In October I wrote about my 4-H Juniors group and our virtual culinary tour of Africa. We had a delayed start because of December’s “Arctic Blast” snow and ice storm. But we regrouped in January and have had two great meetings cooking dishes from Egypt and Ethiopia.

I must tell you that I have been impressed by how willing the girls are to try these foreign dishes. I’ve read that children are more likely to eat foods they help make. And I was wrong to doubt it, because it really works!

Here are a few pictures of the recipes we made from The Soul of a New Cuisine: A Discovery of the Foods and Flavors of Africa.

The first photo is Doro Wett, an Ethiopian chicken stew. The second photo is Berbere, a spice mix the girls hand mixed in my mortar and pestle. We used 1 tablespoon of the Berbere in the Doro Wett, which gave it that amazing red color. The one ingredient not shown in the Doro Wett photo is hard boiled eggs! That was an unexpected twist for me. And most of the girls liked it too.

I suggest you check out this cookbook if you are looking for an adventure. The girls are learning all kinds of new cooking skills as we explore different parts of the world too.

Here’s the Berbere recipe we made. Try to find a store that sells spices in bulk. It will make this recipe much more economical.

Berbere
From The Soul of a New Cuisine: A Discovery of the Food and Flavors of Africa. Use in Ethiopian cooking or as a rub for beef and lamb.

Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 months. Makes 1 cup.

2008 sure was a busy year. I am amazed by the reader response to Fix, Freeze, Feast. Your support has been humbling, to say the least. People rarely accuse me of saying too little. But honestly, I often don’t have the words to describe how grateful I am to you all. Thank you!

And 2009 is shaping up to be even busier, if that’s possible. I decided last year that in 2009 I would teach more. And that’s exactly what’s happening. Funny how that works, huh?

In addition to teaching in nearby West Linn, Oregon, I’ll be teaching classes for Tualatin Hills Parks and Recreation District. I enjoy these programs because they offer quality recreational opportunities for families AND scholarships based on need. Everyone gets to participate if they want to, regardless of ability to pay. I hope you’ll consider taking one of my classes this year if you live in the area.

I’m also expanding my classes for private groups and nonprofit clubs in 2009. You can find more information about all of my classes, and my teaching schedule for the first half of 2009, at KatiNeville.com. I will do my best to keep it updated throughout the year.

I know that Lindsay already has several speaking engagements scheduled too. I always look forward to hearing what the good folks in Bellingham are up to!

For our work together, Lindsay and I will continue to share money and time saving tips two times per month on The Saver’s Kitchen podcast. If you have a portable media player, you can easily subscribe. But you don’t HAVE to have one. You can also listen directly on our website.

And this spring we will be throwing the doors open at Freeziki.com–the online recipe sharing wiki site for our community of readers. You are welcome to go visit now. Many of you have already been poking around and that’s great! We have had that site developed for a while, but we really want to post a few of our NEW recipes to kick it off. We’ll let you know when we’re ready and hope you’ll come by to post favorite “warehoused” recipes from your stash. So stay tuned.

As always, please keep writing in to share your stories and pictures with us. Your notes always make our day.

Happy New Year!