Monday, July 14, 2008
Burmese dinner and cultural evening: for Cyclone relief
I am having reverse "senior moments", I remember writing a post about the Cyclone Nargis fundraising dinner BCNZ the West Auckland Burmese community are putting on, with Burmese food and dancing and songs from Karen, Kachin and Chin groups, but it was not here when Miriam sent me a notice about it this morning :(
So, here, I hope not too late for you to sign up, is a link to the invitation, and extracts of the details, it is:
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So, here, I hope not too late for you to sign up, is a link to the invitation, and extracts of the details, it is:
- organised by the Burmese Christian Fellowship,
- on Sunday July 20th from 5pm till 7pm
- $25 per person includes food, entertainment and donation to Cyclone Nargis relief (organised informally through contacts on the spot)
- at Bible College of New Zealand (if it has not changed its name by then ;) 221 Lincoln Rd, Henderson, traffic light entrance opposite Pak N Save, "entrance through the muli-storey brick building at the end of the drive"
- please pay in advance to:
- Adrienne Coats 837 1507
- Paul Long 818 3874
- Khun Aung 630 8975
- David Thorpe 826 0864
Labels: burma, cyclone, karen, nargis
¶ 10:35 AM
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Friday, June 20, 2008
World Refugee Day
Today, June 20th, is World Refugee Day. There are lots of ways you can "celebrate" it. But if you are stuck for ideas, perhaps it means you do not know much about the issues, in that case how about ten minutes surfing and exploring to learn more. For facts and figures the UNHCR is authoritative, and the IMC has a good one page summary.
If you prefer a more experiential approach you could read about the Mae La refugee camp, or look at one of the photoblogs: Timelight @ Mae La - Weblog or through valleys of sorrow to rivers of joy which has more than photos. In particular you could read the rest of this post:
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If you prefer a more experiential approach you could read about the Mae La refugee camp, or look at one of the photoblogs: Timelight @ Mae La - Weblog or through valleys of sorrow to rivers of joy which has more than photos. In particular you could read the rest of this post:
Whatever you do, do NOT just sit there, do something even if it is only to cry a little! ¶ 10:53 AMpray, yes, but we still can't eat your prayers
While the faith and the spirits of the people I met in Mae La were strong, their current physical conditions are matters of concern. Registration froze two years ago. People who come to the camp--four or five new families everyday--are not given food rations or materials to build huts because they are not registered. They must move in with other refugees and those who open their huts must share what they have with the new-comers. Already, cuts have been made in the amount of food they receive twice a month.
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Monday, June 16, 2008
Burmese noodle salad (a warm salad!)
We've been eating less meat, since the kids are leaving home (they are all confirmed and voracious carnivores ;-) among the recipes I've found useful is this warm Noodle Salad from Burma. We watched it being prepared at Borderline in Mae Sot when we did a cookery course there. I wish I had taken a photo of the meal since their version looked a lot more appetising than the one I prepared over the weekend - in a hurry as we were reorganising the kitchen all afternoon :(
Ingredients:
Mix rice flour with water to make a creamy paste (if you use courgettes you should add extra rice flour to make the cream thick as courgettes are watery and risk going soggy not crisp in the salad).
Slice the cabbage, spring onions thinly, slice the onions and garlic even thinner (keep the garlic separate), and chop the coriander (roughly as you want some whole or nearly whole leaves as well as some cut finer.
Cut the vegetable into small (finger size) pieces. Cut the tofu similarly. Coat in the rice flour cream and fry till crisp and golden.
Mix the chilli, garlic and turmeric and pour over 1/2 cup of hot oil (the mixture will fizz up and the spices will cook to perfection) to make a dressing.
Dry fry the bean powder till it darkens, do not burn it!
Cook the noodles and drain, washing in cold water so they stick less.
Assemble by mixing the noodles, dressing, bean powder and salad, use the gourd (carrot or courgette) and tofu to decorate. Eat ideally while still warm.
