winter hasn't quit just yet.

solution: soul-warming Tuscan soup.

Vegetarian Ribollita

ribollita is a famous Tuscan soup whose name literally means "reboiled". like most Tuscan cuisine, the soup has peasant origins. it was originally made by reheating (ie. reboiling) the leftover minestrone or vegetable soup from the previous day | ordinarily this recipe calls for pancetta & chicken stock - here is my version that is vegan, if you can resist using the parm regg! | if you're always on the run like me: cook a batch on the weekend and you will have a healthy & filling lunch for the coming week | serves: 8 | inactive prep time: 24h | cooking time: 1h45

Ingredients

• 1/2 pound dried white beans (Great Northern or cannellini) 
• Kosher salt
• 1/4 C extra virgin olive oil
• 2 C chopped yellow onions (~2 medium onions)
• 1 C chopped carrots (~3 carrots)
• 1 C chopped celery (~3 stalks)
• 3 T minced garlic (~6 cloves)
• 1 t freshly ground black pepper
• 1/4 t crushed red pepper flakes
• 1 (28-ounce) can Italian plum tomatoes in puree, chopped, save the puree
• 4 C coarsely chopped or shreddedsavoy cabbage (optional)
• 4 C coarsely chopped kale
• 1/2 C chopped fresh basil leaves
• 4 C vegetable stock + 4 C filtered water
• 4 C sourdough bread cubes
• 1/2 C freshly grated parmigiano reggiano, for serving (optional)

Directions

In a large bowl, cover the beans with cold water by 1-inch and cover with plastic wrap. Soak overnight in the refrigerator.

Drain the beans and place them in a large pot with 8 cups of water, and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer uncovered for 45 minutes. Add 1 teaspoon of salt and continue to simmer for about 15 minutes, until the beans are tender. Set the beans aside to cool in their liquid.

Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large stockpot. Add the onions and cook over medium-low heat for 7 to 10 minutes, until the onions are translucent. Add the garlic, celery, carrots, 1 tablespoon of salt, freshly ground black pepper, and red pepper flakes. Cook over medium-low heat for 7 to 10 minutes, until the vegetables are tender. Add the tomatoes with their puree, the optional cabbage, the kale, and basil and cook over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, for another 7 to 10 minutes.

Drain the beans, reserving their cooking liquid. In the bowl of a food processor or blender, puree half of the beans with their liquid. Add to the stockpot, along with the remaining whole beans. Pour in the vegetable stock and water, and bring the soup to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer over low heat for 20 minutes.

Add the bread to the soup and simmer for 10 more minutes. Taste for seasoning and serve hot in large bowls sprinkled with parmigiano reggiano and drizzled with olive oil.

Serve with thick slices of fresh sourdough bread and a glass of wine.   

constant craving

faces & destinations on my mind this week...

heat & carefree-ness near sharm el sheikh

wangari :)

 rainy peace on the champs elysees

unwinding with the indian ocean as my landscape

inspired entrepreneurs

family

AIRPORTS

*end visual rant*

encounters with a pastor, mechanic, and masai

I had been in Kenya for a few weeks taking a group of spunky American travelers to visit various sustainable income generation projects, to go on safari, and to spend time learning about the amazing Kenyan culture. After the group left, a couple of us went to Mbita to check up on some new projects that we helped conceptualize & fund. It's a tiny fishing village on the shores of Lake Victoria; stunningly beautiful but treacherous to reach. "Treacherous" was about to be redefined.

Our next stop after Mbita was the Masai Mara. After hours unsuccessfully negotiating with matatu (mini-buses for hire) drivers, our friend borrowed his pastor's SUV to drive us to a halfway point where staff from the tented camp in the Mara would pick us up. The next morning, he picked us up and the pastor was with him. We go to a filling station and our friend returned with a mechanic - he said he was coming with us for "when the car breaks down." We started to worry but explained there wasn't room for a fifth person.

Finally, on the "road" leading away from Mbita, I began to understand why we almost had a mechanic accompany us. I've experienced bad roads in dozens of countries - none of them touched THIS road. At one point we were passing through a small village and all conversation eerily ceased. Several minutes later, our friend explained he had been car jacked when passing through that village the previous year. So then I understood why we had a pastor in the car, and why we couldn't pay any matatu driver enough money to take us.

