Seychelles

Vonnett protested against making the molouk, a crispy, savory, fried dough, because she is avoiding fried food. We would have missed out if Kevin and I hadn’t talked her into it. It was the star of the meal and I will likely make it again. The salad with smoked fish was also great. The curry was fine, but maybe we shouldn’t have replaced the octopus with chicken, so I’ll try this recipe next time: https://boulderlocavore.com/seychelles-style-coconut-chicken-curry-recipe/. The caramelized plantains never caramelized, but they were good in the coconut sauce. I loved making food from the Seychelles, not the least because Kevin did all the knife work and Vonnett did all the cleanup, leaving me to measure, stir, and coordinate. The recipes for this meal are here: https://www.internationalcuisine.com/about-food-and-culture-of-the-seychelles/

I usually only cook once for each country, but this Seychelles recipe for a coconut and banana tart seemed perfect to add to Thanksgiving dinner yesterday. We all enjoyed it and Raquel took the leftovers home: http://globaltableadventure.com/recipe/creamy-coconut-banana-tart/

Besides cooking, much of my time in the Seychelles was relaxing with travel guides, animal stories, and children’s books, the only reading material I could find online or at the library. Aldabra, or, The Tortoise Who Loved Shakespeare by Silvana Gandolfi is my favorite because the protagonist has to figure out how to maintain her relationship with her aging grandmother as the grandmother becomes more and more like a tortoise. Not only did I learn something about the giant tortoises of the Seychelles, but the human story is relevant to my life right now. More about these huge tortoises can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p2L1R2PTH64

Conservation in Seychelles extends beyond the tortoises:

· Kanopy has Guardians Of Aldabra

· The Seychelles Islands Foundation has put up a video on their Black Parrot: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ug6-UW4FuN4&t=6s

· More videos from the Seychelles Islands Foundation can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCkZa8GzuGTMgLYZn4G8qwww/videos

Another library book I picked up was The World’s Best Tropical Dive Destinations by Lawson Wood. There were only six pages on the Seychelles, so I found a video showing the turtles, sharks, eagle rays, and more. Watch past the end credits for more fabulous film of the beautiful, huge tortoises: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kXvE-ATWyO8&t=10s

I picked music from three genres but still haven’t explored the full diversity of the Seychelles.

· UNESCO put up this video of Moutya, music and dance that originated with the African slaves brought to the Seychelles by the French: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LV16igxE0t8

· Joseph Sinon and friends are representing Sega here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N5lO6sgHbpQ

· I enjoyed more than a half hour of videos by contemporary Seychellois musicians here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iog1dJ3jw3Q

The writer Glynn Burridge has put together a lovely webpage, not only with some of his poetry and discussion of his novels, but also with links to articles he has written about food and things to do in the Seychelles: https://glynnburridge.com/

If I go to the Seychelles, I would want to go in October for the Creole Festival: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m_y_glm5RFA. While I am there, I would also want to see https://www.thecrazytourist.com/15-best-places-visit-seychelles/. Of course, the trip would be amazing! I look forward to that time when we can travel broadly again. In the meantime, I’m hoping we all survive, thrive, recognize our mutual humanity, learn to deal with our conflicts, and allow peace, health, and safety to flourish in Seychelles and throughout the world.

Photo Credit: Datingscout https://unsplash.com/photos/JTUmzXLoqHQ