tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-88676702194405543402024-03-12T20:42:21.568-07:00Travel by StoveI'm cooking one meal from every nation on Earth.Becki Robinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00297315758886641877noreply@blogger.comBlogger225125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8867670219440554340.post-80199479242575293182023-12-13T13:15:00.000-08:002023-12-13T14:35:31.061-08:00Recipes from Marche, Italy<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAsLbq0Li-BbqJUVxP27_bZZJj6q5v5r0JAnkqFMJKzwELOGFtenmVR2VLQpe6Y0BH1Y8y6hHlnWf3F7lxDR1j6IB4Yj4Lsf_bKxd97jgVmbE7zhrwqTR3YuQVOIk7tR-nuu6_6dwHPaH4orU2kug7bIVV-5LVmyB4yLe4TcqUGVaKNYtb3NHRBzS_EBW-/s2560/Ancona,_Marche,_Italy_-_panoramio.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1608" data-original-width="2560" height="402" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAsLbq0Li-BbqJUVxP27_bZZJj6q5v5r0JAnkqFMJKzwELOGFtenmVR2VLQpe6Y0BH1Y8y6hHlnWf3F7lxDR1j6IB4Yj4Lsf_bKxd97jgVmbE7zhrwqTR3YuQVOIk7tR-nuu6_6dwHPaH4orU2kug7bIVV-5LVmyB4yLe4TcqUGVaKNYtb3NHRBzS_EBW-/w640-h402/Ancona,_Marche,_Italy_-_panoramio.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: left;">For this entry, I made two recipes. Neither of them were especially good, but I don't blame the people who posted the original recipes or any of the traditions they came from, I blame myself and my propensity for Googling things that might kill me. It just so happens that shortly before I made this meal, I learned that the reason you're supposed to boil shellfish alive is because it contains <i>Vibrio</i>, which sounds like a lovely genre of orchestral music with harpsichords and violins and stuff but is not.</p><p style="text-align: left;"><i>Vibrio</i> is a bacteria that proliferates out of control beginning in the moment immediately following the death of the animal that harbors it. According to the <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/vibrio/faq.html">CDC</a>, eating food infected with <i>Vibrio </i>causes either a mild illness or certain death, I can't quite tell which one. Apparently, people who are exposed to <i>Vibrio parahaemolyticus</i> usually just get sick but around 1 in 5 of those exposed to <i>Vibrio vulnificus</i> die, so maybe it's best to avoid all types of <i>Vibrio </i>just to be on the safe side.</p><p style="text-align: left;">Anyway prior to obtaining this information I put some frozen clams and frozen oysters into my shopping cart for the occasion of making food from Marche, Italy, and then I walked around the store for another 45 minutes and then I spent another 90 minutes in the car driving home, giving <i>Vibrio </i>more than two hours to make themselves and several thousand generations of their children at home in my food. I did actually boil the crap out of the oysters and clams in fear for the lives of myself and my children but by then the mental block was already there. So I did not enjoy the meal, but I should also add that I really think I just don't like all the weird little bits of strange-looking things that go along with eating shellfish, so I was extra-predisposed to not liking this particular culinary experience. </p><div style="text-align: left;"><b>Where is Marche?</b></div><p style="text-align: left;">Having said all of that, Marche is a region in the central part of Italy. It's home to around 1.5 million people and has a 107-mile-long coast, hence its apparent love of seafood. It does have some other specialties like Maccheroncini di Campofilone, a very thin pasta that in retrospect would have been fun to make and wouldn't have made me fear for my life, but it's too late to go back now. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXhV_ZX-ShHNz8PGl2sXotd8W416RR0f60lh3Fb2j210yg0MfAv0EwxbtGOP1UUcgotn32naZkN9hnLciaMAonRzhSF6oQnGXE6TSlr3Lw4LOhgBGiCvFOPgXu0aHY46vGczFd0qgz_rR5UifPF29HjI0ouRyBZuH0AJOiB8c6bvzQDkphWKuzfwGLQt7J/s1005/800px-Marches_in_Italy.svg.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1005" data-original-width="800" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXhV_ZX-ShHNz8PGl2sXotd8W416RR0f60lh3Fb2j210yg0MfAv0EwxbtGOP1UUcgotn32naZkN9hnLciaMAonRzhSF6oQnGXE6TSlr3Lw4LOhgBGiCvFOPgXu0aHY46vGczFd0qgz_rR5UifPF29HjI0ouRyBZuH0AJOiB8c6bvzQDkphWKuzfwGLQt7J/w319-h400/800px-Marches_in_Italy.svg.png" width="319" /></a></div><p style="text-align: left;">Here's what I made. Eat shellfish at your own risk. Definitely don't let it defrost for 2-plus hours. </p><p style="text-align: left;"></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><a href="https://travelbystove.blogspot.com/2023/12/recipes-from-marche-italy-brodetto.html">Brodetto</a></li><li><a href="https://travelbystove.blogspot.com/2023/12/recipes-from-marche-italy-filone.html">Filone Casereccio</a></li></ul><div style="text-align: left;">Good luck to you all. </div><p style="text-align: left;"><i><br />(Header photo by <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20161102141842/http://www.panoramio.com/user/861544?with_photo_id=122984726">trolvag</a> is licensed under the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/en:Creative_Commons">Creative Commons</a> <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/deed.en">Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license</a>.)</i></p><p style="text-align: left;"></p>Becki Robinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00297315758886641877noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8867670219440554340.post-81211332097158227202023-12-13T13:14:00.001-08:002023-12-13T13:14:30.160-08:00Recipes from Marche, Italy: Filone Casereccio<article class="h-recipe" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;">
<br />
<h1 class="p-name">Filone Casereccio</h1>
<i>from <a href="https://www.forchettaepennello.com">forchettaepennello.com</a></i></article><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguJ31rbnSBT9x8ktSNfcH44xOik-CwPh8zXZtBbhrpKGWa6FwLWvmQFpiigjsckT9XqjfmqS0DJIwe3dl8IVR_RQvGtl7MHHD26PGayxFtteIviXj_K_267yHCFztef_-zvJqrp14IWqeUbSqqUzTLOT1iNZPg9WKZhkMMfAq1dfM7DmRQy_89iX7DmOws/s2048/IMG_5089.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguJ31rbnSBT9x8ktSNfcH44xOik-CwPh8zXZtBbhrpKGWa6FwLWvmQFpiigjsckT9XqjfmqS0DJIwe3dl8IVR_RQvGtl7MHHD26PGayxFtteIviXj_K_267yHCFztef_-zvJqrp14IWqeUbSqqUzTLOT1iNZPg9WKZhkMMfAq1dfM7DmRQy_89iX7DmOws/w640-h480/IMG_5089.jpeg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><p>It could have baked for longer, plus I did not use the water tip, hence the lame-looking crust.</p></td></tr></tbody></table><article class="h-recipe" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><h4>Ingredients</h4>
<ul>
<li class="p-ingredient">7.2 cups bread flour</li>
<li class="p-ingredient">2 3/4 cups water</li>
<li class="p-ingredient">3 g fresh brewer's yeast</li>
<li class="p-ingredient">2 1/4 tsp fine salt</li>
</ul>
<h4>Instructions</h4>
<blockquote>
<ol class="e-instructions">
<li>Mix the flour with 2 2/3rds cup water and let rest for half an hour.</li>
<li>Meanwhile, dissolve the brewer's yeast in the remaining water.</li>
<li>Add the dissolved yeast and the salt to the dough and knead (or just put it in your bread machine).</li>
<li>Put the dough in the refrigerator and leave overnight.</li>
<li>About an hour before you're ready to bake, take the dough out of the fridge and let it sit at room temperature. Then divide it into two loaves and let it rise for 2 hours.</li>
<li>Make three diagonal slits across the top of each loaf.</li>
<li>Bake at 425 degrees for 20 to 30 minutes, or until the loaves are a golden brown color and sound hollow when you knock on them.</li>
<li>*For a crustier crust, put some water in a metal pan on the bottom rack of the oven and let it heat up as the oven does. The steam will help the loaves form a crust as they bake.</li></ol></blockquote><p><b>What we thought:</b></p><p> My brewer's yeast was not fresh brewer's yeast, which is probably why this bread came out dense. This is not the fault of the recipe, but my results were pretty mediocre. I also did not use the water trick mentioned in step 8, which is why my crust looks as boring as it does.</p><p>My kids liked it. To be fair, though, they like all bread.</p>
</article><br />Becki Robinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00297315758886641877noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8867670219440554340.post-47478782594715689492023-12-13T13:14:00.000-08:002023-12-13T13:14:21.427-08:00Recipes from Marche, Italy: Brodetto <article class="h-recipe" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br />
<h1 class="p-name">Brodetto</h1>
<i>from <a href="https://www.greatitalianchefs.com/">Great Italian Chefs</a></i></article>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<article class="h-recipe" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyj69ZlwRJ1BRJk33BnStEzTSz9Ypgw_p1gEC7lwC87g7i5akbOmd_pixZRcSu6KLIp5Dw9ZSrupI3knGYImGFzvJYHJ2cBVnIO0WdNwiqnJuxkja6RhDrL1h_9YfF3LPpwkAJUSMt_cWiB1n8JlFO48Yx0omQhAOa_on9IgZzBMcfvFY6sMSygN1nksb_/s2048/IMG_5099.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyj69ZlwRJ1BRJk33BnStEzTSz9Ypgw_p1gEC7lwC87g7i5akbOmd_pixZRcSu6KLIp5Dw9ZSrupI3knGYImGFzvJYHJ2cBVnIO0WdNwiqnJuxkja6RhDrL1h_9YfF3LPpwkAJUSMt_cWiB1n8JlFO48Yx0omQhAOa_on9IgZzBMcfvFY6sMSygN1nksb_/w640-h480/IMG_5099.jpeg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">If you aren't afraid of it, I'm sure it's delicious.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><h4 style="text-align: left;">Ingredients</h4><div style="text-align: left;">For the stock:</div><ul>
<li class="p-ingredient" style="text-align: left;">Fish bones, (saved from the plaice and mullet) chopped into about 6 pieces</li>
<li class="p-ingredient" style="text-align: left;">1.5 quarts of water</li>
<li class="p-ingredient" style="text-align: left;">1 white onion, sliced</li>
<li class="p-ingredient" style="text-align: left;">1/2 fennel, sliced</li>
<li class="p-ingredient" style="text-align: left;">1 celery stick, sliced</li>
<li class="p-ingredient" style="text-align: left;">2 garlic cloves, sliced</li>
<li class="p-ingredient" style="text-align: left;">1 handful of parsley stalks</li>
<li class="p-ingredient" style="text-align: left;">3 sprigs of thyme</li>
<li class="p-ingredient" style="text-align: left;">Olive oil as needed</li>
<li class="p-ingredient" style="text-align: left;">Salt to taste</li>
</ul><div style="text-align: left;">For the stew:</div><ul>
<li class="p-ingredient" style="text-align: left;">1 plaice, filleted, reserving the bones</li>
<li class="p-ingredient" style="text-align: left;">1 mullet, (red or grey) filleted, reserving the bones</li>
<li class="p-ingredient" style="text-align: left;">4 large prawns, or 8 smaller ones</li>
<li class="p-ingredient" style="text-align: left;">5 oz mussels, cleaned</li>
<li class="p-ingredient" style="text-align: left;">5 oz clams</li>
<li class="p-ingredient" style="text-align: left;">1 white onion, thinly sliced</li>
<li class="p-ingredient" style="text-align: left;">1/2 fennel, thinly sliced</li>
<li class="p-ingredient" style="text-align: left;">1 celery stick, thinly sliced</li>
<li class="p-ingredient" style="text-align: left;">2 garlic cloves</li>
<li class="p-ingredient" style="text-align: left;">8 San Marzano or Roma tomatoes, roughly chopped</li>
<li class="p-ingredient" style="text-align: left;">1 tbsp fennel seeds</li>
<li class="p-ingredient" style="text-align: left;">1 tsp coriander seeds</li>
<li class="p-ingredient" style="text-align: left;">Olive oil as needed</li>
<li class="p-ingredient" style="text-align: left;">Salt to taste</li>
</ul>
<h4 style="text-align: left;">Instructions</h4>
<blockquote>
<ol class="e-instructions">
<li style="text-align: left;">Cook the onion, fennel, and garlic in olive oil until translucent.</li>
<li style="text-align: left;">Add the fish bones and cover with the water. Bring to a boil, skimming off any foam that collects on the surface.</li>
<li style="text-align: left;">Add the thyme and parsley.</li>
<li style="text-align: left;">Reduce the heat and simmer for 45 minutes. </li>
<li style="text-align: left;">Fry the fennel seeds and coriander in olive oil until fragrant. Add the onion, fennel, celery and garlic. Cook on low heat until translucent.</li>
<li style="text-align: left;">Add the tomatoes and cook for an additional 5 minutes, stirring often. </li>
