A Bit of This & That: Books, People, Paintings, Sky

I started the week tired so have been taking a bit of a break from heavy duty
 house cleaning while still trying to make a bit of progress.

I was very happy that I was able to recycle (by giving away) several household items (tablecloth,  oven mitts, scatter rug, dish rack and drying mats). It takes a lot of work to make sure items are clean, photograph them, post them on line and then respond to inquiries as well as arrange pick up times but it is so much better than throwing away items which are still in good enough condition to be used by someone else.

I also cleaned the cabinet under the Master Bathroom sink and installed a shelving unit. It makes a big difference and now I can have things nicely stored away.

I finished reading two books and am working on the 3rd one picked up recently at the local library. There is already a waiting list for the two books in the few days since I borrowed them. Whenever I see a waiting list for a book I try to hurry up and read it because I cannot renew a book for which there is a wait list.  If I finish a book quickly I also like to return them to the library quickly so that others may enjoy them.  Of course while at the library I  picked up 3 more books (2 books with tips for household cleaning and/or frugality and one novel).

It's been raining a lot here and I haven't managed to get to the planting of my gardens. However I can see the perennials coming up in my patio garden with all the rain we've been having. I still have to plant the bare spots and I'm hoping for better weather soon though Tuesday was a spectacular day.

On that day, or rather, that evening, a friend and I went to see the exhibition from French Moderns: Monet to Matisse, 1850 - 1959.  While in the line up to get into the museum I started chatting with the woman ahead of us. Instead of being a local resident, she was a visitor from Mexico City who was in Vancouver for a conference.  She was squeezing in some sightseeing whereever she could and it was her last night in the city.  I helped her out with some of her questions and then I invited her for coffee afterward which she readily accepted.  It was nice to sit and chat and be hospitable to a stranger.  Hopefully she will have a nice thought about Canada or Vancouver in years to come. This verse of scripture always comes to mind when I chat with a stranger

Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it.

Hebrews 12:2 (NIV)

It isn't the reason I entertain strangers however. I just enjoy meeting people and showing them kindness or helpfulness. I think most people, including me, enjoy being on the receiving end of this kind of hospitality.

Now here are a few paintings (and one sculpture) that caught my eye at the exhibition. I did ask first if it was okay to take photos and the answer was 'yes' but no flash photography.

Carpet Merchant of Cairo, c. 1869 Artist Jean-Léon Gérôme

Madame Boursier and Her Daughter  c.1873 Artist Berthe Morisot

Young Women of Sparta, 1868-70 Artist Jean-Baptist-Camille Corot

Woman of African Descent, 1868, Artist Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux

I end this post with a photo of the night sky on my walk to the bus station after coffee.

To cap the night I grabbed a quick bite to eat and stopped at the dollar store to see if I could find a small item I need.

I didn't find what I was looking for but I was satisfied with my day.

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Joining with 

Skywatch Friday

and 

Friday Foto Friends

Red - Red, African Yam & Friends

Though I took my camera to dinner I completely forgot to take a photo of what my friend served for dinner: Red-Red (Black Eyed Pea Stew) and African Yams. 

These are dishes from Ghana but other African countries also make and consume these tasty dishes.

I searched several recipes on line and the stew I found in the posted video seems to more closely resemble the black eyed pea stew cooked with tomatoes, scotch bonnet peppers, ginger, garlic and onions.

But I know my friend also used cabbage and bay leaf and perhaps some fish.  Fish (salted or dried, sometimes canned) seems to be the ingredient most often added.  But variations exist. My friend made it with chicken cooked until falling off the bone and shredded/  He served the dish with African yams which I've never had before.

(Photo Credit:  Africana L.L.C) ~This is what uncooked African yam looks like.

(Photo source: Adamara's Blog) ~ This is a cooked African yam with stew.

I love potatos and the African yam reminded me of Russet potatos except that it is more dense.
I've never seen these in

the local grocery store. My friend had to go to the next municipality (about an hour out of town) to buy them.

He said he will make fufu (foofoo, foufou) next time.  I have had it before and I love it. Fufu can be made with many things: cassava, African yams, potato, corn and perhaps more. You pound the ingredient for so long until it becomes soft and sticky like dough.  Once fufu is finished you work a bit of it between fingers and use it to scoop up some soup.  I like mine with ground nut soup.

(Photo credit: Whats4eats) Here are some ladies making yam fufu the traditional way.

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If you would like to try a recipe for Red-Red you can click here for one variation. 

There are many others on line.

I always appreciate friends who take time out of their busy schedules to prepare a meal for me.
The food is generally very tasty when you enjoy sitting down to someone else's labour and shared conversation.

I've asked my friend to join me and my family members for the Christmas meal this year.
He usually goes to his auntie's for holiday meals but his uncle's health is in decline.   His aunt is busy looking after her husband's needs and she doesn't have the energy, strength or time to entertain at the holidays.

We are fortunate to live in a city where people are generally quite hospitable especially at holidays meals.
One can often get an invite or several invites to dinner but it is nice to spend time with friends who are like family.

Come back again soon.
 I hope to share a special event with you next time.

♥♥♥

Enjoy the rest of your week.

~~~~~

"Do not forget to entertain strangers..."

"Do not forget to entertain strangers for in so doing, some people have
entertained angels without knowing it."
Hebrews 13:2

I've made a new friend from Africa who has been living in Canada for a short time.  When I met him he was very surprised that I had been to his country.  I invited him over for dinner with family members to show some hospitality.  


The first dish is antipasto or some before meal nibbles. I included some salami meat rather mortadella on the dish because I wasn't sure how my guest's taste buds would be.  Moses  loved all the vegetables and gamely tried things he didn't know of like the marinated artichokes.  I learned that the eggplant is known in Ghana as "black beauty". I think that is a much nicer name than "eggplant".

I grilled some home made hamburger patties on my indoor grill. These burgers are not burnt, they are just black from the grill.

Another common summer food here is the potato and egg salad. I let this one marinate over night in the refrigerator and added some red onions for colour and extra flavour.

Last, but not least for the main course, we had some baked chicken. I marinated these chicken pieces in lemon grass marinade overnight. Lemon grass is not traditional to Canada but I have grown to love it in Vietnamese cooking.  I thought it would make a good variation on baked chicken which is a good Canadian dinner staple.  It was delicious and not too strong in lemon grass flavour.

Dinner was capped with drinks of ice tea and other beverages brought by our guest. We also had a dessert of fresh blueberries mixed with bananas. I made a biscuit which we cut and put whipped cream mixed with the berries inside the biscuit. Then the biscuit was topped with more berries and cream.

All in all my guest paid the highest compliment by saying he felt right at home and very comfortable. He also ate everything he put on his plate. I appreciated that very much as sometimes I have guests who won't eat this or won't eat that and they leave too much food on the plate. Those of you who entertain know what I'm talking about.
 
I am glad I was able to entertain a stranger and in doing so have now made a new friend.