Yemenis Resort To Burning Firewood And Rubbish To Cook Food

Sanaa, Yemen - When Yahia al-Amari's three gas cylinders ran dry, he scoured the entire Yemeni capital to find a place where he could refill them. The 50-year-old walked to nearly every petrol station in Sanaa last month, hoping to find enough fuel to cook his family of seven their first hot meal of the week. But he was turned away everywhere he went, either by the long queues or the announcements that tanker trucks had failed to arrive.

Since November, millions of Yemenis have been affected by a chronic shortage of fuel after Saudi Arabia tightened its blockade on Houthi-controlled ports and airports. The blockade, which has only been partially lifted, had a devastating impact on the civilian population, with only a sliver of goods entering the capital of 4 million people.

The shortage of fuel forced factories to lay off their staff, taxi prices to increase astronomically and hospitals, which rely on diesel to power their generators, to start closing wards. Fuel imports in March were less than one-third, 30 percent, of the national requirement, according to the UN's Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). 2 a day, he quickly realised that cooking gas, like diesel, was a luxury and an alternative was needed.

Al-Amri said cooking with firewood had become the norm for several families he knew, with burning embers a frequent sight on the city's rooftops at night. It's a primitive way of preparing food but it works, he added. Standing at a busy interchange in front of a large pile of wood, Abdu Alghaili, a firewood dealer, said the gas shortage had led to a spike in his business, but left the poorest most vulnerable.

Please enable JavaScript to view the comments powered by Disqus. Weight LossThe hand blender is probably the handiest kitchen tool/appliance. It is also known as immersion blender or stick blender which can make endless Smoothies, Sauces, Chutneys, shakes, juices and much more. Nowadays smoothies are a trendy, delicious food item.

Weight LossAll those who work an office job in the 21st century will know that it leaves no time for physical exercise. Not only is sitting at a desk surrounded by screens all day bad for your back and your body in general, the long hours at work also result in a sedentary lifestyle. How to Optimize your Social Login! How To Avoid Stress For Yourself And Your Infants,

And finally, the tricky twosome. Blues and purples can be a bit harder, but they certainly are possible. Blueberries and blackberries can be used in the same process as described above (for other berries, under “Pink and Red”). But your real best bet is a totally unexpected vegetable: cabbage! Red cabbage can be used to make both purple and blue food coloring.

For the former, cut and boil the cabbage until the water is very dark and concentrated. This will give you a pretty purple dye. For the latter, slowly stir in baking soda, a bit at a time. It will react with the cabbage juice and produce a perfectly pretty blue hue.

And as an alternative, you can use natural food dye in a savory recipe. Remember, food dye isn’t reserved just for sweets and treats! Remember that working with natural coloring will be different than the artificially amplified colors you’re probably used to. In general you can expect a paler, more pastel-type of result.

It is best if you experiment, play around with quantities and combinations, add a little at a time, and always taste as you go. Most importantly, let your creative juices flow, and have fun with it! Sayward Rebhal writes for Networx. Get home & garden ideas like this on Networx.