My Haitian Plate: Bannan peze sandwich

I can't even remember where I saw this wonderful creation first but I thought "how come I never did this before?" So I did...
That's how I ate half of my Thanksgiving food lol

plantain, chicken, lettuce, avocado, pikliz

plaintain, turkey, salad russe, lettuce, pikliz

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Thanksgiving Haitian style

 In the midst of Thanksgiving preparations and dealing with family and working, I decided to take some time and look up different Thanksgiving menus because I was curious about how different groups (ie Italian-American) incorporate different dishes along with the traditional plates. So I thought that someone should document our standard Haitian-American Thanksgiving menu so why not me? Well this is my family's Thanksgiving dinner this year.

All the desserts were store bought lol...

Macaroni au gratin

dinde farci ( a l'haitienne) stuffed turkey

fried chicken

baked Ham w/ pineapple and deviled eggs

riz djon djon ( duri noir)

pikliz

beet salad ( salad russe)

potato salad

Not pictured: bannan peze ( fried plantains) and collard greens
here's my plate

This is Thanksgiving A l'Haitienne :)
Now I'm thinking about writing down the recipes for all of them and maybe some other common Haitian food for a holiday/regular party menu... I wonder if anybody is interested...

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Mod Ayiti: Haiti Fashion week 2012!

I've been missing a lot of good things happening in the Haitian community lately but I couldn't stay away after I saw some awesome pictures from Haiti's first fashion week that ended on Sunday. Designers from all over the world participated in the show amisdst some really great Haitian designers. Pictures from my friends on facebook had me jealous that I wasn't there because that's the kind of stuff I love to see in Haiti.
Well here are some pictures for you too. I'll be adding more pictures later but here are some of the Haitian designers presentations

Edited to add

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Miss Haiti 2012: Christela Jacques

Edited to add pictures

Haiti has a new miss!!!!!
Meet Christela Jacques

She's 19 years old and from Port au Prince

I can't wait to see her with professional makeup, hair, clothes, training. I think she has good potential.
From my quick online search I didn't find much about her so I'll be keeping my eyes and ears open for more info and pictures.

Edited to add

Here's her miss universe page if you want to vote
http://www.missuniverse.com/members/profile/652712/year:2012

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Mrs Jeanne

September 18, 2004 - September 18, 2012

8 Years

Mrs Jeanne

This is the end of the world. No one could stop me to believe that, on September 18, 2004. This Saturday, I woke up very late in the morning. Still, I wanted to stay on my bed with that rainy day. The sky was dark, the rain dropped slowly but continuously. Several kids were running back and forth under the rain. My mom was excited to wash her clothes. It is a habit for women in Haiti to do laundry while it is raining. They say that water is coming for free, so you have got to take advantage of it.

   It was 5 PM. Yet, the rain didn’t want to stop. My neighborhood was blurred by the rain while I was watching on my window. I could hardly see what was going on in the street; but, I was pretty sure that no one was out there in that city where few people own a private car. Most of them walk to go where they want or take bus for farther places.

   The meteorologist had announced the passage of a Hurricane named Jeanne for the day. It had to come to the “ Departement de L’artibonite”, especially in the city of Gonaives. The population was aware of that. However, no such unended rain was expected. So, some people started to question themselves about the situation: it had been raining all day, sometimes heavy and then weak, but never stoping. Others just didn’t really care about that. They slept early with the hope of a beautiful sunny day tomorrow.

   I was part of those who started to worry about the hurricane; then, I decided to go to sleep. It was actually 7 PM. Suddenly, the phone rang. It was my friend Antonio on the phone with a scary voice. He asked me to leave the house with my family to go to a higher building because a river has taken his way through the city. I didn’t want to go anywhere until I heard, far away, people screaming. I couldn’t understand what was going on, but I convinced my family to leave the house in case of inundation. Our new shelter would be that big builder in the neighborhood.

   Quickly, we closed the door and moved to cross the street.  By the time to get in the middle of the street, the water had already reached my knee. Scared, we moved faster and got into the building. We were not the only ones to get there; other people were also looking for a safer place. However, several families stayed inside of their houses. They thought that no water could surpass the level of their bed. So, a better shelter was not necessary.