<li style="text-align: left;">Strain the fish stock and add to the pot with the vegetables. Let simmer for one hour or until the liquid is reduced by about a third.</li>
<li style="text-align: left;">Add the mussels, clams, prawns, and fish. Cover and cook for four or five minutes.</li>
<li style="text-align: left;">Discard any mussels or clams that did not open.</li>
<li style="text-align: left;">When the fish is flaky, it's ready to serve.</li></ol></blockquote><p style="text-align: left;"><b>What we thought:</b></p><p style="text-align: left;">If you read the introduction to this meal, you already know what we thought. I boiled this long enough that any <i>Vibrio </i>that might have been in it were definitely dead, but I still did not enjoy it. Mental block, like I said.</p><p style="text-align: left;">My kids also did not enjoy it, but it was probably more of an "ew clams and mussels" thing for them than anything else. My husband also did not enjoy it, but he also has an "ew clams and mussels" thing so our assessment is really not completely fair. If you do like shellfish, it's probably delicious.</p>
</article></div>Becki Robinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00297315758886641877noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8867670219440554340.post-2244845748594580392023-09-27T10:22:00.003-07:002023-09-27T10:34:40.483-07:00Recipes from Malta: Roasted Garlic Ftira <p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Ftira is kind of like a giant sourdough bagel. According to the <i>Food and Wine Gazette</i>, it's been around since at least the 16th century, when it was baked in the ovens of the Knights of St. John. Of course, <i>Food and Wine Gazette</i> also explains that ftira is a flatbread, and the recipe I made had yeast in it so doesn't exactly fit that definition. Evidently, there are variations. Cue someone from Malta emailing me to say I did it all wrong. </span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; white-space-collapse: preserve;">This recipe is a combination of two recipes taken from different Maltese cooking sites. The first recipe told me how to make the ftira, and the second told me how to dress it up. </span></p><article class="h-recipe" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><h1 class="p-name">Roasted Garlic Ftira</h1><i><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">from </span><a href="https://www.tal-forn.com/" style="font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; font-size: 14.6667px; text-decoration-line: none; white-space: pre;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; text-wrap: wrap; vertical-align: baseline;">Tal-forn.com</span></a><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> and </span><a href="https://maltesecuisine.com/" style="font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; font-size: 14.6667px; text-decoration-line: none; white-space: pre;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; text-wrap: wrap; vertical-align: baseline;">Maltesecuisine.com</span></a></i></article><article class="h-recipe" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgufcz0GsC95b6NVFLJYL-1_SMFa2z2C18oQcGEVGWa9yaPSEPhMsoQV4ZtDOxq9CqMS1g2vz93TKlAYuuAR27CPWnWtDAuktao9-2Zo1biDBlfBMHw9-qN1UuLWKrMkLUzn54ypKqo_GWJDfE5hie5tCKQbIwoi-CVwKTdEJ47-psP7-VJUVAdZnM_z3i9/s2048/IMG_4782.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgufcz0GsC95b6NVFLJYL-1_SMFa2z2C18oQcGEVGWa9yaPSEPhMsoQV4ZtDOxq9CqMS1g2vz93TKlAYuuAR27CPWnWtDAuktao9-2Zo1biDBlfBMHw9-qN1UuLWKrMkLUzn54ypKqo_GWJDfE5hie5tCKQbIwoi-CVwKTdEJ47-psP7-VJUVAdZnM_z3i9/w640-h480/IMG_4782.jpeg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div></article><article class="h-recipe" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Ingredients</span></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-weight: 700; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-weight: 700; white-space-collapse: preserve;">For the bread:</span></div><ul style="text-align: left;"></ul><li><span style="font-size: 14.6667px;">4 oz sourdough starter</span></li><li><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; white-space-collapse: preserve;">1 ½ tsp active dry yeast</span></li><li><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; white-space-collapse: preserve;">1 ¼ cup water</span></li><li><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; white-space-collapse: preserve;">3 ½ cups baking flour (give or take)</span></li><li><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; white-space-collapse: preserve;">2 tsp sugar</span></li><li><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; white-space-collapse: preserve;">2 tsp salt</span></li><li><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-wrap: wrap; vertical-align: baseline;">2 tbsp olive oil</span></li></article><article class="h-recipe" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-weight: 700; white-space-collapse: preserve;">For the topping:</span></article><article class="h-recipe" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: left;"><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; white-space-collapse: preserve;">2 whole heads of garlic</span></span></li><li><span><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; white-space-collapse: preserve;">1 stick of butter, softened</span></span></li><li><span><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; white-space-collapse: preserve;">½ tbsp chili flakes</span></span></li><li><span><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Mild cheddar cheese, shredded</span></span></li><li><span><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Extra sharp cheddar cheese, shredded</span></span></li><li><span><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Emmental, shredded</span></span></li><li><span>Gouda, shredded</span></li></ul></article><article class="h-recipe" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Instructions</span></b></div></article><article class="h-recipe" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><ol class="e-instructions"><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; list-style-type: decimal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-wrap: wrap; vertical-align: baseline;">Add all the bread ingredients to your bread machine and mix on the dough setting. </span></p></li><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; list-style-type: decimal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-wrap: wrap; vertical-align: baseline;">Take the dough out of the machine and shape into a round loaf.</span></p></li><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; list-style-type: decimal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-wrap: wrap; vertical-align: baseline;">Cut a hole in the middle of the loaf.</span></p></li><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; list-style-type: decimal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-wrap: wrap; vertical-align: baseline;">Let rise until your loaf doubles in size.</span></p></li><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; list-style-type: decimal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-wrap: wrap; vertical-align: baseline;">Meanwhile, slice the tops off of the garlic bulbs and place them in a small baking dish. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper.</span></p></li><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; list-style-type: decimal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-wrap: wrap; vertical-align: baseline;">Roast the garlic at 400 degrees until the cloves are creamy. Take out and let cool.</span></p></li><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; list-style-type: decimal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-wrap: wrap; vertical-align: baseline;">When the bread is done rising, turn your oven up to 425 and bake for 12 to 15 minutes (longer if it isn’t a nice golden color yet)</span></p></li><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; list-style-type: decimal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-wrap: wrap; vertical-align: baseline;">Take the bread out and let it cool, then slice it in half as if it’s a giant bagel.</span></p></li><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; list-style-type: decimal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-wrap: wrap; vertical-align: baseline;">Squeeze the roasted garlic out of its skins and mash with a fork.</span></p></li><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; list-style-type: decimal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-wrap: wrap; vertical-align: baseline;">Add the butter and chili flakes to the mashed garlic. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.</span></p></li><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; list-style-type: decimal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-wrap: wrap; vertical-align: baseline;">Spread the garlic butter over the sliced part of each half of the bread. Accept your fate as a future victim of heart disease.</span></p></li><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; list-style-type: decimal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-wrap: wrap; vertical-align: baseline;">Mix the shredded cheeses together in a large bowl, then sprinkle over the loaf halves.</span></p></li><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; list-style-type: decimal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-wrap: wrap; vertical-align: baseline;">Place under the broiler until the cheese bubbles and starts to turn brown</span></p></li></ol><blockquote></blockquote></article><article class="h-recipe" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><p><b><span style="font-size: medium;">What we thought:</span></b></p><p><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Obviously, the bread was the best part of the meal. Mostly because it was slathered in an entire stick of butter with four different kinds of cheese. There were no leftovers. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; white-space: pre;"></p></article>Becki Robinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00297315758886641877noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8867670219440554340.post-61896135334591652902023-09-27T10:22:00.002-07:002023-09-27T10:34:30.333-07:00 Recipes from Malta: Imqarrum <p><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Imquarrum (also called Imqarrun il-forn) is descended from a dish served in Sicily, but the Maltese have adopted it as a traditional staple. The key to making this dish is to be patient ... it has to be simmered for a long time, and then it has to be baked for a long time.</span></p><p><i><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">from the Maltese food blog </span><a href="https://www.ilovefood.com.mt" style="font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; text-decoration-line: none; white-space: pre;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; text-wrap: wrap; vertical-align: baseline;">I Love Food</span></a></i></p><h1 class="p-name">Imquarrum</h1><div><span style="font-size: large;"><article class="h-recipe" style="clear: left; float: left; font-size: medium; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-f84bb713-7fff-c0ba-bfad-79854cdf6a5c"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br /></span></p></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrm4RuogQZFV7wdTUlSz3z5sFFzBumE48hSTaqEjLtilCHvN5y_3Ja_BFQ5PQFb5Nilv-bFVncg9NpqjGDwCWZmx12RZ2O6UaneEHoySdkf8_9_Kb5ME_-UbLGaM0wulDAJMhnyBni2LP8DM4Rc6Mph8bqIpqnlEMyF36_Z4VaGLXIxQplqeNUsrKuj2UC/s1776/IMG_4789.