Riad Myra

Cette maison d'hôtes qui bénéficie d'un emplacement idéal à Fès, au cœur de la Médina, à proximité de l'Institut Français, vous accueille dans une atmosphère chaleureuse et conviviale.
Construit au début du XXe siècle, le Riad Myra a été rénové et restauré par les meilleurs artisans de la ville. La splendeur est évidente dans les élégantes chambres et suites merveilleusement décorées. Le style d'architecture Maure , avec un peu de meubles antiques Anglais et des agréments modernes sont parfaitement mélangés. Le riad comporte un grand patio, une terrasse, un hammam ainsi qu'un restaurant et un salon marocain.
Le personnel attentionné vous accueille dans un cadre élégant empreint d'une architecture arabo-andalouse. Tout a été conçu pour offrir confort, bien-être et détente.

dimanche 30 juin 2013

How to store fresh vegetables


Store in a box or bed of moist sand in the cellar. Put roots in an upright position with the sand coming just to their tops. Water the sand occasionally. Sometimes a covering of straw is added to blanch the tender growth of shoots, which is the part used as food.Late in the fall lift the roots out and carefully trim off the leaves without injury to the heart.Must not be placed in too large piles in the cellar as they are inclined to mold. Can also be buried in pits in open ground.Can remain in the ground until very cool weather; then should be pulled, the tops cut off and then stored in the cellar.Can be stored just as salsify or be allowed to remain in the ground until wanted.Those that are to be stored in the cellar can remain in in the garden until the weather is quite cool, then prepare and store like salsify.Must be stored where temperature is low or sprouting will result. Moderate freezing does no harm while in the storage pit but they must not be disturbed while frozen.Pull; cut tops off and store in sand in cellars or caves, or in pits, or in tightly covered boxes or crocks.Require a cool dry place. Attic excellent.Before storing, cure them by exposing to the air for a few days in the shade. Dryness is absolutely essential. A well cured onion should be firm and not readily dented at the base of the tops by the tip of the thumb when held in the hand.Planted in shallow boxes of soil in light place in the cellar.Ground Cherries or Husk Tomatoes Kohl-rabi, Winter Radishes, RutabagasMay be stored for some weeks in the husk in their layers in a dry place free from frost. Best stored in sand in cellars, cares or pits.Must be kept cold to prevent evaporation.May be kept in the ground where grown all winter. Must be kept frozen as thawing injures it. Best kept on shelves in a very dry place. Can be kept on shelves in furnace room.Must be ripened and cured and free from bruises.Susceptible to cold and moisture, so store in a dry place where temperature will be between 50 and 60 degrees.Care must be taken that stem is not broken.Cool cellar or cave; can be wrapped in any absorbent paper preferably without printing upon it, and laid upon shelves to ripen. The paper absorbs the moisture given off by the tomatoes and causes them to ripen uniformly. If cellar is dry or well ventilated, tomatoes can be kept a month or six weeks in this manner.May be kept until Christmas if vines with the green tomatoes hanging on them are pulled and hung in the cellar. Pull the vines before they are frosted.Transplant into flower pots late in the fall.Keep in windows where they will receive plenty of sunshine.Should be thoroughly cured as are onions.Or it may be braided by the tops into strings which are hung up in dry places for curing and storing.Rooted in earth in a cellar or cave.Stored where protected from weevils.Should be fully ripened before shelling. Pick pods by hand as they ripen and spread pods to become thoroughly dry. May be shelled by spreading pods on a sheet and beating them with a stick. Can be cleaned by pouring them from a height of 4 or 5 ft. upon a sheet and allowing the wind to blow the particles of pod out of them as they fall.Must be kept in a dry, cool place and so stored as to be in no danger of absorbing odors from vegetables stored nearby. Apples absorb odors from potatoes, onions, turnips and other strong vegetables.Sort apples carefully removing and using at once all fruit that is bruised and shows signs of decay. The best results are obtained by wrapping each apple in half a sheet of newspaper and storing in barrels, boxes, crates or bins. The wrapping prevents apples from touching and thus prevents decay. It also protects apples from odors of vegetables stored nearby.

