Hopelessness and Despair

Lines from a poem By Sibusisiwe Jonathan

Dismantling the System

What a plight mine is!

And when will this end?

In their hypocritical preaching of human rights and democracy,

Hear them say: “Everyone has a right to life, a right to fair trial and judgement,

A right to dignity…”

Words have tendency to be idle and harmful if unaccompanied by action.

The rhetoric proceeds, “Every Live matters.”

But they know not…

They are unsure of the extent of my plight,

My daily portion as a black man….

What a plight mine is!

(Her original poem is about black immigrants. It illustrates how they are rarely called expatriates, even if they left their original countries on similar terms as their counterparts. To prevent more George Floyds and more marches, racism should be nabbed even in its subtlest manner, not only when things have gone this bad.)

Harvesting and eating broccoli leaves

By Sibusisiwe Jonathan

Ripe head of broccoli

Broccoli falls in the cabbage family and it is distinguished by its flowering crimped head. The difference from its cousin, cauliflower, is in its green instead of white head, and its taste. It has a richer taste than cabbage, but is not as bitterer as kale.

Broccoli is a cool season vegetable, like lettuce, carrots and cauliflower. As these vegetables seem to take long to ripen for harvest, don’t shy away from eating all their parts or you will miss out on the taste and benefits. Yep! We love the florets but broccoli leaves are also edible. We learn everyday. Initially, I was skeptical but after admiring the lush greenery, I got tempted to pick a few leaves and give them a try. Why not, when our trusted Zimbabwean chomolia was laden with pesticides to rid it of aphids.

The best time to start harvesting the leaves is when the crown of the broccoli is still tucked several centimetres below the top of the leaves, the time during which they are soft and juicy. Delaying to start harvesting, cooking and eating the leaves is not a good option. This is because when the florets start to open, the leaves begin to toughen up and lose their taste.

The leaves can be mistaken for kale ; broccoli leaves

When preparing and cooking broccoli leaves, handle them as you would kale, chomolia or any other leafy greens. You can either steam, pan-fry or mix with your meat stews, all to your preferred taste. They taste best (for me) when under or medium done irrespective of the method used.

I discovered that broccoli stems are also delicious; that was on my birthday. My son wanted to spoil me and volunteered to make dinner for the family. He prepared lamb chops, and to go with it he steamed broccoli florets together with stalks. When I finally saw the meal on the table, I could not complain, partly, because as a birthday girl I had to be on my best behaviour. Secondly, because the whole meal looked delectable. Surprisingly, the taste of broccoli stalks did not disappoint; it matched the fresh look. From then I have never looked back, but enjoyed cooking and eating broccoli with its stems.

Making broccoli stalk soup is another good way of not wasting, if you feel that eating all the harder part is not your style. After steaming and blending the stalks, you will surprise yourself at what amazing dinner starter you would have created. To thicken it, use sweet potatoes or butternut. These additives enhance the creaminess. Delicious! I have since learnt juicing broccoli stalks into a variety of our homemade juices. May be in the next post I will include one of my juice recipes.

For now, be bolder and more adventurous with broccoli. Enjoy.

Sweet potato leaves: overlooked nutrients source

We planted sweet potatoes at the beginning of February in our garden and expect them to be ready (the tuberous roots) after 4 months, that is, around June.

Full of ‘all you need vitamins’

However, in the meantime we are enjoying the greens of the sweet potatoes. They are known as kamote tops in Spanish speaking countries Potato vine leaves. The leaves are full of nutrients Sweet potato leaves and flavour. Sweet potato leaves are nicknamed “The queen of vegetables!” or “The anti-cancer vegetables!” and it’s a pity that in other parts of the world they were and are still known as the poor man’s vegetables. How you prepare them makes all the difference. Some people boil the leaves until they are tender, some enjoy them in soups. I like frying fresh potato leaves the Asian style. In this case I prepared them to go with steamed rice and spicy butternuts. Choose tender shoots at the end of each branch and their stems. Delicious!

