Paradise

Paradise is a small Peruvian pueblo named Urbulu. Tucked into a sugar cane valley and half an hour from Tuman (accent on the "man"), this pueblo has only 70 people. We left home in the Tico taxi of Arturo Anton Arguesa, a friend of the people we would visit. Our young friend, Liseth, had arranged for the taxi and the visit with her aunt. One and one half hour later, after driving through endless sugar cane fields with backdrops of the Andes' foothills, we arrived. During the drive we passed Pomalca and drove through Tuman. These are now towns, but they were once plantations and then collectives. Tuman is a lovely town with garden parks, waterways, old trees, and some of the older plantation houses. The sugar factory is huge and was belching out fumes that smelled of the first stage of sugar making (almost like molasses). After Tuman we hit roads that were more ruts than roads. Every so often there were large pumps gushing clear water from underground wells into cement channels that ran everywhere. Sugar cane to the left, sugar cane to the right; burning fields of cane and some fairly new growth of cane; and always those mountains.

With a small turn onto a narrow dirt road we reached Urbulu. One floor adobe homes with flowers growing in front and a variety of fruit trees on the other side of the road. Cows munched, burros munched, and dogs looking to munch went by. Then the road widened and opened onto a grove of coconut trees to the left, sugar cane and mountains to the right and a broad yard with an adobe house ahead. The property was fenced in typically Peruvian country style: tall sticks woven together, and shorter cane pieces with burnt stains creating a pattern of light and dark. Behind these were the enclosures for burros, sheep and various poultry. As we got out of the taxi I noticed that the ground was soft, almost spongy. Everywhere we went that day the ground was the same; unlike the cement-like soil where we live. 

After introductions, some small talk, and a walk around the neighborhood to look at the birds and plants, we sat down to "almuerzo" or afternoon dinner. The plates were heaped full with white beans, rice and goat. I knew I could never eat all on my plate. Additionally, there were two types of seviche, Peruvian corn called "choclo," a bowl of hot sauce, and plenty of camotes. The aunt put on some exceptional Andean music and Miguel poured the wine we had brought. The two children there at the time (Cesar 11 and Guadalupe 7) ate at a separate table. Later a younger son arrived (Alex 4). The children were happy, well-behaved, and engaging. The food was truly delicious. Arturo taught us a slow Andean dance to some new music that was played and then we danced.

After a short rest to digest...off to the river. The river was high, about 25 feet wide, and the current was swifter than I expected. It has been raining (sometimes torrentially) in the mountains and the river carried silt to the valley. As I stood knee deep in water of an exquisite coolness, I looked up. There, across some miles were two gorgeous mountain peaks framed by palms in the foreground. A large white bird flew by making the picture even more startling. Arturo took some pictures (unfortunately without the bird) which I will post later. 

Yes, it was paradise and the day went by all too quickly. I'm not sure if the mythical Adam and Eve had a paradise like this; but I hope they didn't have the one diabolical intrusion: mosquitoes!

What's with the music and video gadgets?

There are so many songs from the 78 rpm era that are really fine or funny. Many people have never heard them. These songs are not copyrighted and can be put on blogs, websites, etc. There are also some interesting short animated videos that are "open source."

At the bottom of this page is a musical animation. Wayne Lytle, the originator, uses software to analyze the music and drive the instruments in the animation. His website is http://www.animusic.com. A DVD of all seven of the pieces of animated music has been released commercially. Both the video and the 78rpm songs can be found at http://www.archive.org

The songs in the musical gadgets to the right were chosen mainly for their great blues; except for "Yes, we have no bananas," and "Hard Times." 'No bananas' is a silly song I remember from my childhood. The next song opens with several seconds of a sermon and then launches into the congregation singing the song. I wanted to put this one on because it reminds of my Baptist musical roots and the times I skipped Sunday School to listen to music at black storefront churches in my neighborhood. The others are fabulous renditions of blues songs.

What do Ry Cooder, Taj Mahal, Bob Weir, Jorma Kaukonen, Dave Von Ronk, David Bromberg, have in common? They all were taught by Blind Reverend Gary Davis. Bob Dylan, Jerry Garcia & the Grateful Dead, and Jefferson Airplane were all influenced by Davis. To read a bio of Davis (a Baptist preacher as well) go to http://www.gale.cengage.com/free_resources/bhm/bio/davis_g.htm Enjoy the music!

