Gras a agribusiness.

A friend recently pointed out that in the manner of saying grace, thanking God for food from the earth, it makes a certain sense to thank Agribusiness for meals that come straight from the chemistry lab.

Confession 1: I love cereal. It's my all-time comfort food.
Confession 2: I love cheap things...er, saving money.

So 1 + 2 =
Oh yes, we did, last Thursday night. It was a second-tier anniversary for us (the day we started dating, EIGHT years ago!), so we celebrated with cereal from Argentina. Pay Only for Taste indeed, since I think this cereal was nutritionally valueless. Hello, food desert in a box. Add a little soy milk, though...irresistible.

Saturday we atoned for our sins by making pasta from scratch:

Basic pasta, as it turns out, is the simplest recipe ever:

3 eggs, lightly beaten
2 cups flour
3/4 teaspoons salt

Mix, let rest 30 minutes, roll super-thin, cut into noodles, dry. To cook, boil for 5 minutes in lightly salted water. Can be stored for weeks. Easy peasy.

We embellished ours with greens from a local tire garden, tomatoes and garlic from the street market, and feta from...well, far away. Delicious. Recommended. I'm not sure if you actually save money by making pasta, but a sense of accomplishment is really one of the best seasonings you can use.

So, the lesson for this week is:
Celebrate humanity. Cook food.

And now a word from our sponsor: MCC Action Alert

Support immediate assistance for Haiti

Urge your members of Congress to move quickly to pass a supplemental funding bill for Haiti.

Background: On March 24, President Obama sent his request to Congress for a supplemental spending bill to support relief and reconstruction efforts in Haiti for the remainder of 2010. Given the extent of the devastation and more than 3 million people affected by the January 12 earthquake, it is vital that Congress votes to support this funding.

With more than 230,000 people killed, 300,000 people injured, and at least 1.7 million forced from their homes by the earthquake, Haiti will require ongoing support throughout 2010 to address emergency needs in health, nutrition, shelter, sanitation, rural livelihood and food. The rainy season, which has already started, and hurricane season, anticipated for later this year, will only exacerbate this situation.

Faith Reflection: As the situation in Haiti becomes more desperate with the start of the rainy season and due to uncoordinated aid delivery, Christians in the United States can respond to the urgent need. The biblical vision from Micah 4:1-5 implies access to basic human rights, such as food, health care, meaningful employment, security and education, as central to the establishment of God's Kingdom. It also illustrates how necessary justice is to the fulfillment of a vision of peace. Empowering Haitians helps to assure that they will experience healing after the earthquake accompanied by meaningful development that allows them to access those basic rights.

Action: Urge your representative and your senators to move quickly to pass a supplemental funding bill for Haiti. Click here to send a message to Congress.

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Alert prepared by Theo Sitther, Legislative Associate for International Affairs.

Lotsa kaka

On Friday, Sharon, Ben, and I went to Kenscoff to "camp out" in the guesthouse there. When we arrived, the dog was jumping around and waiting for us as usual. It looked like the barrier that I constructed last weekend had worked and she couldn't get into the house any longer.

We unlocked the door - and could see that, contrary to our belief, the dog had gotten inside as there was kaka everywhere. Nothing like arriving to a house full of dog crap and urine....on hardwood floors. Ugh. We cleaned it up and proceeded unpacking - and then I realized that my bike had a flat tire. Hmmm. And Ben's bike was not where we had left it - it was in the little room off the kitchen with a water bottle canteen-thing tied to it.

We scratched our heads and wondered who had been in the house. Maybe someone else from MCC came up and borrowed the bike(s)?

I went to get something from the truck, and the boy who lives under the house in a room that looks like a hostage bunker (seriously, if I ever disappear under mysterious circumstances check that room first) approached me. He asked me how everything was. I responded, "Not good - it looks like someone has broken into the house, used our bikes, and is generally not respecting our property."

He was shocked, because he is there a lot and thought he'd know if someone broke in. Then he asked about the bike. I said that yes, for sure someone borrowed it without permission.

He responds, "Yeah, that's bad. I don't know how it got a flat tire."
Me: "What?"
Him: "The flat tire."
Me: "I didn't say anything about a flat tire."
Him: "Yes you did!"
Me: "No, I didn't. How do you know about the flat tire?"

Et cetera. Accuse deny accuse deny. Back I went into the house, somewhat furious but trying to stay cool. Home invasions are near the top of my list of Things That Make Me Angry. At the very top of the list might be messing with my mountain bike, and this was double trouble: a bike invasion, if you will.