Humble but delicious vegetable

In a shallow sauce pan sauté three crushed cloves of garlic, one spoon of finely chopped ginger in three table spoons of butter or vegetable oil (amount will depend on the quantity of sweet potato leaves. I used 450 grams of leaves). Add washed leaves and stir-fry. For taste add salt and a table spoon of lemon or soy sauce. Remove your vegetables as soon as they begin to wither under the heat.

Fried sweet potato leaves

Serve with rice, thick porridge or bread and any other side dish of your choice. Enjoy!

Humble but delicious vegetable

Pages: 1 2

Cape Town – a great experience

I see myself as privileged to have lived in Austria and had the opportunity to visit different countries in Europe. Years back when I visited South Africa – my neighbouring country, I did not get a chance to go to Cape Town. It was only at the end of January 2020 that a chance to visit the city presented itself. I’ve heard many people marvel at Cape Town’s beauty and uniqueness, but I’d never imagined that it could be what I experienced there.

On arrival

The first thing that stole my heart was the Cape Town International Airport’s beauty and cleanliness. No wonder over the years since 2006 up to 2016 it had won second then third place in the Airports Council International Airport Service Quality Awards (ACI-ASQ Awards) for the Middle East and Africa (https://capetown-airport.co.za/). This means it outshined notable Middle Eastern heavy weights such as Dubai International Airport.

Wholesome couscous

Couscous is part of mediterranean diet. It is made out of semolina, wheat flour which is turned into special pasta. Most people (including me until recently) think that it is a grain but it’s not!

Ever since we settled in Europe, I have enjoyed having different dishes of couscous at International gatherings and festivals. I have always avoided cooking couscous because on my first attempt it turned to porridge. Now I know that it can also be eaten as porridge, salad or take the place of rice, thanks to my Egyptian friend Shani.

At the weekend, I took courage and tried my cooking skills on couscous. I was delighted at how great it turned out – quite fluffy and tasted delicious.

The conventional way to cook couscous is to steam it for about 10 minutes or until it looks all puffed up to almost double its initial size. For taste (it is flat) I added salt, thyme, paprika and black pepper. I did not have rosemary which Shani says is a must, but still the taste was good. I also added mushrooms, tomatoes and sweet potatoes, and finally garnished the dish with spring onions.

Couscous dish can be eaten alone or with some relish. I prepared stewed chicken wings as a side dish. 🌝

Donau Zentrum (inside) from above

The Donau Zentrum (translated Danube centre) is one of the largest architectural designs in the city of Vienna, housing approximately 300 shopping stores. Shoppers can also treat themselves to a variety of catering and rest points, most of which offer free Wi-Fi.

For photography lovers the centre has all sorts of opportunities, especially from above.

Recently, a new shop selling a range of cannabis products opened (below).

All images are subject to copy.

 

 

 

 

 

Festung Hohensalzburg

One of the best places to visit in Salzburg.  Seeing the city from this castle is nothing to be missing.

The fortress was built under the command of Archbishop Gebhard in 1077. Later his successors continued to develop the fortress architecture. Currently with the advancement of modern technology, innovation is evident all over the fortress. On the highest floor, a multimedia magical theatre and modern media stations make the ancient  place and historical characters interactive and real-to-life. Research students from all ages can be spotted as and it is easy to tell that this the digital way is providing entertainment that they can’t afford to miss out on.

 

Overcoming a Challenging Situation

WE have all faced a challenging or difficult situation of one form or another at some stage in life. How did you handle that challenge you faced? How we face and handle challenges determine how we overcome.

Face it!

The idea is to face one’s challenges head on instead of despairing. As you take baby steps towards solving your situation, you gain confidence and more often than not accomplishment follows. Practising facing challenges and dealing with them leads to maturity and endurance. This reminds one of a plant which after enduring stripping of the winter season, recuperates in summer and blossoms beyond recognition.