¶ 2:42 PM
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We've been eating less meat, since the kids are leaving home (they are all confirmed and voracious carnivores ;-) among the recipes I've found useful is this warm Noodle Salad from Burma. We watched it being prepared at Borderline in Mae Sot when we did a cookery course there. I wish I had taken a photo of the meal since their version looked a lot more appetising than the one I prepared over the weekend - in a hurry as we were reorganising the kitchen all afternoon :(Ingredients:
- wheat noodles (ideally from your local Asian store, not rice noodles, but almost Tagliatelle - which you could probably use if stuck, though it is not the same) enough for the number you are feeding I'll give quantities for 4 as a main.
- vegetables (ideally gourd, but corgettes work quite well and carrot is OK...)
- cabbage 1-2 handsfull
- spring onions a few
- beansprouts 1.5 cups
- hard tofu one block (depending on size)
- corriander 4-5 plants
- red onions 2 small
- yellow bean powder 0.5-1 teacup (a mix of 50/50 soya powder and ground up peanuts works fine)
- rice flour 5 tsp
- chilli powder 1-2tsp
- turmeric 1tsp
- garlic 4-5 cloves (or if you can find it packeted crispy fried garlic)
- oil for deep frying (in a wok is traditional) use 1/2 teacup of this later for the spices
Below my clumsy hurried thick cut version,
above Borderline's delicate Burmese version!
Mix rice flour with water to make a creamy paste (if you use courgettes you should add extra rice flour to make the cream thick as courgettes are watery and risk going soggy not crisp in the salad).Slice the cabbage, spring onions thinly, slice the onions and garlic even thinner (keep the garlic separate), and chop the coriander (roughly as you want some whole or nearly whole leaves as well as some cut finer.
Cut the vegetable into small (finger size) pieces. Cut the tofu similarly. Coat in the rice flour cream and fry till crisp and golden.
Mix the chilli, garlic and turmeric and pour over 1/2 cup of hot oil (the mixture will fizz up and the spices will cook to perfection) to make a dressing.
Dry fry the bean powder till it darkens, do not burn it!
Cook the noodles and drain, washing in cold water so they stick less.
Assemble by mixing the noodles, dressing, bean powder and salad, use the gourd (carrot or courgette) and tofu to decorate. Eat ideally while still warm.
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Monday, May 26, 2008
Priorities
¶ 6:24 AM
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The BBC has a report on the welcome announcement that the generals who rule the country they call Myanmar will at last allow humanitarian aid in to the 2.5 million worst affected by the cyclone on May 2. Read between the lines it tells of the perverse priorities and and care behind the generals earlier refusal. I've said before and will say again these men are not stupid, just evil.
Yes it would have been a shame if foreigners should witness the "referendum" they might be confused by the armed soldiers present at polling booths to make sure there was no misunderstanding. They could get the impression that this important referendum designed to ensure the generals' grip on power and dress it with a fine cloak of "democracy" was less than free and fair.
In Thailand UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon opened a new base to speed
up aid for victims of the cyclone, which killed 78,000 and left 56,000
missing.
Meanwhile polls closed in the final stage of a controversial Burmese referendum on a new constitution.
The UN estimates that only a quarter of the 2.5 million Burmese affected by the cyclone have received the help they need.
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Monday, May 12, 2008
Cyclone Nargis and the coherence of Amos 7
The title may seem somewhat incongruous, and I am sorry I do not have a grand theory that will demonstrate that Cyclone Nargis is the hermeneutic key to this chapter ;-) But the two are related...
Both explain my lack of posts here recently:
1. Burma is the country whose military rulers have chosen to call "Myanmar" both English versions refer to the same geographical location, but may indicate a political, or - in view of the generals' behaviour - humanitarian, bias.
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Both explain my lack of posts here recently:
- since Cylcone Nargis hit Burma/Myanmar I have used my blogging time to provide updates on the relief effort, and as I get information how the Karen people have been impacted.
- because my writing time this sabbatical was shortened by teaching elsewhere I am trying to finish polishing an article on the coherence of Amos 7:1-8:3
1. Burma is the country whose military rulers have chosen to call "Myanmar" both English versions refer to the same geographical location, but may indicate a political, or - in view of the generals' behaviour - humanitarian, bias.
Labels: burma
¶ 8:31 AM
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