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 My basil crop is in full glory right now, a long green and fragrant row. It needs to be trimmed a lot, which means that several times a week I have fresh basil spread out and drying on my kitchen counter. Of course you can never eat too much spaghetti with pesto, but we need another stand by pesto meal. I once had a pesto flavoured chicken salad in an outdoor cafe, served in a tortilla shell with lots of other veggies. It was so delicious that I had to try it at home, but mine is a much simpler version. All you need to do is spread it on saltines (or some other extremely crunchy cracker) and top with a spoonful of hot pepper relish or a fresh tomato slice. What I like about this meal is that I can throw all the ingredients onto the table, and everyone digs in and prepares their own crackers the way they want. If you have a fancier occasion, these make great little appetizers.
This is simple to prepare. Just make a basic pesto recipe, mine is below. Cook your chicken breasts and cut up into small pieces. Mix the chicken with the prepared pesto first, and then add enough mayonnaise to make it spreadable. This is best served right away.
Basil Pesto
- 1 clove garlic, peeled
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 3 tablespoons parmesan cheese
- 3 tablespoons toasted pine nuts
- 1 cup packed fresh basil leaves
- 1/2 teaspoon lemon juice (helps to keep color from turning brown)
- 1/3 cup olive oil
- Combine garlic, salt, parmesan cheese and pine nuts in a food processor and process until finely ground.
- Add basil leaves and lemon juice. Process these while pouring the olive oil through the feed tube in a very slow stream. This will blend the oil in slowly so that it doesn't separate out later.
 
Do you have any delicious basil recipes? Please share!
 A posset started out in the middle ages as a thick, fermented drink of milk that was laced with wine or ale. The acid causes the milk to curdle and thicken in much the same way as buttermilk. It's uncertain where the word posset originated, but it may have been derived from the Latin posca, which was a mixture of vinegar and water or wine, or the verb potare, to drink. The Middle English version of the word was poshet or possot. Over the years the more well-to-do turned the posset into a dessert, made with cream instead of milk, and plenty of sugar. This is the type of posset that we know and love today.
An acid is still necessary to thicken the cream since there are no flour, eggs or other thickeners in this pudding. Most possets use lemon juice as a thickener. This delicious recipe with a tropical flair also uses passion fruit juice and a hint of coconut extract. It will be thin while it is hot, but as it chills it will thicken into a delightful soft and creamy pudding. This is a very rich recipe, so I recommend a small serving size.
Passion Fruit Posset
- 3/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon sugar
- 2 cups heavy whipping cream
- 3 tablespoons passion fruit puree (from 3 ripe passion fruits, or you can buy the frozen pulp. See note below)
- 1/8 teaspoon coconut extract
- 1/4 cup lemon juice
- Mix together sugar and cream in a medium saucepan, and heat over low heat until sugar is dissolved, stirring. Bring to a boil and simmer for 3 minutes. Remove from heat.
- Whisk in the passion fruit puree, lemon juice and coconut extract. Divide posset among 6 custard cups, small mugs or glass serving dishes. Cool to room temperature, then cover and refrigerate overnight. The next morning…garnish and enjoy!
 
If you are using fresh passion fruit, you want cut the fruit in half, scrape out the pulp, and strain the seeds out of it with a sieve. One passion fruit yields about a tablespoon of pulp. If you can't find fresh passion fruit, look for the frozen passion fruit puree at your grocer. Goya sells a wonderful product that I use all the time. Be sure to get unsweetened puree without any other ingredients added. Read more about passion fruit.
 I can't imagine a life without a kitchen, and the freedom to slice, dice, bake, broil, fold, whip, saute and everything else you can do there. One of my favorite ingredients is passion fruit. It's great when I can get my hands on fresh passion fruit, which I slice in half, scoop out the insides, and then strain the seeds out to leave the passion fruit pulp, which is the part you use for cooking. It's very rare to get fresh passion fruit where I live, but luckily there is frozen passion fruit pulp. I keep a supply in my freezer, and can whip up a recipe with passion fruit anytime I want. Yesterday I made passion fruit curd. This tart, sweet and creamy spread can be used the same way as lemon curd. The traditional and scrumptious way is to spread it on scones, especially blueberry scones. You can also mix it with fresh blueberries or other fruit, stir it into plain yogurt, or use it as a cake or muffin filling.
