Benin Film - [UNWATCHED] Alevbe (2016)

I really wanted to try and watch, Africa paradis (2006) or Abeni (2006) but could not find any DVD's or online streaming versions of them anywhere.  Ended up just looking around on Youtube for a Benin film with English subtitles and this;

is the best I could find.  It may not be the greatest Benin film of all time, but it's what I could find.  When we watch it I'll tell you what we think.

Benin Pictures

Benin Recipes

Benin Recipes:

Akkra Funfun
Country: Benin
Course: Sides
Makes: 6 to 8 servings



Ingredients
1 1/2 cup dried white beans
1/4 cup water
2 tsp salt
2 tbsp finely chopped onions
cayenne pepper, to taste
oil for frying (two parts peanut oil, one part red palm oil)
Directions:
Soak the beans overnight. Then rinse and drain well.
Now put the beans, water and salt into a blender. Pulse until smooth.
Fold in the onion and cayenne pepper.
Heat the oil over a hot flame. Drop the mixture by teaspoonfuls and let fry until they turn golden brown, then drain on a paper towel. Serve hot.
- See more at: http://travelbystove.palfreymedia.com/benin-recipes-akkra-funfun.asp#sthash.qE3yLm8x.dpuf


Peanut Sauce over Rice
Country: Benin
Course: Sides
Makes: 6 servings



Ingredients
3 tbsp red palm oil
2 tbsp tomato paste
1/2 to 1 tsp habanero pepper, minced
1/2 tsp salt
1 beef bouillon cube or 1 tsp beef bouillon powder
1 cup water, more if needed
1/2 cup unsweetened peanut butter
1/2 cup diced onion
Directions:
Heat the palm oil in a pan, then add the tomato paste, habanero, salt, onion and bouillon.
Cook for two or three minutes, then add the peanut butter and the water.
Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 10 or 15 minutes. Serve over boiled rice.
- See more at: http://travelbystove.palfreymedia.com/benin-recipes-peanut-sauce-over-rice.asp#sthash.ytZajxTx.dpuf



Boulets de Poulet avec Sauce Rouge (Chicken Meatballs with Red Sauce)
Country: Benin
Course: Main
Makes: 6 servings



Ingredients
1 chicken, cut up, deboned and diced
3/4 cup unsweetened peanut butter
1 habanero pepper, minced
1 bunch of green onions, washed and chopped
4 onions, peeled and chopped
6 tomatoes, blanched, peeled, de-seeded and chopped
1 cup red palm oil
salt and freshly-ground black pepper to taste
Directions:
Take about half of the peanut butter and mix it with a little bit of hot water. It should still be a paste, but it should be just thin enough so you can stir it. Set aside.
Take the remaining peanut butter, the chicken, the habanero, the green onions and salt and put them in a food processor. Pulse until smooth.
Shape the mixture into meatballs.
Chop the blanched tomatoes and the onions and toss them with the peanut butter/water paste.
Melt the palm oil in a pan and fry the meatballs in the palm oil until they are nicely golden all over.
Add the onion, tomato and peanut butter mixture. Cover the pan and reduce the temperature to low. Simmer for 15 minutes or so, then remove the lid and check the internal temperature of the meatballs (they should be at 165 degrees or higher).
- See more at: http://travelbystove.palfreymedia.com/benin-recipes-boulets-de-poulet-avec-sauce-rouge-chicken-meatballs-with-red-sauce.asp#sthash.1MbXrK7L.dpuf

Belize Film - The Mosquito Coast (1986)

Shot in Belize and set in Belize (which is as good as we can get for some country's films) this is a great character piece about a Allie Fox, and if you've spent any amount of time on the internet, you've probably dealt with an "Allie Fox" before, a man utterly utterly convinced that his hobby-house cause isn't just right but is the most important thing in the history of the human race.

Refrigeration is civilization, you see.

No, I'm not kidding. The film is mainly seen through the son's eyes as he slowly realizes the flaws in his father, a man who has complete tunnel vision and is lacking any sense of true devotion to his family (and in the end, even himself) instead being utterly devoted to bringing science and enlightenment to a tribal village in Belize through the wonders of refrigeration.  It ends badly of course but in an interesting way.

