Category Archives: Food

Can You Identify These Plants from Ancient Egypt?

Plants of all kinds were much beloved in ancient Egypt, and here is a selection  from tiles, tombs and wall inscriptions.  Can you identify them?  Over the next few days I will put up a blog giving their identity and function … Continue reading

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Posted in Agriculture, Agroforestry, Egypt-Ancient, Food, Indigenous crops & medicinal plants | Tagged , , , | 4 Comments

Agriculture; Livestock; Indigenous Plants; Agroforestry – Links

  FAO will be convening an International Conference on Forests for Food Security and Nutrition, that aims to: … increase understanding of the crucial role that forests, trees on farms and agroforestry systems can play in improving the food security and nutrition … Continue reading

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Posted in Agriculture, Agroforestry, Burundi, Colonialism, Egypt - Medieval, Food, Food Security, Indigenous crops & medicinal plants | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The Social Life of Beans in Burundi – Part 2

Part 1 of this blog discussed the different steps used by smallholders here in Burundi in cultivating, harvesting and processing beans.  Below, a few more notes on these steps – together with thoughts on the challenges of emergency seed distribution following … Continue reading

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Posted in Africa-Central, Agriculture, Burundi, Food, Food Aid, Hotel Club du Lac Tanganyika2, Humanitarian Assistance, Imbo Plain, Recipes | Tagged , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Sir Burton’s Recipe for Love, from 1001 Nights

A Story about Love and Friendship for Valentine’s Day: First published 5 March 2011; revised 8 Feb. 2003 Prior to Richard Burton’s years of exploits in Africa, while stationed in India, he learned Arabic and studied widely both religious and … Continue reading

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Posted in Arabic, Arabic poetry, European explorers, Food, Middle East, Recipes, Richard Burton, Social Life | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Cuisines and Crops of Africa, 18th Century: Food and Farming in Timbuktu

In about 1789, the merchant and voyager Abd Salam Shabeeny  set out from his home city, the Moroccan port town of Tetuan (above picture), for Germany in order to procure items for use in his trans-Saharan caravan trade business.  On the way he … Continue reading

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Posted in Africa-North, Africa-West, African rice, Agriculture, Caravan routes, Colonialism, Cuisine, Egypt-Recent, Explorers & exploration, Food, History, History-Recent, Indigenous crops & medicinal plants, Livestock, Technology | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 16 Comments

A Taste of 2012 – Top Posts Favor Colonial Era; Food; Ancient Egypt

2012 was an excellent year for blogging.  Daily reads ranged between 200 and 300, with a few entries going over 500.  Readers were most interested in posts that stress the colonial era of African history, together with wildlife, traditional farming … Continue reading

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Posted in Africa-Central, Africa-General, Africa-West, Agriculture, Burundi, Caravan routes, Colonialism, Contract-Farming, David Livingstone, Egypt-Ancient, Ethnicity, Food, Hotel Club du Lac Tanganyika2, Indigenous crops & medicinal plants, Lake Tanganyika, Organic Gardenig, Research & Development, Stanley and Livingstone, Wildlife | Tagged , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Christmas in Africa: Village-Style in Burundi

Christmas in Burundi: Celebrations in the nearby village Christmas Day 2011> Related articles Batwa Pots in Burundi: Traditional Clay Pot Cuisine, Pt. 2 of 2 (dianabuja.wordpress.com) African Beef Stew with sweet potatoes and mangos, cooked and served in a Pumpkin … Continue reading

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Posted in Burundi, Christmas, Contract-Farming, Cuisine, Food, Hotel Club du Lac Tanganyika2, Lake Tanganyika, Living here, Wild honey | Tagged , , , , , , , | 10 Comments