Talking Turkish

Gobble, Gobble?

That's what my daughter said when I asked her if she knew any Turkish words- she cracks me up sometimes.  Anyway the real answer to my question would have been a big N-O !!  I'm not even sure if I've heard it spoken before, but here are a few words for your foreign language lesson this week.....

Hello- Merhaba    Good Morning- Gunaydin    Goodbye- Gule gule

Thank You- Tesekkur ederim    No - Hayir   Yes- Evet

Happy Birthday! - Dogum gunun kutlu olsun!

I Love You - Seni sevi yorum

 

1- bir   2- iki     3- uc    4- dort     5- bes

6 - altl   7- yedi    8- sekiz    9- dokuz    10- on

 

black- kara     white- beyaz     red- kirmizi     blue- mavi   

yellow- sari    orange- turuncu    green - yemyesil    purple- mor

pink- pembe

 

The Turkish word for delicious is "Leziz" and I apologize that I didn't make a recipe for you all this week but it's been so busy around here.  If you are interested in making some of the delicious Turkish food like we ate at Aspendos please check out these web pages- http://www.turkishcookbook.com/ ,   http://www.food.com/recipes/turkish, http://www.deliciousistanbul.com/blog/turkish-recipes/
 they all look pretty good!!

We are going to be out of town for a few days and so next week we will be taking a break from our "travels" and just enjoying ourselves. 

 Have a great week and we'll catch up where we left off!!

Let's Learn Some Maltese

Do you speak Maltese?

Well, then you can probably skip this post.  Thanks for checking in :)  Those of you still with me, let's learn a couple words and phrases.


The Maltese language is thought to have developed as a variation of Sicilian Arabic.  This form of Arabic hasn't been spoken in Sicily in over 700 years but it stuck with the Maltese and developed into the Maltese language used today.  Because the country was controlled by so many other countries, there are many words that are French, Arab, Spanish, Italian, Latin, German, Portuguese, and English.  In 1800, when the country was governed by the British, they tried to change the official language to English, but when the Maltese gained their independence in 1964, both Maltese and English were given the role of "official language".

Hello- hawn    Goodbye- caw     Please- jekk joghgbok
Thank You- grazzi     Yes- iva    No- le    I love you- Inhobbok

1- wiehed ( WEE-hed)   2- thejn (tneyn)    3- tlieta (TLEE-ta)
4- erbgna (EHR-ba)   5- hamsa (HAM-sa)   6- sitta (SIT-ta)
7- sebgna (SEH-ba)       8- tmienja (tmeehn-ya) 
9- disgna (DIH-sa)      10- ghaxra (AA-shra)

black- iswed    white- abjad     red- anmar      blue- blu
yellow- isfar    green- andar    orange- orangjo   purple- vjola

There, now you know the bare necessities  of the Maltese language.
I could really see the influences of the other cultures in many of the words.  Oh, I forgot one phrase-
L- iklat- tajba!  It means Bon Appetit!  You'll definitely need that phrase for my next post- we're making Pastizzi!!!!

Another picture of BEAUTIFUL Malta!!

Language lessons and lunch!

Ohayou goza masu!!

That means Good Morning!  I hope you all had a great weekend!  We are going swimming (it's going to be in the 80's today!!) but first I've got some more work to do on Japan!!  Let's learn some common words and phrases and then I have a great recipe for Teriyaki Chicken from scratch!! 

Yes- hai    No - iie     Thank You- Arigato    Goodbye - Sayonara

Happy Birthday - Tanjyoubi omedetou gozaimasu 

Enjoy (your meal)- wo tanoshinde kudasai  

I Love You- Daisuki Desi

 

1 - ichi      2- ni       3- san      4- yon     5- go    6- roku

7- nana (or shichi)  8- nachi     9- kyuu    10- jyuu

 

Yellow- ki iro    blue- ao      red- aka      white- shiro

black- kuro    grey- hai iro     purple- murasaki      green- midori

 

 

Now your treat for being so good....

