Haiti

Bonswa! Bonsoir! That's good evening in Haitian Creole and French!

I apologize that this is being posted so late into the week. I normally post on Sundays, but I just couldn't get it done until today. I am sorry to those who have been following along and were expecting it then. 

But back on track! This week we enjoyed cuisine from Haiti! Haiti is in the Caribbean Sea and shares the island of Hispaniola with the Dominican Republic. Haiti is about 10,800 square miles and has an estimated population of 11.1 million. 

This flag depicts independence by the coat of arms. The phrase "L'Union fait la Force" means 
"Unity makes strength." The civil version of the flag omits the coat of arms so there are just a red band and a blue band. A bit of fun trivia, because the national flag is the one most see, it was discovered at the 1936 summer Olympics that both Haiti and Liechtenstein were flying the same civil flag! This led to Liechtenstein adding a crown to their flag. 

Most mammal species here are not native since Europeans brought many animals with them. There are various native bat species and there is the native Hispaniolan Solenodon which is adorable!

Now let's get to the delicious food we had this week! Nick and I agree that this recipe has been our favorite so far! This meal is typically a breakfast food, but we ended up eating it for dinner. It is Haitian Espageti or Spaghetti. You read that right! This is a traditional Haitian breakfast. We ended up not adding the Scotch Bonnet/ Habanero, but I cannot imagine starting my day with that much spice!

I found my recipe on http://haitiancooking.com/recipe/haitian-spaghetti-espageti/

Many people from Haiti actually commented on this recipe and stated that it was delicious! We were going to make traditional Haitian bread with it, but the house has been too hot to bake anything. So we may try that in the future. 

 

Ingredients:

1 lb thin spaghetti

1/2 lb spicy pork sausage (Can also use hot dogs or Turkey sausage)

1 small onion sliced

1/2 green bell pepper diced

2 Tbs tomato paste

1/2 Scotch Bonnet Pepper minced (Optional)

1 Tsp all purpose seasoning

2 sprigs of thyme

1Tbs of Haitian Epis (or 1 Chicken bouillon Cube)

2 Tbs of olive oil

4 cups of water

3 tsp of salt (or to taste)

Directions:

1. Bring water to a boil with 1 tbs of olive oil, and salt.

2. Add the spaghetti and cook until al dente.

3. Drain the spaghetti and set aside

4. In the pot add olive oil and saute the sausage for 2-3 minutes

5. Add the tomato paste, peppers, thyme, chicken bouillon cube, onions, and saute until the onions are translucent.

6. Add 1 cup of water and bring to a boil.

7. Add the spaghetti and mix thoroughly.

8. Let simmer for 4 minutes and serve.

We loved this meal! It is salty and delicious! This is one we will make often! We ended up adding the whole pound of sausage because Lily loved it! She just kept asking for more. This is distinctly different from the spaghetti we normally eat, but I loved how flavorful it was. 

We so enjoyed learning about Haiti and trying some new food! This week we will be making food from Tanzania so look out for the post about our experience with cooking and eating Mchemsho!

See you soon!

Aerika, Nick, and Lily