This recipe is easy and fast. You can get a craving for passion fruit curd and have it ready by teatime!
I also like to make a chicken salad with passion fruit vinaigrette.
 Passion Fruit Curd
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1/2 cup powdered sugar
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1/2 teaspoon lemon zest (optional)
- 2 eggs
- 3 tablespoons passion fruit pulp (if you are using fresh, this will be about 3 passion fruits)
- Melt sugar and butter together is a heavy saucepan over low heat until sugar is dissolved into melted butter.
- Remove from heat and add passion fruit juice, lemon juice, lemon zest and eggs. Make sure to add eggs last so mixture will have cooled enough that they don't start to cook and harden. Stir constantly to mix eggs in smoothly with other ingredients.
- Return to stove and cook on low heat, stirring constantly, about 10 minutes, or until mixture has thickened enough to coat the spoon. It will thicken even more as it cools.
You can make this in a double boiler as well, just combine the ingredients together and cook until they thicken. Also, I have thrown everything together in the pan and just cooked it all at once. You have to be careful this way though, to whisk it constantly. If the eggs start to cook before they are mixed in properly, you will have little bits of egg floating in your curd.
Thank you, Goya, for providing us with all sorts of frozen tropical fruit purees!
Read more about passion fruit.
 
Do you have a favorite way to eat lemon or passion fruit curd? Please share it with us!
If you are a woman, of a certain age, your doctor has almost certainly recommended that you take calcium supplements. Along with menopause comes bone loss and the risk of osteoporosis. The easiest way to avert this problem, seeing as how bones have such a high calcium content, seems to be taking a few calcium pills every day, and the problem is solved, right? Now a new study published in the British Medical Journal suggests otherwise.
The objective of the study was to determine whether calcium supplements increase the risk of cardiovascular events. This is a reasonable assumption since calcium supplements have been shown to increase levels of calcium in the blood, and increased serum levels are positively associated with an increased incidence of myocardial infarction. A condition called hyperparathyroidism, in which calcium levels in the blood are high, is also associated with increased cardiovascular disease and death.
The study actually gathered data from a lot of smaller studies, with strict criteria for the time limits and the way the studies were carried out. For example the studies had to be randomised, double blind and placebo controlled. Subjects had to take more than 500 mg of calcium per day, be over 40 years old and the study had to last more than a year. Studies where both calcium and vitamin D were given together were not included because the vitamin D tends to decrease mortality and would influence the results. If subjects were given the calcium with a complex of other nutritional supplements, or if they already had a major disease besides osteoporosis, those studies were excluded.
Our researchers ended up with 15 eligible studies spanning a five year time span, which included a group of 12,000 participants. Results showed that people taking calcium supplements were at a 30% increased risk of myocardial infarction, or heart attack. At the same time, calcium supplements are responsible for about a 10% reduction in bone fractures. Therefore, it appears from this study that the risks of taking calcium supplements outweigh the possible benefits. The results of this study don't apply to calcium supplements taken with vitamin D, and vitamin D may help lower the risk of heart disease.
The relationship between dietary calcium (obtained from foods instead of pills) and heart disease was also examined. In women's studies the rate of heart disease was actually lower for women who had a higher calcium intake from foods, and in men there was no relation between the two. Of course this is an issue to take up with your doctor, as some people may need to take calcium supplements for various reasons. However it is certainly worth talking over whether it is necessary for you to take these supplements or whether you could try to get calcium from your diet instead.
How can you get the calcium you need from your diet?
People over 50 years old should have at least 1200 mg per day of calcium. Younger women should also pay attention and make sure to get at least 1000 mg. Teenage girls and boys should have 1300 mg of calcium per day. You can get calcium from the following foods:
- 1 cup of plain lowfat yogurt has about 400 mg of calcium
- 2 tablespoons of blackstrap molasses has 400 mg of calcium.
- 1 cup of boiled collard greens has about 350 mg.
- 1 cup of boiled spinach has 300 mg.
- 1 cup of whole milk yogurt has 300 mg (soy yogurt also has 300 mg).
- 1 1/2 ounces of cheddar cheese has about 300 mg.
- 1/2 cup of tofu provides 250 mg of calcium.
- 1 cup of tempeh has 215 mg of calcium.
- 1 cup boiled black eyed peas has 200 mg.