RECIPE: CURRIED GOAT WITH PUMPKIN

This was so good we stuffed ourselves. In Peru goat is a popular meat and is usually cooked in a stew. In some supermarkets, here, you can find unbelievably fresh goat meat. The goat we used for this was sweet and tender. It won't look like a pretty picture in a cookbook when you are finished, but that is because the veggies are meant to be well cooked to add flavor to the juice.

For many years I used only the Madras curry powder that came in that lovely decorated tin. I asked my sister to send me some to Peru, but she could not find it. Instead she sent "SWAD" Madras curry from Rajafoods. I am converted! It has just the right amount of spice to make it tasty without too much fire.

I used my own homegrown "zapallo loche" in this recipe. If you can get it, cook some with the skin on to increase the flavor of the juice. Zapallo loche is similar to loche but much less expensive (see my photo of loche in this blog). Otherwise, buttercup squash would be the best replacement.

CURRIED GOAT WITH PUMPKIN/SQUASH (this recipe is done with colors which may not reproduce in black print)

Ingredients:
2 1/2 to 3 pounds (1 kilo plus) young goat (ribs are really tender) cut into serving pieces
2-4 tablespoons of virgin olive oil (total for all the sauteing)
4 cloves of garlic chopped roughly
1 slice of fresh ginger minced (about 3/4" thick)
2-3 medium tomatoes (ripe!) cut into medium to small pieces (skin if desired)
2 or more tablespoons of butter
1 medium white onion cut into small crescents
2-4 tablespoons of curry powder (more depending on strength and preference)
2-3 small to medium white potatoes in good sized chunks
1-2 medium orange camotes in chunks (optional)
1 green, semi-hard skinned squash/pumpkin in chunks
1/2 red bell pepper in chunks
1 amarillo pepper with seeds removed & in chunks (if available, this is a long, yellow, slightly spicy pepper)
2 cups of chicken broth (preferably homemade)
Water* to bring the liquid line to about 1/2" to 1" below the meat and veggies
Salt and pepper to taste

*Water -- if you have extra chicken broth, add that instead. It will make the stew much richer.

1. Sear the goat well in heated olive oil in a heavy iron pot (lg enough to hold all of the above) over fairly high flame. Remove to a bowl. (If there is burnt oil, clean the pot with a paper towel.)
   
2. Lower the flame a bit and saute the garlic and ginger in olive oil (add more if needed) for 1 minute.
3. Melt the butter in the pot & add the onion. Saute until golden.
4. Add the tomatoes and cook (stirring a bit) until they soften somewhat.
5. Add the curry powder and stir for 1-2 minutes until incorporated.
6. Throw in the rest of the vegetables and stir for a minute or so until they are coated nicely with the curry mix.
7. Add the chicken broth and return the goat (with juices that have accumulated).
8. Add water to about 1/2" to 1" below all. Too much water will weaken the flavor; too little will make the juice too thick.
9. Bring to a boil and then lower the flame and simmer for 45 to 50 minutes.
10. Test the meat with a fork. If not tender, cook until it is (adding more water if necessary). If tender, and all veggies done; turn off, serve with rice, and enjoy!
    

PRESIDENT OBAMA

Can it be done? Can he do it? We have waited so long for a change; for a new day. After all the years of reactionary government that served a small percentage of the people and/or was self-serving, it is time for the development of a US government and a US community dedicated to serving all fairly. Let's help it happen by giving a strong voice to our hopes. Go to the website http://www.change.gov/and let Obama know your vision, your ideas, your hopes...loud and clear!

In Memoriam

One of the first posts I added to my blog was about Tia Rosa and making chicha. Sadly for all of us who have known this wonderful woman, she died yesterday evening to much wailing by those who loved her. Besides making chicha as a business, Tia Rosa was a major financial support for many people. Her table was always filled with food for others. She helped raise other people's children when they had difficulties. Her parties were filled with happy, dancing, chicha-drinking folks. We will all miss her.

SOME THOUGHTS ON THE "here we go all over again" FINANCIAL CRISIS:

It amazes me that people are surprised. When you remove regulations like the Glass-Steagall Act (Clinton and Rubin did this) so that banks can merge different types of banking [savings, loans, commercial operations & credit, and investments (stocks, bonds, etc.) all in one bank] and become the mega monsters they are now; it means that people across the board are hurt by the ensuing financial crisis. Remember, business cycles are real. What goes up comes down again. Of course, much of this started back in Reagan's time when the Republicans were screaming about "big government" and asking for deregulation. They got it. Then we had the "Savings & Loan fiasco" (Bush family involvement) followed by more deregulation. Next came the Hedge Fund nightmare that almost brought several countries to their knees. Derivatives once again were part of the problem and the geniuses who supposedly devised a foolproof method had to hide their Nobel prizes. Now the most recent crisis which, as yet, has no cute moniker.

