Share the Meal – 40 Cents to a Schoolchild
Porridge nourishes millions of people
Porridge, Pap or mieliepap (Afrikaans for maize porridge) is a staple food in African countries. It is eaten as a main meal or a side dish and preparation varies depending on the geographical area. Food bloggers the world over, me included, have rediscovered porridge as a healthy, high-energy breakfast alternative. I myself of course prefer gluten-free and nutrient-rich maize for my porridge as well as a topping of fruit.
Maize and wheat are much more than just a breakfast alternative in some of the poorest countries on earth, like Lesotho in southern Africa. There, these foods are essential. Lesotho globally has the lowest food security and 40% of children in the country are chronically malnourished.
These facts gave Sebastian Stricker and Bernhard Kowatsch from the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) in Berlin the idea for Share the Meal. They founded and developed this school meals initiative, with Lesotho as its first beneficiary.
Hunger - the avoidable tragedy
Hunger could be eliminated through simple measures and solidarity. There would be enough resources for everybody if not for global exploitation and greed. The renowned globalisation critic and sociologist Jean Ziegler got to the heart of the matter: „Hunger is organised crime. It is perpetrated by humans and it can be eliminated by humans." Ziegler thus points to rampant commodity speculation, which drives basic food prices up sky-high (and which produces astronomical profit for the traders).
The Institution of Mechanical Engineers in the UK has been examining global food waste and has released a report indicating that 50% of all food produced in the world ends up as waste instead of on plates. This is a shocking 2 billion tons of food being destroyed annually. France has since passed a law prohibiting food wastage. Italy is preparing to do the same. But since most of the food is thrown out by individual households, there is a pressing need to change our attitudes towards food. We could start by teaching it in schools.
Porridge and Pap – in Africa and here!
Using Share the Meal via an app, you can make a meaningful difference with just 40 cents: the WFP feeds children around the world with every click. With this money, these kids can go to school and escape the hunger - children in Lesotho, for example, can have sweet maize porridge in the morning and a savoury pap dish with beans or fish for lunch.
My blog motto of today: Let’s Share our Meal! I hope my gluten-free, African Pap porridge recipe will get you inspired and motivated! To get your taste buds going, I am using images taken by the lovely and very talented photographer Julia Stix on a day we spent cooking together and taking pictures. I thought including hands in the pictures especially highlights the concept of sharing.
[print_this]Pap - Maize Porridge
Ingredients for 2-3 portions:
Around 500ml water
1 tsp salt
120g white, finely ground cornflour (maize)
In addition: berries or other fruit to taste. Optional: honey
Hint: Also delicious when cooked with coconut or almond milk
Preparation:
1.) Bring salted water to a boil and stir in the cornflour bit by bit.
2.) Reduce the heat to a medium temperature and continue stirring for a little while. Add more water if needed (depending on your preferred consistency). Cook for as long as the directions on the flour indicate (this depends on the type of flour you are using). This will be around 30-60 minutes. Stir occasionally.
3.) Serve warm, topped with fresh, seasonal fruit and honey.
[/print_this]And here is a very popular savoury pap recipe....
[print_this]Pap with tomato sauce, maize, cheese and garlic
Zutaten:
Around 500ml water
1 tsp salt
120g fine, white cornmeal
1 tsp butter
1 garlic clove
1 small tin of corn
1 tin peeled tomatoes
200g grated cheese (Gouda, for example)
Zubereitung:
1.) Bring salted water to a boil and stir in the cornflour and the butter bit by bit. Mash the garlic. You can stir in the tinned corn and the garlic at this point, if you like.
2.) Reduce heat to a medium temperature and stir continuously at the beginning. Depending on how runny you like your porridge, add water, if needed. Now add the tomato sauce and the grated cheese and let the mixture simmer for around 30 minutes over a low heat (keep checking it so the bottom doesn't burn).
Hint 1: Cook for as long as the directions on the flour indicate. This depends on the type of flour you are using, but will be around 30-60 minutes. Stir occasionally.
Hint 2: Pap, like polenta, goes with a wide variety of dishes. In African countries, it is eaten with added beans or fish.
[/print_this]
Pap - Cornmeal porridge
Ingredients:
- Around 500ml water
- 1 tsp salt
- 120g white, finely ground cornflour (maize)
- In addition: berries or other fruit to taste. Optional: honey
- Around 500ml water
- 1 tsp salt
- 120g fine, white cornmeal
- 1 tsp butter
- 1 garlic clove
- 1 small tin of corn
- 1 tin peeled tomatoes
- 200g grated cheese (Gouda, for example)
Preparation:
- Bring salted water to a boil and stir in the cornflour bit by bit.
- Reduce the heat to a medium temperature and continue stirring for a little while. Add more water if needed (depending on your preferred consistency). Cook for as long as the directions on the flour indicate (this depends on the type of flour you are using). This will be around 30-60 minutes. Stir occasionally.
- Serve warm, topped with fresh, seasonal fruit and honey.
- Bring salted water to a boil and stir in the cornflour and the butter bit by bit. Mash the garlic. You can stir in the tinned corn and the garlic at this point, if you like.
- Reduce heat to a medium temperature and stir continuously at the beginning. Depending on how runny you like your porridge, add water, if needed. Now add the tomato sauce and the grated cheese and let the mixture simmer for around 30 minutes over a low heat (keep checking it so the bottom doesn't burn).
Hint 1: Cook for as long as the directions on the flour indicate. This depends on the type of flour you are using, but will be around 30-60 minutes. Stir occasionally.
Hint 2: Pap, like polenta, goes with a wide variety of dishes. In African countries, it is eaten with added beans or fish.