- 3 oz canned salmon with the bones has about 180 mg of calcium
- 1 ounce of almonds (1/4 cup) contains 80 mg of calcium.
As you can see, if you eat 3 good servings of yogurt, milk or cheese and one leafy green vegetable you should be able to meet your calcium requirements for a day. Leafy greens should be cooked in order to neutralize the oxalic acid that can interfere with calcium absorbtion. Other good vegetable sources of calcium are bok choy, broccoli, kale, mustard greens, and okra. You can also buy orange juice and cereals that are fortified with calcium. The study doesn't look at the effects of calcium fortified foods on heart disease, but getting one or two servings of calcium this way surely cannot put you at as great a risk as taking 1000-1500 mg. in supplement form.
 The peanuts we eat may look and taste like nuts, but they are actually a member of the pea family. You can see this family resemblance by looking at the peanut shell, which is actually a pod, just like a peapod. In West Africa these nuts that grow in the ground are called by the more descriptive name of groundnuts. In 2002, the planet Earth produced over 37,000,000 tons of peanuts, with China contributing the largest amount. India came in second, Nigeria was the third largest producer of peanuts, and the United States came in fourth place.
A Brief History of Peanuts
Peanuts originated in South America They were brought to Europe by the Spanish, and to Africa and Asia by traders. They came to the Colonies on African slave ships. Records show they were grown commercially in South Carolina in the 1800’s and were used for their oil, and for food. However they were considered only fit for livestock and the poor. They didn’t take off as a mainstream food in US until after the Civil War in the 1860’s, when soldiers who had relied on them for food brought them home and spread the taste for peanuts across much of the country. George Washington Carver is considered the “Father of the Peanut Industry. He was a botanist who improved peanut horticulture, turned them into a cash crop in the South and invented over 300 ways to use peanuts. He didn't invent peanut butter, though. That distinction goes to John H. Kellogg, who is known even better for his cereals. Today, Americans eat more than 600 million pounds of peanuts and about 700 million pounds of peanut butter each year. They say that is enough peanuts to cover the entire floor of the Grand Canyon.
 Are peanuts good for you?
The most popular way to eat peanuts, at least in the United States, is in the form of peanut butter. There are many varieties of peanut butter out there, some with chocolate, jelly or marshmallow fluff added to them, many with sugar and hydrogenated oils. For the purposes of this blog we are talking about peanut butter made from real peanuts, pure ground peanuts with nothing added, except perhaps a bit of salt. When you start adding sugar and other extras you are getting less nutrition, more empty calories, and in the case of hydrogenated oils you are actually adding a harmful substance to your peanut butter.
A 2004 study at Penn State University showed that people who ate a serving of peanuts or peanut butter every day had higher levels of vitamin A, vitamin E, folate, calcium, magnesium, zinc, iron and dietary fiber in their diets.
One ounce of peanuts or 2 tablespoons of peanut butter contains as much fiber as a slice of whole wheat bread, and about 14% of the daily requirement for magnesium. Ounce for ounce peanuts have 3 times as much potassium as fresh oranges. They are a great source of most B vitamins, especially niacin (B3). Peanuts are a good source of several phytonutrients, specifically resveratrol, and phytosterols. Peanuts are a cholesterol free food, and although they are high in fat, it is unsaturated fat, which is better for you than animal fats or trans fats. (again, you must buy natural peanut butter to get this benefit) Peanut butter is a good source of protein, when combined with bread or milk (ie: peanut butter sandwich and milk) it makes a complete protein for an inexpensive meal.
.jpg) My favorite peanut dishes, and memories.
Peanuts are common in the cookery of many cultures – Indonesia has gado-gado, Thailand has satay, peanuts are an indispensable ingredient in Mexico’s mole poblano, and in the United States they are used in all sorts of snacks and sweets, including the all time favorite peanut butter cookies. My favorite dishes using the peanut, however, come from West Africa. Peanuts took off as an African cash crop during the days of colonial occupation, and are a main ingredient in many West African dishes such as mafe, a peanut based meat stew from Senegal and Mali, tsire, which are strips of beef rubbed with a peanut paste and grilled, or couli-couli, peanut pulp fried into a hard, nutty ring. Peanuts are a common thickener for sauces in many African countries, and in Nigeria we ate groundnut chop. See my recipe for this versatile stew which is typically served with a colorful selection of toppings.
