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Besan Doodh: A Drink Worthy of Nobel Peace Prize Laureates, Malala & Kailash

One thought crossed my mind every time I took a sip of the Besan Doodh. The thought overwhelmed the bold cardamom and it distracted from the warm milk tinged with saffron. A small thing, really – a sentence, again and again, bringing tears to my eyes. “I didn’t clip her wings.” These are the words of Malala Yousafzai’s father. Malala is a young woman from Pakistan – just 17 years old. She is easily the greatest superstar in the peace movement right now thanks to her unapologetic opposition to those who would keep girls from receiving an education. Though she’d been blogging for the BBC since she was 11, the whole world paid attention when she took a shot to the head on the way to school at age 15, two years ago. As of Friday, Malala is the world’s youngest Nobel Peace Prize winner and the first Pakistani winner. In a nice nod to her work for children’s education, she found out about the award during chemistry class. Malala’s father was the first person to write a girl’s name on the family …

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Caribbean Black Cake

Sometimes I think the holidays would go a lot smoother if everyone was handed a shot of rum and a slice of cake. How could conversation not go smoothly after that? Turns out, that’s what they do in the Caribbean… with great success. Black cake is a cousin to the British Plum Pudding and is made with an expensive array of dried fruits, like cherries, raisins, and prunes and topped off with a bit of nutty crunch (almonds for me). Before baking  – sometimes for months – the fruit soaks in rum and cherry brandy until it’s so plump and intoxicated, that only good things can come from it. What version of the cake ends up on your fork depends on what island your plate rests on, although most will agree that – unlike with American fruit cakes – grinding up the boozy fruit is a must. This, along with a dose of molasses and brown sugar give the cake it’s deep brown coloring (while some also like to add a local ingredient called “browning”). …

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Dyed Rice | Rainbow Rice Palau

Serves 6-8 I could confetti dozens (hundreds!) of newlyweds with all the rice we’ve made for our Adventures around the world. While they’ve all been incredible, I’m here to tell you that Rainbow Rice takes the cake for beauty, novelty, and fun factor. Want your own festival on a plate? Here are 5 important tips to making perfect Rainbow Rice: Only use one or two colors to dye the rice. Any more becomes a bit… chaotic. Make a theme out of it – pink for a baby shower, red and green for Christmas, orange and red for Thanksgiving, etc. Only dye a little bit of rice (maybe 1/4 cup of cooked rice per color) so that the dominant color is white. Use a lot of dye for a more dramatic effect. To avoid color bleeding: let the dyed rice air out and finish steaming before mixing with the other rice. It helps to dye the rice from the top of the pot, which is naturally drier than the rice at the bottom of the pot. …

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Bil Zbib (Sweet Couscous)

Serves: 4 Bil Zbib is eaten for breakfast or dessert in North Africa.  Serve this sweet couscous warm in the winter and cool in the summer. Ingredients: 1/4 cup golden raisins 4 dried apricots, diced 2 prunes, diced 1 1/2 cups water 1 1/8 cup dried couscous 2 tablespoons melted butter 2 tablespoons sugar 1 tsp cinnamon 1/8 cup powdered sugar Method: 1.  In a small pot combine the raisins, apricot, prunes, and water. Heat until boiling. Add couscous, cover, and turn off heat. Let sit 5 minutes. 2.   Add butter, cinnamon and granulated sugar. Gently fluff the couscous; pile in a mound on a small shallow platter. Dust with powdered sugar. 3. Serve warm or cool. Bil Zbib (Sweet Couscous) Votes: 0 Rating: 0 You: Rate this recipe! Print Recipe Bil Zbib is eaten for breakfast or dessert in North Africa. Serve this sweet couscous warm in the winter and cool in the summer. CourseSweets LifestylePotluck Friendly, Vegetarian Food TypeFruit, Random Carbs & Grains Servings Prep Time 4 people 5 minutes Cook Time Passive Time 5 minutes 5 minutes Servings Prep Time 4 people 5 …

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