As you may recall, at the end of the last post I promised to focus on some highlights rather then gripes. Then I got an email from an American who arrived in Dakar recently and was wondering where to find ready-made meals. “Aïe, aïe, aïe…” I thought. “This is going to be a tough one.”

So I called on the experts. (That would be my friends in Senegal who enjoy cooking and baking. Thanks for your help, everyone!) They were able to help me compile a list of resources and ideas for ready-made meals in Dakar. If you have other recommendations, please add them in the comments below.

• “The CityDia frozen pizzas come to mind.”

• “La Brioche Dorée has a refrigerator case with a selection of Senegalese and Western food. My husband particularly likes their lasagna.”

• “Both CityDia and Hypermarché have some vegetable mixes that look ready to dump in the skillet and go.”

• “We buy platters of hummus and baba ghanoush from Shady Shack and eat it with veggie sticks and pita for dinner. They also have good kibbé that freeze well for little snacks or meals.”

• “We buy CityDia frozen hamburger patties and their dried tortellini is not bad. I think they have mushroom, ham and cheese. Makes a really good base for pasta salad or with a pasta sauce. Oh yeah – CityDia basil pesto is the best.”

• “Call Abdou. He delivers lotte fillets that are ready to grill or cook with a little olive oil – no prep work needed. So good!”

• “On Tuesday nights Pizza Inn has a buy one, get one deal on five of their pizzas. We eat half and freeze half.”

• “The frozen ‘pommes de terres rissolées’ are like little potato cubes that have been lightly fried. They make a good taco casserole base. Just add in some cooked ground beef and onion with a packet of taco seasoning and top with cheese. I’m sure you could make lots of casseroles with them, actually.”

• “At CityDia we buy frozen meatballs, pizza, ham and cheese crepes and chicken nuggets.”

• “Shady Shack‘s marinated frozen chicken breasts, etc. It’s no Lean Cuisine, but may be even better. :)”

• “Hypermarché Exclusif has frozen hamburgers (with bun and everything), hamburger patties, frozen pizzas, shepherd’s pie type stuff by its French name (hachis parmentier)…”

• “My best advice would be to set aside a time each month and fix as many freezer meals as possible at once to make the rest of the month easier. Once a Month Cooking and similar programs have books and websites available to help. It’s much more fun with a friend!”

• “Hire Diami to come over and make some lasagna or other meals to freeze.”

• “Some of the grocery stores with butcher sections have ready-to-grill shish kebabs.”

Lastly… you can always take a look around Toubab Recipes for some ideas and shortcuts for cooking and baking in Dakar!