This week was Gabe's pick and he chose Chad. Again, we didn't really know much about our country this week when we started {glad we're doing Foodie Friday, I've learned so much over the course of researching recipes!} but by the time we finished our meal, I know I learned a lot! Plus, as always, it makes an enjoyable addition to our homeschool!
Things I found interesting about Chad:
*They have been in engaged in civil wars on and off*They have a large influence from France from about 1900 because they were under colonial rule under France from 1900 til about 1960...
*The lower third of the country is the most populated with the Sahara desert in top part of country and mostly nomadic people living up there
*39% of women live in a polygamist relationship
*The official business languages are French and Arabic but over 100 languages are spoken...and about 200 different ethic groups or tribes live there
*They are ranked as the 7th poorest country in the world
*Got their name from Lake Chad- Chad is a local word which means large expanse of water
*Millet is their staple and made into paste balls that are dipped in sauces
We chose to have a Chadian breakfast for something different and we have had a busy week with activities and projects so we needed our Friday evening free!
People living in Chad typically start their day with a hot breakfast cereal called La Bouillie. Each family adds their own flair to it like we do here! But their basic recipe is made with rice or wheat, a little millet or cornmeal, curdled milk, and natural peanut butter. The peanut butter is crushed peanuts- homemade. And it really changes the flavor, in a good way! We wanted to try it different ways so we made two batches, a rice version, and a wheat version.
We also enjoyed a type of smoothie called Jus de Fruit with our La Bouillie. These drinks are usually served in a "milk bar" in the city. The thing that separates this from a typical smoothie is the cardamom. It had a nice flavor to the fruit!
The third dish we made were the Beignets Soufflés. They were definitely different than any other dough we made before. They have no yeast or baking powder or soda in it yet puff up great. They are very egg-y and you stir it hard to get air in the dough as you're adding the egg. The closest thing I can equate the flavor to is French toast. Very yummy!
We enjoyed our Chadian breakfast and prayed for the people of the Chad...they have many struggles in their country and women of that country have even more struggles...their mortality rate is high and so most of the country is young. Sometimes we encounter countries like this in our weekly adventure that can prompt difficult conversations...it's raw and real and we pray for them, and missionaries who are currently there. We know God loves all His people.
We found all of our recipes on a site all about Chad- "Welcome to Virtual Chad!" A good site with tons of information.
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