Soupin' it up in Senegal!

The Story: So my dear followers (all two of you), I am currently living in Senegal. It's hot as hell here, and the markets are just flush with locally grown, insanely-delicious vegetables and fresh fish, meats, chickens just killed-- you name it. It's heaven. In the same way I didn't really know what a carrot tasted like before I moved to Morocco, this place is teaching me about fruits-- mangoes, papayas, and melons, to be exact.

So, in the honor of Senegal, here is the recipe for a delicious lemony-chicken okra stew I ate recently. I do love okra! But, if you don't, I bet this would be great with spinach or kale too.

The Ingredients:

• 2 lemons, juice of
• 2 cups okra, sliced
• 1 whole broiler chicken (2 1/2 lbs)
• 1/3 cup long grain rice, uncooked
• 6 cups chicken broth or water, your call (a bouillon cube or two added to the water is ok too)
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1 large onion, peeled & chopped
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 3 tomatoes, peeled & chopped
• 1/2 teaspoon ground red pepper
• 1 (6 ounce) can tomato paste
• 1 teaspoon ground turmeric

The Cooking:

Cut up the chicken into pieces. Rub the lemon juice all over it, salt and pepper it, and stick it in the pot with the water/broth. Bring it to a boil, then lower heat, cover, and simmer for 15 minutes. Add all the remaining ingredients and cook for a 1/2 hour or so, until the rice and chicken is tender. Remove chicken pieces and debone, and return meat to pot and serve!