Belize Pictures

Belize Recipies

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/claire-robinson/belize-breeze-recipe.html
Belize Breeze

Ingredients
1 -ounce coconut rum
3 ounces fresh pineapple juice
1 teaspoon grenadine or cherry liqueur


Mix all of the ingredients in a highball glass filled with ice and enjoy!








http://www.food.com/recipe/belizean-steamed-fish-468841
Belizean Steamed Fish
 bought a recipe book by a local women's group on my recent trip to Belize (Silly Bug & Bittle Recipes) and this one sounds like something I would like. I'll be making it without the green pepper, but left it in the recipe as many people probably would like it that way.
INGREDIENTS Nutrition

SERVINGS 4 UNITS US
1 lb white fish fillet
2 limes, juiced
salt, to taste
pepper, to taste
1 large green pepper, sliced
1 large onion, sliced
1⁄4 tablespoon curry powder
1 tablespoon coconut oil or 1 tablespoon butter


Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Rinse and dry fish, then drench with juice of limes.
Drain and season with salt and pepper.
Place 1 layer of fish in a shallow pan.
Cover with green pepper and onion, then sprinkle with curry powder.
Drizzle with coconut oil or melted butter.
Squeeze remaining lime juice on fish.
Cover tightly with lid or foil and bake for 10 minutes, then baste with liquid. Fish is done when it flakes easily with fork (total cooking time was not offered in recipe, but I've often heard 10 minutes per inch of thickness).









http://www.food.com/recipe/belizean-rum-cake-belize-476310
Belizean Rum Cake
I used this recipe for week 27 of my food blog, "Travel by Stove." I am attempting to cook on meal from every nation on Earth, and Belize is my 27th stop. Please note that I never use any recipe for my blog that I'm not reasonably sure is from authentic or traditional sources, and this recipe has been posted without any alternations or additions to the ingredients. This cake has a lot of rum in it and is very strong tasting, but delicious.

SERVINGS 8-10 UNITS US
For the batter

1 (18 1/4 ounce) package Duncan Hines yellow cake mix
1 (3 1/2 ounce) package vanilla instant pudding mix
4 eggs
1⁄2 cup rum
1⁄2 cup water
For the topping

1⁄4 cup butter
1⁄2 cup brown sugar
1 small handful pecans, chopped


1⁄2 cup rum
1⁄2 cup water
1⁄4 cup butter
1 cup sugar


Put the cake mix, vanilla pudding, eggs, rum and water into a mixing bowl. Blend with an electric mixer for three minutes.
To make the topping, melt the butter and pour it into a bundt cake pan. Add the brown sugar and spread around with the back of a spoon until evenly distributed, then sprinkle the pecans over the top.
Pour the cake batter into the pan and bake for about 35 minutes in an oven preheated to 350 degrees.
About five or 10 minutes before the 35 minutes are up, put all the syrup ingredients into a small saucepan and bring just to a boil. Remove from heat.
When you take the cake from the oven, prick it all over with a skewer, then pour the rum syrup over it.
After the syrup has soaked for a few minutes, turn the cake over onto a plate until ready to serve.





http://www.food.com/recipe/belizean-traditional-beans-and-rice-155541
Belizean Traditional Beans and Rice

This is the way they do Beans and Rice in Belize. The recipe is from a native Belizean. It is a wonderful addition to Caribbean chicken and fish.
INGREDIENTS Nutrition

SERVINGS 4 UNITS US
1 cup red kidney beans
1 cup thick coconut milk
1 garlic clove (optional)
salt & pepper
2 cups rice
1 onion, sliced
1 piece of salt meat (cut into small pieces)


Soften beans (soak first) with garlic.
Boil until tender and whole, adding salt meat (previously boiled to soften) when almost tender.
Add the milk, onion and seasonings.
Wash rice, then add to the beans.
Cook over gentle heat until liquid is absorbed.
Stir gently with a fork, and add a little water from time to time until rice is cooked.
Serve hot with a meat dish.
(Some favorite meat dishes with rice and beans are: stuffed baked chicken, stew chicken, stew fish, fried fish or meat balls).

Belgium Film - Nothing to Declare / Rien à déclarer (2010)

A great comedy.  This film simply hysterical. The humor transcends language and culture and can be enjoyed by all.  What we really enjoyed about this film was how, as an American who used to seeing and hearing about racism primarily through the Black-White or White-Non-White lens was seeing racism as between people who, to us, are visually identical.  Tribalism really is inherent in the human condition and this film shows it in such an amusing and humerus light that you find yourself constantly laughing at the characters in almost every scene.  

Also;  WAFFLES!   WAFFLES!   WAFFLES!   WAFFLES!   WAFFLES!   WAFFLES!   WAFFLES!   WAFFLES!   WAFFLES!   WAFFLES!   WAFFLES!   WAFFLES!   WAFFLES!   WAFFLES!