Malibu Way of Life/ By Jody Stump
An impulse of giving seems to have spread over the land. Pink and yellow ribbons adhere to the rear bumpers of super-sized SUVs and brightly colored rubber bands dangle from child-sized wrists and stretch to hug those a bit bigger. Millions tuned in to the Live-8 concerts and every weekend hundreds of sedentary souls stir themselves to walk, run or ride on behalf of a cause. We stuff bills into firemen’s boots and spare change into UNICEF cans, yet for me-and so many people I’ve talked to-there’s a split-second’s hesitation between purse and palm.
Where’s the money going? Will it be used wisely, or wasted? Will that hungry poster child so starved its eyes are the size of plums be fed? Will people continue to die in pain or will your dollars fund research to save them? Will countries ravaged by flood be able to rebuild? Or, will the call go out tomorrow for another dollar because the last one you spent went to line the pockets of a third-world “pol” or paid for costly advertising on network TV?
I’m here to tell you that giving is all to the good. Yesterday, I heard an interesting statistic in the wake of Lance Armstrong’s stunning seventh victory in the Tour de France. In just a year, with almost no advertising, those yellow bands have raised $54 million, most of which goes directly to children’s cancer charities. In the 20 years since campaigns against cancer have intensified, the number of survivors has quadrupled and the course of treatment has become far less draconian or permanently scarring. Today, 83 million Americans have survived – and that’s impressive.
But what of charity further from home? Almost 20 years ago, a friend shoved a colorful paper donation box at me and asked me to help her buy a cow. The box was shaped like an ark with a dumpy lovable Noah and friendly looking animals printed on the side. A little square sign read, Project Heifer. Following the adage, “Give a man a fish and you feed him for one night; teach a man to fish and you’ll feed him for life,” Project Heifer gives cows, sheep and a variety of domestic animals to hungry villagers around the world – with one proviso. When their animals have offspring, they must, in turn, donate them to neighbors and teach the neighbors to care for and profit from their bounty. I was charmed by the appeal and that first year I gave a cow.
Last year, I stumbled on the rewards of that gift. In a communal field on the outskirts of a Rwandan mountain village, a massive Jersey heifer stood with a green Project Heifer tag in her ear. I pestered our guide to ask about her. She was the matriarch for a whole herd of crossbred cattle that fed and clothed a community ravaged by civil war. And, in a land where wealth is measured by the size of a herd, her fecundity had raised people above poverty for the first time in memory.
So, the next time someone has a hand out, dig in your pocket and give. You’ll feel better about yourself and you just might give someone the greater gift of a healthy life.
French Vanilla Ice Cream
Yields 2 pints
A funny thing happened in Rwanda as the hybrid cows grew and prospered. For the first time in human history, Africans had a milk surplus and nobody knew what to do with it. They tried making cheese – too sour for the palate. Yoghurt was all right sweetened with local honey, but refrigeration was rare and homemade yoghurt spoiled fast in the equatorial sun. Still, one dairy product really took hold: ice cream. Now, most communities have at least one generator-powered freezer. This version is adapted from “The Silver Palate Cookbook.”
3 cups heavy cream
2 vanilla beans
1/2 cup sugar
6 egg yolks
1. The night before you cook, place one vanilla bean in the cream, cover and refrigerate overnight.
2. Next morning, process the other bean with the sugar. Whisk in a bowl with the yolks.
3. In a double boiler over steaming water, heat the vanilla cream until bubbles form at the edges. Discard the bean and pour in a thin stream into the yolk mixture, whisking hard.
4. Return to the double-boiler and heat until a light custard coats the back of a wooden spoon. Do not boil.
5. Allow to cool. Freeze according to your ice cream machine’s instructions.