 

Teriyaki Sauce (from scratch!)

For the recipe you will need:
(The ingredients used are pictured in the next recipe)

• 4 T honey (we were out of honey so I used Golden Syrup)
• 4 T Mirin (a sweet rice cooking wine you can fine in Asian aisle)
• 4 T Sake (You'd probably find this in the alcohol section)
• 4 T Soy sauce

That's it!  Combine them all together and use as is if you like a dipping sauce or a marinade.  Or use it in this recipe I got from an interesting website called No recipes.  You should check it out- it had a lot of good recipes despite the name :)  Traditionally, Teriyaki is a grilled dish cooked on a hibachi (small charcoal grill) but this technique is cooked in a skillet. 

 It was delicious and it cooked the alcohol out of the Teriyaki sauce if you are concerned about that!!

 

Chicken Teriyaki

For the recipe you will need:

• Homemade teriyaki sauce (see recipe above)
• 3-4 T vegetable oil
• Boneless chicken thighs or breasts
• 3 T grated fresh ginger
• 1/2 t salt
• 2 T Sake for cooking

1.  Combine the chicken, ginger and salt and let them sit for at least 30 mins.  Pat the chicken dry.

2.  Heat oil in a heavy skillet set on medium heat.  Put chicken in hot oil skin side down and fry until golden on one side.

3.  Turn over the chicken and add the Sake (or you could use water, chicken broth, orange juice)  Cover pan and let chicken steam until it is almost cooked through.

4.  When the chicken is cooked most of the way drain any liquids that are in the pan. Turn your heat to high and add teriyaki sauce.

5.  Let the teriyaki sauce boil and thicken and turn the chicken often so that it is all coated.  The sauce will thicken into a beautiful glaze and the chicken will be a wonderful mahogany color!!  Serve with rice and the any sauce left in the pan!!

I love this recipe!  It always makes me feel good when I know what's in my food and this was so simple!!  Yeah, it was initially a little expensive because we don't normally keep Sake and Mirin on hand, but I found a small bottle of each at the Japanese market.  The sauce was RAVED about by my family and I've already had requests to make it again!!  I can only imagine that it could be doctored up in many ways- maybe some pineapple or orange juice?  Sesame seeds?  

For dessert we had ice cream mochi.  Mochi is a sweet rice flour treat.  They are sticky and chewy and I really like them.  Ice cream mochi is that sticky, chewy stuff with ice cream in the middle!!   How can you go wrong? Ok, I'm getting hungry I need to stop!

 

Have a wonderful weekend people!!  I'm going swimming :)

 

 

 

Friday Field Trip and German Lesson!

Friday Field Trip!

 

Actually it was a Thursday field trip, but that's because we had a dentist appointment today! (No cavities)  So yesterday after we visited Steve (daddy and husband) at the hospital where he is recovering from back surgery, we went to a fun German store I had heard about- Gourmet Haus Staudt.  I was expecting a small store with a tiny café, but this place was awesome!

  They had German snack food and mixes, knick-knacks and gifts, cuckoo clocks, more types of beer than I could count, fresh pretzels, sausages and even some cool hats.  It was a really fun little shop.  I wish we hadn't had lunch at the hospital because they had a German Bier Garten (Beer Garden) in the back where they served sausages and pretzels and sandwiches.  I'm still not eating carbs but the pretzels looked amazing!!  I know where I'm going when I need some carbs :) 

I wish I had more pictures to share but the battery died on the camera.  Oops.  We left with some German candies, some pretzel goldfish crackers that my son HAD to have, and a box of Spaetzle that I made for dinner.  They were basically egg noodles.  But "spaetzle" is more fun to say. 





Speaking of "fun to say"- 

Let's Learn Some German!!

German was once the unifying language of Central, Eastern and Northern Europe.  It is still taught in many areas outside of Germany as a second (or third) language.  German also has the most native speakers of any language in Europe.  So we should learn some....

