Gambia Unit

When I studied the various countries I really should have written a date on the country so I would know what grade to put them in. That is completely unrelated to our Gambia Unit, but I’m staring at my notes and what we did on Gambia and the big thing I’m getting from my notes is “a river that masquerades as a country.” It’s interesting what stand out to me in our geography lessons on a country and our Africa Unit really taught me how unique each country is, even with all of their difficulties.

(there are affiliate links in here, or in theory there are)

Gambia Unit resources

Types in a quick Gambia facts search and finds.

• Gambia by CIA– a decent short history
• 10 Interesting facts– they’re not super interesting, but there is a cool crocodile picture
• BBC– they have a bit more of the history, which makes sense because it was at one point part of the British Empire
• UN facts– this is the first time this has come up for country facts
• 10 more interesting facts– they’re not that much more interesting, but there are a few more interesting pictures
• Gambia from the Gambian Embassy– nothing that stood out to me though

We watched the Geography Now video.

Then I went on to watch the Flag Friday video because they amuse me.

Gambia Unit recipe: Steak and Onions

I did a bit of searching and found this steak and onions recipe, which got my attention because those are food everyone likes.

Steak and Onions ingredients

• steak cut into large bite-sized pieces
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 1 teaspoon bouillon
• 3 teaspoons yellow mustard
• 1 onion sliced into large rounds
• cayenne pepper to taste

Making steak and onions

I’m gonna admit, I did not follow exactly how you were supposed to cook this. I forgot we were supposed to cut the bite-sized pieces, so I kept our steaks whole. I rather liked that, but it’s your call. We’ve been working on how to create the perfect steak grill.

And by we, I really mean Jeff. Jeff has been working on that and is quite good at it now.

1. Season the steak with salt, pepper, and mustard and allow to sit for 5-10 minutes. While that is sitting slice the onions and start to heat the pan with the oil in it, mix the bouillon into the oil so it can melt into it.
2. Put the steak in the pan and allow to cook until the outside is seared and then flip to the other side and sear it.
3. Once both sides are seared, remove the steaks and saute the onions for about 8-10 minutes. The onions should still have a bit of crunch and should not be caramelized.
4. Add the steaks back into the pan and saute just long enough to warm it back up and finish cooking the steaks.
5. Turn the heat off and sprinkle the cayenne pepper on if desired.

I’m not usually a big fan of mustard, but the mustard flavor wasn’t overwhelming and I was told by those who like onions, that the bouillon was a nice flavor to add into them.

Gambian Steak and Onions

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This Gambian steak and onions is a simple way to create a delicious dish with lots of flavor.

Prep Time 5 minutes

Cook Time 15 minutes

Total Time 20 minutes

Ingredients

• olive oil
• sirloin steaks
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 teaspoon beef bouillion
• 3 teaspoons yellow mustard
• 1 onion sliced into large rounds
• cayenne pepper to taste

Instructions

1. Season the steak with salt, pepper, and mustard and allow to sit for 5-10 minutes. While that is sitting slice the onions and start to heat the pan with the oil in it, mix the bouillon into the oil so it can melt into it.
2. Put the steak in the pan and allow to cook until the outside is seared and then flip to the other side and sear it.
3. Once both sides are seared, remove the steaks and saute the onions for about 8-10 minutes. The onions should still have a bit of crunch and should not be caramelized.
4. Add the steaks back into the pan and saute just long enough to warm it back up and finish cooking the steaks.
5. Turn the heat off and sprinkle the cayenne pepper on if desired.

Gambia Unit: notebooking pages

We filled out our Africa notebooking pages. I have quite a few amusing facts to add in.

My favorite fun facts:

• It’s surrounded by Senegal on all three sides
• “A river that masquerades as a country”
• it has a machete dance
• their executive (at the time the video we watched was created) is called “Sheikh professor doctor president”
• over 20 official languages

Gambia animals

You can fill out the animal minibook as you learn about the Gambian animals.

• African manatee
• green monkeys
• pangolins
• African elephant
• lion
• pied kingfisher

Some great learning ideas

• Farm booklist
• Pride and Prejudice book club and movie night
• Stomach acids work
• 10th grade curriculum choices
• Picnic in the family room

• Gambia picture by qiv – https://www.flickr.com/photos/qiv/1602332561/sizes/l/in/photostream/, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=18363676
• Arch 22 picture By Ikiwaner – Self-photographed, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=3696772