As this year unveils a new chapter in my days I have so much information that it behooves me to do a little brain feng shui. I found this amazing program that will help distill all this tasty loveliness into a digest to share. This year I am working on my degree in Holistic Nutritional Counseling. I will marry all this knowledge I've gathered from my travels and travails into a delicious healthy, attainable and sustainable model for eating and nutrition.
The first foray into these little peeks will be a CD Cook Book  with PDF/JPEG file with at least 20 recipes from my offerings at

Triboriginal Belly Dance Camp this October. It will have recipes from the weekend with tips and tricks to support the methods of preparation.
This is just a start and will grow from here. I thought of a small cookbook at first but this will be greener and we can just grow with it.
It is my greatest joy to meet people along the way that tell me of there stories of how they made migas or were influenced by something I made. I feels good to know that I'm floating around in various skillets, little bowls, tables, pots and ovens.
So join me on this journey of expansion and education.  Let's see what we can eat that really serves us wholly and really feeds us well. As a friend, a family, a community and a nation.
The floor is open for comments!
peace
Chef Oso

So here I am thinking about the details and energy of one of my favorite weekends. Triboriginal Belly Dance Camp. We have recently moved from the mountains of western North Carolina and this event gives me grand reason to return . To enjoy that place of Asheville once again, I grew 12 years there and this event is so much of where I've gone with my days. Now traveling to it from here, from northern Virginia, puts me in the place of travel and attending it as an event, for me. For years I reveled in it but as with all things too familiar the "event" was less and less understood. Now it has approach, apprehension, eagerness and expedience. I will arrive at my destination and pull together all I know and employ the talent of talented friends with big hearts and greater souls to join me on this arrival. This weekend is for me and you get to enjoy what is true for me; to express one's nature and let the windfall of that attempt, that production, let it be so delicious, evocative and fulfilling that there can be no doubt that it's what we are meant to do and revel in it.

Early Saturday morning, before sunrise,  I'll greet my baker with small eyes, look around and see the entire day ahead of me. We look at each other and know this is the day of flow. We'll see amazing food fly out of here, I'll put on some music and set the pace of a long dance of ingredients and people and surprising outcomes. I always amaze myself with how a dish turns out. Sometimes I have no idea what it will be, something moves me to add this, wait for that and know just when to stop it all. Watch it as it becomes vision turned joy and complete pleasure. I 'll have many of these little smiles cross my face today and this day will look a lot like this.....

Triboriginal Saturday Breakfast:
1. Home fries- fresh new potatoes with spices,onions, bell peppers, olive oil roasted perfectly browned
2. Migas! Eggs scrambled with tiny pieces of crisped corn tortillas, scallions, spices and cheddar       cheese served with garden salsa
3. Creamy Old fashioned oatmeal, grounding- slow cooked with a variety of toppings .
4. Fluffy Southern Grits- can't come to NC and not have grits!
5. BACON! -thick cut maple black pepper bacon- glorious crispy chewy heaven
6. Fresh cut and whole fruit
7. Fresh Baked scones and muffins from our new and delightful accomplished pastry chef
8. 24/7 Brazilian Shade grown Coffee and Variety Teas with all the sweeteners and fixins you need

Lunch will arrive wearing these designs;
1. Romaine Panzanella Salad
2. Madras Red Lentil Soup
3. Chicken Shwarma Wraps-tender roast chicken with lemon, oregano and sumac
4. Roasted Eggplant and Olive Tapenade Wraps
5. Cauliflower and Potato Curry
6. Uzbeki Sweet and Sour Carrot Braise
7. Assorted Cold Salads, bread, muffins and cookies

Dinner will bring it all home
1.Mesclun Greens with herbs
2.Soup-French Green Lentil, Squash, Garlic and Quinoa
3.Catfish and Greens!
4.Black Eyed Peas, Sage, and Greens
5.Curried Lamb Stew
6.Roasted Red Kuri Squash
7.Cinnamon Coconut Papaya Basmati Rice
8.Sri Lankan Deviled Shrimp- spicy shrimp in a beguiling coconut curry cream sauce

Sunday Breakfast for the early riser or those who've not gone to bed yet!
1. Creamy cinnamon, ginger banana oatmeal (or hot cookie pudding!) plain oat meal as well
2. Pepper Bacon Cheese Grits, smoky sultry. plain grits as well
3. Spanish Tortilla- traditional- thinly sliced potatoes slow cooked with eggs and stock(eggcellent for the morning after the night before)
4. Herbed KuKu- A Persian classic: fresh cut herbs eggs and savory seasoning baked golden brown
5. Biscuits and Sausage Gravy- yes we are in North Carolina!
    Fresh Muffins and assorted fruits, coffee, tea

Sunday Brunch
This my favorite meal as it is a testament to the abundant creativity of the stellar team I have the pleasure to work with. Sunday Brunch will offer up delicious surprises both for us and for you. See what we come up with this Sunday.

So Triboriginal  will feature Friday continental breakfast and easy lunch this year. This will be a very portable and facile version of my food to help y'all stay feasted while setting up and getting your bearings.
Remember we will bring back 24 hour coffee and tea station too, there will be plenty of that juice flowing this weekend!

Friday Morning's breakfast will look mostly like this:
1. Hot Steele Cut Oatmeal with a variety of yummy condiments
2. Fresh Baked Scones, both sweet and savory
3. Yogurt
4. A variety of fresh Muffins
5. Fresh cut fruit
6. Coffee, Tea
this menu is in process and will be finalized as ingredients are secured

Friday handy lunch may look like this:
1.Mung Bean and Winter Squash Soup
2.Fresh Mixed Greens Salad and Dressings
3.Cous Cous with herbs
4.Falafel and Pita
5.Chicken Shwarma with Pita
6.Variety seasonal cold salads

Friday dinner will probably look like this:
1.Fresh Garden salad and dressings
2.West African Sweet Potato Soup
3.Red Broken Mali Thom Rice
4.Senegalese Red Stewed Vegetables
5.Chicken Mafe-slow roasted bone-in chicken in a savory peanut okra sauce
6.Roasted Local Seasonal Squash-buttery , savory , coco nutty!
7.Baked Penne Pasta- pure comfort food rich with fresh roasted vegetables and plenty of ricotta, mozzarella and fresh herbs.
Fresh baked desserts and fresh artisan breads from our local 28806 Master Bakers and a variety of condiments that'll make your food sing!

Time to plan and source all the goodies for my palette for another delicious year at Triboriginal Belly Dance Camp at Camp Tekoa in Western North Carolina. This is such a fun event for me, just the right size and such great surroundings, it's pure joy to cook with great friends and be in the mountains.
I will start posting the menu here so you can be part of the process too. I am currently in The DC area and international markets are nearby so I'm really going to have fun this year with all kinds of ingredients.
I recently had fun weekend cooking in a Persian home for an event and it really furthered my knowledge and I will bring some of that goodness too. I've been hanging out at the Ali Market where the guys cook up tasty delights in the back of the store , so that comes with me too. As I post the menu feel free to comment and ask questions or make requests.
I am happy to announce that we will have a new chef dedicated soley to special needs diet concerns.
To that end know that all vegetable dishes will be vegan- no worries there.
O~