Fermentation with dry salting

Fermentation with dry salting consists in packing the material with a small amount of salt. No water is used, for the salt will extract the water from the vegetables and this forms a brine. This is the simplest process of all three and is used mostly for cabbage. To make sauerkraut proceed as follows: The outside green leaves of the cabbage should be removed, just as in preparing the head for boiling. Never use any decayed or bruised leaves. Quarter the heads and shred the cabbage very finely. There are shredding machines on the market, but if one is not available use a slaw cutter or a large sharp knife. After the cabbage is shredded pack at once into a clean barrel, keg or tub, or into an earthenware crock holding four or five gallons. The smaller containers are recommended for household use. When packing distribute the salt as uniformly as possible, using one pound of salt to forty pounds of cabbage. Sprinkle a little salt in the container and put in a layer of three or four inches of shredded cabbage, then pack down with a wooden utensil like a potato masher. Repeat with salt, cabbage and packing until the container is full or the shredded cabbage is all used.
Press the cabbage down as tightly as possible and apply a cloth, and then a glazed plate or a board cover which will go inside the holder. If using a wooden cover select wood free from pitch, such as basswood. On top of this cover place stone, bricks or other weights—use flint or granite; avoid the use of limestone, sandstone or marble. These weights serve to keep vegetables beneath the surface of the liquid. The proportion of salt to food when fermenting with dry salt is a quarter pound of salt to ten pounds of food. Do not use more, for the product will taste too salty.
Allow fermentation to proceed for ten days or two weeks, if the room is warm. In a cellar or other cool place three to five weeks may be required. Skim off the film which forms when fermentation starts and repeat this daily if necessary to keep this film from becoming a scum. When gas bubbles cease to rise when you strike the side of the container, fermentation is complete. If there is a scum it should be removed.
As a final step pour very hot melted paraffin over the brine until it forms a layer from a quarter to a half-inch thick, to prevent the formation of the scum which occurs if the weather is warm or the storage place is not well cooled. The cabbage may be used as soon as the bubbles cease to rise. If scum forms and remains the cabbage will spoil. You may can the cabbage as soon as bubbles cease to rise and fermentation is complete. To can, fill jars, adjust rubbers and partly seal. Sterilize 120 minutes in hot-water bath, or 60 minutes in steam-pressure outfit at five to ten pounds pressure.

I.N. Jewelry Designs Enchanted Spring Hope Bracelet

I.N. Jewelry Designs Enchanted Spring Hope Bracelet Sorry, I could not read the content fromt this page.

Chekelea means Smile in Swahili

African food is as easy to make as 1,2,3 everyday African recipes made simple. Fall in love with all things Africa as we explore the land, food and culture of a beautiful misread continent.

The Man Who Never Lied

Once upon a time there lived a wise man by the name of Mamad. He never lied. All the people in the land, even the ones who lived twenty days away, knew about him.The king heard about Mamad and ordered his subjects to bring him to the palace. He looked at the wise man and asked:" Mamad, is it true, that you have never lied?""And you will never lie in your life?""Okay, tell the truth, but be careful! The lie is cunning and it gets on your tongue easily."Several days passed and the king called Mamad once again. There was a big crowd: the king was about to go hunting. The king held his horse by the mane, his left foot was already on the stirrup. He ordered Mamad:"Go to my summer palace and tell the queen I will be with her for lunch. Tell her to prepare a big feast. You will have lunch with me then."Mamad bowed down and went to the queen. Then the king laughed and said:"We won't go hunting and now Mamad will lie to the queen. Tomorrow we will laugh on his behalf."But the wise Mamad went to the palace and said:"Maybe you should prepare a big feast for lunch tomorrow, and maybe you shouldn't. Maybe the king will come by noon, and maybe he won't.""Tell me will he come, or won't he?" - asked the queen."I don't know, he put his right foot on the stirrup, or he put his left foot on the ground after I left."Everybody waited for the king. He came the next day and said to the queen:"The wise Mamad, who never lies, lied to you yesterday."But the queen told him about the words of Mamad. And the king realized, that the wise man never lies, and says only that, which he saw with his own eyes.http://www.worldoftales.com/African_folktales/African_Folktale_2.html

