Fat Tuesday

Carnival is a festival season that starts on Epiphany (January 6), and ends at Lent. It’s a big, wild party, with dancing, parades, games, and music- an overturning of normal life. At Carnival everyone over-does it; they dress in fantastic costumes, stay up late, make a lot of noise, and eat too much good food. It’s another way to say good-bye to winter. 

In the U.S., the most elaborate, and popular events are in New Orleans, Louisiana. The Cajun people there call it Mardi Gras, which is French for Fat Tuesday.

Another place with a fantastic Carnival season is Trinidad and Tobago, an island republic in the southern Caribbean, off the coast of Venezuela. They celebrate for a month, with calypso music, steel band contests, limbo competitions, and fêtes (French for parties), and finish with street parades on Carnival Monday and Tuesday.

Instead of a big party, this year we've celebrated the end of Carnival by going to the coast for two days: We did stay up late, we did eat too much good food, and we had a wild time playing on the beach!

Agenda this week:
1. Effigy doll:

Last week I started to make my Marzanna doll, the Slavic goddess of death, winter and nightmares. The symbolism is of death and rebirth- burning away the winter so that spring can return. The Slavs of Poland have a custom of burning an effigy of Marzanna at the spring equinox. and I'm making my doll a bit at a time so it's ready on the equinox.

Supplies: 2 sticks, string, fresh straw

1. Starting with the crossed sticks I assembled last week, I will add straw (I have a barrel of straw that I keep for the bunny). 





I just wrapped a bundle of straw around the stick and then wrapped the string to hold it.


2. I added another layer of straw, and wrapped the string back up to the shoulders, covered the shoulders, and tied the string like a harness to hold the straw in place.

3. I finished by tying a bundle of straw around the head, then trimming it a bit with scissors.

I will add a new material each week: 3- herbs, 4- cloth, 5- yarn and beads, 6- feathers

2. Make Corn Soup with dumplings:
This is a favorite Trinidad carnival food, served by vendors outside of fêtes and street parties. It is one of the most delicious soup I've ever eaten.

Ingredients:

• 1 yellow onion
• 1 stick of celery
• 1 Tbsp. fresh thyme
• 1/8-c. fresh cilantro
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1 medium potato
• 1 carrot
• 2 Tbsp. oil
• red pepper flakes to taste
• 4 c. vegetable or chicken stock
• 1/4-c. dried yellow split peas
• Salt and black pepper, to taste
• can of cream-style corn

Dumplings:

• 1/2 c. flour
• 1/4 c. cornmeal
• 1-1/2 tsp. baking powder
• pinch of salt
• pinch of cayenne
• 2-3 Tbsp. water

Yield: about 6 servings-

1. Chop the onion, celery, fresh thyme, and cilantro. Mince the garlic. Also, peel and dice potato and carrot.

2. Heat oil in a soup pot. Add onion, garlic, carrot, and red pepper flakes. Sauté 3 minutes. Add the celery, potato, and thyme and cook five minutes more.

3. Add stock, yellow split peas, cilantro. and salt and pepper. Simmer partially covered for about 1 hour.

4. While the soup is simmering, make the dumplings: Combine flour, cornmeal, baking powder, a pinch of salt and a pinch cayenne, then gradually stir in just enough water to make a stiff dough. Knead until smooth then let sit for 10 minutes.

5. When the split peas are tender, add a can of cream-style corn.

6. Roll the dumpling dough into a thin log, and pinch off small pieces to roll into fat, short worms. Drop them into the soup, and wait until they rise to the surface. If the soup is too thick, add a little water.