The Joy of Cooking.... COntinued from December's Newsletter

...... "Whenever a friend goes to Africa or is coming to America to visit, I ask them to bring me this stuff," he followed up with. This is undoubtedly one of the best gifts a friend can give, a piece of home.

After nearly an hour of carefree cooking, the much-anticipated dish was nearly complete. All that was now needed was the taste test. "Stick out your hand," Ndikum said. Being the adventurous type, I cooperated and before I knew it, egusi soup was splattered on my palm. "This is how we do in Africa," said Ndikum, as I was instructed to lick it off my hand. The savory base from the cow meat and oil livened my taste buds, while the infused creamy tomato smoothed everything out; I couldn't wait to dig in.  

Just as we sat down and began to pig out, a knock came from the door. Mustafa, a Cameroonian man who lives in the same apartment complex as Armyao, came in and immediately began talking about his car problems that day. "It sucked man, I was so pissed," he said. To cheer him up, we offered him some of the egusi soup and he politely declined. "Mustafa, you must try this," I said, "it is delicious!". "No it is alright, I have been trying that for my entire life," he cleverly stated. This interaction only reinforced my understanding of how ingrained this dish was to the West African culture.

I have always cherished the rewarding nature of cooking; but cooking alongside refugees, asylees, and the like, has expanded this juvenile feeling into something that cannot simply be stated through words in order to fully convey, but instead must be directly experienced. That is, a sense of worldly connection.

Top 3 Reasons to Eat Local Foods

 With all those food choices out there, it is hard to choose the right ones. So Iskashitaa would like the chance to help you make those tough decisions by reminding you why it is important to eat locally:

• Local produce has more time to ripen. Because local foods don't have to travel long distances, they don't have to be sturdy, solid and harvested too soon like their counterparts. That means we catch those fresh fruits as they fall from the trees and create something delicious for you.
• It keeps open spaces! If you buy locally, you are encouraging and supporting farmers with open spaces and giving them the means to stay in business. This keeps nature present and discourages industrialization.
• You are in touch with the seasons. When you buy locally, you are buying based on the harvest calendar. These will not only keep you in touch with the seasons, but can be a great knowledge base for those of you who are aspiring growers!

If these reasons weren't enough to tempt you to buy local, then maybe some of our products will. Currently available are Cactus Pickled Garlic, Garlic Olive Oil, Prickly Pear Syrup, Fiesta Salsa, Cinnamon Loquat Jam, Prickly Pear Jelly, and many more! All ingredients are harvested and prepared locally. They are available for purchase at:

• Creative Juice located at 6530 Tanque Verde, Suite 160. Operational hours vary, visit www.creativejuiceartbar.com for details.
• Mi Casa located at 3248 East Grant Road with operation hours Mon- Sat 930am to 5pm.
  

For more information or to contact us through email to order products to

iskashitaafoodworkshops@gmail.com

Pictures from Tucson Meet Yourself 2012

United Nations Refugees from all over the world demonstrated their traditional sewing and crafts skills to the public during the annual Tucson Meet Yourself Folk Festival.

 

  

Iskashitaa Welcomes New Staff Member, Kristen Vellinger

Kristen Vellinger developed a passion for refugee rights when working on the Save Darfur campaign in high school. Time living with a number of war torn communities in Central America made her realize the power of community leadership in development, and furthered her desire to work with the refugee community. In college, she worked to promote the empowerment of local communities through international investing and microenterprise, but her favorite activity by far was teaching ESL to adult and high school students. Her senior thesis focused on the importance of community leadership in women's development efforts. As the new AmeriCorps VISTA, Kristen looks forward to working as Resource Coordinator to help further Iskashitaa Refugee Network's transformational impact.

Iskashitaa is excited to welcome Kristin as a new staff member in November.