Good Morning - Guten Morgen       Good Night - Gute Nacht
Good Bye-  Auf Wiedersehen     Thank You- Danke
Yes - Ja     No- Nein      I Love You - Ich Liebe Dich

1- ein        2- zwei       3- drei       4- vier      5 - funf
6 - sechs      7 - sieben    8 - acht    9 - neun    10 - zehn

red - rot     yellow - gelb     green - grun     blue - blau
black - Schwarz     white - Weiss

Monday -  Montag    Tuesday -  Dienstag    Wednesday - Mittwoch
Thursday - Donnerstag    Friday - Freitag    Saturday - Samstag
Sunday - Sonntag

Airplane- Flugzeug      Train - Bahn      Helicopter - Hubschrauber

That all for tonite folks, I'm beat and ready for bed!!  Gute Nacht!!


Aren't these cute?!  The store had every animal you could think of- all made of straw :)

Papua New Guinea Tribes (and an art project)

Born to be wild!!!

According to the internet (which we all know is 100% accurate- wink wink), many of the indigenous tribes in Papua New Guinea came to the island from Australia and Asia during the ice age, when the seas where low and islands where still moving and growing due to earthquakes and volcanoes.   Because the island has such rough terrain in some parts, many of these tribes never travelled outside of their area, their cultures grew independently and they developed languages of their own.  There are hundreds of different tribes and over 800 different languages.  They lived in constant warfare with other tribes, and in some areas, head-hunting and cannibalism (yuck) were rampant.  In some places of New Guinea it is still practiced. (Note to myself: we are not going to New Guinea) 

The tribes developed ways of decorating their bodies that were meant to scare off the other tribes and show the fierceness of the men.  In a world that these days is more and more hooked on technology, it is amazing to think of these people living much as they have for thousands of years.  Some tribes are still being discovered in the deep jungles and mountains who have yet to see people from the "outside world".  Here is a little info on just a few of the tribes of Papua New Guinea. 

The Huli Tribe- this tribe is also called the "Wig-men" because they wear elaborate ceremonial wigs made from their own hair and bird of paradise and parrot feathers.  They paint their faces in yellow, red and white paint and also pierce their noses with long bones.  Part of their traditional costume also includes a necklace made from bird beaks and claws and they carry a huge ax with a pointed end. They have lived in the Southern Highlands area for over 1,000 years.  They are divided into clans and the people in the clan are all considered family.  Considering that one husband can have many wives, they probably ARE all related so that makes sense ;)  Men and women live separately- the men live together and the women live with the children in their own huts.  The men hunt for meat and the women grow plants for food and gather what grows wild.  There are estimated to be about 100,000 people in the Huli Tribe.

The Mud Men of Asaro- ok, these guys are creepy.  According to legend, the tribe hid in the Asaro river to hide from an enemy tribe.  At night, when they could escape, the enemy spotted these scary, mud-covered figures rising from the river and were scared away.  So this became their "thing".  They didn't want to cover their faces with the mud because they thought it was poisonous (!), so they made clay helmets with frightening faces to scare away potential enemies.  They also wear pointed bamboo "claws" on their fingers.  I don't know about you, but if I saw a Mud Man I'd sure hightail it out of there!!  Very effective, Mr. Mud Man.

The last tribe I'm going to talk about are the tribes of the Sepik River area.  For these people, life revolved around the river, and they worship the animals of the river, especially the crocodiles.  In a rite of passage and as a show of bravery, the men of the tribe cut the skin on their body, mostly their back, so they will resemble the beloved crocodile!!  Sometimes I can't say it enough - I LOVE BEING AN AMERICAN!!!

If you'd like to see a very interesting video of the different tribes click here.  But please note that there is some nudity.  It's just how they are in Papua New Guinea- they let it all hang out.  It's not likely to be even noticed unless you point it out, but I thought I should tell you.  Now on to our art project!!

