Attend This

"Did you know that 70% of the world's supply of cocoa beans comes from West Africa, where there are an estimated 15,000 child slaves who harvest them? Kidnapped, or even sold by their families, they are forced to work under dangerous conditions with little hope for a brighter future. 

Hosted by Not For Sale Minnesota, during this event you will learn to deal constructively with this disheartening situation by becoming an informed consumer of slave-free chocolate. Come and learn about local chocolate sources untainted by slave labor, as well as have the opportunity to sample and purchase slave-free (and guilt-free) chocolate."

----

The movie The Dark Side of Chocolate will begin promptly at 7pm. Please come and see this informative clip.

  

WHEN: Thurs, Feb 10  7PM - 9PM   

WHERE: Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Minneapolis Office

625 Fourth Avenue S.

Minneapolis, MN 55415

FREE samples of fair trade chocolate will be provided by French Meadow Bakery.

PARKING: Free parking is one block EAST of Thrivent between 5th and Portland.

DETAILS: The event will take place in the first floor auditorium of the Thrivent building. Skyways and all doors will be open for your use.  

Pictures Via The Dark Side of Chocolate

Event Hosted By the Not for Sale Campaign MN Chapter 
Oh, & great minds think alike: Kimmy

Top Customers

At the Deli I serve a lot of different people, but my favorite - hands down - are customers over 60. Here are a few reasons why:

they call me cute names (doll, sweet, lovely, sugar, hunny, etc.),
their jokes are terrible,
they always dress to impress,
they are polite,
they laugh a lot,
they love chocolate,
trying something new off the menu is a huge deal,
they are comfortable eating alone,
they savor pastries and baked goods,
they order caffeine at night &
beer in the afternoon.

My favorite though, is when they order ice cream, because they always - and I mean always - get a double scoop.

Honey

Dessert stand on a Cairo street corner

Hey, remember back threeeee days ago when I talked about my friend Kim's new blog Culture Smash?! Well, as promised I made my first contribution (I cheated a little by repeating a It's a Small World post), but really, it's an awesome project. Check it out - it's the beginning of something beautiful. 

Foodie

Today was my first day working in the food sectooooor ------> Which means, I'm too tired to think. So ------> instead of using my own brain, I'm passing on a New York Times article about a new Roundup Resistant Weed. This is terrifying, folks. (Notice the food theme? Eh? Eh? Okay. Sleeeeeeeeep).

... another new, scary, article about links between Cancer & Chemicals.

I Found the First One!

Last night my dad and I went Morel mushroom hunting around our house. Neither of us had done it before, but the lilacs are in bloom so - it was time. Upon returning home & doing some research it was obvious we made a few noob mistakes, but I'd say a pound and a half is quite the score for first timers! Do any of you hunt for Morels?  

For someone who doesn't eat mushrooms - I had a blast. Every once in a while it feels good to run around in the woods and get your hands dirty. Mayyybe I'll even try one, I do like butter... 

red.

Food time.
The last night my mom and I made:

Thai Red Chicken Curry
(it's very, very easy & a little spice is good for'ya).

We got the recipe from real simple magazine, and I only made a few adaptations.
Heeeeere you gooooo:

1. Season 1.5 pounds of chicken cutlets w. salt & cook with canola oil on medium/high heat until golden; remove and slice.
2. Add 2 sliced bell peppers* (red are the best!) and 1/4 cup water to a pan; cook until tender.
3. Add 2 tablespoons of red curry paste (we used powder) and 15 ounces of coconut milk; simmer for 4 minutes.
4. Add the chicken, serve with rice, lime and basil.

*Mom and I added other veggies like onions, carrots, and broccoli (remember: depending on pan size & the amount of veggies used, you may want to add a little more water). I'm sure that potatoes, eggplant, and zucchini would be wonderful too!

Enjoy!

NOM NOM

I hit lunchtime TV gold today ... Anthony Bourdain's No Reservations: Egypt.

Khalda and I watched this episode together & agreed it's a fairly accurate presentation of Egyptian food. I'm having a blast re-watching it. Needless to say, I'm now in a full force GIVE ME EGYPTIAN STREET FOOD mode.

Koshari was one of my favorite meals in Egypt. & I'm not the only one who loves it; Koshari is the national dish of Egypt. Everyone likes it. Everyone eats it. Nearly everyday. It's filling, cheap, and nutritious.

My first bowl of Koshari! (Take note of the men. haha, always staring. Always.)

& here's the recipe:

Ingredients:

• 1 Cup Lentils
• 3/4 or 1 Cup Chick Peas*
• 1 Cup White Rice
• 1 Cup Uncooked Macaroni (orzo/elbow)
• 1 Large Onion, diced
• 2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
• 2 Cloves Garlic, crushed
• 2 1/2 Cups Tomato Sauce
• 1/4 Teaspoon Crushed Red Pepper or Hot Sauce

Preparation:

Place lentils in saucepan and bring to a boil. Allow to simmer on low for 30 mintues, or until tender.

