More Tunisian Cakes

Haifa brought some more cakes as a gift to my family for Christmas. Just wanted to share a photo, as they're so pretty. They taste how they look; almond, pistachio, honey, rose water and orange flower water.

Tunisian Cakes

My brother's Tunisian fiancé came to the UK this week, to meet the family. She brought these beautiful homemade cakes as a gift. They are absolutely delicious; not too sweet, so you can really taste the fragrant pine nuts, almonds, pistachios, orange flower water, rose water and dried fruit that they are made of. As my tactful mum commented in response to opening the boxes of these treasures, "wow, you've really started off well here!".

It makes me emotional when such an effort is put in to make food so pretty and delicate and delicious. For me, that is what life is about, making the most of basic human pleasures, and giving to each other. See! The cakes have even made me philosophical! Is this normal?

Ché Maté Gourd, Bombilla & Arabic Coffee Pot

These interesting drink vessels were birthday presents. I got the beautiful Arabic coffee pot (plus Arabic coffee, Arabic cakes, some red wine and bowls for serving curry) from my brother, and the calabash (gourd) and bombilla (filtering straw) from my friend Biddy.



Biddy and I had seen everyone drinking ché maté from gourds in Argentina and southern Brazil, and then tried it ourselves on a beach in Bahia (northern Brazil), with Israeli friends who had the equipment. The tea is quite bitter and very much like green tea, I find. I sip it when I'm working alone at a desk in the UK, but it is more enjoyable drunk with friends on a Brazilian beach, and served with homemade coconut sweets from a beach seller...

Chimps & More Cake - 23rd August 2007

My third day started off with a trip through Regent - the first place where freed Caribbean slaves settled and built a village. It has not changed much since it was established, with Creole architecture and beautifully tended vegetable gardens among the lush foliage, by the river. We were on our way to the nearby Tacugama Chimpanzee Sanctuary.



Chimps are still hunted for meat in rural parts of Sierra Leone, and their babies sold as pets to rich people in Freetown. Numbers are estimated to have fallen from 20,000 in the 1970s, to less than 3000 now. Both the hunting and the keeping as pets are illegal, but it’s not always easy to educate people about that fact.

Some pet chimps are mistreated and chained up, whereas others are treated like spoiled children. We met one grumpy, rock-throwing male, who used to have his own bedroom with a TV. Even if they start off pampered, cute baby chimps turn into unpredictable, large, very strong, wild animals, and are consequently mistreated later on. The sanctuary takes in these chimps, which are seized from dealers or their adopted families, or handed in.



The idea is that after their rehabilitation into the enclosed forest of the sanctuary, they will be re-introduced into the wild. But there isn’t the funding to research suitable areas for release. Unlike wild chimps, they can be dangerous to humans, because they aren’t scared of them, so the chimps have simply collected in the sanctuary, since it opened in 1995.

Charismatic Dr Rosa Garriga joined the sanctuary as a resident vet a couple of years ago. She has made huge progress in publicizing the plight of the chimps and the work of the sanctuary in the local community, but is frustrated because so much needs to be done in terms of funding and research, which she feels she cannot do alone – I reckon she probably could, though! She’s a tough cookie and passionate about her work.

I’m one of those people who find chimps adorable and just want to cuddle and be friends with them, so it was a real treat to go and see some. But what made the experience even more awe-inspiring was seeing them in their ethereal natural habitat – rain forest-covered mountains. The photos don’t do it justice.


www.tacugama.com



We got back to Freetown in time for lunch, but then had a lengthy search for various cafés serving local food, all of which had closed down or were being cleaned up after a party! Then we stumbled upon Ki-Ki’s, in Campbell Street, where we had barracuda in rich tomatoey, spicy sauce, with rice and Star. I was lucky to be able to chat to Ki-Ki herself, because she normally lives in London, but was back in Freetown for the elections.

In the afternoon, I tried out the Salvonne Bakery, which has a range of heavy-looking pastries, cakes and bread, including small, solid croissants and steak and kidney pie, which I hear is delicious. I bought a little savoury cake, which was light and moist. Its fragrant sponge was mildly spicy, and flavoured with vegetables.



Notorious Paddy’s

In the evening, we went to the notorious Paddy’s, which is a sports bar, restaurant, and all night club, where everyone goes to party. I was with my dad, though, so the partying was limited to tasty kebabs, chips and Star, and taking in the pleasant surroundings. Paddy’s is one huge roof with not much in the way of walls, which makes it spacious and airy, adding to the chilled-out atmosphere. There's an area of tables to eat at, a big dancefloor, a central bar and games like pool.