Recipe of the Week #9

I recently had a craving for some food I haven't had in a long time; so I decided to cook it. Combing through various recipes for vegetarian lasagna, I emerged with a basic understanding what it would take to cook this meal. There are probably over a hundred different ways to cook it so I will give a brief overview of what I put into mine.

I began by boiling the lasagna noodles in pot with oil and salt. Simultaneously, I sauteed chopped onions (4) and minced garlic (4 cloves) until the onions started to become translucent. Then I threw in the chopped mushrooms (5) and green peppers (2 small) and let cook for another 2 minutes. Finally I threw in the main ingredient, spinach, and let it cook down until most of the water was cooked off. While the veggies were sauteing I added salt, black pepper, garlic, thyme, parsley and the tomato sauce before preheating the oven. After letting the sauce boil for a couple of minutes, I began the layering the pan with sauce, noodles and cheese, in that order. The lasagna spent about 25 minutes in the oven until the vegan mozzarella and vegan pepperjack cheeses began to brown.

I must admit my vegan lasagna won't win any awards for presentation but its taste more-than makes up for its image. I think next time I'm going to make sure to get more cheese and shred it instead of leaving it in the single sheets. It is also important to remember once the noodles are done boiling, keep them in cool water. This keeps them from over-cooking in the hot water or drying up outside of the pot.

Quote of the Week #9

I must admit, I stole this quote from a friend but I found it very insightful and provocative.

"When I give food to the poor they call me a saint. When I ask why they are poor they call me a communist." - Dom Helder Camara

Carmara was an outspoken Brazilian Roman Catholic Archbishop who was also nominated for a Nobel Piece Prize. For more of his opinions and views check out this short piece he authored, entitled Spiral of Violence.

Recipe of the Week #8

One of the things that I have learned after being here for a couple of months is that there are two Jamaicas; one that plays itself out everyday on the streets and other that gets presented to the outside world. After finally understanding this I have come to terms to with the fact that Jamaica has two national dishes. The one the world knows is Ackee and Saltfish, the other oneis canned meat. I think I've personally seen about 3 different ways to cook canned corn beef (with cabbage, beans, pasta) and heard of many more. In an attempt to pull from the nation's "folk" cookbook, I comprised a concoction that ain't half bad.

In a sauce pan, I boiled the (1cup) of rice with (1 tsp) butter and about (7) string beans. Then in a skillet I added (1/2) chopped tomato, (1)onion, (1)green pepper, (1) scotch bonnet pepper and (3) springs of thyme. After letting it saute for a few minutes, I added in the canned mackerel. I prefer to use the mackerel in brine as opposed to the one in tomato sauce and take out the bones ahead of time. Then I sprinkle the triad of spices (black pepper, salt, and garlic pepper) and let it simmer for another 5 minutes. Serve the mackerel and veg over the rice, and voila, you're good to go. I like my food extra spicy so I usually mash up the scotch bonnet pepper and smother it in the food. If your not too keen on spicy I suggest taking it out.

Quote of the Week #8

During a period of intense self-reflection -- and in an attempt to gain a better overstanding of the world around me -- I have turned my attention to Lao Tze's Tao Te Ching. I had originally read this book during my sophomore year at Howard, but admittedly retained little. Therefore, I thought it necessary to reread it. Within the confines of this book, I have selected a quotation which I feel best summarizes a path I am trying to attain. Of course this is an English translation of a very old Chinese script and I'm sure replete with errors and misinterpretations, however I still find the words to be thought provoking.

"He who knows other men is discerning; he who knows himself is intelligent. He who overcomes others is strong; he who overcomes himself is mighty. He who is satisfied with his lot is rich; he who goes on acting with energy has a (firm) will. He who does not fail in the requirements of his position, continues long; he who dies and yet does not perish, has longevity." Lao Tze, Tao Te Ching

Recipe of the Week #6 and #7

Because I didn't post last week, today I whipped up two recipes on the fly. I had a craving for biscuits for some reason, so I decided to make some. Luckily, I had attempted to make Johnny Cakes some time ago so I had all the ingredients necessary. I found an initial recipe online but realized it dated back to 1933. I usually don't discriminate but I like to think that we have made some advancements in baking since that time -- and I had a craving for buttermilk biscuits, specifically, which I don't think were popular back then.

After a little more searching online, I finally found a recipe that sounded good and didn't require shortening. Overall they came out tasting nice and buttery, although I couldn't quite get the shape right. It might be because I didn't use a cookie cutter as recommended but not sure. If you have any idea please let me know.

