The food situation in Liberia is very interesting and challenging. Very little food is actually produced in Liberia- mostly fruit and a few veggies but everything else is imported. Even rice, which is the staple diet that every Liberian eats every day, is imported from China. Sadly it is often cheaper to import these than to grow them here even though the soil is rich. So you never know what you will find in a Liberian supermarket or where it came from. My cooking skills have been forced to improve as there are no easy fixes here. Most things I have to make from scratch (a very new concept for me!!). So my resume now includes making the following from scratch: yogurt, ricotta cheese, brownies, granola, and cream of mushroom soup!! So I thought it would be interesting to share with you some items from my IHOP Pantry and where they came from:

Dish soap- Egypt

Oatmeal- Germany

Rice- Thailand

Powdered Milk- Switzerland

Strawberry jelly- Argentina

Kidney beans- England

Butter- Holland

Chick Pea/Hommos- Lebanon

Crisco- America

Mandarin oranges- China

Diapers- Turkey

Juice- South Africa

Laughing Cow Cheese- Morocco

Tomato paste- Italy

Seasonings- Guinea

Cheese Puffs- Sierra Leon

Chicken- Brazil

Ground Beef- the Lord only knows where this is coming from!!

So as you can see an international pantry- you should stop in for a meal soon!!!

ihop