After several hours of fighting to keep down my malaria pill and granola bar, we arrived at the pickup point for our next ride. We were to inspect and spend a couple days at a brand new tented "boutique hotel" in a nature conservancy - we do business with the owner's ground transportation company and assumed that they would send one of their gorgeous converted Toyota overland vehicles. Nope - they sent a tiny three-seater pickup truck with two towering men. There was no way we could all fit in the cab of the truck, and after the ride from Mbita all we wanted was fresh air. So we swallowed our dismay & hopped in the rusty bed of the truck with our luggage.

Initially this was perfect. We had smooth roads with perfect tarmac and loads of excited children crying out "mzungu!!!" waving at us as we passed through villages...then we made a right turn onto another dirt "road." The signs assured us that the Mara wasn't far but after a few hours bouncing down the road gripping the sides of the truck for dear life, it felt like it was worlds away. At one point I lost my grip & went airborne, landing on my newly reconstructed elbow - OUCH. We lodged ourselves between our suitcases as snugly as possible and took turns listening to my iPod.

When I'd given up hope that we'd ever arrive, we pulled up to the gates of the Ngerende Island tented camp. Covered in the red dirt of East Africa, we walked up to the reception area where we were greeted by Daniel, a Masai dressed grandly with his glowing smile, red cloth and beaded jewelry. We were handed chilled hand towels and champagne flutes of fresh mango juice, and settled in to an al fresco dining area of mahogany floors overlooking the Mara River where we hungrily dove in to cucumber sandwiches and fruit. As sunset approached, we were serenaded by the hippos in the river and watched little monkeys hopping from tree to tree, and I marveled at how even the most arduous of treks can so quickly melt away into bliss.

compréhension

today was the day that, as i would describe at our group's farewell dinner, the rubber really started to meet the road in my mind. turned out it didn't take much.

for the past year i've been alongside kelly & anne championing the village experience. kelly does a phenomenal job of communicating her vision and work, and it was so easy to fall head over heels in love with the company's concept of 'moving forward by giving back.' so as often as my schedule would allow, i would make sure i was with the girls promoting the cause and making it my own.

toward the end of this day is when it truly began to click for me.

we began with some conservancy-related activities in karen, a beautiful area of nairobi. the roads are smooth flawless tarmac, which i would soon discover is the exception rather than the rule in this country. interestingly enough, it's an extremely affluent area where most of the western expats can be found - and it's literally right next to kibera slum, where a staggering number of people live in a corrugated metal and mud shanty town with no electricity nor running water.

we visited the sheldrick center, where baby orphaned elephants and rhinos who have been rescued from certain death are nursed to health and cared for around the clock. the animals were positively adorable and it was great to see that organizations are committed to convservation of these amazing creatures, particularly since the economy relies so heavily on tourism and westerners paying top dollar for safari.

this was immediately followed by a visit to a giraffe center, where the endangered rothschild giraffe is successfully bred in captivity and released into the wild. one nice thing about being removed from western culture - you can get so close to the animals! we were able to shower tlc on the baby elephants and rhino, and i literally had endangered giraffes eating from my hand. my animal-loving heart was melting all day. what a birthday gift-!

our final stop apart from food was kazuri - the true commencement of my 'a-ha' moments. kazuri (a swahili word for 'small and beautiful') is a phenomenal, model, gem of a fair trade organization. they produce clay jewelry and pottery, and their exceptionally high quality products are distributed worldwide. employment in kenya is a major issue. it's an even bigger issue for females. kazuri employs more than 300 kenyans, primarily single mothers. they pay fair wages and provide a pleasant, safe work environment. it's been around for roughly 30 years and some of the women have been there that long. we toured the immaculate facility and purchased pieces for the store back home as well as ourselves. in that regard, i was in heaven.

beside the point, though.