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1332" data-original-width="1776" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrm4RuogQZFV7wdTUlSz3z5sFFzBumE48hSTaqEjLtilCHvN5y_3Ja_BFQ5PQFb5Nilv-bFVncg9NpqjGDwCWZmx12RZ2O6UaneEHoySdkf8_9_Kb5ME_-UbLGaM0wulDAJMhnyBni2LP8DM4Rc6Mph8bqIpqnlEMyF36_Z4VaGLXIxQplqeNUsrKuj2UC/w640-h480/IMG_4789.jpeg" width="640" /></a></div><div style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><br /></div></div></article><article class="h-recipe" style="clear: left; float: left; font-size: medium; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>Ingredients</b></span></div></article><article class="h-recipe" style="clear: left; float: left; font-size: medium; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><ul><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; list-style-type: disc; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-wrap: wrap; vertical-align: baseline;">Vegetable oil as needed</span></p></li><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; list-style-type: disc; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-wrap: wrap; vertical-align: baseline;">1 onion, chopped</span></p></li><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; list-style-type: disc; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-wrap: wrap; vertical-align: baseline;">18 oz lean ground beef</span></p></li><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; list-style-type: disc; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-wrap: wrap; vertical-align: baseline;">3 cups tomato puree*</span></p></li><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; list-style-type: disc; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-wrap: wrap; vertical-align: baseline;">1 level tsp Italian herbs</span></p></li><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; list-style-type: disc; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-wrap: wrap; vertical-align: baseline;">Salt and pepper to taste</span></p></li><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; list-style-type: disc; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-wrap: wrap; vertical-align: baseline;">18 oz rigatoni, tortiglioni, or penne pasta</span></p></li><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; list-style-type: disc; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-wrap: wrap; vertical-align: baseline;">3 eggs</span></p></li><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; list-style-type: disc; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-wrap: wrap; vertical-align: baseline;">3 ½ oz edam or Cheddar cheese, grated</span></p></li></ul></article><article class="h-recipe" style="clear: left; float: left; font-size: medium; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>Instructions</b></span></div></article><article class="h-recipe" style="clear: left; float: left; font-size: medium; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><div><span id="docs-internal-guid-a67b8f25-7fff-7d3e-db42-89ddde794924"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">*The Maltese version of tomato puree is called passata, and it’s generally just an uncooked tomato puree without the seeds and skin. But since it’s going to be cooked with the beef anyway, I think canned tomato puree is a reasonable substitute.</span></p><div><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br /></span></div></span></div><blockquote><ol class="e-instructions"><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; list-style-type: decimal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-wrap: wrap; vertical-align: baseline;">Heat the vegetable oil in a frying pan and add the onions. Saute until translucent. Die from boredom.</span></p></li><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; list-style-type: decimal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-wrap: wrap; vertical-align: baseline;">Add the ground beef and cook until brown. Drain the excess fat.</span></p></li><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; list-style-type: decimal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-wrap: wrap; vertical-align: baseline;">Add the tomato puree and herbs. </span></p></li><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; list-style-type: decimal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-wrap: wrap; vertical-align: baseline;">Simmer for 1 hour. </span></p></li><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; list-style-type: decimal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-wrap: wrap; vertical-align: baseline;">Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Meanwhile, cook the pasta for a couple of minutes less than you usually would. Drain.</span></p></li><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; list-style-type: decimal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-wrap: wrap; vertical-align: baseline;">Add the sauce to the pasta and mix gently, taking care not to break the noodles.</span></p></li><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; list-style-type: decimal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-wrap: wrap; vertical-align: baseline;">Stir the eggs and fold them in (you might want to let the sauce/pasta cool down a bit first to prevent curdling)</span></p></li><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; list-style-type: decimal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-wrap: wrap; vertical-align: baseline;">Transfer the mixture to a greased baking dish and sprinkle the cheese on top.</span></p></li><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; list-style-type: decimal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-wrap: wrap; vertical-align: baseline;">Bake for 30 to 45 minutes or until the cheese is starting to brown a little.</span></p></li><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; list-style-type: decimal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-wrap: wrap; vertical-align: baseline;">Let cool for 10 minutes before serving.</span></p></li></ol></blockquote><p><br /></p><p><b>What we thought:</b></p><span id="docs-internal-guid-221095ea-7fff-3e65-d301-cd2360b08dbe"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">First of all, blog meals should not be cooked on weekdays, no matter how simple they look like they might be. I trashed my kitchen, got frustrated, and took terrible pictures. The food was good though.</span></p></span><span id="docs-internal-guid-5855d250-7fff-90a4-3a4d-66f9b8d661cb"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Imquarrum is not a difficult dish to make ... it's takes some time, but it passes the picky eater test (I do still have some of those even though my kids are all teenagers now). In flavor, it's really not too far off from a baked lasagna. I did sort of regret not choosing something a little more … how can I say this in the least offensive way possible … not like a typical American pasta casserole? Of course, other recipes would have compounded the “no blog meals on weeknights” problem, so I guess I’m not complaining. </span></p></span><p> </p></article></span></div>Becki Robinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00297315758886641877noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8867670219440554340.post-6595104473155697332023-09-27T10:21:00.003-07:002023-09-27T10:34:10.606-07:00Recipes from Malta<article class="h-recipe" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-f84bb713-7fff-c0ba-bfad-79854cdf6a5c"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"></span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglm4bW9wec6EEuKSqyDZ0X1RoUfrTITd-emjANx5ng8isW3CIrwDhGpwcsI6tJ7p3JJz_zOOI1tc-nk9pwhKpjhQ1w036SV4ej7chIErBhz4DKnyHEolp8oD0TviYxCh9ZZx1riSzbksZsOhpGExVIsG6_5G8ZC31d6GLz8bKRqChldZM7FVuk45iOukje/s4719/Fort_St._Angelo,_Birgu_Malta.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3125" data-original-width="4719" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglm4bW9wec6EEuKSqyDZ0X1RoUfrTITd-emjANx5ng8isW3CIrwDhGpwcsI6tJ7p3JJz_zOOI1tc-nk9pwhKpjhQ1w036SV4ej7chIErBhz4DKnyHEolp8oD0TviYxCh9ZZx1riSzbksZsOhpGExVIsG6_5G8ZC31d6GLz8bKRqChldZM7FVuk45iOukje/w640-h424/Fort_St._Angelo,_Birgu_Malta.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fort St. Angelo, Birgu Malta. Photo by Spike28742, <br />licensed under the <a href="https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/8867670219440554340/659510447315569733#">Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International</a>.</td></tr></tbody></table><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;">This is actually the third time I’ve cooked a meal from Malta. The first time, I cooked the meal and then just did not write the blog post. Years went by. One day I went, “hmm, maybe I should just cook another meal from Malta,” so I did … and then just did not write the blog post. Years went by. Third time’s a charm, right? </span></div></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><br /></p><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Where is Malta?</span></p><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Malta is a beensy little island nation located south of Sicily in the Mediterranean Sea. At just 122 square miles, Malta is so microscopic that Wikipedia Maps had to blow it up so you could actually see what it looks like. It's so small, in fact, you could put 52 Maltas inside the city of Beijing.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZfIlm-WiO5BRAPXuHtb6anu99ypKZp9LlgMM8sz0BuiZJNNS3LxqcbesM_PtLs1pA810BQWYfeTSR1eOpUIx3r563qIAhjkyhN1fFbd3vgN1wPbTkUrHbyx4IzexspxqvCYSK5RPwFR04dAn3oGeYTCGz6RQp4FGD7DscK__UZDTCzAc6Fnl0DXwEe8lS/s1284/1284px-EU-Malta.svg.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1284" height="269" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZfIlm-WiO5BRAPXuHtb6anu99ypKZp9LlgMM8sz0BuiZJNNS3LxqcbesM_PtLs1pA810BQWYfeTSR1eOpUIx3r563qIAhjkyhN1fFbd3vgN1wPbTkUrHbyx4IzexspxqvCYSK5RPwFR04dAn3oGeYTCGz6RQp4FGD7DscK__UZDTCzAc6Fnl0DXwEe8lS/s320/1284px-EU-Malta.svg.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">By NuclearVacuum - Own work based on: <br />Location European nation states.svg, <a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=8105216">CC BY-SA 3.0</a>.</td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Culturally, Malta is sort of a mishmash of the many places that are in proximity to it, including North Africa and Italy. I did not, however, choose recipes that reflect multiple influences ... both seemed to be entirely derived from Italian cuisines. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">I did waffle between the dish I eventually cooked and one called Stuffat Tal-Fenek, which is rabbit stew and also the national dish of Malta. I decided against the rabbit stew even though I happen to have a whole rabbit in my freezer, because the rabbit in my freezer was once living in my backyard as a part of my daughter’s 4H project, and whenever I cook any of my daughter’s ex-4H projects I have to lie to everyone about what they’re eating. Except for the daughter whose 4H project the rabbits were, because for some reason she’s the only one who doesn’t care.</span></p><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Anyway, here's what I did pick:</span></p></span></div></article><article class="h-recipe" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-f84bb713-7fff-c0ba-bfad-79854cdf6a5c"><ul style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-inline-start: 48px;"><li aria-level="1" style="font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; list-style-type: disc; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-wrap: wrap; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="http://travelbystove.blogspot.com/2023/09/recipes-from-malta-imqarrum.html">Imqarrum</a> </span></p></li><li aria-level="1" style="font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; list-style-type: disc; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-wrap: wrap; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="http://travelbystove.blogspot.com/2023/09/recipes-from-malta-roasted-garlic-ftira.html">Roasted Garlic Ftira</a> </span></p></li></ul></span></div></article><article class="h-recipe" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-f84bb713-7fff-c0ba-bfad-79854cdf6a5c"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoXHfaj4lMd0-FregFt3xUI0ZK5-lH1D0ZDYFRfBye0xqY-3KtUV4SwWBjwxY1aP54484SOvOPmvSWWULk3YmNzIR2EVaGauE_944U8pYf1GvZr3wP-8R-ScRT8BEC_VKdrhXKzf8h65ElDS_L8TqbldMdulWdnjV5PKwu0QlBtGK0dzFtMhWuIzMyIQ1G/s2048/IMG_4784.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoXHfaj4lMd0-FregFt3xUI0ZK5-lH1D0ZDYFRfBye0xqY-3KtUV4SwWBjwxY1aP54484SOvOPmvSWWULk3YmNzIR2EVaGauE_944U8pYf1GvZr3wP-8R-ScRT8BEC_VKdrhXKzf8h65ElDS_L8TqbldMdulWdnjV5PKwu0QlBtGK0dzFtMhWuIzMyIQ1G/w640-h480/IMG_4784.jpeg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">In the past, I have made this whole blogging thing a chore by taking pictures of each step of each recipe and then posting long, verbal descriptions of each step, and you know what, I’m not gonna do that anymore. How many different pictures of frying onions do my three readers need to see anyway? And I’m going to come right out and say that my pictures were never exactly awesome based on me not bothering to use the lights I bought or do proper staging most of the time, so I’m just going to post a picture of the final dish and be done with it. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Although, here is a picture of my cat wishing she could eat Imquarrum. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCmGSNDUiG75o5l5Y-25xsocXEA2bdi3XTFxel-Lnf6vgnnthB0HYEnXYhkT-kU6G5s6eb-4moRg_HYephlIDaWcsOXM3JXaZJeChi-mVuzwBk5l4ZUyAMVLQcoi88rQqQ4gyNH2M_lWkxfrvZMPb8Ro3vJnkpQapgvFB8oQvVYCdDbJ4RX83T6lM5qTQ_/s1422/IMG_4804.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1266" data-original-width="1422" height="570" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCmGSNDUiG75o5l5Y-25xsocXEA2bdi3XTFxel-Lnf6vgnnthB0HYEnXYhkT-kU6G5s6eb-4moRg_HYephlIDaWcsOXM3JXaZJeChi-mVuzwBk5l4ZUyAMVLQcoi88rQqQ4gyNH2M_lWkxfrvZMPb8Ro3vJnkpQapgvFB8oQvVYCdDbJ4RX83T6lM5qTQ_/w640-h570/IMG_4804.jpeg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><span face="Roboto, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br /></span><p></p><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; white-space-collapse: preserve;">To get to the recipes, you'll need to click through the links above.</span></div></span></div></article><article class="h-recipe" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><p> </p>