samedi 29 juin 2013

Why the Cat kills Rats

Ansa was King of Calabar for fifty years. He had a very faithful cat as a housekeeper, and a rat was his house-boy. The king was an obstinate, headstrong man, but was very fond of the cat, who had been in his store for many years. The rat, who was very poor, fell in love with one of the king's servant girls, but was unable to give her any presents, as he had no money.
At last he thought of the king's store, so in the night-time, being quite small, he had little difficulty, having made a hole in the roof, in getting into the store. He then stole corn and pears, and presented them to his sweetheart.
At the end of the month, when the cat had to render her account of the things in the store to the king, it was found that a lot of corn and pears were missing.
The king was very angry at this, and asked the cat for an explanation. But the cat could not account for the loss, until one of her friends told her that the rat had been stealing the corn and giving it to the girl. When the cat told the king, he called the girl before him and had her beaten. The rat he handed over to the cat to deal with, and dismissed them both from his service. The cat was so angry at this that she killed and ate the rat, and ever since that time whenever a cat sees a rat she kills and eats it.

Curry Sauce

Curry Sauce
Stir a small quantity of curry powder in some gravy, melted butter, or onion sauce. This must be done by degrees, according to the taste, taking care not to put in too much of the curry powder.

Pickled Beef Tongue



1 1/2 cups white distilled vinegar
Cover tongue with water and salt. Cover tightly and cook slowly until tender 3 hours. Slice tongue crosswise about 1/8-inch thick. Drain all but 2 cups of the water from pan. Add the remaining ingredients and return sliced meat to pan. Simmer, covered, for 1 hour. Serve cold or warm.

Love for Africa

....essentially the same, but modified according to its objects and by the character of the one who loves. The love of children for their parents, of parents for offspring, brotherly and sisterly love, the love of friendship, of charity, and the fervor of religious love, are modifications of the same sentiment—the attraction that draws us to our kindred, our kind; that binds together all races and humanity itself, resting on the fatherhood of God and the brotherhood of man. It is but natural that this love should vary in degrees. Attractions are proportional to proximity. Family is nearer than country; we prefer our own nation to the rest of the race.Each individual has, also, his own special attractions and repulsions. There is love at first sight and friendship at first sight. We feel some persons pleasant to us; to be near them is a delight. Generally such feelings are mutual—like flows to like, or as often, perhaps, differences fit into each other. We seek sympathy with our own tastes and habits, or we find in others what we lack. Thus the weak rest upon the strong, the timid are fond of the courageous, the reckless seek guidance of the prudent, and so on.

Easy Baked Bananas






Remove the skins from the bananas, scrape the surface as in Fig. 14, and cut them in half lengthwise. Arrange the halves in a shallow pan. Melt the butter and mix it with the sugar and the vinegar. Pour a spoonful of the mixture over each banana and then set the pan in the oven. Bake in a slow oven for about 20 minutes, basting frequently with the remainder of the sir during the baking. Remove from the oven and serve hot.

Speak Zulu


Zulu is the language of the Zulu people with well over 9 million speakers most of whom are in South Africa. Zulu is one of South Africa's eleven official languages since 1994.
Below are four easy Zulu words with their English phonetic pronunciation: iGoli [e-go?li]- Soil ihembe [e:him:mbe]- Bed uju [oo?jew]- Jumpisibili [is:see:bill?li]- Bead
 

