Post 668: Pudding recipe and Joumou soup recipe from Haiti (similar to stew but with a sad history) Pudding ingredients

• 1 1/2 ripe avocados
• 1 large ripe banana
• 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa or cacao powder
• 1/2 cup salted creamy or crunchy peanut butter (plus more foyr topping)
• ~1/2 cup sweetener of choice i.e. maple syrup, agave, date paste or honey if not vegan (amount will vary with preferred sweetness)
• ~1/4 cup almond milk or other non-dairy milk (slightly more if using dates)
• Coconut Whipped Cream (for topping // optional // but recommended)

Haiti got some cheery news this week. Its traditional joumou soup has been awarded protected cultural heritage status by UNESCO. Joumou soup is a hearty blend of pumpkin, potatoes, squash, beef, chili peppers and other things. And this is the first time that any cultural item from Haiti has received the designation.
Epicurious Magazine and NPR.

Enslaved Haitians were not allowed to have this delicious and aromatic pumpkin soup, a favorite of the French who held people in slavery. On Sunday, January 1, 1804, when the enslaved gained their freedom, they celebrated with music and food in the Place d’Armes, in the city of Gonaives. And what better way to celebrate than to eat the very thing they were unable to eat under slavery? Nowadays it doesn’t matter where in the world a Haitian might be on January 1—they will be having the soup of freedom.

Ingredients

Serves 10–12

1 cup plus 1 tablespoon distilled white vinegar, divided

1 pound beef shank, meat cut off bones into 1″ cubes

1 pound stew beef (preferably chuck) cut into 1″ cubes

1 cup Epis Seasoning Base

3 tablespoons fresh lime juice (from about 1 lime)

1 tablespoon seasoned salt

15 cups beef or vegetable broth, divided

1 pound beef bones

1 medium calabaza squash (about 2 pounds), peeled, cubed, or 2 pounds defrosted frozen cubed calabaza squash, or 1 butternut squash (about 2 pounds), peeled, cut into 2″ chunks

3 large russet potatoes (about 2 pounds), finely chopped

3 carrots (about 1 pound), sliced

1/2 small green cabbage (about 1 pound), very thinly sliced

1 medium onion, sliced

1 celery stalk, coarsely chopped

1 leek, white and pale-green parts only, finely chopped

2 small turnips, finely chopped

1 green Scotch bonnet or habanero chile

1 1/2 cups rigatoni

6 whole cloves

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon onion powder

2 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt, plus more

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus more

Pinch of cayenne pepper, plus more

1 parsley sprig (optional)

1 thyme sprig (optional)

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 tablespoon unsalted butter

Crusty bread (for serving)

Special Equipment

A very large stock pot (at least 10 quarts)

Step 1

Pour 1 cup vinegar into a large bowl. Swish beef shank and stew beef in vinegar to rinse. Transfer beef to a colander and rinse with water.

Step 2

Stir Epis Seasoning Base, lime juice, and seasoned salt in another large bowl. Add beef, toss to coat, and let marinate at least 30 minutes, preferably overnight.

Step 3

Heat 5 cups broth in very large stock pot over medium. Add marinated beef and bones, cover, and simmer until meat is beginning to soften, about 40 minutes.

Step 4

Add squash to pot on top of beef, cover, and return to a simmer. Cook until squash is fork-tender, 20–25 minutes. Using tongs or a slotted spoon, transfer squash to a blender. Add 4 cups broth and purée until smooth. Return to pot and bring to a simmer.

Step 5

Add potatoes, carrots, cabbage, onion, celery, leek, turnips, chile, rigatoni, cloves, garlic powder, onion powder, 2 1/2 tsp. salt, 1/2 tsp. pepper, a pinch of cayenne, parsley, if using, thyme, if using, and remaining 6 cups broth. Simmer, uncovered, until pasta and vegetables are tender, 30–35 minutes.

Step 6

Add oil, butter, and remaining 1 Tbsp. vinegar. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until beef is very tender, 15–20 minutes more.

Step 7

Taste and adjust seasonings. Divide soup among bowls and serve with bread alongside.

Do Ahead

Step 8

Soup can be made 3 days ahead; cover and chill, or freeze up to 3 months.

Cooks’ Note

This soup feeds a large crowd. If you have a smaller crew or smaller pot, feel free to halve the ingredients. You might need to add extra liquid while cooking. This recipe’s headnote has been updated as a part of our archive repair project.

Post 667: starting a new trend : wearing shoes of different colors and how the saying A Trick up ones sleeve is expressed in Hebrew.

I have a contact who receives about 2 dozen cartons of clothing, mostly women’s wear and in small sizes. I get to pick through the lot.What fi you think of wearing the same shoe in different colors and see if folks react?

English invokes magic to talk about someone having a backup plan – a trick up his sleeve.

Hebrew uses a military metaphor – כדור בקנה – literally, a bullet in the barrel.

For example:

חשבנו שהוא סיים את הקריירה הפוליטית, אבל מסתבר שהיו לו עוד כמה כדורים בקנה.

We thought he had finished his political career, but it turns out he had a few more tricks up his sleeve.

בוקר טוב חברים וחברות☀️

הערב נתרגל כרגיל ב18:00 יוגה בתחנה הראשונה.

ניפגש *בטרמינל* שנמצא ממש ליד השירותים/מסעדת ‘המסילה’.
אם תיכנסו מהכניסה הראשית של התחנה מכיכר דוד רמז זה יהיה מימנכם.

השיעור ללא עלות ואין צורך בהרשמה מראש,
רק מזכירה להביא *מזרן יוגה אישי*, בגדים חמים וכמובן חיוך😁

נתראה 🙂

Good morning friends Classes are free at The First Station. And yes, Out of Doors. ☀️

Tonight we practiced as usual at 18:00 yoga at the first stop.