   A few minutes later, the atmosphere of the city was the same as a funeral ceremony. Cries and sobs could be heard by even a deaf person. The water had getting higher and stronger. Even those who knew how  to swim would have to face death.

   “Save me, save me” I was shaking when I heard that. Could that be people struggling in the water? I asked myself. The truth was too hard to believe. I could also hear the noise of the water like a strong wind coming all over the city. Everybody in the building started to cry. Some of them made their last confession. Would Hurricane Jeanne be that dangerous? Fear swallowed me. I thought that it was the end of the world; everybody was going to die.

I was actually on the second floor, and I could see through the lightning how the water had covered the top of my house. I was crying and praying. I said ,”God would you let us died?”

   Suddenly I heard a huge noise. It was the wall of the yard. The water broke it. I lost all my faith. I thought that since the wall of the yard has broken, the building would be next. I made my last confession and was ready to die.

   Quietly, the night ended and so did the power of the water. A new day had begun. A day that I had never seen in my life.  Dead people, broken cars and every other kind of trash were all over the street. The city looked completely different. Not only has the city changed but also my life. Since then, every Sep 18, i feel a weird feeling. I feel like crying, i feel like sharing my memories. That is why i m writing this note today September 18 2012.

                                                                                                                                          Princess Na 

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Sarodj By Maite Makeup Company

Sarodj Bertin (Miss Haiti 2010) has a limited edition collection with Maite Makeup Company.
I like that she's branching out and taking advantage of her opportunities. For that I say go Sarodj!

The company:
Launched in May 2012. Founders are Dominican makeup artists Maite Rivera and Luisa Mendez

 Maite Make Up Company includes a full line of highly pigmented mineral makeup with high-end ingredients, environmentally friendly packaging and labeling. It is also FDA approved and are not tested on animals, gentle on sensitive skin and hypoallergenic.

Now on to the makeup...
There's an eyeshadow quad "Jacmel" $20
Blush "Jeremie" $14
and lipstick " I love Haiti" $ 10

yeah... pa sezi non mkonnen se Ayisyen nou ye!!! lol

I'm wondering how much say she had in choosing the colors and how did the names come about? The eyeshadow quad for example doesn't quite remind me of Jacmel...
With that said, I don't know how long this collection is going to be available but I'm contemplating gifting myself "I love Haiti" for my upcoming birthday because well I do love Haiti lol and it looks like a color I would enjoy. I've never gotten anything from Maite before (never even heard of them) but their reviews seem good. With shipping, this is going to be the most expensive lipstick I've ever bought so I will definitely come back and review it sometime next month if I get it. Maybe I'll even get one for a giveaway if I like it so stay tuned!

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Lalo recipe: Not quite there

Before i made by grandma cut it up for me lol

 So I know I promised a Lalo recipe but this is becoming harder than I thought to take step by step pictures... For example, I fully intended to get this done yesterday but I ended up having to leave and let my mom finish it and I forgot to make my sister take pictures.

I got this far!

 Lalo is not easy to go by. We have a garden but we have to wait weeks sometimes to get a good amount. so this might take another 2 weeks before we can make it again :(
Well I did come back in time to make the white rice so here's a recipe for how i make it. No measurements so just humor me ok lol. I'll add measurements for the rice too when I post the real Lalo recipe.

 Put the oil in pot and add cut up green onion and garlic 
Add salt and fry for about 2 minutes on medium heat

 Add water and wait for it to boil

 Now add rice. Important not to have too much water. Water should prob be about 2 inches above the rice. If the water is a lot, take some out and put to the side. You  can use it later.

Let water dry out and then stir the rice

Cover tightly and let sit on low heat for about 10 minutes

 Sigh... I always thought our rice was easy but after typing this maybe it's not so easy. A lot harder than say add rice to hot water and let boil for 20 minutes lol.
Oh and you won't really taste the garlic or green onions and you can take them out when you're stirring the rice.
Anyway, proper recipes coming soon :)

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