Mucaja do Brazil

Terra Madre in Torino, Italy (2014) a snapshot from The Voices of Indigenous Peoples Workshops

For 50 years and for as long as he remembers, Mr. Pingao Osbalda (second left) used to make "Ningawre Mucaja" and sell it from a cart as street food. Mucaja is a round and firm fruit that falls from palm-like trees in Brasil from October to  December. Osbalda collects the fruits that fall, crushing and grinding them in a large wooden mortar along with a live (yes, live!!) small, local crab caught fresh and, Voila: the "juice" that results is then strained, cooked and thickened into a sort of pudding: "Ningawre Mucaja," sold only in season as a snack or meal. 

Mr. Osbalda explains that he was soon going to stop because it is physically tiring to make Ningawre Mucaja, but then he decided to teach it to his children, encouraged by the Slow Food members who are doing research on Mucaja fruits and exactly this type of traditional food culture. Such traditional foods, once re-valorized can now be kept alive thanks to this family's dedication. One of many such stories told at Terra Madre this year.

A “Spanish fusion” restaurant in Zamalek

This review of a restaurant in Zamalek, "Jambalaya, a new 'Spanish fusion' restaurant in Zamalek", appeared in the Amcham Business Monthly magazine (March issue):

http://www.amcham.org.eg/resources_publications/publications/business_monthly/issue.asp?sec=8&im=3&iy=2014


"The signature Louisiana Creole dish, a rice-based concoction that mingles French, Spanish and Caribbean influences with hot peppers, sweet onions, shrimp and other staples of the American South, is a close cousin of paella, the Valencian specialty. That’s the idea, I suppose, that Jambalaya is a melding of cuisines and cultures. But with dishes like Pure de Garbanzos con Chorizo (hummus with spicy sausages, LE 28) and the Hamburguesa de Paella (a “Paella Burger” of chicken, chorizo and shrimp, LE 65), Jambalaya takes traditional dishes from southern Europe and North America well outside of their comfort zones.
..

Rejuvenated, and thirsty, I requested a Fresca Limonada (LE 16) as well as a glass of non-alcoholic Sangria (LE 18). If there is one thing Egypt always gets right, it’s juice. The Limonada, a strawberry lemonade, was neither too sweet nor too tart. The Sangria was a little less exciting, but then again, grape juice is not really a substitute for wine, which is traditionally the main ingredient of sangria. Jambalaya had also added a substantial amount of spice, the most prominent being cinnamon, which gave this summer drink a discordant, Christmas-ey flavor, like mulled wine. It wasn’t bad—it just wasn’t really sangria."

"Slow" Iftar at Abusir in Egypt

In the village of Abusir, near Sakkara, Egypt, organic products, some of which are present on the Ark of Taste (Slow Food Foundation), like chicken Begawi, were prepared for an Iftar gathering to break the Ramadan fast. Slow food members led by Sara El Sayed, Slow Food International Counselor for Egypt, and the Nawaya organization organized the Iftar.

As reported on the Slow Food Foundation page:
"The dishes were cooked by four chefs: a mix of city chefs, with modern interpretations of traditional dishes, and women of the village, keepers of the traditional recipes of the dishes. The event, which was attended by over 140 people, gave rise to a menu rich in fruits and vegetables, including couscous with fried chicken breast and grilled vegetables with apricot juice, alternating between the sweet and savory tastes typical of these meals."

Read more here: http://www.slowfoodfoundation.com/pagine/eng/news/dettaglio_news.lasso?-idn=304#.U_LfQiiFgrw

في قرية أبوصير، بالقرب من سقارة في مصر،
تم إعداد المنتجات العضوية لحفل إفطار لكسر صيام رمضان
مع"سفينة الطعم" (مؤسسة الغذاء بطيئ Slow Food)،
مثل الدجاج  البيجاوي.

أعضاء Slow Food
بقيادة سارة السيد، المستشار الدولي لمصر،
نظمت منظمة Nawaya الافطار،
  الذي حضره أكثر من 140 شخص.

كما ورد على الصفحة مؤسسة الغذاء البطيء:
"تم طهي أطباق أربعة شيفات: مزيج من شيفات المدينة، مع تنوع حديث في الأطباق التقليدية، ونساء القرية، حافظات  للوصفات التقليدية من الأطباق.

على قائمة الأغذية في الفواكه والخضروات، بما في ذلك
الكسكس مع صدور الدجاج المقلي والخضار المشوي مع عصير المشمش،
بالتناوب بين الأذواق الحلو والمالح في هذه الوجبات ".

  اقرأ المزيد هنا:

http://www.slowfoodfoundation.com/pagine/eng/news/dettaglio_news.lasso?-idn=304#.U_LfQiiFgrw

Healthy Living and Farmer's Market in Kattameya

It seems that Healthy produce is gaining popularity!! A new "Healthy Living and Farmer's Market" was recently organized at Kattameya Heights Country Club on June 4th. Our friend Menar Mebed of Minnie's Dried Fruits & Vegetables took part. 

The event was held indoors, on June 4, all day long from 11 to 7pm. Entrance was free.

يبدو أن المنتجات الصحية تكتسب شعبية!! نظمت "سوق صحيا" الجديد مؤخرا في نادى القطامية هايتس في 4 يونيو.شاركت صديقنا Menar Mebed.

وقد عقد هذا الحدث في الداخل، في 4 حزيران، من 11 إلى 19:00. وكان الدخول مجانا.

Menar's Blog: http://cut-and-dried.blogspot.com/ 

https://www.facebook.com/minnies.dried.fruits.vegetables

Eating in Season

You can depend on the natural cycles to enjoy fruits and vegetables that are picked at the peak of maturity!

• Respecting seasons means having fresh produce that is full of vitamins and having authentic, exceptional flavor all year long.
• Keeping track, respecting & following the natural sesonal variations in fruits and vegetables is a great way of ensuring variability in your diet -- of great importance to overall health.
• You would be buying the fruits and vegetables at their cheapest prices.
• You can then count on the seasonal fruit baskets that are delivered to your door with whatever is in season.
• To eat less pesticides: maintaining fruits and veggies under conditions that are NOT their natural seasonal development... makes them more fragile. To protect them, they must be sprayed with lots of pesticides and fertilizers!
• Seasons exist for fish and meat too, though to a lesser extent; for fish there are specific places and times of fishing that return every season. For example, the Salmon in Alaska is available from June-July to September. These cycles often correspond to traditional or religious periods of enjoying such foods.

Article by Roz Baladi from the book: Le guide de L'ECOfood by Alexis Botaya, Editions Minerva