</article>Becki Robinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00297315758886641877noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8867670219440554340.post-12632857061594514352021-03-03T21:22:00.000-08:002021-03-03T21:22:11.466-08:00Recipes from Mali: Fonio Cakes<p>See I told you I would post this tomorrow. Lucky for me, every day has its own tomorrow, so it doesn't matter that it was like a week ago that I said that. Right?</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-pP8XUue3xEs/YEBuOO0hx7I/AAAAAAAAFOo/YD4W1CgXZUs0Vl2b68fFg3fFGi3g70VTACPcBGAsYHg/s4032/IMG_3653.HEIC" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="395" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-pP8XUue3xEs/YEBuOO0hx7I/AAAAAAAAFOo/YD4W1CgXZUs0Vl2b68fFg3fFGi3g70VTACPcBGAsYHg/w527-h395/IMG_3653.HEIC" width="527" /></a></div><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-a3Bb97sUGT8/YEBl2eX587I/AAAAAAAAFNU/ICB8nN-6kIEjSSQefURMR3h6QrMpLXSHQCPcBGAsYHg/s4032/IMG_3549.HEIC" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-a3Bb97sUGT8/YEBl2eX587I/AAAAAAAAFNU/ICB8nN-6kIEjSSQefURMR3h6QrMpLXSHQCPcBGAsYHg/s320/IMG_3549.HEIC" /></a></div>So these little cakes aren't really the sort of thing I would typically think of as a dessert. They're kind of more like something you'd have with a cup of tea in the afternoon, but I gotta say I just wasn't having any luck finding anything deserty to do with this meal and I kind of just picked this in an act of desperation. I don't mind though, because they were good and the whole family liked them.<p></p><p>At first I was like, great, another weird ingredient I won't be able to find. But fonio flour was actually readily available on Amazon, though it was a bit pricey. Here's the brand I ended up ordering (right):</p><p>You're going to start making the dough by mixing two cups of fonio flour with two cups of regular all purpose flour. </p><p>Now mix 1 1/2 cups plus two tablespoons of sugar with 1 cup of water (the measurement is a bit weird because I cut the original in half). </p><p>Add the margarine, egg, milk powder, and yeast. The original recipe said to wait and add the yeast just before putting the batter in the muffin tin, but I'm guessing the recipe authors were using fresh yeast and I converted this to use active dry, and you can't really mix that in at the end.</p><p>Mix in the flours. The recipe says knead, but the dough is pretty wet so just mix it up until it's smooth. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_yF5HpJSung/YEBrzrlN3tI/AAAAAAAAFOQ/3L4uBvS0lT4c3laLYoAloTUcyZh_X-I_gCPcBGAsYHg/s4032/IMG_3554.HEIC" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="399" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_yF5HpJSung/YEBrzrlN3tI/AAAAAAAAFOQ/3L4uBvS0lT4c3laLYoAloTUcyZh_X-I_gCPcBGAsYHg/w532-h399/IMG_3554.HEIC" width="532" /></a></div><br /><p>Grease your mini muffin tin and then drop the batter in, filling each cup up halfway.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-dxx0NQ_MjtA/YEBsGCKSCLI/AAAAAAAAFOY/gfGkd7YSlX4ZNyhCUYVsuCIJtcnQ5yFVwCPcBGAsYHg/s4032/IMG_3566.HEIC" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="397" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-dxx0NQ_MjtA/YEBsGCKSCLI/AAAAAAAAFOY/gfGkd7YSlX4ZNyhCUYVsuCIJtcnQ5yFVwCPcBGAsYHg/w530-h397/IMG_3566.HEIC" width="530" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="text-align: left;">Bake for 10 or 15 minutes. As you can see from the photo, I burned the edges of mine. I'm pretty sure that's because the recipe told me to start at a higher temperature, bake for 10 minutes, then reduce the temperature and bake for another 10. Instead I just recommend baking at 350 for 10 to 15 minutes. The cakes are done when they're starting to crack a little on top. Let cool on a rack before serving.</span></div><div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="text-align: left;">Here's the complete recipe:</span></div><div><article class="h-recipe" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><h1 class="p-name">Fonio Cakes</h1><i>from <a href="http://m.afrik-cuisine.com">m.afrik-cuisine.com</a></i></article><article class="h-recipe" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-v0Xp85yU7pI/YEBdvEz3CHI/AAAAAAAAFMs/HHxSj8hhFukC0EuB9pO_r2aGG15RXPP4QCPcBGAsYHg/s4032/IMG_3653.HEIC" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="461" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-v0Xp85yU7pI/YEBdvEz3CHI/AAAAAAAAFMs/HHxSj8hhFukC0EuB9pO_r2aGG15RXPP4QCPcBGAsYHg/w615-h461/IMG_3653.HEIC" width="615" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>
<h4>Ingredients</h4>
<ul>
<li class="p-ingredient">2 cups fonio flour</li>
<li class="p-ingredient">2 cups all-purpose flour</li>
<li class="p-ingredient">1 5/8 cups sugar</li><li class="p-ingredient">1 cup water</li>
<li class="p-ingredient">1/4 cup margarine, melted</li><li class="p-ingredient">1 large egg</li>
<li class="p-ingredient">7/8 cup milk powder</li>
<li class="p-ingredient">1 1/8 tbsp active dry yeast</li>
<li class="p-ingredient">1 tsp vanilla extract</li>
</ul>
<h4>Instructions</h4>
<ol class="e-instructions">
<li>Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.</li>
<li>Mix the two flours together.</li><li>Now mix the sugar and water. When the sugar dissolves, add the egg, milk powder, yeast, and margarine.</li><li>Add the flour and mix until you get a smooth batter. Let rest for 30 minutes.</li>
<li>Coat a mini muffin pan with a little bit of oil. Fill each cup halfway. </li>
<li>Bake for 10 to 15 minutes. Let cool on a rack before serving. </li></ol>
</article></div></div>Becki Robinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00297315758886641877noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8867670219440554340.post-13255320235270806192021-02-25T21:53:00.000-08:002021-02-25T21:53:08.940-08:00Recipes from Mali: Tukasu<div>Okay so it took me a <i>couple</i> of days to get this one up and it looks like I'll be saving the dessert recipe for tomorrow. Or the next day. That's still better than three years though, right?</div><div><br /></div><div>This is tukasu, and I just want to begin by saying that it looks better in person, and when you're using natural light and are actually good at taking pictures of food. Honestly, sometimes I think I just want to have my daughter draw pictures of blog food so it will look like it tasted.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/--dM4hiugWGg/YDXu2gqTmjI/AAAAAAAAFKg/NCYGUiepmEM2_-qBC_zO3gaGw7Dg4QtvwCPcBGAYYCw/s2048/tukasu.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1316" data-original-width="2048" height="319" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/--dM4hiugWGg/YDXu2gqTmjI/AAAAAAAAFKg/NCYGUiepmEM2_-qBC_zO3gaGw7Dg4QtvwCPcBGAYYCw/w496-h319/tukasu.jpg" width="496" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div>This dish is kind of like a cross between chicken and dumplings and a really rich marinara pasta, but without the chicken and without the pasta. Here's how you make it:</div><div><br /></div><div>Make the dough first. It's a pretty basic dough with just flour, water, yeast, and salt. I just put the ingredients in my bread machine and let it do all the kneading. Note that the amounts listed in the recipe below are less than what the recipe called for (the recipe called for eight cups of flour, which is enough to make two decent sized loaves of bread and I thought that seemed a little excessive).</div><div><br /></div><div>Anyway, mix up the ingredients, cover with a damp towel and set aside for now. </div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-mjzr8wmxkZo/YDiFQsqgv5I/AAAAAAAAFLI/-yuswMHIHVcfq4vbtrOsUl2yuhqeh783gCPcBGAsYHg/s4032/IMG_3556.HEIC" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-mjzr8wmxkZo/YDiFQsqgv5I/AAAAAAAAFLI/-yuswMHIHVcfq4vbtrOsUl2yuhqeh783gCPcBGAsYHg/s320/IMG_3556.HEIC" width="320" /></a></div>Then cut up some onions into thin strips. Here some onions, because even though I haven't done many of these posts in the last few years I never get tired of taking photos of onions (actually I am still absolutely sick of always having to take an onion photo, like every single blog meal, because there's no such thing as a culture that does not use onions. I'm just trying to put on a brave face).<div><br /></div><div>There are five onions in the ingredient list -- you only need to cut up two of them. The other three you'll just drop whole into the sauce. </div><div><br /></div><div>Now on to the tomatoes. The recipe said to just kind of smash the tomatoes to remove the skins, but it's easier to blanch them. To do this, just drop them in a pot of boiling water and then take them out when the skins start to split. Let them cool and the skins will come right off. </div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-YkLwQbqAz_A/YDiFQt8WrUI/AAAAAAAAFLI/_RLUuaq6he8kWZbiak6CEH07K1a3ut7sQCPcBGAsYHg/s4032/IMG_3561.HEIC" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-YkLwQbqAz_A/YDiFQt8WrUI/AAAAAAAAFLI/_RLUuaq6he8kWZbiak6CEH07K1a3ut7sQCPcBGAsYHg/s320/IMG_3561.HEIC" width="320" /></a></div><div>Now cut the meat into largish chunks and chop up the tomatoes. Heat the oil in a large pot and add the meat, the two chopped onions, the tomatoes, and some salt to taste. Let the meat brown.</div><div><br /></div><div>Next you're going to take all of your sauce ingredients and put them in a blender: water, spices (except the bay leaf), tomato paste, and the whole onions. Puree until smooth. </div><div><br /></div><div>Take the resulting liquid and strain so it's a little less watery. Then put it in a separate pot and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer. </div><div><br /></div><div>Time to go back to the dough. You'll want to knead it for a few more minutes, then divide it up into small balls. Cover the balls with a damp towel and let them rise.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-aMQMGdxVqyg/YDiJo8mzlmI/AAAAAAAAFLs/BbA1xcdFYHApdrOSiC-_LPv0DWoFZ2sKgCPcBGAsYHg/s4032/IMG_3568.HEIC" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="338" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-aMQMGdxVqyg/YDiJo8mzlmI/AAAAAAAAFLs/BbA1xcdFYHApdrOSiC-_LPv0DWoFZ2sKgCPcBGAsYHg/w450-h338/IMG_3568.HEIC" width="450" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div>Now add four cups of water to the sauce along with the bay leaves. Drop the dough balls into the sauce, cover, and simmer for 20 to 30 minutes. When they're done they'll look like this:</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-UV516qQoln0/YDiJ4vueLFI/AAAAAAAAFLw/67WSnynMJJMoFm4lDfIcQ9Zd700Dm-xZwCPcBGAsYHg/s4032/IMG_3577.HEIC" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="333" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-UV516qQoln0/YDiJ4vueLFI/AAAAAAAAFLw/67WSnynMJJMoFm4lDfIcQ9Zd700Dm-xZwCPcBGAsYHg/w444-h333/IMG_3577.HEIC" width="444" /></a></div><br /><div>Turn the heat down to low and let the sauce reduce down until it is the consistency of marinara sauce.</div><div>To serve, place a few of the bread balls on the plate and top with sauce. Add the meat and onions and serve.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The verdict: Adults loved it, kids sort of liked it. They were pretty into the dough balls but they didn't go back for seconds or anything. For the record, the sauce was crazily rich -- that's a whole lot of tomato paste for one recipe and it was kind of hard to eat more than a small portion. But eating small portions isn't really a bad thing, is it?</div><div><br /></div>Here's the printable recipe:<div><article class="h-recipe" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;">
