Algerian Cuisine Cuisine Algerienne by Farid ZADI

What's in Season? How to Pick a Peach

If you want to know what's in season go to a farmer's market. Last week Russ Parsons of the Los Angeles Times visited the school I teach at to give a lecture, sign books and have lunch with a few staff members.

How to Pick a Peach: The Search for Flavor from Farm to Table  by Russ Parsons is a highly informative, enjoyable and accessible read. I told Russ that my 8 year old daughter Kamilah took my copy of the book and has made it part of her summer reading. Her reading level in English is at least at High School level and she is fully trilingual. Sorry if I sound like a too proud papa, but Kamilah is a wonderfully interested child and I'm really complementing Russ Parsons' abilities as a writer, if he can capture the imagination of an 8 year old, competing with Harry Potter and High School Musical- he's done a fantastic job as a writer.

I highly recommend the book for teachers and cooking instructors from junior and senior high schools to professional culinary schools. It is the kind of book that is added to library collections. The school I teach at has a copy of it for the library, as well as Russ Parsons' How to Read a French Fry. Books that are on the shelves of cooking school libraries are ordered by the librarian because they have reference value and can be used for educational purposes. The vast majority of cookbooks published these days do not make it on the shelves of professional culinary libraries or bookstores.

Russ Parsons wrote an article about farmer's markets in Los Angeles which can be found in the archives of the LA Times food section. Daily Dish, LA Times food blog  Chat online with Russ Parsons on Thursdays. 

Solar Eneryg, Solar Cookers and Solar Ovens

North Africans in Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia are increasingly using pressure cookers instead of clay tagines, not just to save time, but because of fuel scarcity issues. It may be hard for someone who can just turn on an oven to understand just how scarce fuel can be for people in different parts of the world. In rural areas women and children can spend more than 40 hours a week gathering fuel, that's a full time job just gathering fuel. And that doesn't mean they can count on a steady supply either. I was reading an article about Algerian scientists working with NGO's to distribute solar ovens in the sahara. Free source of heat in the sahara, the blazing sun. There are quite a few manufacturers of solar ovens. I was delighted to fin quite a few companies that are non-profit or give back a portion of their profits in the form of donations. Solar Cookers International, Solar Oven Society and instructions for building your own solar oven. I am not affiliated with any of the sites. Please take a few minutes to read each one, especially the stories about how they've improved the lives of so many women and children in different parts of the world. I think the sites are informative, there are many more online. Perhaps, you will considered donating a solar oven.

Desertification

I was looking for information about desertification and found a fascinating blog by Willem, Romanus, Jozef VAN COTTHEM- Honorary Professor University of Ghent (Belgium)/ Professeur Honoraire de l’Université de Gand (Belgique) and Scientific Consultant for Desertification and Sustainable Development/ Consultant scientifique pour la Désertification et le Développement Durable. Desertification Blog

Prof. Dr. Willem Van Cotthem needs melon, watermelon and pigeon peas. They can be mailed to Belgium.

All the seeds will be used for fruit production in arid or semi-arid regions, where we treat the soil with a water stocking soil conditioner, so that the rural people can grow these plants with a minimum of water. I promise to publish pictures on the results obtained with your seeds.

Isn’t this a very nice way to contribute to the success of a humanitarian project? The more melons and water melons you eat, the more poor rural people will get chances to grow them in their family garden and the kids will grow them in their school garden.

June 13, 2007

This message is to make an appeal upon your goodwill. Please be aware that you can contribute to our humanitarian projects in the drylands, simply with a tiny little effort.

Supposing that many of you eat melon and water melon, I would like to ask you not to throw the seeds away, but send them to me.

It is quite easy to wash them in a bit of water and let them dry, e.g. on a plate. Should you do this a couple of times, you will easily collect an interesting quantity of seeds (we don’t have any limit !). Please, put the dry seeds in a plastic bag and send them to my address :

Prof. Dr. Willem Van Cotthem

Beeweg 36 - B9080 ZAFFELARE (Belgium)

If possible mention the name of the variety of melon or water melon.

-------------------


Thanks for considering to send me some seeds.

Willem