Five food items that carried us through Njaanuary

Cooked matumbo. (Courtesy)

Phew! January, the month that has upper and lower sections is finally over. Never in the history of mankind was the survival of so many Kenyans owed to so few food items. In the spirit of Grammy season, we are rolling a red carpet for foods and drinks that carried us through this bleak month.

Leading the pack is matumbo-those greenish, spongy entrails that polite folk prefer to call tripe. Forget gold or Bitcoin; matumbo was the real currency of January. Butchers made a killing, literally and figuratively, and may Mwenenyaga bless those shepherds who kept us supplied with this hard-times delicacy. Who knew chewing on innards could feel so posh?