<h1 class="p-name">
Tukasu</h1>
<i>from <a href="http://faty.mondoblog.org/">faty.mondoblog.org</a></i></article>
<article class="h-recipe" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/--dM4hiugWGg/YDXu2gqTmjI/AAAAAAAAFKg/NCYGUiepmEM2_-qBC_zO3gaGw7Dg4QtvwCPcBGAYYCw/s2048/tukasu.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1316" data-original-width="2048" height="413" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/--dM4hiugWGg/YDXu2gqTmjI/AAAAAAAAFKg/NCYGUiepmEM2_-qBC_zO3gaGw7Dg4QtvwCPcBGAYYCw/w640-h413/tukasu.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><h4>Ingredients</h4>
<ul>
<li class="p-ingredient">5 cups all-purpose flour</li>
<li class="p-ingredient">2 cups water</li>
<li class="p-ingredient">1 tbsp active dry yeast</li>
<li class="p-ingredient">3 lbs beef</li>
<li class="p-ingredient">1 cup oil</li>
<li class="p-ingredient">5 large onions</li>
<li class="p-ingredient">8 tomatoes</li>
<li class="p-ingredient">6 cups water</li>
<li class="p-ingredient">1 cup tomato paste</li>
<li class="p-ingredient">8 to 10 fresh dates</li>
<li class="p-ingredient">1 tsp ground anise</li>
<li class="p-ingredient">2 tsp cumin</li>
<li class="p-ingredient">1/2 tsp ground cinnamon</li>
<li class="p-ingredient">1 bay leaf</li>
<li class="p-ingredient">salt and pepper to taste</li>
<li class="p-ingredient">chili powder to taste</li>
</ul>
<h4>Instructions</h4>
<blockquote>
<ol class="e-instructions">
<li>First make the dough. Add the salt and yeast to the water, then add the flour. Mix until you have a smooth dough. Knead for around 15 minutes. Cover with a damp towel and set aside.</li>
<li>Cut two of the onions into thin strips. Blanch the tomatoes in hot water until the skins start to split, then remove and let cool. Remove the skins and discard.</li>
<li>Cut the meat into largish chunks and chop the tomatoes. Heat the oil in a large pot and add the meat along with salt to taste, the two chopped onions, and the tomatoes. Let brown.</li>
<li>Put the water, all spices except the bay leaf, tomato paste, and the whole onions in a blender and puree until smooth. Strain and then add to a separate pot. Bring to a boil, then reduce to simmer.</li>
<li>Knead the dough for another five minutes or so, then divide into small balls. Cover with a damp towel and let rise.</li>
<li>Add four cups of water to the sauce along with the bay leaves. Drop the dough balls into the sauce, cover, and simmer for 20 to 30 minutes.</li>
<li>Reduce heat to low and let the sauce reduce down until it is the consistency of marinara sauce.</li>
<li>To serve, place a few of the bread balls on the plate and top with sauce. Add the meat and onions and serve.</li>
</ol>
</blockquote>
</article></div>
</div>Becki Robinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00297315758886641877noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8867670219440554340.post-26883314864764336512021-02-23T22:23:00.000-08:002021-02-23T22:23:34.821-08:00Recipes from Mali<p>I just spent the last hour deleting like 200 spammy comments from my blog, and I accidentally deleted a couple of real comments from actual people. So if you left a comment and are actually one of the like three people who came back here more than just the one time, I'm sorry! Please repost and I promise I won't delete you again. </p><p>I had to turn on comment moderation because of the ridiculous number of "escort" ads that kept showing up. "Your posts are great! Also here's a link to an escort site." Eye roll. And Mount Everest trekking company ads, what's that all about? I mean, I support my local Sherpa as much as the next blogger but I don't think Travel by Stove is super popular with the "let's climb Mount Everest" crowd. I could be wrong, though, so if you've ever climbed Mount Everest do leave me a comment. But without a link to your trekking company please.</p><p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/21/Hombori_Tondo_from_Hombori.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="384" data-original-width="512" height="300" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/21/Hombori_Tondo_from_Hombori.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mount Hombori, which is definitely not Mount Everest.</td></tr></tbody></table>Anyway here we are in Mali, where the highest peak is is Mount Hombori, which at 3,782 feet is roughly 25,250 feet below Mount Everest, so I don't expect any Mount Hombori trekking companies to come dropping into these comments. </p><p>I have to say it was tough to find Mali recipes. I was determined not to make jollof again and I was also kind of shying away from stuff with peanuts, since that just seems so typically African and I wanted something that was more specifically Malian. So in the end, I found this recipe for tukasu from <a href="http://faty.mondoblog.org">faty.mondoblog.org</a>. It's basically dumplings served in a meat and tomato sauce, and it sounds a lot more challenging than it actually is:</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/--dM4hiugWGg/YDXu2gqTmjI/AAAAAAAAFKY/mU9gydRpLQQk6kfAX4rM4ansmUVDyo5ZgCLcBGAsYHQ/s2048/tukasu.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1316" data-original-width="2048" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/--dM4hiugWGg/YDXu2gqTmjI/AAAAAAAAFKY/mU9gydRpLQQk6kfAX4rM4ansmUVDyo5ZgCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/tukasu.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p>And yeah, I recognize that my photography sucks right now. My photography lights are sitting on a shelf covered in dust and one of them is burned out and I really just don't want to.</p><p>But the good news is, I saved back a couple of these for the next day and took photos of them in natural light, so theylook a lot nicer than the tukasu does. They're called "fonio cakes" after the ancient grain flour they're made with. The recipe comes from <a href="http://m.afrik-cuisine.com">m.afrik-cuisine.com</a>:</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-NitmDl3vLfs/YDXvixRc5OI/AAAAAAAAFKk/ejGwc4IyZ6c5sJwYA0jh-MsKzs3shqR4QCPcBGAsYHg/s4032/IMG_3653.HEIC" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-NitmDl3vLfs/YDXvixRc5OI/AAAAAAAAFKk/ejGwc4IyZ6c5sJwYA0jh-MsKzs3shqR4QCPcBGAsYHg/s320/IMG_3653.HEIC" width="320" /></a></div><p>I'll have the recipes posted tomorrow. I hope. </p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>Becki Robinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00297315758886641877noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8867670219440554340.post-62875783695393000002021-02-23T20:12:00.001-08:002021-02-23T20:15:30.697-08:00Where is Mali?<p>On Sunday, my oldest daughter told me she wanted to try sushi. This girl does <i>not</i> eat seafood, so I was like, "What? Okay let's get some before you change your mind." You know, expanding horizons and all that. Of course we're in a pandemic so it's not like we can go get sushi at a proper sushi boat place or anything, so I had to get some from Raley's.</p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-nudETwO2k34/YDXJ0N42S4I/AAAAAAAAFIg/RFbCYK3psSI5-hyRXUY8rgqRkkvMUpneQCLcBGAsYHQ/s2048/2254070753_0512eb88f4_k.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="300" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-nudETwO2k34/YDXJ0N42S4I/AAAAAAAAFIg/RFbCYK3psSI5-hyRXUY8rgqRkkvMUpneQCLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h300/2254070753_0512eb88f4_k.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tirelli, Mopti, Mali. Photo by <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/chugues/">C. Hugues</a>.</td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /></div><div>Now, I've never had any problem with the sushi at our local Raley's. It's always fresh. But after eating this particular box of sushi, well, let me just say I was not present at my day job today, and my oldest daughter isn't doing so great either. Instead, I spent my day sitting on the sofa binge watching <i>Worst Cooks in America. </i>And I also redesigned my blog. Sort of. I mean, I uploaded a free template and now the blog looks different. </div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/8b/Mali_(orthographic_projection).svg/250px-Mali_(orthographic_projection).svg.png" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="250" data-original-width="250" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/8b/Mali_(orthographic_projection).svg/250px-Mali_(orthographic_projection).svg.png" /></a></div>Anyway, for this entry we are in Mali, which is actually the eighth largest country in Africa, yet most Americans couldn't find it on a map or probably say anything about how big it is. It's also the world's third largest producer of gold, which means it must be one of the wealthier African nations, right? Nope. Mali is, in fact, one of the world's poorest nations with an average annual income of about $1,500. The fact that Mali is a unitary semi-presidential republic under a military dictatorship might have something to do with that, though I can't say I'm especially educated in the particulars of the Malian economy. </div><div><br /></div><div>Because Mali isn't a wealthy nation, they eat a lot of cereals and not very much meat. Rice and millet are usually on the menu, and the Malians make sauces out of peanuts, tomatoes, spinach, or some combination thereof. The also eat fufu in Mali, which, no, and jollof rice, which I didn't make this week mostly because I made a version of it when I did the Gambia like eight years ago and I couldn't possibly make the same basic dish twice in any one decade. </div><div><br /></div><div>Instead I chose tukasu. Because I was warned that tukasu was kind of a complicated dish, I selected just one other recipe to make, a dessert called "fonio cakes." How'd it go? I'll let you know in a couple of days.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><br /><div><br /></div>Becki Robinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00297315758886641877noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8867670219440554340.post-10810396155808463052021-01-24T08:38:00.002-08:002021-01-24T08:38:55.418-08:00Recipes from the Maldives: Aluvi Hiki Riha (Potato Fry)<p>I'm almost sorry to say, nothing eventful happened during the preparation of this dish. I mean, it's nice to not almost burn the kitchen down like that one time but it makes for kind of boring reading. Sorry. It's just a very straightforward recipe. Here it is.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-gs27B5IDGxU/YAtvAtxJ-qI/AAAAAAAAFBM/ll2FOlYnM0sAQC03DvQCW0zLOu9rqyRoQCPcBGAYYCw/s2048/DSC_8054.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1363" data-original-width="2048" height="426" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-gs27B5IDGxU/YAtvAtxJ-qI/AAAAAAAAFBM/ll2FOlYnM0sAQC03DvQCW0zLOu9rqyRoQCPcBGAYYCw/w641-h426/DSC_8054.JPG" width="641" /></a></div><p>First, heat a few cups of oil over high heat until bubbles rise around the non-stirring end of a wooden spoon. Fry the potatoes in the hot oil until brown and drain them on paper towels.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-DwaDLgfFGXw/YAue7HljkwI/AAAAAAAAFDI/PnLelvmsz-gqcIB3yYRXyxuWl-eW7-lgQCPcBGAYYCw/s2048/DSC_8050.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1363" data-original-width="2048" height="426" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-DwaDLgfFGXw/YAue7HljkwI/AAAAAAAAFDI/PnLelvmsz-gqcIB3yYRXyxuWl-eW7-lgQCPcBGAYYCw/w639-h426/DSC_8050.JPG" width="639" /></a></div><p></p><div><p>Now heat the rest of the oil over a medium-high flame and saute the onions with the garlic, ginger, curry leaves, and mustard seeds. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-AoJPz45a_Wc/YAue_NVf48I/AAAAAAAAFDI/y7JEWzOxnywhx9VK92tT3s9r7UQ-0kWogCPcBGAYYCw/s2048/DSC_8052.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1363" data-original-width="2048" height="408" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-AoJPz45a_Wc/YAue_NVf48I/AAAAAAAAFDI/y7JEWzOxnywhx9VK92tT3s9r7UQ-0kWogCPcBGAYYCw/w612-h408/DSC_8052.JPG" width="612" /></a></div><p>Add the fried potatoes, cardamom pods, and habanero pepper. Saute for a minute and then add the remaining spices.</p><p>Continue to cook for two minutes, until everything is well-incorporated. Try not to eat to much because they're deep fried and super bad for you.</p></div><div><br /></div>