While lentils are cooking, also cook white rice in 2 cups of water, or according to package directions.Also, cook macaroni noodles until al dente.

Combine lentils, rice and macaroni in a large pot. * Some recipes add chick peas.

Saute onions and garlic in pan in olive oil until browned [fried]. Add tomato sauce to onions and garlic and heat until bubbling. Remove from heat.

Place a serving of lentil mixture on a plate and cover with sauce (I've also had Koshari with additional sauces such as lemon or vinegar/garlic). Sprinkle red pepper on top and serve.

Recipe from: About.com

Enjoy a taste of Egypt! mmm

Something to do today: try out a new recipe, or just add some red pepper flakes to your meal. :)

aysh

Yelling man/alarm clock mystery solved. After nearly two months of some man yelling the same thing everyday between 11-11:30; I finally know what he is saying. My guesses were right- he is selling bread. What I didn't know, is that he is selling it to the obese man who lives upstairs.

morningtimefun

Nothing like a rainy day to make you buy ridiculous things.

Cherrios: 6 US Dollars.
Tea pot that looks like a chicken: 25 US Dollars.

I would simply die and go to heaven if it crows when hot.

Dance like an Egyptian

I've been trying to mentally recap everything I've been doing in the last few days but it is a hard task when you don't know when yesterday ended and today started.

Saturday was the last day of Ramadan and Sunday marked the beginning of the Eid. So it was new PJs (a tradition I love) and a frightening amount of toy cell phones and guns (a tradition I kept my mouth shut about) for the kiddies. Sunday was filled with naps (we didn't sleep on "Eid eve"), spankin' new clothes, visiting relatives, and eating. Lots of eating. Basically all of Sunday I was lost in Arabic chatter, but during my daze of nods and smiles (when I heard my name) I was able to think a lot about the ways holidays are celebrated in the US (my simple conclusion: the same, excpet we add alcohol). Celebrating the Eid made me excited that I'll make it back to the US in time for Thanksgiving and Christmas. I feel really fortunate that I was able to take part of such a special time of the year for billions of people worldwide.

Even staying up all night on Saturday wasn't too difficult- I was on quite the culture high. Khalda, her friend Nabib, and his daughter Amira and I went to the Suez Gulf and walked around. We smoked Shisha, drank cokes, and chowed on some street food - it was some kind of hot tomato soup like liquid with beans (since then- I've fallen in love with street food; I've had a gyros, falafel, kushari, and bamboo juice).

After our relaxation by the gulf we checked out the pier (which was deafening/beautifully sounded by drums ... and techno). There were so many people hanging out, selling tea, riding bikes, and listening to the music. There were also lines and lines of decked out boats full of more rope and dangle lights than the tackiest of houses during Christmas. Nabib treated us to a ride on one, and that's where it happened- my FIRST encounter with Egyptian dancing. Oh my Lord do they dance. It was SO fun - all the drums, hips, techno, and snaps - I felt like I had my first surreal moment of culture. So when we went home, naturally I gathered all the women and children - and we danced. Frankly, I don't think I've got enough sass and sex in me to mimic Egyptian dancing (I do better walking like an Egyptian- har har), but alas, I'm trying- and in the process giving Khalda and friends a good laugh.

I saw more dancing today when on my boat ride down the Nile. Its just so fun to see everyone come alive with the music and dancing! Some of the kids started break dancing, and although I almost got kicked in the face it was definitely a highlight (and I've got a decent video). The views were amazing on the boat ride- if only the country wasn't full of liter!

Another highlight of my weekend happened after the dance lesson (remember- it's like- 3 AM now :)), I got to go to the hair salon! It was literally a hole in the wall jam packed with women. Khalda and her friend got hair removed from their faces and brows with string- once I saw tears I turned down their offer of taking a go at me. (Eventually I let them 'sting' a side burn- it wasn't too painful) I also turned down Khalda's offer to pay for me to get my hair straightened... the iron, well, it was a metal rod that sits over a flame until it touches your hair. No thank you. I'll keep my hair, even if Khalda thinks its crazy.

Oh Khalda, Khalda, Khalda... I love her. I think one of these days I'll write a entry specific to her. If it wasn't for her generosity and bubbly nature- I'd probably be home with y'all already. Things are getting better everyday. Although, we are back in Cairo now and it's size is really intimidating! I'm trying to use the Arabic I've learned more often (the whole 10 words of it) my "Thank You", "Hello", and "Water" in English need to stop coming so naturally!

I hope all is well in the States, people here ask about you often.

All the Love,

Jeanna