One of the craziest things about living here in Ghana is how I cook...or should I say, how I try to cook. Our stove pictured above is a challenge all of its own. Now, I'm not complaining as we are so blessed to have a stove as most Ghanaian's cook outside over an open flame, but for this very American girl, it is a challenge that is kicking my rear!
This stove is propane, and I have had gas cooktops in America and love them! So cooking there isn't a problem for me...it is the OVEN! It is also propane with two sets of open flames, one above and one below. It is also Celsius, which this Fahrenheit loving girl has to have a cheat sheet handy to help me!
So, I was really craving brownies and being the smart person I am, I packed a few boxed mixes to bring to Ghana with me. Sweets here are much, much, much less sweet than those in America, so to get the full American experience I needed a mix from home. Everything was going well as I got the ingredients together on the counter. My Ghana son, Godfred was in the kitchen helping me. We got everything mixed in the bowl, poured it into the pan and set the oven to what I believed was a correct temperature. (That's the key to this whole drama) I wasn't sure exactly what to set it to, so I turned on both burners (top and bottom) to make sure the oven was fully heated.
While we waited for the brownies to bake, I taught Godfred the art of licking the bowl. He loved it and it is much safer here as the eggs are really fresh! It also helps with washing as handwashing is the only option here in my kitchen.
I had to set the timer with Siri as there is no timer on the oven. We went back into the living room (called the Hall here in Ghana) to wait. As a relatively good baker, I was suspicious about the baking time as it seemed the oven was very hot. About half way through the timer I headed back to the kitchen to check out the progress. Well...when I opened the oven, a lovely charred black smoking mess was staring back at me. Oh no, not my brownies! I found my oven mitt and pulled this mess out of the fiery furnace and turned off the heat. Of course, being Ghana and excessively hot already the kitchen was unbearable but I had to see if anything edible was remaining.
I pulled up the top, blackened, still smoking part of the brownie to find that underneath the brownie was still liquid and uncooked. And for those who know me, yes I ate all the half cooked underdone brownie, I wasn't wasting that! I wish I had taken a picture to share!
So my first adventure in baking was almost a total failure, but I remain undaunted and will try my hand at some cookies next. I will post pictures if I am successful, but if not, if they are still edible they will be eaten. Pray for me as I work to master this challenge to become a Celsius open flame oven baker! Thanks for laughing with me and at me on this journey we have been called to!
