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Author Archives: memoriesandsuch
In My Hands Today…
Anansi’s Gold: The Man Who Looted the West, Outfoxed Washington, and Swindled the World – Yepoka Yeebo
When Ghana won its independence from Britain in 1957, it instantly became a target for home-grown opportunists and rapacious Western interests determined to snatch any assets that colonialism hadn’t already stripped. A CIA-funded military junta ousted the new nation’s inspiring president, Kwame Nkrumah, then falsely accused him of hiding the country’s gold overseas.
Into this big lie stepped one of history’s most charismatic scammers, a con man to rival the trickster god Anansi. Born into poverty in Ghana and trained in the United States, John Ackah Blay-Miezah declared himself custodian of an alleged Nkrumah trust fund worth billions. You, too, could claim a piece–if only you would “invest” in Blay-Miezah’s fictitious efforts to release the equally fictitious fund. Over the 1970s and ‘80s, he and his accomplices―including Ghanaian state officials and Nixon’s former attorney general–scammed hundreds of millions of dollars out of thousands of believers. Blay-Miezah lived in luxury, deceiving Philadelphia lawyers, London financiers, and Seoul businessmen alike, all while eluding his FBI pursuers. American prosecutors called his scam “one of the most fascinating–and lucrative–in modern history.”
In Anansi’s Gold , Yepoka Yeebo chases Blay-Miezah’s ever-wilder trail and discovers, at long last, what really happened to Ghana’s missing wealth. She unfolds a riveting account of Cold War entanglements, international finance, and postcolonial betrayal, revealing how what we call “history” writes itself into being, one lie at a time.
Dahiwale Chole aka Chickpeas in a Tomato Yogurt Sauce
The other day, while wondering what to cook — something that happens to all of us — I suddenly had an epiphany and thought of experimenting with some boiled chickpeas that I had at home. The result was this quick gravy that took about 15-20 minutes to put together and went beautifully with the boiled chickpeas. I will also be making this gravy again, this time trying it with different vegetables.
Dahiwale Chole aka Chickpeas in a Tomato Yogurt Sauce
Ingredients:
- 1 cup boiled chickpeas
- 2 medium-sized onions, roughly chopped
- 4 medium-sized tomatoes, roughly chopped
- 5-6 garlic cloves, peeled
- 1-inch piece of ginger, peeled
- 2-3 fresh red chillies, destalked
- 1 cup yoghurt, whisked
- 2 tbsp roasted peanut powder
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
- ¼ tsp turmeric powder
- ½ tsp Kashmiri red chilli powder
- 1 tsp cumin powder
- 1 tsp coriander powder
- 1 tsp jaggery powder (optional)
- Salt to taste
- 1 tbsp oil or ghee
- Finely chopped coriander leaves to garnish
Method:
- Blend together the garlic, ginger and red chillies into a smooth and keep aside.
- Blend the onions into a fine paste and keep aside.
- Blend the tomatoes into a fine paste and keep aside.
- Heat the oil in a pan and when the oil heats up, add in the cumin seeds and let the seeds pop.
- Pour in the blended garlic, ginger and chillies and stir well for a couple of minutes
- Then add in the blended onions, sprinkle a bit of salt and cook well until the onion starts to become translucent.
- Then add the blended tomatoes and cook covered until the oil starts to ooze out.
- Add the dry spices – turmeric powder, red chilli powder, cumin powder, coriander powder, salt, and peanut powder. If you are adding jaggery powder or sugar, add it now.
- Once the oil oozes out, add in the whisked yoghurt and stir continuously for a few minutes.
- Now add the boiled chickpeas and cook covered on a medium-low flame for 5-7 minutes.
- Check for seasoning and adjust what is needed.
- Garnish with finely chopped coriander leaves and serve hot with rice or any Indian flatbread.
Notes:
- I used already boiled chickpeas, but if you don’t have them handy, you can make it with canned chickpeas or soak a cup of dry chickpeas for 6–8 hours and then cook it in a pressure cooker or in a pan until they are soft.
- To make roasted peanut powder, dry roast peanuts until the skin starts to split. Cool them completely and blend to a coarse powder.
- You can also add powdered sesame seeds instead of peanuts or both together. To make powdered sesame seeds, dry roast white sesame seeds until they start to pop. Cool then pulse to make a fine powder.
- If you plan to use other vegetables, lightly fry them in 1 tsp oil until they are 80% cooked. Then remove and keep aside and make the gravy as per the recipe above. Add them back into the gravy where I have indicated adding the boiled chickpeas.
In My Hands Today…
Hello, Molly!: A Memoir – Molly Shannon, Sean Wilsey
At age four, Molly Shannon’s world was shattered when she lost her mother, baby sister, and cousin in a car accident with her father at the wheel. Held together by her tender and complicated relationship with her grieving father, Molly was raised in a permissive household where her gift for improvising and role-playing blossomed alongside the fearlessness that would lead her to become a celebrated actress.
From there, Molly ventured into the wider world of New York and Los Angeles show business, where she created her own opportunities and developed her daring and empathetic comedy. Filled with behind-the-scenes stories involving everyone from Whitney Houston to Adam Sandler to Monica Lewinsky, many told for the first time here, Hello, Molly! spans Molly’s time on Saturday Night Live—where she starred alongside Will Ferrell, Adam Sandler, Cheri Oteri, Tracy Morgan, and Jimmy Fallon, among many others. At the same time, it explores with humor and candor her struggle to come to terms with the legacy of her father, a man who both fostered her gifts and drive and was left with the impossible task of raising his kids alone after the loss of her mother.
Witty, winning, and told with tremendous energy and heart, Hello, Molly!, written with Sean Wilsey, sheds new and revelatory light on the life and work of one of our most talented and free-spirited performers.
Genres
Memoir
Audiobook
Nonfiction
Humor
Biography
Biography Memoir
Comedy
Poem:Ode to the Moon
Oh, Luna, my celestial muse,
Your ethereal beauty, I cannot refuse.
You grace the night sky with your gentle light,
A beacon of hope in the darkest of night.
Your silvery glow, a mesmerising sight,
Casts a spell upon the world, a magical rite.
The stars twinkle, a chorus divine,
But you, my dear moon, your radiance is mine.
I stand in awe, my heart filled with wonder,
As I gaze upon your face, a world to ponder.
The craters and shadows, a map of your past,
A story untold, a mystery to last.
You pull at the tides, a celestial dance,
Commanding the oceans with a mere glance.
Your power is mighty, your influence grand,
A guardian of dreams, a keeper of plans.
When clouds obscure your face, I feel a pang of loss,
Longing for your light, to guide me across.
But you always return, a faithful friend,
Reminding me that darkness never will mend.
Oh, Luna, my muse, my celestial queen,
Your beauty unmatched, your grace ever seen.
I’ll bask in your glow, my heart filled with awe,
For you are the moon, the one I adore.