When I was growing up in Kano, a large city in Northern Nigeria, peanuts were still a big cash crop. Kano was an export site, and the peanut bags waiting to be shipped out were stacked in the sun in huge pyramids, each pyramid holding 1000 tons of peanuts. A railroad ran strategically through the center of the 60 or more pyramids. This was all located right in the heart of Kano, and the smell of fresh peanuts permeated the surrounding streets, mingling with the dust and oil and other city smells to make an unforgettable aroma.
What is your favorite way to eat peanuts?
National Peanut Board
World Geography of the Peanut
 Butter consumption in the US has been on the rise for the past 10 years. In 2008 the average was 5 lbs per person, although I think I ate way more than my share of that. Margarine has been on a downward swing since the early 1990's, putting it at about the same per capita level as butter. In 2005, for the first time since 1957, butter outsold margarine in the US.
Butter is, of course, naturally produced by separating the fat from the liquid part of milk. Margarine is typically made from 80% vegetable oils, 20% milk or water and solids, and this can be flavored, colored, and fortified with vitamins A and D to match the vitamin content of real butter.
What is the real story behind margarine?
In spite of what you may have read on the internet, margarine was not invented to fatten turkeys, subsequently killing them. The truth is, it was first developed by a Frenchman named Hippolyte Mège-Mouriez, back in 1870. The French Emperor Louis Napoleon III had offered a prize to the person who could come up with a viable substitute for butter. Mège-Mouriez used softened beef fat treated with margaric acid to produce what he named oleomargarine. Eventually the beef fat was replaced by vegetable oils. Margarine quickly took off in popularity and soon it was being mass produced in Europe and the United States.
Because margarine was naturally a white color that didn't look much like butter, manufacturers added artificial yellow coloring. The spread became very popular as an economical substitute for butter. The US Dairy Industry began to feel threatened, and laws were soon passed regulating the sale and use of margarine in the United States and other countries. Along with labeling laws and some extra taxes, manufacturers were forbidden to add coloring to their margarine. At one time the dairy industry even got a law passed forcing the margarine makers to add pink dye to their product to make it look unpalatable, but this law was soon struck down by the Supreme Court. Margarine manufacturers got around this coloring problem by selling capsules of dye which could be kneaded into the margarine at home. During World War II dairy products were a luxury and strictly rationed, and sales of margarine rose sharply. I have listened to my father and aunt reminiscing about how they used to mix the yellow coloring in with their butter.
The National Association of Margarine Manufacturers finally gained enough power and influence and in 1959 President Truman signed The Margarine Act, repealing the taxes on margarine and allowing manufacturers to add coloring to the product. In the next few decades this cheaper and more "butter looking" product took off, especially when butter was labeled a "bad" food in the 1970's due to its saturated fat content and cholesterol. Currently margarine sales are on the decline and butter on the increase, but people still buy more margarine overall, probably because of its much cheaper price.
 The butter and margarine minefield.
There is no doubt we all need some fat in our diet. Fatty acids are essential for proper functioning of many systems including cell membranes, the brain, the nervous system and gene expression. Many hormones are regulated by fatty acids. We need fats in order to absorb the fat soluble vitamins, and they make us feel more satisfied after a meal, and regulate blood sugar. Not only that, fats make food fun to eat. But which type of fat is the healthiest? Wading through the facts and misinformation is like walking through a minefield.
Margarine fans point to the fact that it is a vegetable product with no cholesterol, and low levels of saturated fats. High cholesterol levels can lead to heart disease, so even though we actually produce it in our bodies, we want to stay away from it in the food we eat. Saturated fats are also a culprit that can raise LDL and triglyceride levels, putting you at risk for heart disease. If you are a vegetarian, margarine can be a guilt free choice. However all of this is overshadowed by the fact that most margarines contain transfats. Transfats are a synthetic fat, produced by flooding the fatty acid chain with hydrogen so that all the carbon atoms are saturated. You can read about this in more detail in Trans fats are Crossing the Line. Trans fats are bad in many, many ways. They can increase your risk of heart disease and cancer, obesity, diabetes, weight gain, damage blood vessels and cause inflammation. The evidence is so strong that many places are banning their use outright in food products and by restaurants. Do you really want to spread that risk on your toast evey morning?
