Wednesday, 19 October 2011

Madagascar

Madagascar is the world's fourth biggest island after Greenland, New Guinea and Borneo. Because of its isolation most of its mammals, half of its birds, and most of its plants exist nowhere else on earth.

Madagascar lies in the Indian Ocean, off the coast of Mozambique

The World Bank has estimated that 70% of Malagasy live on less than $1 per day. Poverty and the competition for agricultural land have put pressure on the island's dwindling forests, home to much of Madagascar's unique wildlife and key to its emerging tourist industry.























A taste of Madagascar

MADAGASCAR CHICKEN

2 boneless chicken breast halves, cut in bite size chunks
2/3 cup canned coconut milk
1 yellow onion, chopped
1 red bell pepper or tomato, sliced and chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp grated lemon rind
1/3 tsp (or to taste) cayenne powder
salt
pepper
lemon juice
oil

Marinate chicken in lemon juice 30 min, drain and season with salt and pepper to taste. Saute over medium heat until cooked on outside but slightly pink inside. Drain oil and place chicken in a container and set aside. Saute onions, stirring constantly, until slightly browned. Add bell peppers and garlic and saute 3-4 min, stirring constantly. Reduce heat to simmer, add coconut milk, ginger, cayenne powder, and lemon rind. Add chicken back to stew.

Cover and simmer 30 min or until in thick stew consistency. If mixture is too thin simmer with lid removed until desired consistency is reached. Serve over a bed of steamed white rice.

NOTE: One pound shelled and deveined shrimp can be added to or substituted for the chicken.

VARENGA

Varenga is a simple beef recipe from Madagascar, Africa. It is traditionally made in large quantities for sharing with friends and family.

2 lb braising steak, cut into 2-inch strips
salt and black pepper
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 medium onion, sliced
Cold water

1. Place all the ingredients in a large saucepan, cover with ½ - inch of cold water and bring to the boil, stirring.

2. Reduce the heat, partially cover the pan and simmer gently for about 2 hours, keeping an eye on the water level and topping up when necessary, until meat is very tender and can be shredded with a fork.

3. Preheat the oven to 400F and grease a wide shallow baking pan. Remove the meat from the saucepan and shred into thin strips using two forks. The meat should be soft enough to pull apart very easily.

4. Transfer the shredded meat to the greased pan, pour over enough of the cooking juice to moisten then roast in the oven for 30 minutes until well browned on top. Serve with rice.

*****

Here are two examples of music from Madagascar, one is young and modern, from the north and the other is very native, from the south of the island.



Tuesday, 18 October 2011

Some sensual, powerful flamenco

This video stirs something in me. My maternal grandparents were born in Granada, Andalucia, and flamenco never fails to touch me somewhere.

Standing up for the 99% - UPDATE: London

Sleuth posted this video in the comments yesterday and I think it deserves a wider audience:



From the (rightwing) UK Daily Mail:


The times they are a-changing'...

UPDATE

I found this video of the London demo. [WARNING: The language gets a bit salty for a short while.]

Monday, 17 October 2011

Girlie wisdom

Mrsgunka makes her debut on What time with a few funny pearls of girlie wisdom...


1. A friend of mine confused her Valium with her birth control pills... she has 14 kids but she doesn't really care.

2. One of life's mysteries is how a 2-pound box of chocolates can make a woman gain 5 lbs.

3. My mind not only wanders, it sometimes leaves completely.

4. The best way to forget your troubles is to wear tight shoes.

5. The nice part about living in a small town is that when you don't know what you are doing, someone else does.

6. The older you get, the tougher it is to lose weight, because by then your body and your fat are really good friends.

7. Just when I was getting used to yesterday, along came today.

8. Sometimes I think I understand everything, and then I regain consciousness.

9. I gave up jogging for my health when my thighs kept rubbing together and setting fire to my panties.

10. Amazing! You hang something in your closet for a while and it shrinks 2 sizes!

11. Skinny people irritate me when they say things like...'You know sometimes I forget to eat!' Now, I've forgotten my address, my mother's maiden name, and my keys, but I have never forgotten to eat. You have to be a special kind of stupid to forget to eat.

12. The trouble with some women is that they get all excited about nothing -- and then they marry him.

13. I read this article that said the typical symptoms of stress are eating too much, impulse buying, and driving too fast. Are they kidding? Throw in a cocktail and that's my idea of a perfect day!

Thank you, Mrsgunka. I'm sure #4 should work... until you take the shoes off!

It's spreading...

USA

USA

USA

Miami

Miami

London

Auckland

Frankfurt

Hong Kong

Sydney

Stockholm

Malaga, Spain

Vancouver

Tokyo

Zurich


Montreal

Rome