Eating Ethiopian style

[MajGenl.Meade]

One of the disavantages of living in Bloem is the limited cuisine. No Indian, no Thai, no Ethiopian, no Greek, no Italian (well some wannabes), no Chines (that you'd go to without 911 on open call) and so on. If I see creamed spinach and pureed squash as side veg any more I may have to kill. There are some African dishes available but they are largely variations on pap, squash, meat and as few vegetables as possible it seems. Oh the hardship of reading this thread!!!!!!

[Gob]

A trip to Pretoria must be on the cards soon Meade, go on, treat Mrs Meade.

[rubato]

Vegetables are easy to grow. Do you have some space and water?

yrs,
rubato

[MajGenl.Meade]

Indeed, more space and water (and they said this was a dry place) than anyone could want. We've got mealies, tomatoes (yum) and something else growing but the soil kind of is not very good. Also not good are the sheep and cows which invent new ways to get in constantly. I've learned why cow chips make good firewood here as opposed to good old British cow soggy poop. Also you can stamp it down into a pretty good smooth floor although it's better to get anthill earth (minus the ants). Produce here is generally not very good - squash of course in many varieties. But brussels sprouts? No. Cabbage. Yah but not so hot. Corn (mealies) are terrible often. Fruits good though.

Not that I'm going to make a floor out of cowdung or anthills but the latter might make a good tennis hardcourt

Meade

[loCAtek]

As well as the Ethiopian food, have you tried Ethiopian coffee? Wow, that is potent brew! I stumbled into an African coffee cafe in Milpitas, called Ola's; at first I was taken a bit back by the prices, but decided not to bike any further in search of my weekend caffeine treat. As well as the price, the time it took to brew a cuppa seemed a little longer than normal, as the Native African proprietor very slowly and methodically measured out precise amounts of beans and steaming water.

As I waited, I looked around the shop which seemed so popular, they had a little 'gift shop' corner.

When my cuppa arrived, the first sip explained why: wow. Second Sip: yum. Third Sip: buzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.

Not for people with heart problems, ADD or those trying to maintain respectful demeanors.

[rubato]

Indeed, more space and water (and they said this was a dry place) than anyone could want. We've got mealies, tomatoes (yum) and something else growing but the soil kind of is not very good. Also not good are the sheep and cows which invent new ways to get in constantly. I've learned why cow chips make good firewood here as opposed to good old British cow soggy poop. Also you can stamp it down into a pretty good smooth floor although it's better to get anthill earth (minus the ants). Produce here is generally not very good - squash of course in many varieties. But brussels sprouts? No. Cabbage. Yah but not so hot. Corn (mealies) are terrible often. Fruits good though.

Not that I'm going to make a floor out of cowdung or anthills but the latter might make a good tennis hardcourt

Meade

Brussels sprouts like cool climates and even then take a lot of pesticides, they're a local specialty here on the cool and damp central coast. There are a lot of greens that do well in your climate, you may have to experiment. Fortunately, seeds are cheap.

Animals just need good fences.

yrs,
rubato

[liberty]

They've been growing Teff here in the US for a while now. You can probably have it shipped to you.

http://teffgrass.com/seed-suppliers

The local Ethiopians and Eritreans usually buy their Injera, or so they say, except for the older generation of women.

yrs,
rubato

I me meet a family of Eritreans during a service call to Grambling. I was struck by two things about them. One was the animosity that they felt for the Ethiopians and the other was that their facial appearance did not appear to be African but oriental that is Mongolian like.

[liberty]

Did you know that none of the leafy green vegetables, (soul foods) originated in Africa; they are all Eurasian? Peanut are not African either; they come from South America.

[rubato]

They've been growing Teff here in the US for a while now. You can probably have it shipped to you.

http://teffgrass.com/seed-suppliers

The local Ethiopians and Eritreans usually buy their Injera, or so they say, except for the older generation of women.

yrs,
rubato

I me meet a family of Eritreans during a service call to Grambling. I was struck by two things about them. One was the animosity that they felt for the Ethiopians and the other was that their facial appearance did not appear to be African but oriental that is Mongolian like.

Most of the Eritreans I know hold no hostility for Ethiopians in general with whom they share a language (Tigrinya) a history a religion and a culture And large populations of both Eritrea and Ethiopia are semitic in appearance, none of them are "Mongolian like". Their languages are also Semitic.

A lot of Eritreans have a strong dislike of the Dirge, who were the military dictators of Ethiopia who engaged in a protracted war with Eritrea but then most Ethiopians hated the Dirge as well. Including a family acquaintance who was put in prison by them for several years. Some Eritreans still hold a grudge against Haile Selassie but they are mostly much older.

yrs,
rubato

[loCAtek]

Did you know that none of the leafy green vegetables, (soul foods) originated in Africa; they are all Eurasian? Peanut are not African either; they come from South America.

Yep those foods were introduced during the slave trade period. Similarly to how native Mexican cooking was changed to include beef, chicken, rice, dairy and wheat flour.

[liberty]

They've been growing Teff here in the US for a while now. You can probably have it shipped to you.

http://teffgrass.com/seed-suppliers

The local Ethiopians and Eritreans usually buy their Injera, or so they say, except for the older generation of women.

yrs,
rubato

I me meet a family of Eritreans during a service call to Grambling. I was struck by two things about them. One was the animosity that they felt for the Ethiopians and the other was that their facial appearance did not appear to be African but oriental that is Mongolian like.

Most of the Eritreans I know hold no hostility for Ethiopians in general with whom they share a language (Tigrinya) a history a religion and a culture And large populations of both Eritrea and Ethiopia are semitic in appearance, none of them are "Mongolian like". Their languages are also Semitic.

A lot of Eritreans have a strong dislike of the Dirge, who were the military dictators of Ethiopia who engaged in a protracted war with Eritrea but then most Ethiopians hated the Dirge as well. Including a family acquaintance who was put in prison by them for several years. Some Eritreans still hold a grudge against Haile Selassie but they are mostly much older.

yrs,
rubato

You had the advantage of actually being friend with Eritreans; I on the other hand only had a fleeting encounter. But the impressions I had were the impressions I had. That was the one only time I had ever met East Africans and if it had not been for the fact that they were attending Grambling state university that one would have never happened.

[rubato]

Ethiopians and Eritreans are both among the most successful immigrant groups in the United States. Generally better educated than white Louisiana residents, and harder working, on the whole.


yrs,
rubato