Weekend List!

Jill's List:

I so wish that I didn't fear/respect Getty Images' litigious reputation so much, because I want to show you these new stock photos showing women and girls as something more than "Women in Shoulder Pads Emasculating Tiny Men" (Description of women traditionally seen in stock photography by Alice Proujansky). I kind of want to be friends with all of these new ladies.

Our own alternative version of women at work:  Mama Youyou teaching Adam how to use that sewing machine.

Three photography books you should buy: this, this, and this (an early Sartorialist?) - Curated by Lara!

Buy this book here.

For those of you stuck in a blizzard.

A similar activity at our house...

2/14/14 in Virginia.  I heart this.

2/14/14 in Kinshasa.

You know you live in Congo when...
...these are what you find your three year old carrying around the house as her newest treasure:

(Learn more about this important campaign here.)

You MUST look at this blog.  Hip pagne is everywhere.  Click.  Now! Quick!

Thanks, Chayet, for letting us use your image!
Stay tuned, Mama Congo readers, for a Guest Post from this fabulous Parisian.

Hey!  Does anyone want my job?  No, I'm serious.  Email me if you're interested.  Starts August 2014.

Sarah's List:

The science of reincarnation. I first read this article a few months ago and I can't get it out of my head.

Turns out there's a scientific reason people don't like redheads.

I happen to like redheads. Just defying science one kid at a time.

Oh gosh. This looks amazing. A Kenyan mockumentary about the NGO world.

Could "brain drain" actually be good for Africa? An interesting argument.

Redemption Song: What happens when children of war enter civilian life. 

Guess whose recipe is going to be published in a cookbook? Mama Youyou and her nyanpul will be making an appearance in the next edition of Share: The Cookbook That Celebrates Our Common Humanity.

Buy the previous edition here.

Check out the organization behind this great cookbook, Women for Women International.

Stuck inside? DIY playdough! (Worth a look just for the beautiful photos.)

Who doesn't love a round of "Would you rather..."

And here's a good one. Snowpocalypse folks: Would you rather dig yourself out of the snow or battle worms in your kid's foot?

Yep, dear Charlotte's got a case of the "creeping eruption" otherwise known as worms crawling in your foot. Cause: Running barefoot one too many times with neglectful parents who clearly didn't scrub that foot enough.

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Cooking With the Mamas: Nyanpul

The first time we tried nyanpul was on the street straight from a bowl atop a guy's head. We thought he had sold us magical coconut bits. It was unbelievably delicious. We reported back to Mama Youyou who thought we were ridiculous because it's so easy to make. Here's the recipe that can be filed under, Why haven't we been making this our whole lives?

Congolese Nyanpul
Ingredients:
1 small coconut
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup milk

(That's it. Really!)

1: Grate a fresh coconut. This process can serve as amazing entertainment for the baby plopped on the counter beside you.

1 fresh coconut, grated

Baby entertainment

2: Add sugar. Add milk. Stir a bit to dissolve the sugar.

All the ingredients in one little bowl.

Also good toddler entertainment

3: Cook on the stove top. Let it come to a boil and continue to stir and stir and stir.

Two stirrers are better than one

4: Cook and stir the mixture until it's good and dried out. It can take a bit of time to achieve maximum nyanpul crunchiness.

And voilà, finished nyanpul.

I dream of sprinkling a bit of nyanpul on ice cream or on top of a cake. But if you want to be traditionally Congolese, just eat it by the handful. That's very culturally acceptable, thank goodness.

all photos by Sarah

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