vendredi 28 juin 2013

Methods of curing meat

The two most common methods of curing meat are first the brine or sugar cure process and second the dry-curing process. For general farm use the brine cured process is the better. It requires less time, less effort and not such an exacting place for the work. On most farms it is impossible to secure a desirable place in which to do the dry-curing as the meat is exposed to rats, cats, flies and other insects. The dry-curing requires considerable time to rub and salt the meat at different times while the only attention that is necessary for brine-curing is to properly prepare and pack the meat in the vessel and prepare the brine for it.
For curing the meat the farmer usually uses salt, salt peter, white or brown sugar or molasses. These are the necessary preservatives. The others such as boracic acid, borax and soda are often used for sweetening the brine and to keep it from spoiling but are not absolutely essential. The salt extracts moisture and acts as a preservative. The sugar or molasses imparts a nice flavor and has a tendency to keep the muscle tissue soft in contrast to the salt, which has a tendency to make it hard and dry. So the salt and sugar have two distinct functions to perform, the one to harden and preserve, the other to soften and sweeten. If you have a favorite recipe that has proved satisfactory and you want to use sorghum or molasses instead of sugar add one pound more of the molasses. If you have been accustomed to using 2 pounds of sugar then use 3 pounds of the other sweetening.
Salt peter is not absolutely necessary as far as the preserving is concerned but it helps to hold the red color of the lean meat. If salt peter is not used the lean meat will be gray in color. It may possibly be a little tenderer if the salt peter is not used as the salt peter tends to harden the meat. Chili salt peter can be substituted in place of salt peter, if only four-fifths as much is used.
The sugar brine cure All formulas for the sugar brine cure are practically the same varying only a little in the proportions of sugar, salt and salt peter. If you have a formula that you have tried for years and have found it to be satisfactory there is no reason you should attempt a new one. But for those who want to try a different formula or recipe I will give you this reliable one that is widely used and indorsed by several agricultural colleges.
The container should be scalded thoroughly. Sprinkle a layer of salt over the bottom and over each layer of meat as it is packed in, skin down. When full, cover meat with boards and weight down with a stone so that all will be below the brine, which is made as follows:
Weigh out for each 100 pounds of meat, 8 pounds of salt, 2 pounds of sugar (preferably brown) or 3 pounds of molasses, and 2 ounces of salt peter. Dissolve all in 4 gallons of water. This should be boiled, and when thoroughly cooled, cover the meat. Seven days after brine is put on, meat should be repacked in another barrel in reverse order. The pieces that were on top should be placed on the bottom. The brine is poured over as before. This is repeated on the fourteenth and twenty-first days, thus giving an even cure to all pieces. Bacon should remain in the brine from four to six weeks, and hams six to eight weeks, depending on the size of the pieces. When cured, each piece should be scrubbed with tepid water and hung to drain several days before smoking; no two pieces should come in contact. For all curing always use dairy salt and not table salt, as the latter contains starch to keep it dry and this starch may cause the meat to spoil. If you carefully follow these directions you will have delicious sugar-cured hams and bacon.

Pickled Green Beans




Clean and cook whole green beans. Place them in a sterile pint jar. Boil the water, vinegar, sugar and ? teaspoon salt. Pour over the beans and seal jar.

Enchanted Safe Travels Bracelet

The World is a book, and those who do not travel read only a page. Sorry, I could not read the content fromt this page.

Pomade d'Hebe

Pomade d'Hebe.—This pomade is used for the removal of wrinkles. To make: Melt one ounce of shea butter on gentle heat; add juice of lily bulbs, two ounces; add honey, two ounces; rose-water, two drams; and otto of roses, a drop or two. Use twice a day.  

Soup Fritters

Soup Fritters


Beat the egg, and to it add the milk, salt, and flour. Drop the batter in tiny drops into hot fat, and fry until brown and crisp. Drain on paper and serve with the soup.

Bone, Wood and Acrylic Necklace

Discover the African Gourmet's line of jewelry on eBay by searching for the seller FunnyValentine5678.

jeudi 27 juin 2013

Cream of Carrot Soup

Cream of Carrot Soup
Cook the carrots in the water until tender. Melt the fat, add dry ingredients, add gradually the 1 cup water in which the carrots were cooked and the milk. When at boiling point, serve with a little grated raw carrot sprinkled over top of soup. Any vegetable, raw or cooked, may be used in the same way, as cauliflower, cabbage, peas, turnips, etc.

Frikkadelle, an Afrikaner dish of meatballs

South African Frikkadelle is an Afrikaner dish of meatballs that's quick to make and eaten with a side of fried potatoes.

