Semi crossed and uncrossed his legs under the small desk. It was last period, which meant math class with Mr. Taliga. Semi liked geometry, but today he couldn’t focus on anything, much less trigonometric functions – today was rugby try-outs.
In their backyard next to Grandma’s outdoor kitchen, he and his older brother had trained for months among the loose cuttings. “Come on Semi,” Osea had said. “Run faster. Move your knees. You’re gonna have to be quick if you want to make the Sevens squad.”
But Osea underestimated him. Semi would run as fast as a darting bat if it only meant he’d have a chance to play for Natabua this term. Last term he hadn’t made it. He had come from his private school, prepared to be the best athlete by default, only to find the village boys not only faster, but more disciplined than him on the pitch. He’d eaten their dust and been out the first day of tryouts.
Since then he had returned to his roots, living with his grandmother and brother in the village while their parents worked in the city. He had eaten dalo and kokoda every day instead of McDonalds and cheap city fare, and could feel himself running on clean energy.
The bell rang, finally. Semi rushed out of the room and sprinted to the lockers, where the other boys were already pulling on their boots and hefting rugby balls in their hands.
“Looking to lose again?” asked an older boy, grinning at him through a gap in his teeth.
Semi said nothing. They knew him from last year’s tryouts, and that was okay. The element of surprise was always useful in Sevens.
The players trailed out onto the pitch in different colored jerseys, Semi in the maroon stripes of his old prep school. He could hear the others laughing at him behind his back – but then the ball was on the field and he was off, flying up the field, knocking players away from him like a bulldozing elephant as he sprinted towards his first try of the day.
Semi, barreling down the pitch
The ball was down and so were the smiles of the others, who quickly evaluated whether it was a fluke or a misjudgment on their part. They seemed to decide the latter, going straight for him on the next play, but again he was too fast – he passed backward to a member of his side, and then they were both up the pitch, running their own play until the ball hit the dust once more.
The other boys stepped up their game and did their best to squelch Semi. It got harder and harder to make it past their defense, but he never gave up. At the end of the session, Coach called him over.
“You’ve been working,” he observed.
Semi just nodded.
“Okay,” said Coach. “Back again, same time tomorrow.”
Semi’s face was bright as he gathered his things and made his way home. That afternoon he would sit down with his grandmother and brother. They would drink black tea and eat cassava cake, and he would tell them of his success.
- 2 packages grated cassava
- ½ - ⅔ cup of honey, coconut sugar, or maple syrup
- 1.5 tsp sea salt
- 1.5 tsp vanilla
- 1.5 tsp cinnamon (optional)
- 1 cup coconut cream
- The full recipe is available in the Best of Flash Fiction Kitchen cookbook, available here.
Yummm this looks amazing!!! I can’t find frozen cassava but do have cassava root. Can you just grate that in a food processor and boil it to be able to use it in the recipe? Thank you so much for all your amazing recipes!!
Hi Sylvie! Yes that’s actually the traditional way to do it (with fresh, not frozen cassava). I think as long as you’re baking the grated cassava for the cake you don’t need to pre-cook/boil it…here are some instructions for preparing cassava traditionally: http://www.fiji-budget-vacations.com/cassava-cake-recipe.html and the basic unmodified recipe http://www.fijibure.com/namatakula/food.htm for reference 🙂
I am soooooo glad to find your recipes again. I cried when your previous site disappeared as I hadn’t written out your beautiful recipes. Yay. Plus I love your stories especially Scottish Short dragons. Thank you.
Aw thank you Tanya, that’s so nice of you! So glad you like the recipes and stories and found the new site, thanks for visiting! 🙂
Hi can I use cassava flour for this recipe? Looks delish!
Hi Tiffany! You can try with cassava flour, but you might need to add some liquid and the consistency/texture would probably be different…Doesn’t hurt to try tho! ?
Hi! It’s been a while since you commented, but how did it turn out when you used cassava flour? We can only find flour in our stores, and might need to find a different dish if it didn’t turn out well. Thanks!
Did you ever try it with cassava flour? How did it turn out.
Thank to sharing this recipe.
I was so excited to try this but tonight when I did it just stayed gooey? I’m not sure what happened I even left it in for an extra 5 min but the skewer kept coming out with cake on it
I used the frozen cassava but is it normal for it not to smell great out of the bag?
Thank you 🙂
It shouldn’t smell bad so could have been off… if it’s more watery you should just bake it longer and once the water evaporates the bottom should get crispy. It is supposed to be somewhat gooey in the middle, that being the nature of cassava (cake).
I defrosted the cassava before making this recipe but it turned out total goo in the middle as well.
Thank you for this recipe! I thawed my frozen grated cassava and squeezed it out using cheesecloth to get as much moisture out as possible. I knew it would be chewy/gooey, so I added 1/2 cup of almond flour to change the texture and add some protein. We think it is delicious! I did add a drizzle of maple syrup to sweeten it a tiny bit more after baking, so I would probably up the maple syrup to 3/4c.
Good call! I like the idea of adding almond flour for some crunch/textural variety. And yes sometimes I serve mine with additional sweetener so people can adjust if not sweet enough for their liking – it’s also good with coconut whipped cream and berries. 🙂
Any ideas what I can use instead of coconut milk? We don’t have any safe “milks” right now and are working with a pretty limited diet. Is it totally necessary? Or can I add some safe fat (evoo) and moisture (applesauce) instead?
Yes definitely! Coconut milk is just there to add richness, so you can easily substitute some other kind of fat – any of the safe oils (evoo etc.) would work, ghee/coconut oil too – applesauce probably not necessary but might add some nice flavor so why not? (It’s a pretty forgiving/modifiable recipe 🙂
Have you ever added any mashed banana for flavor? Would you reduce the cassava?
I have actually! It’s a good idea and a good sub for other sweeteners too…texture ends up a bit different but banana cassava cake is a traditional regional dish too.
Original recipe measurements:
2 packages grated cassava (2 lbs total; can be found in the frozen sections of Asian/Latin grocery stores; common Filipino ingredient)
⅓ cup of honey or coconut sugar, or ½ c maple syrup (V) (can adjust sweetener level based on preference – this is mildly sweet)
1 tsp sea salt
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp cinnamon (optional)
½ cup coconut cream