One of my favorite things about travelling - besides meeting so many wonderful people and seeing the beautiful sights - is experiencing the flavors of the foreign lands! And this past week, my daughter and I were able to visit East Africa (in a gastronomical kind of way). The region we visited was Tanzania, a country on the eastern border of the African continent. We didn't need our passports and we didn't need to travel the estimated 8,100 miles (13,050 kilometers or 7,050 nautical miles, if you prefer) to get to our destination. All we needed to do was to hop in the car and travel the approximate 6.08 miles to In the Neighborhood Deli (ITN) where Chef Jeff Turner, of C.J. Eatswell and the owner of ITN, and ITN Deli's Manager Eileen Moeller, hosted the "C.J. Eatswell Storms Africa", the first in the 2012 series of the world of tasty voyages!
The evening's samplings of foods were shared with old and new friends, alike and told a story of life and traditions in Eastern Africa. ITN Deli's Manager, Eileen, who lived and taught in Bunju A, Tanzania for many months educated all on life in Bunju A. It was there that Eileen learned the culture, customs and even Swahili, and this evening she shared her stories with us. Eileen learned how to cook east African style from the "mamas", and we learned from the offerings of the evening, east African food preparation is simple, but the flavors are plentiful. The townspeople live off what the land can offer, and beyond that, it is what they can get their hands on. One main staple to every meal, though, is chipati, basically African flat bread that is made with flour, water and vegetable oil. Another staple is ugali, and is cooked to a thick, porridge or dough-like consistency. Both chipati and ugali are used as utensils to scoop up the M'chicha, for example. M'chicha is an east African dish of spinach and nuts, and the nut of choice is not Chef Jeff, but peanuts that are plentiful! Also on the menu were a Tanzanian coconut vegetable soup and a beef stew with onions, garlic, and some aromatics. In Tanzania, though, it could also be made with just meat, whether it is goat or beef, with whatever the accessible vegetable is and salt.
Besides learning about the foods and customs of Tanzania, through conversations, the night also brought great awareness to some positive growth and development to the people of eastern Africa and Bunju A, Tanzania. It is there where Eileen worked on the Tanzanian Education Project (learn more at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it ). The focus of this group is on self-sustaining education projects. They set up set up an educational process then put the project back into the hands of the Tanzanian people so they can apply their local style and customs. This group also works on providing the tools and education for a sustainable living system which has an emphasis on having the availability of clean water all year round. It only rains in this region for 3 months out of the year, and they can't dig down to the Earth's water reserves because the soil does not allow that, however, they have educated the residents on a cistern system that catches and holds the water so it can be sterilized and then used for cooking, crops, bathing, etc. Similar to the rain barrels that the Elgin Community Network taught the Elgin community about!
The Tanzanian Education Project believes if you give a man a fish, you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish, and you feed him for a lifetime. Then let that man mold the process to his own customs, and he can integrate that system into his community to create a self-sustaining environment. And this leads into Chef Jeff's mission – to take love of Elgin and the passion for our city and spread the love and wealth of community to another land.
The Chef Jeff & Jeff Show are taking it on the road this summer and heading to Tanzania to produce a live remote from Bunju A, Tanzania under the guidance of Manager Eileen. Their purpose is two-fold – to bring the City of Elgin into an international spotlight and to also bring awareness of the Tanzanian Education Project back home. They will volunteer with the organization for about two weeks while sharing some of our ideas for sustainable living with the community there. There will be a fundraiser in the next couple of months, so please support this group!
To learn more about these tasty travels and other delectable happenings at In the Neighborhood Deli, stop by the shop for fresh soup of the day or a one of their famous deli sandwiches at 185 N. Edison, Elgin or "Like" them on Facebook. Hey...You don't want to miss out on their next video series titled, "Sandwiches", so "Like" them soon! Or give INT Deli a call at 847-888-9486, and find out more about In the Neighborhood Deli events, C.J. Eatswell, Chef Jeff, or the Tanzanian Education Project! Or just call them to order your next sandwich...and I am sure you'll order our favorite sandwich...the BocaJump!
The evening's samplings of foods were shared with old and new friends, alike and told a story of life and traditions in Eastern Africa. ITN Deli's Manager, Eileen, who lived and taught in Bunju A, Tanzania for many months educated all on life in Bunju A. It was there that Eileen learned the culture, customs and even Swahili, and this evening she shared her stories with us. Eileen learned how to cook east African style from the "mamas", and we learned from the offerings of the evening, east African food preparation is simple, but the flavors are plentiful. The townspeople live off what the land can offer, and beyond that, it is what they can get their hands on. One main staple to every meal, though, is chipati, basically African flat bread that is made with flour, water and vegetable oil. Another staple is ugali, and is cooked to a thick, porridge or dough-like consistency. Both chipati and ugali are used as utensils to scoop up the M'chicha, for example. M'chicha is an east African dish of spinach and nuts, and the nut of choice is not Chef Jeff, but peanuts that are plentiful! Also on the menu were a Tanzanian coconut vegetable soup and a beef stew with onions, garlic, and some aromatics. In Tanzania, though, it could also be made with just meat, whether it is goat or beef, with whatever the accessible vegetable is and salt.
Besides learning about the foods and customs of Tanzania, through conversations, the night also brought great awareness to some positive growth and development to the people of eastern Africa and Bunju A, Tanzania. It is there where Eileen worked on the Tanzanian Education Project (learn more at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it ). The focus of this group is on self-sustaining education projects. They set up set up an educational process then put the project back into the hands of the Tanzanian people so they can apply their local style and customs. This group also works on providing the tools and education for a sustainable living system which has an emphasis on having the availability of clean water all year round. It only rains in this region for 3 months out of the year, and they can't dig down to the Earth's water reserves because the soil does not allow that, however, they have educated the residents on a cistern system that catches and holds the water so it can be sterilized and then used for cooking, crops, bathing, etc. Similar to the rain barrels that the Elgin Community Network taught the Elgin community about!
The Tanzanian Education Project believes if you give a man a fish, you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish, and you feed him for a lifetime. Then let that man mold the process to his own customs, and he can integrate that system into his community to create a self-sustaining environment. And this leads into Chef Jeff's mission – to take love of Elgin and the passion for our city and spread the love and wealth of community to another land.
The Chef Jeff & Jeff Show are taking it on the road this summer and heading to Tanzania to produce a live remote from Bunju A, Tanzania under the guidance of Manager Eileen. Their purpose is two-fold – to bring the City of Elgin into an international spotlight and to also bring awareness of the Tanzanian Education Project back home. They will volunteer with the organization for about two weeks while sharing some of our ideas for sustainable living with the community there. There will be a fundraiser in the next couple of months, so please support this group!
To learn more about these tasty travels and other delectable happenings at In the Neighborhood Deli, stop by the shop for fresh soup of the day or a one of their famous deli sandwiches at 185 N. Edison, Elgin or "Like" them on Facebook. Hey...You don't want to miss out on their next video series titled, "Sandwiches", so "Like" them soon! Or give INT Deli a call at 847-888-9486, and find out more about In the Neighborhood Deli events, C.J. Eatswell, Chef Jeff, or the Tanzanian Education Project! Or just call them to order your next sandwich...and I am sure you'll order our favorite sandwich...the BocaJump!