Frikkadelle
Ingredients:
1 pound ground beef
1 medium onion finely chopped
1 cup of dried bread crumbs
1/4 cup whole milk
3 tablespoons of your favorite Chutney
1 large egg
1 teaspoon curry powder
1 teaspoon Worcester sauce
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Soak bread crumbs in milk then mix all ingredients well with clean hands, roll meat into medium size balls. Bake for 45 minutes. Serve warm with chutney or mustard on top of each meatball.

Preserved Pumpkin



Cut slices from a ripe pumpkin, and cut the slices into chips about the thickness of a quarter. Weigh them and allow to each pound of pumpkin equal to a pound of sugar. Cut 2 lemons in half, and squeeze the juice into a bowl along with the rind of one lemon.
Place the pumpkin into a large pan laying the sugar among it. Pour the lemon-juice over it, Cover the pan, and let the pumpkin, sugar and lemon-juice, place in the refrigerator for at least 24 hours.
Place the ingredients into a large pot, and boil (skimming it well) 30 minutes or until the pumpkin becomes clear and crisp, but not till it breaks. It should have the appearance of lemon-candy. You may if you choose, put some lemon-peel with it, cut in very small pieces. Put the pumpkin into large preserve jars and enjoy.

The storing of fresh vegetables


Must be kept cool with slight degrees of moisture. Use either cellar or cave methods. No potato should be more than four ft. from air if stored in barrels, boxes, crates or bins.Potatoes must be dug before the ground is crusted with frost. Frosted potatoes will spoil, one after another. Impossible to sort out frosted potatoes.Require warmth and dryness. In crates or on shelves in warm dry room. Can be spread on the floor in the room above the kitchen where they will have plenty of heat, especially for the first 2 or 3 weeks after they are dug.When the sweet potatoes are dug they should be allowed to lie in the sun and wind for 3 or 4 hours so as to become perfectly dry. They must be well ripened and free from bruises. Can be kept on shelves in a very dry place and they need not be kept specially cold. Sweet potatoes keep best when they are showing just a little inclination to sprout. However, if they start growing the quality is greatly injured.Are best stored in sand in cellars, caves or pits; or in tightly covered boxes or crocks. Must be kept cold and evaporation must be prevented, for otherwise they become wilted.Can remain in the ground until the weather is quite cool; then be pulled, the tops cut off and then stored.May be rooted in earth in a cellar or cave and if watered occasionally will keep fresh until Christmas. The soil, earth or sand, in which the celery is set should be 2 or 3 inches deep. This soil must not be allowed to become dry.Can remain in the ground until the weather is quite cool.Can be wrapped in paper with the outer leaves left on for immediate use and stored in ventilated barrels or large crates in the cellar. But as few cellars are cool enough to keep cabbage in good condition it is more advisable to store it in a long shallow pit in the garden.Is not injured by moderate frost while in the pit but should not be disturbed while frozen. The pit should be long and narrow. Pull the cabbage, stem, root and all, and then laid with heads down about 3 heads in width can be placed in the pit. Cover lightly with soil and as the weather becomes colder add a little more soil until there is a layer 6 or 7 inches thick over the cabbage. Keep the ends of the pit partially open for ventilation until the weather becomes very cold.

mardi 25 juin 2013

Riad Myra

Cette maison d'hôtes qui bénéficie d'un emplacement idéal à Fès, au cœur de la Médina, à proximité de l'Institut Français, vous accueille dans une atmosphère chaleureuse et conviviale.
Construit au début du XXe siècle, le Riad Myra a été rénové et restauré par les meilleurs artisans de la ville. La splendeur est évidente dans les élégantes chambres et suites merveilleusement décorées. Le style d'architecture Maure , avec un peu de meubles antiques Anglais et des agréments modernes sont parfaitement mélangés. Le riad comporte un grand patio, une terrasse, un hammam ainsi qu'un restaurant et un salon marocain.
Le personnel attentionné vous accueille dans un cadre élégant empreint d'une architecture arabo-andalouse. Tout a été conçu pour offrir confort, bien-être et détente.