I tried to let it go, and we started a campfire.* Amazing. We lost track of time, mesmerized by the sheer magic of the fire.

* A dream come true for me. I've been scheming about how to have a fire ring on the porch, and finally we just used an old half of a steel drum and drum lid and burned a huge branch trimmed from a tree in the Depps' yard.

Around 11:00pm I went inside to use the toilet, and since it was dark my ears told me that I was not urinating into a bowl of liquid but a bowl of...kaka. Ewww gross. So, now someone has broken into the house, borrowed bikes, flattened a tire, and used a toilet several times and did not flush?! Could it get worse? I flushed it all away and poured bleach into the toilet.

The next morning we put the pieces together. It looked like a window had been left unlocked - one of the few unbarred windows in all of Haiti - and if one were determined enough, it would be possible to inch across the narrow ledge on the outside of the house, above a 20-foot drop, open the window, and hop in. One of the doors was only locked by a deadbolt from the inside, so once in, he/she had easy access. It seems that our criminal friend found the spare key and kept it for more easy access. It is indeed a scary ledge.

To further incriminate our non-hostage hostage-room resident, the gardener stopped by and told us he had seen this kid riding our bikes around. He went and found the kid (okay, who is actually a nearly-full-grown 17-ish-year-old) who denied the whole thing again. I told them that it doesn't matter who it is, just tell that person to throw the key(s) back into the house after we leave and never do it again. The kid left and we're hoping the case is closed.

For prevention of future unauthorized indoor kaka production, I re-blocked the space the dog had been using to enter and installed new padlocks on all the doors. Our bikes came down the mountain with us, so that if by some stroke of luck the intruder returns he/she can no longer borrow our bikes.

Weekends in Kenscoff, sigh. It seems there's always drama up there - and it lately involves kaka.

It's a regular Food Week around here.

Tchaka!

I've been in Haiti for almost two years, but last week was the first time I ever had my new favorite Haitian food. Serve with a warm sourdough loaf, and wait for the rave reviews to pour in.

A note: this recipe might be for more advanced cooks, since everything is proportional (i.e., I was given no measurements) and therefore everything is to taste.

Haitian Tchaka
Prep time: maybe an hour?
Serves: flexible, but if there are only two of you you're likely to have leftovers.

Pressure cook red, butter, and black beans (choose two) until soft.

In a separate pot, boil chopped pumpkin, scallions/onions, cloves, and garlic together until pumpkin is soft. Puree.

Return spicy pumpkin puree to pot, and add chopped green peppers, carrots, potatoes, and corn* (it seems like you could really add any vegetables you have around). Cook until vegetables are soft.

Add cooked beans and salt and pepper. Let simmer until flavors are blended. Serve hot.

*Our cooks here use dried corn, which I would identify as popcorn. If you choose this route, add the corn to the beans and pressure cook until soft.

Enjoy!

The goods.

Okay, just to counterbalance my recent criticisms about being a foreigner here, following is a list of things I especially like about Haiti:

The trees. The big ceiba/mapou trees, mangoes, avocados, citrus, neem...so many really interesting trees. Here's to more in the future!

Beaches. I've enjoyed some very nice tropical paradises here in Haiti.

Seau Kontrere. The river/ravine in Desarmes. One of the coolest places I've ever been - and I think it's almost completely void of tourists. Except MCCers.

Mountain biking in Haiti. I've been on some really fun sections of singletrack here.

There are more. I do have a tender spot for Haiti, but I just want to be sure the tender spot does not rely upon the poverty of the country for me to enjoy it.

Yumness you don't want to miss.

Last weekend we were invited up to MCC's guesthouse in Kenscoff (yes, our former home) for a tres delicious breakfast of homemade eggs benedict, garnished with edible flowers.


Pancha, Alexis, and Rachel did the heavy lifting in the kitchen, making irresistible piles of toasted croissants, sliced avocado and tomato, poached eggs, and homemade hollandaise sauce:


Bryan, Margot, Joel, and I were the most enthusiastic fan club ever:


Especially Margot*:

* although she would not, could not be convinced to taste even the tiniest nibble of nasturtium.

Since there's always a weekend a-comin', I have re-posted the recipe here for your brunching pleasure. The original can be found at Joel & Rachel's blog.

Egg Benedict with Yogurt Hollandaise Sauce

Hollandaise Sauce

1 cup plain yogurt

3 egg yolks

Juice of 2 key limes (or 2 teaspoons of lemon or lime juice)

½ teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon Dijon mustard

Ground pepper

Other ingredients

Poached eggs

Toasted bread (English muffins, croissants, Turkish bread, etc.)