Papua New Guinea Tribal Masks
For the project you will need:

• paper plates
• paints
• feathers or torn paper
• scissors or an exacto knife (adults only please)
• glue
• pipe cleaners or yarn

1.  Watch the video above or go online and google  Papua New Guinea tribes to see some of the face painting designs.
2. Cut the eyes, nose and mouth out of the paper plate.  Punch a hole on either side for the pipe cleaners or yarn so you can wear it.

3.  Paint your mask and decorate it with feathers. 

 

 If you want you can put a stick through the nose!  Go wild - there is no wrong way!

My not so fierce warrior!!

 

 

Let's Learn Russian!

Russian 101

Not an actual student of mine :)

Welcome to the super- duper beginner's course in learning Russian.  Taught by me.  How, you may ask, do I know Russian?  Well, I don't really, but I have taught at least 3 children who came to my class as 2 year olds that only spoke Russian.  So I will teach you what I learned from their parents.  "Ne plach"- that means no crying.  Seems harsh to say to a little kid but that was what they taught me to say.  Also, "moloko" is milk.  I probably also learned how to say "let me change your diaper" and "mommy will be back" but I don't remember those.  There, that is the extent of my teaching.  I know, pretty impressive.  Luckily, I was able to get some words and phrases from the internet.  The Russian language also uses its own alphabet so I found an example of that too.  Isn't the internet the best thing ever invented??? 

Here goes...  (the capital letters should be stressed in these first 2 sections)

Hi - privEt     Good Bye- dos vidAnya   Thank You- spasiba
Yes- da    No - Nyet     I Love You- ya tiby A l'ubly U

1- adin     2- dva     3- tri     4- chitYri    5- p'At     6- shEst
7- sEm     8- vOsim    9- dEvit    10- dEsit

(not sure exactly which syllable is stressed- sorry)

Black- chyor-niy     White- byeh-liy     Red- krahs-niy
Blue- see-niy     Green- zee-lyoh-niy   Yellow- zhyol-tiy

Russia is a wonderful country- Rasiya zamichAtel naya stranA

Tonight we are going out to eat at a Russian restaurant :)  I will let you know tomorrow how it went, but I thought it fitting that the last phrase should be......

 Bon Appetit-  Khoroshiy Appetit!!!!  

 

No, this is not the Russian restaurant!!! Dosvidanya everyone!!!

The languages of Cameroon

Parlez -Vous Francais?

Well, you might if you lived in Cameroon, French is one of two official languages (English is the other) but it is also only one of the 230 different languages spoken in Cameroon.  Much of the French spoken by the Cameroonians would probably be very different from that on the streets of Paris, but I couldn't find any websites with the breakdown so we are going to learn French French not Cameroonian French :) The pronunciations are in parentheses. 

Hello- Bon jour (bone zhour)   Good bye - Au revoir (oh rer-vwahr)Yes - Oui (wee)   No - Non    Please - S'il vous plait (seel voo play)
Thank you- Merci (mare-see)  I Love You- Je T'aime (zhuh- tem)

red- rouge (roozh)  yellow- jaune (zhawn)   green- vert (vair)
blue- bleu (bloo)   purple - violet (vee-o-lay)  white- blanc (blan)
black - noir (noo-ar)

1- un     2- deux (do)    3- trois (twa)   4- quarte (ka-tre)
5- cinq (say-n-kay)  6- six (sees)   7- sept (set)   8- huit (weet)
9- neuf (noof)   10- dix (deese)

I was surprised how much French I actually knew once I started looking at the words, and also a little ashamed of myself that I had a Great- Grandmother and Grandmother who spoke fluent French and I didn't know more.  Of course, they lived in Wisconsin and I lived in California but I still should have learned it as a tribute to them!! Well, la pour vous Grandmeres!!  (Here's to you Grandmothers!)

Arabic 101

As salaam a lai kum!