If you are sold on margarine or flat out don't eat animal products, there are some brands now that do not use hydrogenation and are trans fat free. Instead they use a small amount of palm oil to make the spread "spreadable" and end up with a much softer product. Now palm oil also gets a bad rap, because it is a saturated fat, and because it is often harvested in a way that destroys rain forests and the environment. The saturated fats are still much lower than butter, but the rain forest issue is harder to ignore, and just makes the whole question more complicated.
When a food product is labeled 0 trans fats, that really means it can have up to .5 grams of trans fat. Legally, they are still allowed to label it as 0 grams. Blue Bonnet Soft Spread, Promise, I Cant Believe Its Not Butter and Smart Balance all offer margarines advertised as 0 grams trans fat, but just between us they may still have a small amount of trans fats and be using a legal loophole to claim otherwise. Canola Harvest Non-Hydrogenated is a flaxseed blend margarine that does not use hydrogenation, therefore is truly trans fat free. It blends a small amount of palm oil to make the product spreadable. Spreads such as Becel and Benecol contain phytosterols, a plant ester that is proven to lower blood cholesterol. However, even though they advertise 0 grams trans fat, they may contain up to .5 grams.
The latest bad news for margarine is that it lowers the IQ of children who eat it, according to a 2009 study done in New Zealand and published in Intelligence magazine. You can read about this study in detail.
 Which spread will you choose?
Perhaps it is better to dip your bread in olive oil than to use a spread at all. You should certainly try to use vegetable oils for cooking, especially the monounsaturated ones such as olive, peanut or canola oils. But how can you make a tomato sandwich without a layer of creamy butter to shield your bread? Sometimes you just need to have something to spread.
Personally, I am a big fan of real foods. Our bodies were created so that they can digest other natural products, and these are the foods that are healthiest for us to eat. Synthetic food dyes, flavour created in a lab and artificial sweeteners are just not real food. The same goes for margarines, which are really an artificial fat. Besides, I just love the taste of butter. I agree with Julia Childs, margarine should only be served to your enemies. Butter is decadent and delicious, and while it should be eaten in moderation, it should still be eaten.
I did find a healthier alternative to butter that is dangerously delicious. Land O'Lakes Butter and Olive Oil spread, pictured above. It is literally butter with olive oil mixed in, so you get the best of both tastes and 45% less saturated fat. I highly recommend it, and they are not paying me to say that.
What do YOU spread on your bread?
.jpg) Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters… ~ Isaiah 55: 1
Water is the simplest of compounds, two hydrogen atoms and one oxygen bonded into a polar molecule. Polar means that each end of the molecule has a different electrical charge, positive and negative, and this gives water the property of flow as the atoms line up end to end and cling together. This polar property also allows water to dissolve other substances easily, and to act as either an acid or a base. It is functional, it is essential to life, and whether in the form of a mighty waterfall, a bubbling brook or a deep blue ocean, water brings great beauty to the world. It is truly a miracle of creation.
Water makes up 75% of the earth's surface, yet only 1% of it is available in a form that we can drink. Over half of the human body is water. Most of this is in the blood, which is about 80% water, and the lungs which are 90% water. About 70% of the human brain is composed of water. To stay hydrated and stay alive we can't go more than 5-7 days without water. It's little wonder that the great civilizations were founded in river valleys, wars have been fought over control of the water supply, and water has been used as a weapon in other wars. Water Conflict Chronology has a great visual showing water conflicts dating back to the times of Noah, which you can view as a list, a time line or an interactive map.
How much water does a human body need?
Through the blood water acts as a transport system carrying nutrients to the cells and picking up and eliminating waste products. The electrolytes that control our heart rate and nerve impulses are dissolved in our blood through the properties of water. Water lubricates the joints, the eyes and the spinal cord. Amniotic fluid which protects the fetus is mostly water. Perspiration made of water provides us with a thermostat to keep our temperature in a constant range. Most of the chemical reactions taking place among hormones and enzymes in the body require the presence of water. To make a long story short, every system in our bodies depends on water.
Symptoms of mild dehydration are dry mouth, sleepiness or tiredness, thirst, muscle weakness, headache and dizziness. Severe dehydration presents more extreme versions of these symptoms, as well as sunken eyes, low blood pressure, rapid heartbeat, delirium and unconsciousness. This is a medical emergency that cannot always be treated at home simply by drinking water. You need to restore the blood volume and may require IV therapy. Chronic dehydration can cause a host of diseases such as bronchitis, asthma, infertility, lupus, scleroderma, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer disease, or cancer.