Here's the printable recipe:<div><article class="h-recipe" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;">
<h1 class="p-name">
Aluvi Hiki Riha (Potato Fry)</h1>
<i>from <a href="http://taste.com.au/">maldivescook.com</a></i></article><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-gs27B5IDGxU/YAtvAtxJ-qI/AAAAAAAAFBM/ll2FOlYnM0sAQC03DvQCW0zLOu9rqyRoQCPcBGAYYCw/s2048/DSC_8054.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1363" data-original-width="2048" height="425" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-gs27B5IDGxU/YAtvAtxJ-qI/AAAAAAAAFBM/ll2FOlYnM0sAQC03DvQCW0zLOu9rqyRoQCPcBGAYYCw/w638-h425/DSC_8054.JPG" width="638" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>
<article class="h-recipe" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><h4>
Ingredients</h4>
<ul>
<li class="p-ingredient">Oil for frying</li>
<li class="p-ingredient">1 lb potatoes diced into 1-inch cubes</li>
<li class="p-ingredient">4 tbsp oil</li>
<li class="p-ingredient">2 cup onion diced into 1-inch cubes</li>
<li class="p-ingredient">3 cloves garlic, pressed or chopped</li>
<li class="p-ingredient">1 tsp grated ginger</li>
<li class="p-ingredient">1/4 cup curry leaves</li>
<li class="p-ingredient">1 tsp mustard seeds</li>
<li class="p-ingredient">3 cardamom pods</li>
<li class="p-ingredient">1 habanero pepper, finely chopped</li>
<li class="p-ingredient">1/2 tsp chili powder</li>
<li class="p-ingredient">1 tsp curry powder</li>
<li class="p-ingredient">Salt to taste</li>
</ul>
<h4>Instructions</h4>
<blockquote>
<ol class="e-instructions">
<li>Heat a few cups of oil over high heat until bubbles rise around the non-stirring end of a wooden spoon.</li>
<li>Fry the potatoes in the hot oil until brown. Drain on paper towels.</li>
<li>Heat the rest of the oil over a medium-high flame and saute the onions with the garlic, ginger, curry leaves, and mustard seeds.</li>
<li>Add the fried potatoes, cardamom pods, and habanero pepper. Saute for a minute and then add the remaining spices.</li>
<li>Continue to cook for two minutes, until everything is well-incorporated.</li>
</ol>
</blockquote>
</article></div>Becki Robinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00297315758886641877noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8867670219440554340.post-35114854404651581402021-01-24T08:38:00.001-08:002021-01-24T08:38:45.159-08:00Recipes from the Maldives: Beef Curry<div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-WCIcwdeqpZA/YAttKmbmv1I/AAAAAAAAFA4/4D-iAiusUfUTfLUFIO8I57-kZ21dmTxpwCPcBGAYYCw/s2048/DSC_8055.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1363" data-original-width="2048" height="428" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-WCIcwdeqpZA/YAttKmbmv1I/AAAAAAAAFA4/4D-iAiusUfUTfLUFIO8I57-kZ21dmTxpwCPcBGAYYCw/w643-h428/DSC_8055.JPG" width="643" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div>The only thing about this recipe that might trip you up is the curry leaves. You can't buy them in grocery stores. I heard (though I don't know how true it is) that there are restrictions on selling them in the US because of pests of some kind, which doesn't make a lot of sense because I found them easy enough on Amazon.com. I will say that weird ingredients seem easier to come by now than they did like three years ago when I was still doing these meals regularly. </div><div><br /></div><div>The leaves I ordered were still fresh when they arrived and they came in a huge bag. When I opened the package I was like, what the hell am I going to do with all these curry leaves. So I kept some for this recipe, froze some, and then dried the rest of them in the oven.</div><div><br /></div><div>Don't do that. They smell really ... I can't even describe it. I had to boil potpourri on the stove to get rid of the very weird, chemically odor that made my head feel like it was going to explode. </div><div><br /></div><div>Anyway, here's how to make the curry. To start, mix the first eight ingredients together until you have a paste.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-IKhJcKnQFxY/YAtxf3l4x7I/AAAAAAAAFB0/xcSyYTxZnswzcRHurdWPbmJgoIh2i2UxwCPcBGAYYCw/s2048/DSC_8034.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1363" data-original-width="2048" height="438" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-IKhJcKnQFxY/YAtxf3l4x7I/AAAAAAAAFB0/xcSyYTxZnswzcRHurdWPbmJgoIh2i2UxwCPcBGAYYCw/w658-h438/DSC_8034.JPG" width="658" /></a></div><br /><div><br /></div><div>Now heat the oil over a high flame. Add the beef and cook until brown.</div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-URqsUyI1zrg/YAue3_FkhpI/AAAAAAAAFC8/3a7-Hwo9U94vWDUiHWRi6FrzlAMSrhCAACPcBGAYYCw/s2048/DSC_8047.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1363" data-original-width="2048" height="409" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-URqsUyI1zrg/YAue3_FkhpI/AAAAAAAAFC8/3a7-Hwo9U94vWDUiHWRi6FrzlAMSrhCAACPcBGAYYCw/w615-h409/DSC_8047.JPG" width="615" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Here's some beef in a bowl, because evidently I forgot to take pictures of it actually cooking.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div><br /></div><div>Reduce the heat to medium and add the onions, curry leaves, habanero, cardamom, and spice paste. Return the beef to the pan and add the vingear. Stir until well-coated. Add the tomato paste.</div><div><div><br /></div><div>Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to low. Cover and cook for 30 minutes, or until the beef is tender.</div><div>Uncover the pan and keep cooking for 15 minutes, or until any remaining liquid has been absorbed and the sauce is thick.</div></div></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>
Here's the printable recipe:<br /><article class="h-recipe" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br />
<h1 class="p-name">
Beef Curry</h1>
<i>from <a href="http://taste.com.au/">maldivescook.com</a></i></article><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-WCIcwdeqpZA/YAttKmbmv1I/AAAAAAAAFA4/4D-iAiusUfUTfLUFIO8I57-kZ21dmTxpwCPcBGAYYCw/s2048/DSC_8055.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1363" data-original-width="2048" height="422" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-WCIcwdeqpZA/YAttKmbmv1I/AAAAAAAAFA4/4D-iAiusUfUTfLUFIO8I57-kZ21dmTxpwCPcBGAYYCw/w634-h422/DSC_8055.JPG" width="634" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>
<article class="h-recipe" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><h4>
Ingredients</h4>
<ul>
<li class="p-ingredient">1 tbsp coriander</li>
<li class="p-ingredient">1 1/2 tsp cumin</li>
<li class="p-ingredient">1/4 tsp turmeric</li>
<li class="p-ingredient">1/2 tsp freshly-ground black pepper</li>
<li class="p-ingredient">1/2 tsp chili powder</li>
<li class="p-ingredient">2 cloves garlic, pressed or finely chopped</li>
<li class="p-ingredient">1 tsp grated ginger</li>
<li class="p-ingredient">1 1/2 tbsp lemon juice</li>
<li class="p-ingredient">1 tbsp olive oil</li>
<li class="p-ingredient">1 lb chuck steak, cut into about cubes</li>
<li class="p-ingredient">1 cup onion, thinly sliced</li>
<li class="p-ingredient">1/4 cup curry leaves</li>
<li class="p-ingredient">1 habanero pepper, finely chopped</li>
<li class="p-ingredient">1 cardamom pod</li>
<li class="p-ingredient">1 tsp tomato paste</li>
<li class="p-ingredient">1 1/2 tsp curry powder</li>
<li class="p-ingredient">1/4 tsp white vinegar</li>
</ul>
<h4>Instructions</h4>
<blockquote>
<ol class="e-instructions">
<li>Mix the first eight ingredients together until you have a paste.</li>
<li>Now heat the oil over a high flame. Add the beef and cook until brown.</li>
<li>Reduce the heat to medium and add the onions, curry leaves, habanero, cardamom, and spice paste.</li>
<li>Return the beef to the pan and add the vingear. Stir until the beef is well-coated. Add the tomato paste.</li>
<li>Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to low. Cover and cook for 30 minutes, or until the beef is tender.</li>
<li>Uncover the pan and keep cooking for 15 minutes, or until any remaining liquid has been absorbed and the sauce is thick.</li>
</ol>
</blockquote>
</article>Becki Robinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00297315758886641877noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8867670219440554340.post-38286365316576528142021-01-24T08:38:00.000-08:002021-01-24T08:38:34.459-08:00Recipes from the Maldives<p>I wanted to sort of start off easy, so I made only two recipes this time. Both were pretty good and not super time consuming to make, though my husband did walk into the kitchen at one point to complain about the bomb that clearly went off somewhere inside an onion or possibly a jar of turmeric.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-rI0kVU809b8/YAtuLUWdgoI/AAAAAAAAFA8/EvddJxOCCgcJtIyPaur75RN3LJtc50I3gCLcBGAsYHQ/s2048/DSC_8053.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1363" data-original-width="2048" height="402" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-rI0kVU809b8/YAtuLUWdgoI/AAAAAAAAFA8/EvddJxOCCgcJtIyPaur75RN3LJtc50I3gCLcBGAsYHQ/w603-h402/DSC_8053.JPG" width="603" /></a></div><p>The first recipe I made was creatively entitled "<a href="https://travelbystove.blogspot.com/2021/01/recipes-from-maldives-beef-curry.html">Beef Curry</a>."</p><p></p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-WCIcwdeqpZA/YAttKmbmv1I/AAAAAAAAFA0/ZmTWFCOOVT4HQrw9ykCIffdo0rFvFUgWgCLcBGAsYHQ/s2048/DSC_8055.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1363" data-original-width="2048" height="369" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-WCIcwdeqpZA/YAttKmbmv1I/AAAAAAAAFA0/ZmTWFCOOVT4HQrw9ykCIffdo0rFvFUgWgCLcBGAsYHQ/w554-h369/DSC_8055.JPG" width="554" /></a></div><p></p><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">With a side of <a href="https://travelbystove.blogspot.com/2021/01/recipes-from-maldives-aluvi-hiki-riha.html">Aluvi Hiki Riha</a>, or "Potato Fry."</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-gs27B5IDGxU/YAtvAtxJ-qI/AAAAAAAAFBI/XBLrXsUsRXQay0yp-j8qjcQscIKdDr5xwCLcBGAsYHQ/s2048/DSC_8054.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1363" data-original-width="2048" height="367" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-gs27B5IDGxU/YAtvAtxJ-qI/AAAAAAAAFBI/XBLrXsUsRXQay0yp-j8qjcQscIKdDr5xwCLcBGAsYHQ/w551-h367/DSC_8054.JPG" width="551" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">All of which were shot with exceptionally crappy tungsten kitchen lights since I couldn't be bothered to drag out and clean up my photography lights because they have like six inches of dust on them from not being used for four years. So this food looks less delicious than it was and you'll just have to take my word for it.</div>Becki Robinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00297315758886641877noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8867670219440554340.post-69255400301716042982021-01-24T08:37:00.000-08:002021-01-24T08:37:48.729-08:00Where is the Maldives?