Haitian Cornbread

On January 12th, 2010, the devastating news of the earthquake in Haiti spread like fire all over the world. For the next couple of weeks, whenever you turned on the TV or you walked into school there were people talking about Haiti and how they can help. When I heard about the disaster I was shocked and sympathized the Haitians because they are going through something that no one could ever fully imagine. My school had and is still planning events for Haiti so that we can help them in their time of need by donating money for their aid. All of these event have been successful, but I realized that I hadn't personally made a difference. But last week my friend sent me the video for "We Are the World 25 for Haiti" which includes 40+ famous artists from Miley Cyrus to Celine Dion to Lil Wayne, all singing to help raise money and awareness for the suffering people in Haiti. In the start, Jamie Foxx asks viewers to "please do more than just watch", which really made me think and realize that I cannot stand idly by and let other people suffer. Like it says in the song, "we are the children, we are the ones who make a brighter day to lets start giving". We are the future leaders of the world and we need to help fix it in any way possible. I was planning on having a fundraiser for my project with the people at PATH this week so that I can raise enough money to make them more food, but I then thought that I can also donate half of my proceeds to Haiti because they need it now more than ever. I'm having the fundraiser this Thursday at my school where I will be selling ice cream sandwiches, and I am so excited to be able to raise money and donate it to Haiti, even if I can only donate just $100. Every small act makes a difference and I take great pride in knowing that I am having a positive impact on their lives. So if your reading this and you go to Milken Community High School, come stop by the amp

hitheater during lunch for delicious ice cream sandwiches to help people in and out of your community!

The video for the new "We Are the World" really will change the way you see the situation in Haiti. Listen to their powerful voices as they speak about how we are all one and we must help each other. Here is the video just incase you would like to see it:

So after watching the video, I thought it might be interesting if I made the residents at PATH a Haitian delicacy: cornbread! It's called "Pen Mayi" and you can find it's recipe along with recipes for a bunch of other Haitian delicacies from this link:

http://books.google.com/books?id=giQaoQz8N0AC&pg=PA171&lpg=PA171&dq=Kok+Graje&source=bl&ots=WTYwZyQ0r4&sig=acci1xgRQNEoGGiCWOb8znNMLSA&hl=en&ei=vbR-S6zpLoX6sQPksdH8Cw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=2&ved=0CAkQ6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q=Kok%20Graje&f=false

The cornbread was pretty easy to make, so anyone can really make them! Try it out if you get the chance and have a taste of a Haitian delicacy!

Here are some pictures I took while making the cornbread:

I made about 3 rounds and I cut a peice for myself just to try it out. The bread turned out pretty good, although I have to admit it wasn't as tasty as the chocolate cake or the red velvet :) There were total about 23 slivers, which I hope they liked.

All in all do anything you can to help the people in Haiti because they really appreciate anything. Hope you enjoyed the pictures and remember, stay blissful!

Sincerely,

"Ou byennere boulanje" -- The Blissful Baker