Ah yes...that's the sunrise from this morning...shaping up to be a great day. I'm soooo glad that rain finally moved on out. Yesterday was a total wash, pun intended. We stayed inside all day other than going over to dinner at Judy and Andres for qeema. Ever heard of that, qeema? I hadn't but if it was good enough for Johnny Quest then it's good enough for me.
In the 1960s animated TV show Johnny Quest; episode Riddle of the Gold, Johnny, his father Dr. Benton Quest, his friend Hadji and their guardian Race go to India in search of the Maharajah of Jahilipur. During their stay they are feted by criminal Abdul Cassim posing as the Maharajah whom he has killed. At the Maharajah's palace Cassim introduces the boys to Qeema and another dish Biryani.
Did you know that October of last year saw the final holdout of Saturday morning cartoons finally cave in. And just what killed Saturday morning cartoons? Cable, streaming, and the FCC. In the 1990s, the FCC began more strictly enforcing its rule requiring broadcast networks to provide a minimum of three hours of "educational" programming every week. Networks afraid of messing with their prime-time slots found it easiest to cram this required programming in the weekend morning slot. The actual educational content of this live-action programming is sometimes debatable, but it meets the letter of the law.
But more importantly, with hundreds of cable and satellite channels to choose from that don't have to abide the FCC's guidelines, kids these days can get their animation fix any day of the week. With the rise of cable and satellite, advertisers no longer had to cram all their kid-aimed commercials into the four-hour Saturday morning block. When the money left Saturday mornings, so did the cartoons.
Add in mobile streaming from Netflix, Hulu, and the like, and you'll realize that the kids we're raising today don't even need to dash to the TV in time to catch the opening credits. They can just watch whatever, whenever. Sheesh.
I know, I ran off on a Saturday morning cartoon tangent. Sorry about that.
Andre told me he had a Pakistani friend who used to make qeema for him and that's how he got introduced to it. It is typically minced mutton curry (lamb or goat) with peas or potatoes. Keema can be made from almost any meat, can be cooked by stewing or frying, and can be formed into kababs. Keema is also sometimes used as a filling for samosas or naan. The word for a similar dish in Armenian is "Gheymah" ղեյմա and in Turkish "kıyma".
Andre made ours with beef. We had qeema over rice with Calabaza.
Calabaza (West Indian pumpkin) is a large winter squash (Cucurbita moschata) that resembles a pumpkin and is typically grown in the West Indies and tropical America. It is typical in the Morales store, quartered and wrapped in clear plastic.
Great meal we had with them. For desert we had yogurt with papaya and starfruit.
Sitting outside watching the sunrise with our friend this morning. This rottweiler is the most loving sort of dog. Very well behaved and quiet, but she loves to be loved.
Gonna be a beautiful day.
:-)