Africa

Last week I had several days devoted to African countries. Angola, Mali, and Uganda. 

Current events:

There are a lot of things going on in Africa.  The west is trying to cut humanitarian aid to Uganda. In the meantime, the U.S. is continuing travel warnings to Mali on the bases of  Jihadist style terrorism coming out of that region. 

Movie:

One of the movies that I watched was “Blood Diamond”. This movie how the diamond industry breads inhumane treatment in African countries. The main message is about how we need to be careful when we buy diamonds to ensure that our purchase does not negatively affect those living an ocean away.

The movie takes place in Sierra Leon. Far North of Angola. However, Angola has had its own struggles with the diamond trade, which highlights death, harsh conditions and civil war.

Food:

I made a dish called Chicken Muamba. This dish actually comes from the Congo, but similar dishes are made across Africa. I ate this with something called Fufu.  Fufu is a paste made of semolina, wheat flower, or potatoes, with a 2:1 flower to water ratio. I asked a friend from Nigeria what the difference was between grits and Fufu. He described it as dough that is the consistency between that of cream of wheat and mashed potatoes. Fufu is eaten with soupy dishes. You break off a piece of Fufu and dip it into your stews.  The chicken Muamba was a simple dish.

Ingredients:

1 whole chicken (cut into pieces)

1 cup peanut butter

1 chopped onion

1 cup garlic pasta sauce.

Water

Salt to taste

Directions:

1)      Boil chicken in a pot of water.

2)      In a separate pan, sauté onions

3)      Once chicken is cooked, remove half the water.

4)      Add onions, peanut butter, and pasta sauce.

5)      Salt to taste.

 

My Fufu did not turn out as well as the fufu in the video, but this was what I used as my instructional video.

Work Cited:

Allen, Michael. “The ‘Blood Diamond’ Resurfaces.” http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052748704198004575311282588959188

Aid Cut to Uganda: EU envoy to prevail on partners. Website: http://www.newvision.co.ug/news/654063-aid-cut-to-uganda-eu-envoy-to-prevail-on-partners.html . Published: March 31, 2014. Retrieved: March 31, 2014

"Fufu Recipe: How to make Semolina Fufu". https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wD4ERyhQPhU. Published: October 2011. Retrieved: March 31, 2014.

Nossiter, Adam. “Leading Militant Killed in Mali, Military Officials Say”. Webiste: http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/international/countriesandterritories/mali/. March 14, 2014. Retrieved: March 31, 2014.

Zwick, Edward, “Blood Diamond”. 2006

Australia

Australia:

My youngest sister had gone to college in Australia. She fell in love with the place after her first visit, where she returned to us with reports of how much more thorough Australian news was, and how we didn’t get the world news Australia got. She went back and would call with stories of giant spiders, uncaring professors, and mild confusion. It wasn’t that she no longer liked Australia. She never expressed be disappointed in the place, at least not to me.  

Movie:

I’m a sucker for 90’s Disney movies. One of my favorites when growing up was Rescuers Down Under, where a young boy battles an evil poacher, who is after a giant eagle. He is helped by the Rescuers: two mice from a previous movie, a kangaroo rat, and an Albatross who also serves as an airplane. This animated feature is light hearted and fun, with a cute sense of humor.

Food:

Since I had done a similar the Norfolk Islands, covered a few days before, and still had leftovers, I ate what I had eaten that day: Abby’s Australian veggie burgers (with pineapple and barbeque sauce).

References:

Butoy, Handel. Gabor, Mike.“Rescuers Down Under”. 1990.

Tuvalu

Tuvalu:

Tuesday I looked into to Tuvalu. I love looking into islands of the Pacific Ocean. This country is part way between Hawaii and Australia.  Much of the culture seems very similar to that of Hawaii, but with much closer ties to Australia. Unlike Hawaii, it does not thrive on tourism, yet it has a stronger economy then most Pacific Islands.

Activity:

The natives have traditional dance. It is not quite the hula, but I pulled out my hula dance DVD anyway.

Food:

According to Wikipedia, much of their food is based on fish and coconut. I was not able to find too much additional information about their cuisine, so I made a fish curry. This is probably not how they cook there, but it at least used some of the ingredients they use.

Ingredients:             

1 fish fillet (cod)

1 cup coconut milk

1 tea spoon curry powder

2 tbs. Korean barbeque sauce

½ chopped asparagus

¼ cup chopped eggplant

1 tea spoon oil

Cooked rice

Directions:

1.       Heat oil in a pan over medium heat.

2.       Once the oil is hot, add chopped vegetables and sauté for 5 minutes.

3.       Shove the vegetables to the corner of the pan and place fish on the pan. Cook one side of the fish for 3 minutes and then the other side for the same amount of time.

