Cabo Verde Unit

For whatever reason Cabo Verde seems like it should be next to Jamaica, I think it’s the name, it sounds to me like other Caribbean countries. However, my completely random associations of countries are pretty much always wrong, and Cabo Verde is not Caribbean, it’s African. A small island nation about 350 miles off the coast of Africa. I loved our Cabo Verde unit because prior to our geography lessons, I knew nothing about it.

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Cabo Verde Unit Resources

Just a quick note, Cabo Verde was known as Cape Verde until somewhat recently, but it is currently the Republic of Cabo Verde. Some of the resources I found referred to it as Cape Verde, and some as Cabo Verde. From what I’ve read it’s currently Cabo Verde (if I’m wrong, can someone let me know?).

• 10 Cape Verde facts– notice this 2020 article says Cape
• 52 Cape Verde (Cabo Verde) Facts– and this site goes with using both names, seriously it’s intriguing
• Infoplease Cape Verde– just the generic country facts

I have to say one of the most intriguing facts to me, it was completely uninhabited until the Portuguese colonized it in 1495.

But, the most useful when learning with my kids continues to be the Geography Now video.

This is pre-Flag Friday, and so you get all of the information in one video. But, it’s one of the few flags with red not standing for the blood of the matryrs.

Cabo Verde unit recipe: Pasteles

I found this site with a whole slew of Cabo Verde recipes, and printed out two and let the kids choose which one (now saving this start to draft, so we’ll find out in a few minutes, days which recipe was chosen).

I can now tell you, Batman picked out the pasteles recipe.

I find it fascinating how many countries have a variation on a meat pie, living in Texas I always think of them as empanadas, but there are so many variations on this.

Pasteles ingredients

• 4 cups flour
• 1 tablespoon yeast
• 1 cup warm milk
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 pound ground beef (original recipe called for fish fillets)
• 2 diced onions
• 3 minced garlic cloves
• 1 shallot
• 2 red bell peppers
• 2 green hot peppers
• 3 peeled tomatoes (I partially peeled them and then gave up on that)
• salt and pepper

Let’s cook pasteles

1. Mix the flour with the yeast, salt, and sugar in the mixing bowl. Add the egg, olive oil, and milk, and mix together. Stir until the dough is smooth and light. Let rest for an hour and a half (I’ve learned in my house I turn my oven on at 200, let it heat up and then turn it off, and let my dough rest in there because that gives the yeast the heat it needs to activate better).
2. While the dough is resting, saute the onions and shallots, stopping before they turn brown. Add the garlic and spices, then add in the rest of the ingredients and cook it thoroughly (I added the peppers before the meat and let them cook for a minute or so first). Remove from heat.
3. Roll out the dough to about 1/4 inch thick, and cut out circles with a cookie cutter.
4. Put a spoonful of the meat mixture in the middle of the dough, fold in half and pinch the edges to seal it closed.
5. Fill a skillet with oil and deep fry the pastels. When golden brown on both sides, remove and let drain on paper towels.

Pastels, Cabo Verde recipe

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A delicious recipe from Cabo Verde.

Ingredients

• 4 cups flour
• 1 tablespoon yeast
• 1 cup warm milk
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 pound ground beef
• 2 diced onions
• 3 minced garlic cloves
• 1 shallot
• 2 red bell peppers
• 2 green hot peppers
• 3 peeled tomatoes
• salt and pepper

Instructions

1. Mix the flour with the yeast, salt, and sugar in the mixing bowl. Add the egg, olive oil, and milk, and mix together. Stir until the dough is smooth and light. Let rest for an hour and a half.
2. While the dough is resting, saute the onions and shallots, stopping before they turn brown.
3. Add the garlic and spices, then add in the peppers and cook for another minute or so.
4. Finally, add the meat and tomatoes cook thoroughly, and reduce to remove some of the liquid from the tomatoes.
5. While the liquid is reducing, roll out the dough to about 1/4 inch thick, and cut out circles with a cookie cutter.
6. Put a spoonful of the meat mixture in the middle of the dough, fold it in half and pinch the edges to seal it closed.
7. Fill a skillet with oil and deep fry the pastels. When golden brown on both sides, remove and let drain on paper towels.

I wish I had been brave enough to try it with fish because that would have been a fun twist on the meal, but I’ve had very mixed results cooking with fish. I have exactly 2 recipes with fish where I don’t mess it up. They’re cooking the fish the same way, just slightly different ingredients.

Of course, my nervousness from cooking fish all stems from cooking fish as a newlywed and somehow turning the fish into a disgusting mush.

It was not fun.

Cabo Verde notebooking pages

I love learning the thought behind flags and why each element is included.

I’m also amused to learn of a country where Creole is a recognized language.

And having just had a tornado go through my area last night when I’m typing this, I’m glaring extra hard at Cabo Verde since many storms originate in that region.

Admittedly they talk about it being more hurricanes, and it’s not their fault weather can be traced back there, but still…

Some more great learning fun

Let’s go counter the Cabo Verde Unit, which was done when my kids were all giants in high school and talk about some lessons from earlier in their lives.

• Japanese Kite Festival
• Great Wall of China
• How to Make an Apple Pie and See the World
• Can you jump as far as a kangaroo
• Invisible Ink project

“File:Igreja Matriz de Nossa Senhora da Assunção (Cabo Verde) 1.jpg” by Ernani Zimmermann Viana is marked with CC BY-SA 4.0.