For the second meal I didn't have a recipe but just sort of threw it together. I'm trying to get better at cooking beans and peas because I believe they have a lot of potential. This meal just sort of came together as Split Pea Soup. I started out by soaking a cup of split peas overnight. Then I boiled them down until they were soft and added in some vegetables I had leftover from an omelet I made two days ago (1/2 tomato, 1/2 green pepper, 1 carrot, 4 mushrooms and some thyme). Finally I added in some more water, and the triad of spices (sea salt, black pepper and garlic powder). It came out tasting pretty good; good enough to make them again. Although I think it works better if you have a food processor or blender to get it to more of a soup consistency prior to adding the veggies. Next time I'm also going to add some minced garlic and onion to the mix.

Quotes of the Week #6 and #7

The month of February is not only the Black History Month in Jamaica, but as of 2008 Reggae Month as well. Thus in keeping with tradition the University of West Indies hosted a number of events dedicated to highlighting reggae history and culture. While sitting in the back row of the Annual Bob Marley Lecture Series listening to Ras Tekla Mekfet; I had an epiphany.

I realized that I have been spending all of this time reading in search of the one quotation that could be abstractly applied to this thing we call life. All the while not realizing that life itself presents many moments of reflection. Therefore this weeks' quotes comes from no ancient tome or well known speech, but pieces of wisdom I overheard and moments of self-reflection.

The first quote is from a side comment made by Ras Tekla Mekfet during his keynote speech --which I jotted down on the edge of the brochure:

"I prefer nature to technology, its more reliable and consistent." (Ras Tekla Mekfet)

The second quote came to me today while I was feeling good, walking down a backstreet headed to the bus stop humming "Knocks Me Off My Feet" by Stevie Wonder. Unfortunately I had to experience it to realize it . . . lets just say it humbled me:

"The man who walks with his head high too long will either step in a ditch or a pile of sh't." (Me)

Last month I stepped in a pile of sh't. Today I stepped in a ditch and almost fell, looking like a fool.

The Archaeology of Africa and the African Diaspora Conference

Just last week Howard University hosted one of the first archaeology conferences of its kind. Entitled, "Windows from the Present to the Past: The Archaeology of Africa and the African Diaspora," the three-day conference consisted of a number of presentations by faculty, students and retired scholars. I co-authored two papers for the conference, one on African American heritage tourism and our research on Gambia's James Island and another on our on-going research at Walter C. Pierce Park and the disenfranchisement of African American public space. Both presentations were well received, the former of which I delivered. Also during the course of my research for the Gambian paper, I came across this article on African American tourism, Cuba and Joe Louis; very interesting I believe.

The conference was a milestone. As I stated earlier, I believe it is one of the first of its kind. It was very inspiring to see the newest research pertaining to African and the diaspora as well as meet other aspiring black archaeologists -- although we are still few and far between. There were three presentations that really stood out to me: Paul Mullins, Anna Agbe-Davies and Merrick Posnansky.

Dr. Mullins spoke about African American consumerism from emancipation into the early 20th century. He stressed the importance of a piano as a status symbol and it really helped me to connect some dots. For one, my mother always said she wanted a piano in the house and I had never understood why. On another note, it really helped me to understand the history of the birth of Jazz. If we see blacks in Chicago, Harlem and other metropolitan areas start to accumulate wealth (and pianos) two to three generations after emancipation, then their children learn how to plan those pianos. We arrive at a very prominent jazz scene emerging in the early 1920s.

Dr. Agbe-Davies is conducting archaeology on a home in Chicago that once served to board single black females during the great migration. I thought it was interesting the way she used the Chicago Defender to develop ideas about community. Combing through hundreds of articles she sees differences in the way Black Chicagoans conceptualized community in 1926, 1966 and 2006.

Finally Dr. Merrick Posnansky delivered the keynote address which I found very inspiring. During his keynote, he called for the need for not only more African and African-American archaeologists but also a larger concentration of research on the African Diaspora in Brazil and throughout the Indian Ocean region. He also recommended that more students, after taking a year or two to discover what you want to study, look to Africa for possible dissertation projects.

Another thing that really stood out to me was the repeated mention of a need to established some sort of African-American (or diaspora) heritage organization and the need for a National Graves Protection and Repatriation Act for blacks in America. As it currently stands there is no organization tasked with preserving African American heritage sites, and number of skeletal collections around the country -- including the Smithsonian -- house African American skeletal remains without the knowledge of their descendants.

More work remains and knowing that there are others out there conducting the same work, reinfuses a sense of purpose. Much thanks to the professors of Howard University's Anthropology and Sociology department -- both past and present -- for their continued dedication to the students and for making this conference come into fruition. The proceeds from the conference will go toward establishing three scholarships for Howard University students to conduct further research. I hope we can have another conference within the coming years perhaps at Fisk, Lincoln, Hampton, Spelman or Morehouse?