For those of you who aren't fluent in Arabic (like me), that means "May peace be upon you" and is a formal greeting used in Saudi Arabia and other Arabic speaking countries.  Let's learn some other Arabic words and phrases- they are written in English because the Arabic alphabet is a bit hard for the novice (like me) to learn but it is beautiful to look at.

Hi- Salaam or Marhaba    Goodbye- ma'a salama  
Thank you- shukram     Yes - na'am    No - la'a
Beautiful- jameel     Sorry- aasif      I Love You- ana behibak(male)
                                                                            ana behibek(female)

1- wahed     2- ethnan    3- thalathah   4- arba'eh    5- khamsah
6- setah      7- sab'ah    8- thamaneyah  9- tes'ah    10- 'asharah

black- aswad   white- abyad     blue- azraq    green- akhdar
red- ahmar     yellow- asfar

I hope you learned a little about Saudi Arabia!  I had planned a post about the Holy sites of Mecca and Medina but to be honest with you, I'm afraid of offending anyone accidentally!!  It's an interesting country with a culture that I didn't know much about, I would love to learn more but I will probably not do it on the internet. 

Ma'a Salama from Saudi Arabia

Philippines Flag Art and Language Lesson

The Flag of the Philippines-

This flag is a symbol of the independence of the nation from the Spanish and has been used in the Philippines since 1898.  It is full of symbolism that shows the values of the Filipino people.  The white, equilateral triangle sumbolizes equality and fraternity among the people.  The blue stripe stands for peace, truth and justice while the red stripe symbolizes patriotism and valor.  In the center of the white triangle is an 8-rayed sun said to symbolize unity, freedom, democracy and sovereignty.  The number of rays (8) represent the 8 provinces that started the Philippine Revolution against Spain.  The 3 stars that are in each corner of the triangle are meant to represent the 3 main regions of the Philippines - Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao.  An interesting feature - when the country is at war the flag is flown upside down with the red band on the top.    What a beautiful flag for a beautiful country!  So we made our own renditions of the Philippines Flag for our art project :)

Art Project:  Philippines Flag
For the project you will need:

• white construction paper
• blue, red and yellow paints
• brushes

1.  Fold your paper in half lengthwise to determine the center.
2.  Draw triangle on right side from each corner to meet on center line. 
3.  Draw sun with 8 rays in center of triangle (or let them do it)
and a 5 pointed star in each corner of triangle.
4.  Explain what colors should go where and let 'em at it.

My daughter too it another step further and painted the flag for her own country!  She will be a great dictator one day :)












Time for a language lesson-

The people living in the Philippines speak over 500 different dialects.  Tagalog is the most commonly used, so when the government wanted to create an official language for the land they used Tagalog as the base.  The official language is called Filipino and here are a few words.  I capitalized the syllable that is stressed so that your pronunciation will be better :)

Hello/How are you? = kumuSTA     Welcome = maBUhay
Goodbye = paALam     Thank you = saLAmat
Delicious = maSArap     I love you = maHAL kiTA

one = iSA     two= daLAwa    three= tatLO     four= Apat
five= liMA    six= Anim    seven= piTO   eight= waLO
nine= siyam  sounds like "sham"   ten= samPU

and this phrase:
Salamat sa iyo para sa pagbabasa at magkaroon ng isang mahusay na araw!  Which means "Thank you for reading and have a great day!"

Be a Tourist and Learn some Lingo

Prague Castle

 

There are about 2,000 castles (some just ruins) in the Czech Republic.  You probably can't throw a rock and NOT hit a castle, but only one of these castles is impressive enough to be listed in the Guinness Book of World Records - Prague Castle!  So, of course, that's where we have to go. 

