Iraqi Chicken and Rice

An Iranian Feast

Betty's 'Kenyan Chicken, Rice and Vegetables'

For us people from HK, we have the Thermos cooker. It's a must for most Cantonese people, especially living away from home. This is because we LOVE soup. Not the thick kind, but the type that is more like a clear broth. We add lots of random things that are good for you in some way or other (there are different things for every season, illness or situations). The other parts of China will say that we waste electricity because these soups need to be boiled for several hours. This is where the Thermos cooker comes in. All you do it heat the ingredients in the hot for about 10-15 minutes, put the whole thing into the thermos and leave for a few hours. It will carry on cooking due to the heat. It's amazing. Someone gave us one recently and I love it!

In African, there is a cooking basket. It's made of material and foam, in the form of a large basket. Food can be cooked until boiling point, transferred to a box or handleless pan and placed inside the basket. A large cushion is used to cover and trap the heat inside. This is a common way to ensure that there is hot food at the end of a working day for the whole family to enjoy. 

 Luhyia/Nairobi, Kenya

Eid Mubarak

Or 'jezna piroz be' as the Kurdish say.
Another year has gone by. Ramadan has come and gone and yesterday was Eid for many people. I was invited to Bakhtiar and Shano's house for breakfast. Without realising, this was the 4th year that I've gone to their house to celebrate Eid/Jezna. 

I always arrive very early as Shano usually asks me to get there as early as possible in the morning, so that I can 'help' her out with the cooking. Actually, the fact is that I actually don't help her at all, but cause her more trouble due to my clumsiness, and also because she already started her cooking the night before. But, I guess I give her some female company during the cooking and preparation process, as there are no other women in the house, and now I can play with Baran to keep him out of the kitchen! 

The 10 minute drive from my house to their flat is pretty clear- the roads are always empty at that time in the morning, and I can even spot those families who are visiting the mosque for the Eid morning prayer; particularly yesterday as it was a Sunday. 

If you go visit people during Eid, you will be offered sweets, drinks and klecha; which are small pastries filed with dates or sesame seeds, nuts and cocomut.