Pause for a moment and drink a glass of water while you reflect.
Most adults lose about 6-7 cups of water in urine output each day, and another 4 cups or so through bowel movements, breathing and sweating. Thatis a good 10 cups that needs to be replaced. Many of the foods we eat contain water, and on top of this the recommendation is to drink at least eight 8 ounce glasses of water every day. Naturally if you run until you are dripping with sweat you will need more, and if you gorge on watermelon or soup one day you need drink less. You can monitor your water intake by keeping an eye on your urine output. It should be colorless or light yellow, not dark, and when you are hydrated properly you will find yourself peeing a lot, as it tends to go right through you.
Are you trying to lose weight? Eat less and drink more water.
You may actually be feeling thirsty instead of hungry, so try reaching for a glass of water or a cup of tea before you have a snack. Water can help fill you up and feel less hungry. Being properly hydrated means your body will work more efficiently, particularly metabolizing those fats.
Water politics.
There are many things to consider about water.
- Since the earth is a closed system which recycles water, the same water has been present for thousands of years. You may be drinking or bathing in water used by Alexander the Great, or Jesus.
- A tree can process and evaporate about 70 gallons of water per day.
- The United States has 3,500,000 miles of rivers.
- The Nile River in Africa and the Amazon in South America are the longest rivers in the world, both over 4000 miles long.
- A chicken is 75% water.
- If all of the earth's water fit into a gallon jug, only about 1 tablespoon would be available as fresh drinking water.
- Freshwater animals are disappearing five times faster than land animals.
- The United States used about 410 billion gallons of water per day in 2005.
- Average water usage in gallons per person per day in Africa is 10 gallons, in North America the average is 95 gallons.
- A dripping faucet can waste as much as 75 gallons of water each day.
- Americans use five times more water than Europeans.
- A bath uses less water than even a short shower.
- About one in eight people on earth lack access to safe water supply.
- 3.5 million people die each year from water-related diseases, and about 80% of them are children.
- Many of the earth's people must walk at least 3 hours to procure water.
- Roughly 1.5 million tons of plastic are used each year by the bottled water industry.
- 1.5 million barrels of oil are required to make plastic bottles each year.
- It takes 7000 liters of water to refine one barrel of crude oil.
While you are taking care to make sure that your own body is hydrated, be mindful about how you use your share of the earth's water.
In his book which releases this week, Delivering Happiness, A Path to Profits, Passion and Purpose, Tony Hsieh tells how his own passions and purpose have developed throughout his life, and how he incorporates them into the culture of his company, Zappos.com. This mix of autobiographical details and business advice is all about achieving happiness in your life and passing it on to others. I was lucky enough to recieve a free advance copy of this book, so that I can share my thoughts with you.
Mr. Hsieh proposes that we are all taking different paths in pursuit of the same goal, which is happiness.
There's a difference between knowing the path and walking the path. ~ Morpheus, The Matrix This quote from the book is a great illustration of Mr. Hsieh's approach to life. He has walked down many unblazed trails, some leading to dead ends and others to wild success.
Mr. Hsieh wrote this book himself and is unapologetic for any prepositions that he may have left dangling, but this makes it an easy read with a genuine feel as if you are sitting down with him to listen to his story. Besides being very smart and courageous, he is also sincere, and has been blessed to be able to carry his life principles over into the culture of an entire billion dollar business.
The first section of the book, titled "Profits", tells of Mr. Hsieh's early business ventures, from the worm farm and button-making scheme to the running of the Quincy House Grill at Harvard, to the founding of several internet companies. It is clear that he is a gutsy character who doesn't stay in the limits of conventional wisdom with his business ventures or his major life decisions. He seemed to lead a charmed life, taking whatever classes he pleased in high school, rearranging everything to suit his schedule and even making deals with the teachers not to attend classes. He was admitted to a long list of Ivy League colleges, selected Harvard, and then apparently spent most of his freshman year watching TV, and not attending any classes. It doesn't seem like he should have been successful doing this, but he got by on a mixture of intelligence, resourcefullness, and quickly learning from mistakes that he made. Although he also did several stints at conventional companies, this highly creative man thrives on business startups. In 1998 he sold a startup LinkExchange to Microsoft for $265 million. It was at this point in his life that he began to think beyond just making money as job satisfaction, and consider what could really give him happiness and fulfillment.