Listed as the biggest castle complex in the world, Prague Castle has been the home to the Kings and Queens of Bohemia (what the are was called long ago), the Holy Roman Emperors, and the presidents of Czechoslovakia and now the Czech Republic.  Since 880, it has been built, destroyed, rebuilt, burnt, restored and added on to according to the whims of the monarchs.  Because of that, the Prague Castle is a great example of many different types of architectural styles.  The castle includes many different buildings- St. Vitus Cathedral, Basilica of St. George, a monastery, several palaces, towers and halls, as well as, formal gardens.  Many of these are now museums or public areas that can be visited. 

The castle is also home to the Czech crown jewels which include the Crown of Saint Wenceslas.  The crown was made for the coronation of George IV in 1347 which makes it one of the oldest in Europe.  But don't get any ideas about trying it on, an ancient Czech legend says that anyone unfit who places the crown upon his head will die within the year.  Just legend you say? Well when the Nazis occupied Prague and took over the castle, Nazi govenor Reinhold Heydrich tried it on as a joke and was assasinated within the year.  Sure, he probably would've died anyway but I'll still keep my hands off the jewels just in case!!

A few Czech words....

If you are going to be travelling around you might want to learn a few words in the native tongue.  I might suggest a more comprehensive lesson then the one I'm about to give you :)  The Czech language has it's own alphabet and many different sound combinations than we are used to but give it a shot!

hello - ahoj    good day - dobry den     good bye - na shiedanou
thank you - dekuji    you are welcome - neni zac     please - prosim

1- jeden      2- dva     3- tri      4- ctyri       5- per
6- sest        7- sedm   8- osm    9- devet    10- deset

We hope you enjoyed our visit to the Czech Republic.  My kids have really been playing with their puppets and, in fact, we have our own "Puppet Museum" in the living room.  It's just like visiting Prague (no, not really).  If you make the pot roast recipe I can tell you that the leftovers make a great hash for breakfast and the dumplings are great with gravy! 

A Lesson in Shona

How do you say......

This post is going to be short and sweet :)  We are doing a few projects today but the posts won't be ready until later so I thought I'd better get something out there in the blogosphere!  Let's learn how to speak in the main language spoken in Zimbabwe - Shona.
There are 3 official languages in Zimbabwe- English, Shona, and Ndebele, but Shona is spoken by over 70 % of the population. 

Here are a few common phrases and words then some beautiful pictures showing the amazing animals found in Zimbabwe!!

Hello = Mhoro or Mhoroi (if plural)
What is your name? = Unonzani?
My name is ____ . = Ndinozi ______.
Have a nice day = Uvenezuva rakanaka
Thank you = Waita zvako
I Love You = Ndinokuda
 
and the names of some of the animals, or mhuka -

cow = mhou
goat = mbudzi
chicken = hukwana
lion = shumba
cheetah = dindingwe
elephant = zhou
monkey = shoko
giraffe = twza
owl = zizi
zebra = mbizi

 

 Wouldn't it be awesome (and maybe a little scary) to be able to see these animals in the

wild!!


P.S.  this is my 100th post!!
I might have to celebrate with
some Zimbabwean Food!!
     YEAH!!!!

Pirates! Arrrr!

Arrrr! It's Pirate Week in the Cayman Islands!

Being the mom to a 3 year old boy is awesome.  We get to play Star Wars (I'm always Darth Vader), legos, and, of course, Pirates!!  My son discovered pirates recently and we've been having some fun.  He and his sister dig for "treasure" in the dirt section of the yard - to date none has been found.  Mostly we sword fight.  On our trip to Disneyland, while I was waiting in line for corndogs, my husband decided to buy our then 2.5 year old son not one, but two plastic swords.  I must say it kept the crowds at a distance that trip :)  Now he's actually a pretty good little sword fighter.  I'm sure that'll be a handy life skill. (not)  Anyway, I digress, we're supposed to be talking about the Cayman Islands, where it is PIRATE WEEK!!  Right now.  Hurry!  For the past 35 years the Cayman Islands have celebrated the most notorious of their early settlers - the Pirates.  Every year, in November, the 3 islands celebrate with parades, boat races, turtle releases and lots of food, drink and probably some pillaging and plundering too.  So today our post is going to teach you nice civilized folks how to TALK like a pirate, DRESS like a pirate, and EAT like a pirate (a pirate on leave perhaps).  Lets get started....