Change your attitude

1. Never feel like a victim. Instead have the attitude of a problem solver – change from being pessimistic to being optimistic. According to Edmund Hillary, it is not the mountain facing us we have to conquer, but ourselves. In other words the way we perceive our ability to overcome is key. So, look at yourself for solutions.

2. Take charge of the situation. Believe you can do it and everything else will fall in place, so long you work towards overcoming your challenges. While you are at it, engage your critical thinking skills  and engage in some level of responsibility and take action.

3. Be realistic about your challenges and try to learn from them and let them be the bricks to build your character.  Take note of how pearls are created – by rubbing against each other, and also how gold is refined through some blazing furnance.

All in all be reminded that “we can do all things through Christ who strengthens us…” – a paraphrase from Philippians 4:13.

(This post has been inspired by pastors Pat and Brenda Mahar and from Athens who spoke at our church at the weekend.)

 

 

 

Traffic jam as taxis protest against ‘Uber’.

On Monday 11 June, a fleet of more than 1,000 taxis went on a go-slow demonstration against a US leading car-sharing company, Uber.  This company has recently been fast growing in Europe. One has only to click an app on their smartphone, call for a ride and with an active GPS be picked up within minutes. Payment is automated through one’s user account. The claim is that Uber’s practices do not allow fair competition as they breach regulations that other regular taxi firms adhere to.

Yesterday, the city of Vienna, came to a stand still as public and private transportation gave way to the massive demonstration. Reports say that the strike began at eleven o’clock in the morning up to 4p:m. It started along Wagramer Straße, passed across Reich bridge up to Praterstern and proceeded to the town centre and around the Ring.

 Around the Ring, the taxi drivers who were either insider their taxi cabs or standing outside, could be heard chanting, “Uber out! Uber out!”. They drew a lot of  attention from  passers-by and some drivers who were being redirected to different routes by escort police. The police cars and motorbikes convoyed the fleet of taxis at the front and from the rear throughout the procession.

Finally, the demonstrators parked around the Museumplatz before calling it a day.

Such demonstrations against Uber and the banning of its app have been taking place in Europe since around 2014. In April 2018 Uber was taken to court in Austria for breaching operational regulations.  The question is are the regular taxi drivers going to win this war? If so, then are countries and states discouraging digital trends? It could be that Uber operators really need to upgrade their safety measures, operate from a central point and have more accountability to local governing  authorities. Suffice to say time will tell.

 

 

,

 

Tourism and Transportation

In as much as Austria has a variety of nationalities, its capital city, Vienna is characterised by a presence of different modes of transport. What is most interesting is that one still sees a range from Middle Ages vehicles through to the most recent innovative electric buses plying the city center (the ring).    Despite transportation improvement throughout the years, the oldest horse-drawn carriages popularly known as tangas, are still one of the most popular vehicles in Vienna. If you are touring the city and you haven’t ridden in a horse-drawn cart, you need to do so. They park in Stephansplatz next to Stephansdom. Grabbing one of these makes touring the first district a novel experience for visitors…

The price is affordable and you can get to ride in one of the comfortable and luxurious vehicles in town.

We were fortunate to capture one of the latest and innovative electric buses parked next to a horse-drawn carriage. Such a splendid image! The old and the new functioning in harmony to complete the experience of a tourist…

Tricycles and tour bikes that manoeuvre in the midst of crowds complete the great scenery. Most of these are not electric though. They are manually ridden and the riders get a cool fare in addition to exercise and well-toned muscles. Tourists love them too. With a variety of on-surface transportation, the underground trains (U1, U2, U3 and U4) are the least popular in summer.

Temperatures are steadily going down and autumn is settling in fast. This could be why everyone was outdoors this weekend celebrating in street festivals before the weather gets really cold. Most people were dressed in cardigans and light jackets and there were occasional light showers.  I guess this is a farewell to summer.

Street Life Festival along Mariahilferstrasse