I remember how back in '98 workers in my company who had hoped to retire could not. Their 401Ks were invested in stock and that crisis took a big bite. Now 401Ks will be hurt again. And Bush wanted to privatize social security? That would have been the final legal bullet in the heart of average people in the US. What I want to know is why people continue to believe that we have a government of, for, and by the people? We do not. We have a government run by extremely rich people who are beholden to even richer and more powerful institutions in order to keep their millions and billions growing. So who do our politicians listen to? Us? Not a chance unless you take to the streets. Then they might dole out a crumb or two.

How are they able to bailout $700 billion to these institutions when they can't provide decent health care to many Americans? How can they do this when so many children are living in poverty? How can they do this when so many are out of work? How can they do this when we have such an enormous debt? They can and they do because it benefits them.

If you want a tag for this crisis, it could be called "chicanery all over again." Chicanery is a word that is seldom used. Perhaps that's because the economic belief system today has chicanery as its root meaning. For those who want to know, "chicanery" is defined by the Oxford English Dictionary as: "legal trickery, pettifogging [being a "rascally attorney"]; the use of subterfuge and trickery in debate or action; quibbling, sophistry, trickery." Even though it is used to characterize low level attorneys who put together unnecessary cases through trickery, it could be extended to anyone (and the government is filled with attorneys) who uses legal means to pull the wool over peoples' eyes.

Let's start with deregulation. The given reasoning behind deregulation is that it hampers business from growing. Example: Regulations about contaminating the air and earth cause business to change the way they do business and this costs them money (out of their excessive profits). Meaning, if they are polluting the air and people develop lung cancer they don't want to help. So, legally, the regulations are changed to benefit business growth. That growth results in "too big to fail."

Next, derivatives. Most people have absolutely no understanding about derivatives, but neither do the people who use them (except to know they gain outrageous profits from the bubble that occurs). They are legal despite almost twenty years of problems. I'm not going to try to explain them either. Just know that they are "chicanery."

And what about "free markets"? Free markets supposedly mean that there is no government interference in the operation of markets. The result of this verbal chicanery is that the corporations of more developed countries can freely and legally enter the underdeveloped markets in Latin America, Africa, etc. And the result of that is the siphoning of funds from those countries back to the developed ones. Yes, you get cheaper prices from the sweating of labor in those countries, and yes there is development in those countries for the richest, but no, the wealth does not "trickle down" (another example of Reagan's verbal chicanery). If you want to know why, read "Confessions of an Economic Hit Man" by John Perkins.

Big government? The bailout is a prime example of big government. The bailout gives the lie to "free markets." The bailout is prime, triple A, chicanery! The government (i.e., the rich) tries to convince us that they must do this in order to save us. The result: those who created the mess in the first place are rewarded for trickery and outright criminality, while we will see another generation of average folks sacrificed. In real terms your money over the past 20 years or so has been decreasing in value. Now it will decrease even more. And the younger generation will face an uphill climb much more severe than it has been. All from economic chicanery used to benefit those at the top.

So what's happened from all of this deregulation and crisis? Well, for one thing, already big corporations are gobbling up failing ones and becoming even bigger. The government that doesn't want to be "big" is now taking on the job of controlling the market. Don't expect this to stop. It won't unless we the people take back our government. What kind of government do you want? What kind of economic system do you want?

To anonymous re loche

Thanks for commenting and growing the zapallo.

I also have a few zapallo vines growing and some small fruit. It is the bottom of winter here, but the weather is between 78 to 90 F. As soon as the vines have all borne some fruit I will cut and plant 4 to 5 vines. If successful, they should grow loche by mid to late summer. All of this is experimental.

The zapallo seeds (called zapallo loche) will give you enormous vines, leaves and pumpkins, but not loche.

The pumpkins can grow into your fall. They could be enormous, so at this point just harvest one to see if it is ready. Take some cuttings from your zapallo vine and plant them. Since I am in a non-frost zone it is easy to do that, but if winter is coming to you the vines might not grow. Perhaps you could try putting them in a large pot indoors next to a sunny window. The pumpkin itself is wonderful for stews and it cooks quickly. The loche, purportedly, only grows from the vine cuttings. Good luck with both. Please let me know your results. Jan