Mufungo: Secret Origins - by Roman

You take two cans of re-fried beans, one pound of cheese, one container of fresh (not from a jar) salsa, a dash of garlic salt, a lot of ground black pepper, and some cilantro (if available). Mix it all together and heat until the cheese is the temperature of a nuclear reactor. That's the current formula for Mufungo.

It's taken 17 years to get to this point. The original term "Mufungo" comes from the latin mufungus, meaning of course, cheesey bean dip. That's just a joke, though I'm sure the early Europians would have enjoyed it as well. Except for perhaps the French...bastards.

Anyway, the word was given to us by the prophet Fred Sanford, of Sanford and Son fame. There is an important distinction between the two Mufungos. Fred Sanford made his with a mixture of manudo and "something else." That is to vague to base a proper recipe on. And for those not entirely familiar with manudo, it is an intestine, and innards dish from our friends south of the boarder. While I hear it really is quite good, I haven't mustered the courage to consume it.

Mark first wrote Mufungo on Mrs. Lowery's (our newspaper instructor) board in 1987. She erased it almost immediately, but it was back on the board the next day. This battle raged on for weeks until she lacked the will to erase it any more (or maybe she just got the joke). I know a proud line of Otters continued the tradition after that point and in my heart I like to think it's still there, a confused English Lit student staring at it thinking, "What the hell is that."