The next career step for Mr. Hsieh was the start of an investment fund, and this is when he was introduced to the idea of selling shoes over the internet, the idea that would become Zappos. During this time he immersed himself in the game of poker, noting the similarities between poker and business. This list of lessons carries him through much of his decision making in later years and is referred to throughout the book.
The second section of the book is Profits and Passion. Mr. Hsieh tells of the stressful first years at Zappos, where tough decisions had to be made to keep the company going. Here we see the out-of-the-box thinking of Zappos' early years played out in the way he organizes his business, taking huge personal risks, doing crazy things like a 36 hour non-stop drive fueled by Red Bull to open a warehouse in Kentucky. In 2003 he dropped a bombshell on his employees that they are packing up and moving the company from San Francisco to Kentucky, and it's a credit to the culture he has developed among his employees that almost 80% of the employees chose to make the move. Around this time they developed the Zappos Culture Book, a book written by the employees telling what Zappos Culture means to them, and given out to prospective employees, vendors and sometimes customers.
Zappos brand identity is great customer service, and again this is achieved by practices that are counter intuitive to any company that wants to make a profit. Offering free shipping and returns, upgrading orders to overnight shipping, and encouraging customer service reps to stay on the phone as long as it takes to make the customer happy are all standard. Mr. Hsieh tells some amusing stories of customer service calls. On the subject of branding, Zappos formally defined the ten core values of their culture and Mr. Hsieh explains each in detail, and how it is carried out in practice in the company.
Finally, Profits, Passion and Purpose. Mr. Hsieh describes closing the deal to exchange Zappos stock for Amazon stock. Security laws prevented talking about the deal until it was closed, therefore once again a bombshell was dropped on the company. The enthusiastic reception of the employees shows how close knit and open to change this company culture really is. Now we get into a discussion of happiness – what exactly is it, anyway? Mr. Hsieh's noble goal is that everyone be happy, that we all do our part to start a chain reaction that will eventually deliver happiness to the world.
Mr. Hsieh talks about several models of the Happiness Framework. Framework #1 has four parts: perceived control, perceived progress, connectedness and vision or meaning. These concepts can be applied to your personal life or your business, and he explains how they are incorporated into the Zappos culture.
Framework #2 is Maslow's Heirarchy. This can be applied to business, and is different for customers, employees and investors.
Framework #3 is a graph which illustrates three types of happiness: pleasure, passion and higher purpose or meaning. The graph illustrates that each of these types lasts for a different amount of time, and can give you a different level of happiness as a result. Since a higher purpose gives you the longest lasting happiness, it makes sense that you should spend more time pursuing this, and then look for the other types as icing on the cake.
Mr. Hsieh touches on the model of happiness as a fractal, and the parallels between what makes people happy personally, and what makes for a successful long term business model. Using happiness as a guiding principal can help simplify the seemingly complicated task of creating a great company culture.
This book is a well laid plan for a business owner who wishes to grow a company culture that reflects his or her own personal values. I give credit to Mr. Hsieh for walking down the path toward this goal, and sharing his knowledge with the rest of the world. Will you achieve personal happiness through this book? Perhaps, but the frameworks suggest happiness requires a vision, a higher purpose or meaning to your life. The book cannot give you this higher purpose, but if you have one it can help you incorporate it into your business.
Thou wilt show me the path of life: in thy presence is fullness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures forevermore. ~ Psalm 16:11 This Bible verse gives my view of the pursuit of happiness, as a follower of Christ. Walking on God's path is sometimes hard and full of trials, but our vision is eternity and our higher purpose is to glorify God. My goal is not necessarily to be happy in this world, but to one day live in a new heaven and a new earth where there will be no more sorrow. Its the same goal that Mr. Hsieh talks about, just with a much different time frame. Anyone can reach this goal by accepting the gift of salvation which is offered freely to each of us by our Creator. That is where you find fullness of joy.
 The Ancient Empire of Ghana
Hundreds of years ago, around 300 A.D. the North African Berbers gained control of the land below the desert which linked the Sahara to West Africa. They began to tax the dusty camel caravans that exchanged goods between the worlds above and below the desert. The upper Senegal River Valley, rich with gold, fell into their kingdom. Kaya Maga, or the Gold King, ruled at the beginning of the empire of Ghana.