<span style="font-family: georgia;">Or is it "Where are the Maldives?" I don't know. Some writer, huh? Based on what I'm finding online, "is" is correct or at least the vast majority of people think it is. If not, then I'm going to spend this entire post sounding dumb. </span><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br />Anyway, the Maldives is kind of a lesser-known Asian country, in fact it's so small you can't really even see it on a map without actually circling it, and even then it's kind of hard to know if that's the Maldives or if it's just that I need to clean the dust specs off of my monitor. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"></span><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="color: #222222; float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-aGyXjKwZ0W8/YAtbuRyax9I/AAAAAAAAFAA/o2RkS2ODp4U8NBlugpsmmDiqvswY92APQCLcBGAsYHQ/s1024/maldives.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><img border="0" data-original-height="683" data-original-width="1024" height="237" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-aGyXjKwZ0W8/YAtbuRyax9I/AAAAAAAAFAA/o2RkS2ODp4U8NBlugpsmmDiqvswY92APQCLcBGAsYHQ/w356-h237/maldives.jpg" width="356" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Maldives Beach. Photo by <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/39551170@N02/">Simon_sees</a>.<br /><br /></span></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;">So yeah, the Maldives is small. In 2020, its population was estimated at about 379,270 which is oddly specific for an estimate, but whatever. For perspective, that's roughly the size of Aurora, Colorado, which actually looks bigger on a map than the Maldives because the Maldives is only like 70 percent as large by landmass. </span><span style="font-family: georgia;">The Maldives is also sort of isolated, given that it's right out in the middle of the Indian Ocean and its closest neighbor (India) is 300 miles away. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;">There are around 1,200 islands in the Maldives, and each one of them is basically just the peak of a submerged mountain. Beneath the surface of the ocean lies the Chagos-Laccadive Ridge, which is a huge "submarine" mountain range. The fact that this place exists at all is actually kind of remarkable since the Maldives has also got the somewhat dubious distinction of being the lowest-lying country in the world, with an average elevation of about five feet. So in other words, the mountains are sticking out of the ocean a little bit, but not really a whole lot. That might have been sort of cool at one point in history but now that the oceans are rising I'm betting there are a lot of Maldivians losing sleep over the precariousness of their tiny, isolated nation.
</span><a href="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4b/Maldives_(orthographic_projection).svg/800px-Maldives_(orthographic_projection).svg.png" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="800" height="314" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4b/Maldives_(orthographic_projection).svg/800px-Maldives_(orthographic_projection).svg.png" width="314" /></span></a><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-family: georgia;">
Like half the countries on Planet Earth, the Maldives was once occupied by Great Britain, but by the 1960s the indigenous people of pretty much every British occupied nation were saying "Please go away" and in 1965 the British actually did. So that was cool, but at the time the Maldives was one of the poorest nations in the world so survival wasn't especially easy. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;">Today, the Maldives has a thriving tourism industry (well, when there isn't a raging pandemic anyway), and the food is pretty good, too. The cuisines has definitely got Indian influences and it's full of flavor, as you'll see if you stay with me through the next post.</span></div>Becki Robinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00297315758886641877noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8867670219440554340.post-69038090030405823382021-01-23T09:34:00.000-08:002021-01-23T09:34:28.028-08:00I made a blog meal<p><span style="font-family: georgia;">Sometimes I land on someone's blog after a Google search or something and there's this post that says, "Hey everyone I'm back and I promise I'm going to start posting every week!" And then I look at the date and it was like three years ago and I think, "Don't make promises you can't keep."</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">I'm pretty sure I might have done that myself on this blog once or twice. And I hate not keeping promises even though it was totally not on purpose. So, no promises.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">Things are pretty different in my house than they were the last time I posted here. Two of my four kids are in high school. I got a master's degree a couple of years ago, which sucked up a lot of my time. And I got a stupid job. I mean an awesome job! Seriously, I do love my job but someone else owns my time right now and that's kind of a hard pill to swallow when you've been doing nothing but freelancing and stay-at-home-momming for the last decade and a half. Oh yeah and also there's a pandemic. Have you noticed?</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-b4eTlqyHbfg/YAtpNfpV-sI/AAAAAAAAFAU/t8BYVWctMrQXrAMJ-OMtfj_3rp4vOI17ACPcBGAsYHg/s4032/IMG_3226.HEIC" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-b4eTlqyHbfg/YAtpNfpV-sI/AAAAAAAAFAU/t8BYVWctMrQXrAMJ-OMtfj_3rp4vOI17ACPcBGAsYHg/s320/IMG_3226.HEIC" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">Speaking of freelancing you can check out the stuff I've done for <a href="https://www.grunge.com/author/beckirobins/">Grunge.com</a> and <a href="https://www.youtube.com/c/SciShow/search?query=becki%20robins">SciShow</a>, you know, in case you're one of the like three people who used to read my blog and are interested in knowing what I've been up to.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">Anyway, I cooked a blog meal the other day. It was fun. I've missed it. Stay tuned and I'll tell you how it went.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">Also, every post needs a photo so here is a picture of a chicken. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /><span><br /></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></p><p><br /></p>Becki Robinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00297315758886641877noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8867670219440554340.post-86310808449663048822017-05-10T14:11:00.001-07:002017-05-10T14:32:25.944-07:00Recipes from MalaysiaSo yes, shrimp paste. Now, here's a funny thing about shrimp paste, I really, really hate how it smells, and I hate working with it, but it's not actually that bad in stuff. There, I said it. It's a little bit like a really stinky cheese in that if you can just get past how it smelled when the food was cooking, it's actually almost enjoyable to eat.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://travelbystove.palfreymedia.com/images/malaysia_meal.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://travelbystove.palfreymedia.com/images/malaysia_meal.jpg" height="426" width="640" /></a></div>
Of course, I have never personally been able to get past the cheese stink in order to actually like eating stinky cheese, but that might have something to do with the fact that I once read that stinky cheese smells like someone's dirty feet because the bacteria in it is literally descended from the stinky feet of monks who used to press the cheese curds with--you guessed it--their stinky, unwashed feet. I guess I really don't care that those were unwashed feet from centuries ago, because that still has a seriously huge ew factor.<br />
<br />
Wait, how did I get off on a stinky cheese tangent? Oh yeah, shrimp paste. Before I head off into that direction again, let me just tell you what recipes I chose for our culinary trip to Malaysia.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://travelbystove.palfreymedia.com/images/malaysia_beefserved.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://travelbystove.palfreymedia.com/images/malaysia_beefserved.jpg" height="426" width="640" /></a></div>
<b><a href="http://travelbystove.blogspot.com/2017/05/recipes-from-malaysia-beef-rendang.html">Beef Rendang</a>.</b> A flavorful beef dish that does not have any shrimp paste in it.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://travelbystove.palfreymedia.com/images/malaysia_riceserved.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://travelbystove.palfreymedia.com/images/malaysia_riceserved.jpg" height="426" width="640" /></a></div>
<b><a href="http://travelbystove.blogspot.com/2017/05/recipes-from-malaysianasi-goreng.html">Nasi Goreng</a>.</b> A fried rice dish that does have shrimp paste in it.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://travelbystove.palfreymedia.com/images/malaysia_cookiesserved.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://travelbystove.palfreymedia.com/images/malaysia_cookiesserved.jpg" height="426" width="640" /></a></div>
<b><a href="http://travelbystove.blogspot.com/2017/05/recipes-from-malaysia-pineapple-cookies.html">Pineapple Cookies</a>.</b> Modestly entitled "Best-Ever Pineapple Cookies," which might come pretty close to actually deserving that title, though I admittedly don't have any other pineapple cookie recipe to compare them to.Becki Robinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00297315758886641877noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8867670219440554340.post-55563491623427340152017-05-10T14:11:00.000-07:002017-05-10T14:23:46.510-07:00Recipes from Malaysia: Beef RendangI was really looking forward to this dish, because it had such an interesting combination of flavors, plus it was totally devoid of shrimp paste. It didn't disappoint me, although my fat-hating husband thought differently. Short ribs, of course, are a pretty fatty cut so if you're like him you could probably make this with a leaner meat. There would be a slight hit to the authenticity of the dish, but I'm thinking that there's probably such a thing as someone in Malaysia who has made Beef Rendang with a piece of sirloin instead of short ribs, and I honestly don't think you'll notice much difference beyond the lesser degree of fat.<br />
<a href="http://travelbystove.palfreymedia.com/images/malaysia_beefserved.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="http://travelbystove.palfreymedia.com/images/malaysia_beefserved.jpg" height="426" width="640" /></a><br />
Here's how you make it:<br />
<br />
<div>
First, you need galangal. You can buy this stuff dried but I seem to recall it's exorbitantly expensive--I happened to find some at the co-op this time, though they don't always carry it. If your grocery store has it it's probably going to be near the ginger and lemongrass. It looks a little bit like peeled ginger and it's usually kept in water.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Once you have your galangal, chop it up roughly along with some shallots, lemongrass, garlic, ginger and dried, soaked red chili peppers. Put everything into a food processor and blend into a paste.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Now heat the oil in a wok or frying pan and add the paste. Drop in the cinnamon, cloves, star anise and cardamom. Fry until fragrant.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<a href="http://travelbystove.palfreymedia.com/images/malaysia_beef1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://travelbystove.palfreymedia.com/images/malaysia_beef1.jpg" height="426" width="640" /></a></div>
</div>
<div>
Add the beef and some white ends of lemongrass that you've mercilessly pounded flat (this helps the flavor get into the stock). Stir for a minute or so, then add the coconut milk, tamarind and water. Turn the heat to medium and cook until the meat is close to being done.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://travelbystove.palfreymedia.com/images/malaysia_beef2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://travelbystove.palfreymedia.com/images/malaysia_beef2.jpg" height="426" width="640" /></a></div>
Add the kaffir lime leaves, coconut flakes and palm sugar and stir until blended.</div>
<div>
<a href="http://travelbystove.palfreymedia.com/images/malaysia_beef3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://travelbystove.palfreymedia.com/images/malaysia_beef3.jpg" height="426" width="640" /></a></div>
