Around the World in the Hetzel Kitchen

Location : Central Africa (shockingly) Area : Over 620,000 sq km; 45th largest in the world          Slightly smaller than Texas Geography : Landlocked Population : Almost 5 million; 117th largest in the world Capital : Bangui Infant Mortality Rate : 99 deaths/1000 live births; 7th highest in the world Official Language : French Constitution : Ratified in 2004 Trafficking : "...source, transit, and destination country for men, women, and children trafficked for the purposes of forces labor and sexual exploitation."  (https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/ct.html) Poverty : Considered one of the poorest countries in the world Human Development Index : Ranked 179/182 countries with data Source: CIA Factbook And thus begins our second African country in a row.  And we are not over yet. The national dish of the Central African Republic is Cassava.  "But cassava is not a dish!" you say.  If you didn't tha...

Blah.  Clearly I am having a hard time keeping up with this thing.  I was going to get two done over Labor Day Weekend.  Two!  Instead, because I couldn't find the right ingredients, I got none.  That is two fewer than two, for those of you keeping track at home. Sometimes it gets overwhelming, thinking how much I still have to go.  Thinking about the grocery stores I have to find, the time I have the invest, the writing I have to do.  It can be hard to motivate myself to find the next recipe.  But the hardest, absolute worst, part is knowing that I could spend 5 hours and a lot of money and still end up with something that tastes awful.  It is really disheartening. Anyway, I apologize.  That is my ranting and moaning for now.  I promise, I plan to continue.  I think I have just lost a little momentum.  But now, back to your regularly scheduled program! Background : Uninhabited until the 15th century when they were u...