In the 11th century an Arab historian wrote about his travels in sub-Saharan Africa. He noted that the King of Ghana lived in a palace built of stone and wood with glass windows. An army of 200,000 warriors protected the land, including 40,000 archers. In the lavish royal court, guard dogs wore golden collars, and one king tethered his horse to a gold nugget.
The Berbers who originally controlled Ghana also led to the country's demise. By the end of the 11th century, Ghana was weakened by raids from the desert. The ferocious Sosso people gained power in the early 13th century. According to legend, this clan of Malinke blacksmiths was led by the powerful magician Sumaguru. He did not rule the country for long, however. In 1240 Sundiata destroyed the remains of Ghana, and began to rule over Mali, the next great West African empire.
The Modern Day Country of Ghana
In the 18th century a golden stool is said to have fallen from the heavens into the lap of Ashanti King Osei Tutu. The stool became a symbol of power and divine rule for people of this rare empire of the rain forest. Neither the king nor the stool was allowed to touch the ground; during ceremonies the stool was placed upon another stool. It was not used as a chair, but as an altar. The stool, with its unique bow-shaped seat, is still an important craft and status symbol in Ghana today.
The glittering wealth of this gold mining region was often displayed in royal ceremonies. Crowns, scepters, breastplates, jewelry and even hats and sandals were covered with gold. The British captured Ashanti-land in 1873, and during the struggle that followed many of the magnificent gold artifacts, including the golden stool, were taken. You can see lots of Ashanti gold in the British Museum in London. The Ashanti were defeated and became part of the the British Gold Coast Colony in 1901.
Today the Ashanti are part of Ghana, the first African country to gain its independence from Britain in 1957. The name of Ghana was taken after the ancient empire of the same name.
What does this have to do with plantains?
Tatale, or golden plantain cakes, are a specialty of modern day Ghana. Fried to a golden crisp, they are savory with onions and spices, with the underlying flavour of sweet plantains. Try my recipe for tatale.
Parts of this post are taken from South of the Sahara by Elizabeth Jackson.
What is your favorite way to prepare plantains?
.jpg) They are not an over-grown, monster banana. Plantains come from the Musa genus of the plant family, same as bananas do. However after that they are different species. Plantains have a higher starch content than bananas, are rarely eaten raw, are firmer and have a much lower sugar content. They originated in Asia, and were brought to Africa by Arab and Asian traders sometime way back when. The Portuguese brought plantains to the Caribbean Islands in the early 1500's. Today they are a staple food throughout the tropics, and are shipped pretty much worldwide. I can find plantains in most of my New York State supermarkets. They are green and sometimes take up to three weeks to ripen. I will eat them when they are yellow with black spots, as in the picture, but when they are fully ripened the skins will be black.
Plantains are a great source of potassium and Vitamin A. One plantain also has about half your Vitamin C requirement for the day, and fair amounts of magnesium, phosphorous, selenium, other B Vitamins, calcium, iron, zinc and copper. Since plantains have a low sugar content they are a good complex carbohydrate choice, and they also contribute a small amount of protein to the diet.
Plantains are grown as a staple food in 52 countries, and in 2004 the world produced about 72 billion pounds of plantains, give or take a ton. Plantain leaves can grow up to 9 feet long and 2 feet wide. They can be used as wrappers for steaming foods, or just as a serving plate.
You may know them as dodo, fufu, kelewele, makemba, tostones or chifles, ipekere or aloko. Every country in the tropics seems to have its own name and favorite method of preparation for plantains. Plantains are a fruit that are usually eaten as a vegetable. They can be roasted, on a grill or in the oven, simply by cutting a slit in the skin and roasting about half an hour, until the skin turns black. They can be boiled in the skin as well, and then sliced or mashed. Mashed plantain is used as a type of fufu and served with a sauce, or formed into cakes and fried until golden. Sliced raw plantain can be fried, either plain or mixed with spices and lemon juice. Very thin slices are deep fried into chips as a popular snack. Plantain mashed, wrapped and steamed in the large plantain leaves are called matoke in East Africa. You can make a sweet pudding or fritters from plantains. They are even fermented and made into a wine.
If you haven't had plantains yet, pick up a few of them and try something new. See my recipes for plantain small chop, and learn how to peel a plantain.
What is your favorite way to cook this almost perfect fruit?
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