African Chicken Stew: Sitting Down Over Sacrifice

I’m blessed to have Shelly Miller at the table today. Shelly is a published writer and shares reflections on life at Redemption’s Beauty. Of all the guests at the table the past two weeks, Shelly is the only one I have never met in person, or IRL as they say. Mia and Popa know her so that counts, right? Lucky for me, I will have the chance to finally meet Shelly at a writer’s conference later this fall. I can’t wait to hug her neck and thank her for sharing her gift of words with me and countless others at Redemption’s Beauty.

{Speciose and Shelly}

Squeezed together on the bench seat of an old van, Speciose and I couldn’t help knocking into each other as we bounced over potholes, swerved around pedestrians crowding the red clay roads of Kigali, Rwanda. She speaks Kinyarwanda to someone on her cell phone, clothed in vibrant African dress, hair braided like a piece of art.

I only know one language and this woman, living in a third world country, can speak four. I am one of several visiting Americans shifting through her world, fascinated by her skill in translation and bartering.

{Photo credit: Shelly Miller, Redemption’s Beauty}

We eat lunch at separate tables on a crowded terrace overlooking the metal roof skyline of the city. I notice a faraway look; she picks at her food quietly. It leaves me curious.

On my last day in Rwanda, during a final embrace she reveals what haunts her.  “The children are starving and we have no way to feed them. Do you think you can help,” she asks hesitantly.

I accept the challenge and together, over five years, we manage to help sustain eighty children – orphaned in the genocide and living in a village of child-headed households. Her courageous question is the seed for our blooming friendship.

Years later, on her first visit to America she sleeps in my guest room, soaks in her first bubble bath, and learns how to load a dishwasher. We share concerns for our children, laugh about picking up after our husbands, shop at Target. Surprised by what we share in common despite our individual circumstances.

In the Fall of 2010, I find myself seated across from Speciose with a friend, sharing a meal at her own dining room table, surrounded by her three children. But before we sit down, I ask to wash my hands and notice my family Christmas picture standing upright on a meager shelf.

She brings an empty coffee pot with water and asks me to follow her down a narrow hallway, outside to a dusty back yard. On the way, I notice she has no kitchen sink, refrigerator or stove, just a small burner over hot coals lying on the floor.

{Photo credit: Shelly Miller, Redemption’s Beauty}

She gently pours water over my cupped hands and I rub them together. The precious water she carries in a plastic jug for a few miles on foot.

When I walk back to the table, it spreads with a feast fit for royalty and I know the sacrifice, what this meal cost her. She smiles, asks me to sit down and I don’t know if I’ve ever been more humbled by a meal as we bow our heads to thank Him together.

{Photo credit: Shelly Miller, Redemption’s Beauty}

The recipe below is not a traditional Rwandan recipe but is inspired from Sierra Leone, West Africa. Our missions team served this at a fund-raising dinner for our first outreach to Rwanda in 2007. The outreach introducing me to my dear friend Speciose.

African Chicken Stew

Print Recipe

• Author: Allrecipes.com

Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 lbs. chicken thighs cut up in bite size pieces
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 large potato, diced
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon ground coriander seed
• 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup water
• 3/4 cup unsalted natural-style peanut butter
• 1 (15 ounce) can garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
• 2 cups cooked rice

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Instructions

1. In a large skillet with a tight-fitting lid, heat oil over medium high heat. Add chicken, and brown quickly. Remove chicken from pan. Reduce heat to medium low, and add garlic, onion and potato to the pan; saute for 2 to 3 minutes.
2. Season with cumin, coriander, black pepper, red pepper and salt. Do not let garlic brown.Mix in water and browned chicken, and any accumulated juices. Place lid on skillet and simmer, stirring occasionally, for 10 to 15 minutes.
3. Remove lid, and stir in the peanut butter and garbanzo beans. Make sure the peanut butter is blended in. Replace lid to simmer for 10 more minutes, or until chicken is cooked through and potatoes are tender. Remove from heat, adjust seasoning, and serve over rice. Garnish with cilantro and toasted peanuts.

Love,

Shelly (& Kristin)

This post was originally written as part of the Olympic Feasts at The Schell Cafe series. During the 2012 London Games, we celebrated with meals and stories from around the globe. This recipe is just as delicious today as it was then! 

(Last edited on March 29, 2019.)