4.       Add the coconut milk, curry spice, and Korean barbeque sauce and bring to a boil. After it starts bubbling, let boil for 3-5 minutes. Note: if you boil too long, fish may dissolve and the curry will be ruined.  

5.       When fish is thoroughly cooked, remove from heat, and serve over rice.

 

 

Work Cited:

“Tuvalu”. Wikipedia. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tuvalu

China-Arbor Day

China:

Wednesday, March 12^th, was Arbor Day in China. China started celebrating this in 1981. It was part of a resolution that stated every able body person should plant 3-5 trees.

Book:

As many of you know, Amy Tan is one of the Authors that I admire. This week, I read The Valley of Amazement. Amy Tan is best known for writing the Joy Luck Club. She mostly writes fiction that is based on China, Chinese Americans, and America’s relationship with China. This book is a work of historical fictions that starts prior to 1897 and runs well almost into the mid 20^th century.

The premise is about a woman, Violet, who was half American and half Chinese who grew up in a Shanghai courtesan house ran by her mother. Her mother is betrayed by one of her business associates which throws her life into upheaval. By 25, Violet has been a courtesan, wife, mother, and widow. When Violet is a child, I could not help by think she was a spoiled brat that needed to learn respect, but after the unfortunate turn that teaches her humility, you cannot help but feel sorry for multiple situations she finds herself in.

At the same time, Amy Tan takes us through a historical account of what was going on in China in the early 20^th century.

Food:

For Lunch, I had a fried rice TV dinner. For Dinner I ate at a local Chinese Restaurant. I hadn’t eaten at a Chinese restaurant, except PF Chang’s since moving back to Michigan.

At first glance, this restaurant looked like a place you find on almost any corner. It was small, in the same strip as a grocery store. The main entrées were displayed over the front counter, and there were sparse decorations.   While I was waiting for my food I noticed that they had won an award back in 2006 stating that they had the best Chinese food for that region back in 2006. Why they still displayed such an old award, I am not sure.

What was interesting about the place was that you could see right into the kitchen. The kitchen was much cleaner then the dining room, and while I waited for my food I got to watch several of the dishes being made.

The cooks had great big woks which were over gas stoves with high flames. Directly behind the stoves was a sink. Whenever the cooks changed to a new entrée, they would fill the wok with water, directly on the stove and simply splash the water out into the sink until the cookware was clean. It was interesting, I am sure they do this at other places, but there are almost always curtains between the dining room and kitchen, and so I had never seen what the actual cooking procedure was at a Chinese restaurant.

Resources:

“Arbor Day”. Wikipedia. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arbor_Day. Retrieved: March 12, 2014.

Tan, Amy. The Valley of Amazement. Published: 2013.

Norfolk Islands

Norfok Islands
Yesterday, I focused on the Norfolk Islands, located between New Zealand and Australia.  Much like Australia, Norfolk Islands was where a place where prisoners were sent.

Musical:
Morgan's Run was originally a book by Coleen McCullough. She later adapted the book into a musical with Gavin Lockley. The Author herself was from the Norfolk Islands. Most of her work takes place in the distant past, such as ancient Rome, or Elizabethan England. Some of her work is more modern. Morgan's Run  was the only book I could find about Norfolk Islands by an author from the location.

The Musical starts off in England. Prisoners go out to sea towards the Islands and bear many hardships. One of the songs in the musical is all about how some of the men promise to remain celibate.

Activity:
Norfolk Islands was initially settled by Polynesians, because of this, hula is popular on this island. I pulled out my hula aerobics dvd and tried to dance. I couldn't exactly keep up with it. I am glad that I was by myself, because I probably looked ridicules, with my arms flailing all over the place and stiff hip movement.

Food:
Since the Island was settled by Englanders and is in close association with Australia, much of there food is similar to what we they eat.

For lunch, I had the same sausage sizzle that I made for myself when I did New Zealand, cooked with onions. Instead of white bread, like last time, I had it with Hawaiian sweet bread.

For dinner I had something my sister had told me about when she came back from living in Australia. She told me, that in Australia they make hamburgers with pineapple, cheese and barbeque sauce. So I made a vegie burger with that. 

I also had a glass Australian wine:  Fish eye, Moscato. It was sweet and fruity with a nice crispness.

Work Cited:
Lockley, Gavin. McCullough, Coleen. "Morgan's Run: The Musical".

McCullough, Coleen. Morgan's Run. Published: 31 August 2000

"Norfolk Islands". Wikipedia. Website: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Norfolk_Island#Settlement_by_Pitcairn_Islanders.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norfolk_Island
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morgan%27s_Run
Retrieved: 7 March, 2014

Lockley, Gavin. McCullough, Coleen. Morgan's Run.  Published: 31 August 2000