Category Archives: Crop harvests

Livingston’s Adventures with Manioc [Cassava] in Southern Africa

Posted on 30/06/2015 by

Yesterday I had for lunch an African dish with fish and cassava [manioc] in a delicious sauce.  This reminded me of the oft negative descriptions of the crop as being something less that wonderful; as written by David Livingston : The … Continue reading →

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Posted in Africa-General, Crop harvests, Cuisine, David Livingstone | Tagged , , , , , | 4 Comments

Coptic Easter and A Feast in Rural Egypt – Recipes Included

Posted on 02/04/2015 by

With Easter upon us, I’m sharing my blog about the holiday in Upper [southern] Egypt: During the years that I spent a good deal of my time working and living in Upper [southern] Egypt while conducting  doctoral research, I was … Continue reading →

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Posted in Coptic, Crop harvests, Cuisine, Easter, Egypt, Egypt-Ancient, Egypt-Recent, Feasts, Food, Nile Valley | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 10 Comments

Happy Raisin Christmas and a Sultana New Year | Rachel Laudan

Posted on 24/12/2013 by

A holiday blog from Rachel Laudan about raisins, with a global view.  Afterwards, be sure to check out Rachel’s newly published book, Cuisine and Empire – enjoy! …So although I don’t normally do single ingredient (commodity) pieces, for Christmas this … Continue reading →

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Posted in Christmas, Crop harvests, Food | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The Filāḥa Texts Project: Medieval Books of Crop and Animal Husbandry

Posted on 25/07/2013 by

After some months, The Kutub al-Filāḥa – or Books of [Arabic] Husbandry – is back online and with  new materials.  It is the only source (I’m aware of) that has been systematically documenting medieval Arabic manuscripts on these topics – and … Continue reading →

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Posted in Andalus, Arabic, Botany, Crop harvests, Egypt - Medieval, Europe - medieval, Indigenous crops & medicinal plants, Livestock, Manuscripts | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

The Long Dry Season Comes to Central Africa

Posted on 07/07/2013 by

Our weather consists of two seasons: Rainy and Dry.  The latter, beginning in late June, lasts about three months, and the rainy season the rest of the year.  Well, there is also quite a short dry-ish season in December-January. Here … Continue reading →

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Posted in Africa-Central, Agriculture, Crop harvests, Goats, Imbo Plain, Lake Tanganyika, Living here | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

The Social Life of Beans in Burundi – Part 1

Posted on 01/03/2013 by

Dry beans are the most important food in Burundi.  Being Burundian is associated with beans – their growing, processing, sales and eating.  Consumption of beans  cuts across all socioeconomic and ethnic lines in the country; they are a truly unifying, … Continue reading →

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Posted in Africa-Central, Africa-General, Agriculture, Burundi, Colonialism, Crop harvests, Cuisine, East central Africa, Social Life | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 21 Comments

Colonial Musings on Mount Cameroon: Out with the Plantains! In with the Coffee & Sugar!

Posted on 26/11/2011 by

Colonial world views were, on the whole, extraordinary.  Explorers and missionaries marched out to record, save and reorder the world according to notions of Progress that placed Europeans at the apogee of Civilization (self-defined) – and ‘Everyone Else’ pretty far … Continue reading →

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Posted in Africa-West, Agriculture, Colonialism, Crop harvests, Environment, Explorers & exploration, Food Security, Richard Burton | Tagged , , , , , , , | 5 Comments