after a year of putting kazuri products into the hands of shoppers in the US and discussing why it's such a great cause to support, it was amazing to be standing in the room full of all these women watching them make everything from scratch. this company gives the women working there the ability to put food in their children's stomachs, provide them with adequate shelter and an education. the fathers have either died or left, and there's no structure in place in kenya to protect these women or provide them or their children with basic sustenance. this rare opportunity for employment gives these women the chance to lay the groundwork for their children to pursue their dreams. pretty reminiscent of the american dream, and to see it working in a developing country was truly inspiring. and this is where things really started to kick into gear for me - what kazuri is doing is what we are striving to do in villages all over the world.

and of course, being the hopeless foodie that i am, there's the food. in nairobi i had pretty decent luck as a vegetarian. there's a strong european (english) influence, obviously, as well as indian. if i were a vegan i'd be pretty SOL, as it appears the national breakfast food is the spanish omelette. the great thing is that i love english tea, and that was to be had everywhere. two sugars, milk - called 'white tea' by the locals. breakfasts at the hill park were done al fresco, buffet style. to my joy there were always loads of tropical fruits...pineapple, mango, papaya and other delicious things i've never seen before. and the most wonderful passion fruit juice, my new favorite. by the end of this particular day i'd eaten a ton of spinach since i had to avoid the frequently available goat and very dry chicken and beef. the country hasn't been getting enough rain for a while now - and you can see it very clearly in the meat served. minimal grass to graze --> painfully skinny livestock --> extremely dry, tough meat. i definitely did not feel once as though the carnivores were getting a better deal than i. it just meant that as we went to more and more remote locations, many of my meals would consist solely of fried bread (chapati) or fried potatoes. i'm also quickly learning, even in nairobi, that cheese is a precious and very expensive luxury. *pained expression*

so far, i'm loving everything we're doing and thoroughly enjoying getting to know our group of passengers...a fantastic, diverse, quirky crew.

en route

arriving in nairobi almost-on-time was a feat. kelly and i arrived in newark to discover that the flight to amsterdam was delayed several hours. at the last second and after a friendly guy working at the airport managed to overrule the three unforgiving women at the counter for a heathrow flight, we squeaked onto a london-bound plane after the doors had already closed.

sleep was aided by an ambien from heathrow to nairobi. it was odd being back in london...my life was so different the last time I'd been there.

we bought our visas into the country and met up with two of our passengers, together piling into the most amazing 4x4 ever. it was a converted toyota truck - converted so that the roof raised up for safari, seated up to 9 people, had two gas tanks, and was painted a perfect army green with an olive green canvas interior. 

as we left the airport, we received a great welcome to the country - not even 5 minutes away from NBO, two majestic giraffes actually crossed the road in front of us. as if they were geese. apparently this isn't terribly normal but they were a gorgeous sight. i was in such awe that i couldn't even dig out my camera.

our accommodation in nairobi is in an area called upper hill, the hill park hotel. elegant looking buildings sit behind wrought iron gates monitored by security guards who salute the vehicles as they pass through. the owner of the hotel is a prominent local businessman and university chancellor, as well as a friend of our company. he is said to be the richest man in kenya.

we got everyone situated and a small group of us assembled in the restaurant/bar for some Tuskers, gin & tonics, local brandy, and chips. the first night, after more than a solid day's travel, was pretty hazy. and i had that familiar but not well-liked feeling of airport grime permeating my skin and hair. staving off fatigue a bit longer, while a Premier League match played on the tv, i rang in my birthday with kelly, matt, stan, and john.


this particular birthday would be tough to beat. birthdays abroad automatically qualify in my mind as being the top ones, but the birthdays i celebrated in europe would not be able to touch the one i spent on this continent that would completely capture my heart.

retour

while making my way through kenya, i had every intention of recording my impressions on a daily basis. between being entirely worn out by the end of each day and also having to keep up with work back in the states as much as poss, it didn't happen.

i'm going to attempt to recall the incredible moments, sights, smells...

bonne chance to me.

and from there, i'll continue. have a feeling that my future, as is the custom, is going to be interesting. i really need to get better at documenting that future as it passes under my feet for the purposes of reflecting on it, and remembering.

a friend once commented that when i close my eyes, i must see the most amazing things. i want to be able to look back on those sights as much as possible. and help others see them, as well.