We will meet * at the terminal * which is right next to the toilets / restaurant ‘Hamsila’.
If you enter from the main entrance of the station from David Square Remez it will be to your right.

The class is free of charge and no pre-registration is

Post 666: Rehabilitaion: 2nd hand bookstore

This may appear to be anybody’s second hand bookstore, one of many that abound in Jerusalem. There’s the Book Gallery on two levels the bellow ground level one that is comparable to a desert tomb, commodiously sprawled with lounges. Books are organized in double rows. That collection was acquired by the Book Gallery’s owner from relatives dropping off a lifetime collection, politely called deaccsessing. This book store, above is staffed by severely disabled individuals under supervision.

Beautiful Poem by Years: Wishes for the Cloths of Heaven

Had I the heavens’ embroidered cloths,
Enwrought with golden and silver light,
The blue and the dim and the dark cloths
Of night and light and the half light,
I would spread the cloths under your feet:
But I, being poor, have only my dreams;
I have spread my dreams under your feet;
Tread softly because you tread on my dreams.

May your Dreams be realized in the coming year.

Post 665: My Rolex taken apart and how I renewed my Israeli drivers license.

I have a vintage Rolex watch. My recommendation, don’t buy that fancy watch. It is a layabout and just stares up at you.

Interesting thing. It has been thoroughly worked over. This really happens. It slows down and the time is wrong and then suddenly catches up to the correct time. Truly amazing.

GETTING THE LICENSE RENEWED

Everything is automated. But in the end if one is age 78, a face to face meeting with the license bureau is in order.

Firstly, despite my center director’s advice that I did not need an eye exam for renewal, I did. I was required to see my Arab opthamologist. He greeted me with a smile. I asked his advice about the secret to a happy marriage. He said, “Agree to what your wife requests”. His wife is a mathematician.

He commented that since my license expired 3 years ago, I could be asked to take a new driving test. With the completed form in hand, I arrived at the appointed time, 8:05. I am inept navigating a Hebrew only website. Thanks to my daughter, an early appointment one was available.

I wore my Hatzallah EMT teeshirt and had the certificates in hand.

Presumed these would come in handy if the clerk started to throw the book at me for waiting 3 years to renew . I smiled during the entire exchange. “Done”, said the clerk, and handed me a paper to pay for the new license at the Post Office downstairs. Paying is not simple.

It looked like there was trouble on the horizon. I’d need to come back tomorrow because I had no appointment to see a clerk. I’d been in this central PO before and recalled standing on a line wanting to send cash. Foreign workers go straight to that designated line to send money home. I found that line and read that the line was also designated to take cash for the Rav Card. I found a way. The clerk politely took my 100 sh, and added to my Rav Card. I casually pointed to the Hatzalah mask and he took my cash for the license too. It will BEH arrive in the mail. Don’t need to return tomorrow.

Post 664: Fabulous murals (may not print) and a life affirming story

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There are exhilarating murals, but more exhiliarating.

“Some years ago, I was stuck on a crosstown bus in New York City during rush hour. Traffic was barely moving. The bus was filled with cold, tired people who were deeply irritated with one another, with the world itself. Two men barked at each other about a shove that might or might not have been intentional.

A pregnant woman got on, and nobody offered her a seat. Rage was in the air; no mercy would be found here. As the bus approached Seventh Avenue, the driver got on the intercom. ‘Folks,’ he said, ‘I know you have had a rough day and you’re probably frustrated. I can’t do anything about the weather or traffic, but here’s what I can do: As each one of you gets off the bus, I’ll reach out my hand to you. As you walk by, drop your troubles into the palm of my hand, okay? Don’t take your problems home to your families tonight, just leave them with me. My route goes right by the Hudson River, and when I drive by there later, I will open the window and throw your troubles in the water.’

It was as if a spell had lifted. Everyone burst out laughing. Faces gleamed with surprised delight. People who had been pretending for the past hour not to notice each other’s existence were suddenly grinning at each other like, is this guy serious?

Oh, he was serious.

At the next stop, just as promised, the driver reached out his hand, palm up, and waited. One by one, all the exiting commuters placed their hand just above his and mimed the gesture of dropping something into his palm. Some people laughed as they did this, some teared up but everyone did it. The driver repeated the same lovely ritual at the next stop, too. And the next. All the way to the river.

We live in a hard world, my friends. Sometimes it is extra difficult to be a human being. Sometimes you have a bad day. Sometimes you have a bad day that lasts for several years. You struggle and fail. You lose jobs, money, friends, faith, and love. You witness horrible events unfolding in the news, and you become fearful and withdrawn. There are times when everything seems cloaked in darkness. You long for the light but don’t know where to find it.

But what if you are the light? What if you are the very agent of illumination that a dark situation begs for?

That’s what this bus driver taught me, that anyone can be the light, at any moment. This guy wasn’t some big power player. He wasn’t a spiritual leader. He wasn’t some media-savvy influencer. He was a bus driver, one of society’s most invisible workers. But he possessed real power, and used it beautifully for our benefit.

When life feels especially grim, or when I feel particularly powerless in the face of the world’s troubles, I think of this man and ask myself, What can I do, right now, to be the light? Of course, I can’t personally end all wars, or solve global warming, or transform vexing people into entirely different creatures. And, I definitely can’t control traffic. However, I do have some influence on everyone I brush up against, even if we never speak or learn each other’s name.

So, no matter who you are, or where you are, or how mundane or tough your situation may seem, I believe you can illuminate your world. In fact, I believe this is the only way the world will ever be illuminated, one bright act of grace at a time—all the way to the river.“

~ Elizabeth Gilbert