghana meant growing up with an assortment of delicious and fresh foods.  Fresh fish caught earlier in the day, boiled, baked, grilled or fried plantains, hearty and delicious soups, rice, beans, yam and potatoes, tropical fruits, coconuts and sugar cane to name a few.

^Ordering the spiciest dishes and then adding hot chili sauce on top of it. #typicalAraba

Growing up in Ghana also meant developing a tolerance for spicy foods as Ghanaian’s do not shy away from the use of hot peppers.  We ground them up with onions and tomatoes to enjoy with ‘banku’ (fermented corn/cassava) and fresh fish, a combination called ‘Banku Ne Mako’.  To be honest, we’re heavy-handed when seasoning our dishes with peppers of any kind.  If there’s one within a party complaining about the weak spice level of a dish, they’re most likely Ghanaian and it’s most likely me.  I make it clear when making my order at restaurants that I want the dish spicy and reassure the waiter/waitress by remarking “I can handle it, I’m Ghanaian”.  I’m typically the first to reach for sriracha and delight in seeing jalapenos in my dish.  What can I say, it’s the Ghanaian in me.

  ∞

I’m sure many of you have been curious about the name of my blog since ‘A TUESDAY IN APRIL’ is a bit of a departure from blogs in this genre.  So if you haven’t already done so, please be sure to read the ‘ABOUT‘ page which features an explanation about the blog name ‘A TUESDAY IN APRIL’.  Thank you for reading and happy Tuesday!