Liberia (Africa) – 11 February 2022

Liberia located in the continent of Africa. It has Sierra Leone and Guinea to the north, Côte D’Ivoire to the northeast and east, the Atlantic Ocean to the south and southeast.

The capital is Monrovia.

The official language is English.

The climate is warm and humid all year round, especially on the coast. It has a dry season from November to April, and the rainy season is from May to October. Temperatures are generally from 65 to 80 F.

The staples are rice, sugar cane, cassava, corn, yam, onion, tomato, potato, sweet potato, cabbage, beef, chicken, lemon grass and much more (http://www.foodbycountry.com/Kazakhstan-to-South-Africa/Liberia.html).

https://www.britannica.com/place/Liberia

LIBERIAN PEANUT SOUP (https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1015595-liberian-peanut-soup):

• 1 ham hock
• 1 lb. stew beef, cut up
• 1 lb. chicken pieces (thighs, wings, drumsticks)
•  Chicken bouillon cubes
• 1 onion, diced
• 1 bell pepper. Diced
• 1 celery stalk, diced
• 1 habanero pepper, minced
• 1-piece dried fish (optional)
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 2 large potatoes, cut into 1-inch pieces
• ½ lb. okra, chopped
• ½ jar peanut butter

1. Fill a heavy soup pot halfway with water and add ham hock.
2. Bring to a boil and cook for 15 minutes.
3. Discard the water, put the ham hock back in the pot, and refill with water, again halfway up.
4. Bring to a boil, and add beef, chicken, chicken bouillon cubes, onion, pepper, celery, habanero, dried fish and salt and pepper.
5. Cover and cook for about 30 minutes, until the meat is tender.
6. Add potatoes; cook another 15 minutes.
7. Add okra, cook 5 minutes, add peanut butter; cook five minutes more until peanut butter is melted into the soup.
8. Taste and adjust seasonings.
9. If soup is watery, add more peanut butter. If it’s too thick, add water.

LIBERIAN RICE BREAD (https://www.theafricangourmet.com/2012/02/liberian-rice-bread-is-traditional.html):

• 2 C rice flour
• 3 very ripe bananas or very ripe yellow plantains, mashed
• 1 C whole milk
• 2 large eggs
• ¼ C granulated sugar
• ½ tsp nutmeg
• ½ tsp ginger
• ½ tsp salt
• 1 tsp baking soda
• ½ C vegetable oil

1. Preheat over to 350 degrees F.
2. In a large mixing bowl add all the ingredients and stir until thoroughly blended.
3. Bake in a well-greased loaf pan for about 40 minutes.

LIBERIAN STEWED MANGOES WITH CLOVES (https://togetherwomenrise.org/recipes/liberian-stewed-mangoes-with-cloves/):

• 4 large ripe mangoes, peeled and sliced
• 2/3 C sugar
• ¾ C water
• 6 whole cloves

1. Begin by making a sugar syrup. Combine the sugar and water in a pan, bring to a boil and cook for 1 minutes before taking off the heat and adding the cloves.
2. Allow to cool completely.
3. When the syrup is cold, add the mangoes and return to the heat.
4. Bring to a simmer and cook for 15 minutes, covered, until the mangoes are tender.

Take off the heat, allow to cool and serve in ice cream or compote dishes, garnished with cloves and blanched slivers of orange zest.