How to Speak Pirate

Ahoy - Hello           Avast - check that out         Aye - yes
Arrrr- I agree       Parley- a meeting      Bilge Rat - an insult

There now you can speak pirate with the best of them.  Many pirates were from England so maybe an English accent would make you sound a little more authentic - or not.  But one things for sure, if you're gonna talk like a pirate you should look like a pirate!

How to Dress Like A Pirate

To look like a proper pirate you'll need a few things:

• Poofy or lacy blouse with long sleeves.  Pirates were snazzy dressers.  They might not be clean but they were stylish!
• Thick belt with large buckle (to hold your sword)
• For men (boys)- dark colored baggy pants (not ratty) tucked into tall boots.  For the ladies- a full skirt, maybe cinched up a little on one side.
• 3 pointed captain's hat or colorful scarf tied around the head. Or both!!
• jewelry - load up on the jewelry.  Not like Mr. T or anything, just very accessorized.

There, you're almost ready.  But boy, all this has made me hungry!  What would a pirate do?  Well, when they were out on the sea pillaging (remember pirates were actually bad guys who stole the cargo from other ships), pirates had to eat a lot of dried meats and fish, hard, dry breads and whatever else they could find.  So when they finally made it back to land to bury their treasure they feasted.  The festivals have many of the traditional foods of the day-

• Conch stew- a stew made from conch meat (shellfish), dumplings, coconut milk and spices.  Served with rice.
• Turtle- don't know if I could eat a turtle - they are so cute.  
• Breadfruit and Cassava - starchy, very nutritious fruits
• Run-Down - a stew made with seafood or salted beef and potatoes, coconut milk and spices.

Well, conch meat and turtle meat are pretty exotic and, I'd have to assume, expensive so we made a Shrimp Run-down for our hungry pirates.

Shrimp Run-Down

Recipe is blended from a bunch on the internet - can be made with other seafoods or chicken too.  For the recipe you will need:

• 1 lb shrimp- peeled and deveined
• 4 or 5 red potatoes
• 1 can diced tomatoes
• 1 can coconut milk
• 1 diced red or yellow pepper
• 1/2 large red or sweet onion
• 1 T sugar
• 1/4 to 1/2 tsp Cayenne Pepper
• 1 tsp Curry Powder
• 1/2 to 1 tsp Creole Seasoning
• 3 cloves garlic, crushed
• 1/2 tsp salt
• olive oil or butter

1. Chop potatoes into chunks and partially cook in boiling water for about 8-10 minutes.  Not all the way done but mostly.
2. Cook onions in oil or butter on low so that they caramelize.  When they are browned, add garlic and peppers and cook a few minutes.
3. Add drained potatoes, can of coconut milk, entire can of tomatoes, and seasonings to pan and cook together for 15-20 mins.
4.  Add shrimp and cook just until they are done - normally I'd say until they are pink but it's too hard to tell in the sauce.  They will curl up and looked cooked through when they are done.  Try not to overcook or they get chewy. 

Well, my little pirates didn't eat this for dinner because Mama Pirate got some peppers that I thought were sweet peppers but weren't.  And I might have been a little too heavy-handed with the seasoning(I used the larger amounts on the recipe).  They had rice and some roasted turkey.  No that's a lie.  I served them rice and turkey and green beans but pretty much only the rice was eaten.  However, the adults ate the Run- Down and it was good!!  Really good.  I am going to keep this recipe handy- the sauce was easy to spice up or down to taste and would be good with any type of protein.  We had it on some brown rice but it would be good on pasta too.  Or with some green beans or spaghetti squash in it.  Really, you should try this.