A BUNCH of cooked bacon [I left this in as part of the original recipe, but avocado & tomato are much better...]

Beat together the egg yolks, yogurt, lemon/lime juice in a double boiler. Cook for about 15 minutes until sauce thickens. Keep stirring - it might become thinner then thicker, but just stay with it.

Remove from heat and add the salt, pepper and mustard and stir it in.

During all this I would start cooking the bacon or slicing the veggies. Then poach the eggs and the toast the bread.

Serve like this: Place a piece of toasted bread on bottom, then add veggies (you could also use wilted spinach or a favourite roasted veggie), then the poached egg, then pour the warm hollandaise sauce over everything. Enjoy!

Meet Mother Necessity: A blogpost in five acts.

I promise this is going somewhere, so stick with me...

Part One
Here in Haiti, everyone has to get by with very little. One of the most endearing things about Haitians is the way they can find solutions for almost any problem. A few examples:

1. A car key snaps in two in the door. After fishing the key from the door and realizing that the car can't start with the key in this condition, a Haitian finds a scrap piece of aluminum and a file and starts making a copy by hand. The improvised key works and everyone got home safe and sound.

2. A car gets a flat tire. The passengers realize there is no lug wrench and flag down other cars. One stops and lets them borrow a lug wrench, but unfortunately all four sizes on the lug wrench are too large. Someone finds a large washer and a rock in the dirt and shapes the washer around the lug nut. The lug wrench is pressed on, and after a few tries the nuts are freed and the tire is changed.


The list goes on and on. I love this kind of stuff, and really think it's cool and amazing.

Part Two
Over the last few months, a lot of MCC Haiti alumni have been coming to help with post-earthquake-related activities. They reminisce of their time here, and the question always comes up: Do they miss Haiti?

The most common response I've heard: they miss the daily adventure. Life in Haiti is always so interesting - the examples above happen fairly regularly and most people living here have these stories to tell and retell with great enthusiasm.

Part Three
Often foreigners see the countryside as the "real" Haiti.

- When the paved road ends and the dirt road begins, I hear "Now I'm in Haiti!"

- When we are indoors and the lights go out: "Yup, this is Haiti!"


- When you see a huge truck broken down and the driver has the entire transmission laid out in front of him on the side of the road, a smile comes to our faces: "Now this is Haiti."

- When we watch the tire repairman beat a tire from a rim with an old axle and patch a tube with a few scraps of metal and an old piston into which he pours a flammable liquid and lights it and few minutes later your tube is patched - MAGIC! Haiti is amazing!

My only problem with all of this is that I wonder: do we like Haiti for these reasons only? If Haiti is to develop and tire repairmen become obsolete along with the potholed roads, will foreigners still be interested in the "culture"? Or is the culture so entwined with poverty that the eradication of poverty is the end of Haitian culture? No longer will people carve keys out of scrap aluminum, they will simply go to ACE Hardware down the street and have a copy made.

Part Four
Why are we as foreigners here? If adventure is part of it, isn't it just a little selfish that we are here to enjoy all of the Haitian inventiveness that is in reality a result of necessity (i.e.,poverty)?

And why are we so boring? Why is it that life in North America is so boring we need to come to Haiti to have an adventure?

Adventure is around every corner in the U.S. Buy an old car and when it breaks down, fix it yourself. Instant adventure. Ride a bike to work and I'll guarantee you will almost die at some point.

Instant adventure. Go camping and don't bring a tent - adventure.


Go for a walk in a new neighborhood. Adventure. Is this so hard?

I guess I am just questioning my reasons for being here. Sure, some good is being done, but is that enough?

Part Five
All the sustainable development theory we have learned over the years has pointed squarely at the need to change systems, trade policies, and politics. But to really change Haiti, advocacy is still seen as blah by many North Americans: "Advocacy? Not interested. But if you need something done, like building an orphanage or wiring a church or sending old clothes to Haiti, sign me up."

Theses things are all tangible but also finite. Very finite. I feel like I've seen too many schools/orphanages/churches started by a Generous Gift from a church in North America only to be abandoned a few months after the sponsoring church ends its support (or as we like to say, "hands off the project to local leadership").

Was that real development? No. Am I critical of people that have great ideas and some money but very little skill in planning for the future, for sustainable development? Yes I am.

A friend who visited a few weeks ago pointed out that Haiti is the place Americans come to make them feel grateful for what they have. Pay a couple thousand dollars for a missions trip to Haiti and you return home thankful.

As development tourists, we come, have an adventure, and leave, rich with "souvenirs": these stories of the resourcefulness of Haitians. And apparently we wouldn't want it any other way.