Reduce heat to low and cover. Simmer for 60 to 90 minutes or until the meat is tender and the sauce has thickened. Add salt to taste and serve.<br />
<br />
There were a lot of complex flavors in this recipe, and I really liked it. I was the odd man out, though. I actually do think it would be worth doing again, as I said, with a different cut of meat, because the flavor profile was pretty interesting and unique. You can decide for yourself which cut to use, but I don't think you'll be disappointed with the results (unless you're terrified of fat, like some people I know).<br />
<br />
Here's the printable recipe:<br />
<br />
<article class="h-recipe" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br />
<h1 class="p-name">
Beef Rendang</h1>
<i>from <a href="http://taste.com.au/">Taste.com</a></i></article><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://travelbystove.palfreymedia.com/images/malaysia_beefserved.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://travelbystove.palfreymedia.com/images/malaysia_beefserved.jpg" height="426" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<article class="h-recipe" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><h4>
Ingredients</h4>
<ul>
<li class="p-ingredient">1 1/2 pound boneless beef short ribs, cut into cubes</li>
<li class="p-ingredient">5 tbsp oil</li>
<li class="p-ingredient">1 2-inch cinnamon stick</li>
<li class="p-ingredient">3 cloves</li>
<li class="p-ingredient">3 star anise</li>
<li class="p-ingredient">3 cardamom pods</li>
<li class="p-ingredient">1 stalk lemongrass, cut into 4-inch lengths and pounded flat</li>
<li class="p-ingredient">1 cup coconut milk</li>
<li class="p-ingredient">1 cup water</li>
<li class="p-ingredient">2 tsp tamarind pulp, soaked in some warm water</li>
<li class="p-ingredient">6 kaffir lime leaves, finely sliced</li>
<li class="p-ingredient">6 tbsp toasted coconut</li>
<li class="p-ingredient">1 tbsp palm sugar or to taste</li>
<li class="p-ingredient">Salt to taste</li>
<li class="p-ingredient">5 shallots</li>
<li class="p-ingredient">1 inch galangal (I got mine at the co-op; if they have it you can find it kept in water next to the ginger)</li>
<li class="p-ingredient">3 stalks lemongrass, white part only</li>
<li class="p-ingredient">5 cloves garlic</li>
<li class="p-ingredient">1 inch ginger</li>
<li class="p-ingredient">10 to 12 dried chilies, soaked in warm water and deseeded</li>
</ul>
<h4>
Instructions</h4>
<blockquote>
<ol class="e-instructions">
<li>Roughly chop the shallots, galangal, (unpounded) lemongrass, garlic, ginger and dried chilies. Put them all into a food processor and blend into a paste.</li>
<li>Heat the oil and add the paste with the cinnamon, cloves, star anise and cardamom. Fry until fragrant.</li>
<li>Now add the beef and the pounded lemongrass. Stir for a minute or so, then add the coconut milk, tamarind and water. Turn the heat to medium and cook until the meat is close to being done.</li>
<li>Add the kaffir lime leaves, coconut flakes and palm sugar and stir until blended.</li>
<li>Reduce heat to low and cover. Simmer for 60 to 90 minutes or until the meat is tender and the sauce has thickened. Add salt to taste and serve.</li>
</ol>
</blockquote>
</article>
Becki Robinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00297315758886641877noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8867670219440554340.post-81833425125537941152017-05-10T14:10:00.002-07:002017-05-10T14:30:03.991-07:00Recipes from Malaysia: Nasi GorengHere it is, the shrimp paste recipe of the week. Now, I've just spent a whole lot of time telling you how awful shrimp paste is, but it's really just a smell thing. It's not so bad to eat, but I honestly wouldn't blame you if you left it out.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://travelbystove.palfreymedia.com/images/malaysia_riceserved.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://travelbystove.palfreymedia.com/images/malaysia_riceserved.jpg" height="426" width="640" /></a></div>
If you have to order your shrimp paste, and it arrives, and you smell it ... don't throw it out and order another one. No, you did not get a spoiled batch. It is supposed to smell like that.<br />
<div>
<br />
With that in mind, here is the recipe (Note that the original version called for a small chicken breast and 12 oz of prawns, which I left out becasue I was making it as a side dish. I did find other Nasi Goreng recipes that didn't include meat, so I felt like it was still authentic.):</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
First mix the kecap manis, soy sauce and sweet chili sauce together and set aside. I actually have a bottle of kecap manis left over from another blog meal, but you can also make it from scratch by boiling a half cup sugar with 3 tbsp water, a half cup soy sauce, one star anise and one crushed garlic clove (discard the garlic and anise pod after boiling).<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://travelbystove.palfreymedia.com/images/malaysia_rice1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://travelbystove.palfreymedia.com/images/malaysia_rice1.jpg" height="426" width="640" /></a></div>
Heat 1 tsp of the oil in a frying pan or wok over high heat. Add about a quarter of the beaten egg to the pan and swirl it around until it coats the entire pan. Cook for 30 seconds or until the egg is completely set. Remove from the pan and repeat until you have four really thin omelets. Let cool, then roll them up and slice thinly.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://travelbystove.palfreymedia.com/images/malaysia_rice2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://travelbystove.palfreymedia.com/images/malaysia_rice2.jpg" height="426" width="640" /></a></div>
Heat up the rest of the oil in the wok or frying pan. Add the onion, sambal olek (A spicy chili paste--if you can't find it in the ethnic foods section of your local supermarket, you can buy it on Amazon.com), garlic, shrimp paste and carrot. Laugh as your kids start running desperately around the house like trapped rodents, screaming "What is that SMELL???"</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://travelbystove.palfreymedia.com/images/malaysia_rice3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://travelbystove.palfreymedia.com/images/malaysia_rice3.jpg" height="426" width="640" /></a></div>
Fry for a minute or so, or until stinky I mean fragrant. Add the rice, sauce mixture, green onions and cabbage. Keep cooking for three or four more minutes until the rice is heated through. Toss with half the omelet, and then put the other half on top with the fried shallots and sliced chiles.<br />
<br />
So yeah, it wasn't awful. I didn't eat the leftovers, though, so I guess like stinky cheese I wasn't able to get completely past the shrimp paste thing. If you're still on the fence about whether or not you should make this with shrimp paste, ask yourself how you feel about stinky cheese. If you hate the smell but love the taste, I think you'll be OK with shrimp paste too. I can't really promise anything when it comes to the rest of your family, though.<br />
<br />
Here's the printable recipe:<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<article class="h-recipe" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;">
<h1 class="p-name">
Nasi Goreng</h1>
<i>from <a href="http://taste.com.au/">Taste.com</a></i></article><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://travelbystove.palfreymedia.com/images/malaysia_riceserved.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://travelbystove.palfreymedia.com/images/malaysia_riceserved.jpg" height="426" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<article class="h-recipe" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><h4>
Ingredients</h4>
<ul>
<li class="p-ingredient">2 cups long-grain rice, rinsed</li>
<li class="p-ingredient">2 1/2 tbsp kecap manis</li>
<li class="p-ingredient">1 tbsp dark soy sauce</li>
<li class="p-ingredient">1 tbsp sweet chili sauce (I used Mai Ploy)</li>
<li class="p-ingredient">1/4 cup peanut oil</li>
<li class="p-ingredient">4 eggs, lightly beaten</li>
<li class="p-ingredient">1 yellow onion, thinly sliced</li>
<li class="p-ingredient">1 tsp sambal olek </li>
<li class="p-ingredient">3 garlic cloves, minced or pressed</li>
<li class="p-ingredient">1 tsp shrimp paste</li>
<li class="p-ingredient">1 carrot, peeled and finely chopped</li>
<li class="p-ingredient">3 green onions, thinly sliced</li>
<li class="p-ingredient">1/4 small Chinese cabbage, shredded</li>
<li class="p-ingredient">1/4 cup fried shallots</li>
<li class="p-ingredient">Thinly sliced red chili peppers</li>
</ul>
<h4>
Instructions</h4>
<blockquote>
<ol class="e-instructions">
<li>Cook the rice just as you would usually cook it. Drain and let cool, then move to the refrigerator for a couple of hours.</li>
<li>Now mix the kecap mais, soy sauce and sweet chili sauce together and set aside.</li>
<li>Heat 1 tsp of the oil in a frying pan or wok over high heat. Add about a quarter of the beaten egg to the pan and swirl it around until it coats the entire pan. Cook for 30 seconds or until the egg is completely set. Remove from the pan and repeat until you have four really thin omelets. Let cool, then roll them up and slice thinly.</li>
<li>Heat up the rest of the oil in the wok or frying pan. Add the onion, sambal olek, garlic, shrimp paste and carrot. </li>
<li>Fry for a minute or so, or until fragrant. Add the rice, sauce mixture, green onions and cabbage. Keep cooking for three or four more minutes until the rice is heated through. Toss with half the omelet, and then put the other half on top with the fried shallots and sliced chiles.</li>
</ol>
</blockquote>
</article>
Becki Robinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00297315758886641877noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8867670219440554340.post-41122404360786283612017-05-10T14:10:00.001-07:002017-05-10T14:10:40.037-07:00Recipes from Malaysia: Pineapple CookiesFor my kids, blog night is only worth doing if there's some dessert involved. Of course they feel that way about every meal, which is why most of them hardly ever eat anything (I'm a Dessert on Special Occasions Only kind of gal). Blog night is sometimes a special occasion, and since I was pretty sure that they weren't going to like either of the main dishes I decided to throw them a bone with these little pineapple cookies.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://travelbystove.palfreymedia.com/images/malaysia_cookiesserved.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://travelbystove.palfreymedia.com/images/malaysia_cookiesserved.jpg" height="426" width="640" /></a></div>
I'll just say up front: theses things are yummy. Now, you could go to all the trouble of making the pineapple filling but I'll be quite honest with you, you could easily make these with some store-bought pineapple jam and I'm pretty sure they would come close to being just as delicious. Making the filling is really the most time consuming part of the process.<br />
<br />
Here's how:<br />
<br />
First you have to trim the pineapple. Now, you could probably use canned pineapple too, but you didn't hear that from me. If you're using a fresh pineapple, make sure you've removed all those little brown specs and hairs, because you don't want those in your cookies. <div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Now chop up the pineapple and put it in a food processor. Process until it's a smooth puree.</div>
<div>
<br />Put the pineapple puree into a non-stick pan and cook over medium heat. You can add some whole cloves at this point too, but I didn't, because I hate cloves. This is really just like making jam: you need to keep stirring it to stop it from burning. You want most of the moisture to cook off--when the puree is almost dry, add sugar and lemon juice and stir to combine.</div>
<div>
<br />Reduce heat to simmer and keep stirring until the pineapple filling turns a lovely golden color. It should be really sticky.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://travelbystove.palfreymedia.com/images/malaysia_cookies3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://travelbystove.palfreymedia.com/images/malaysia_cookies3.jpg" height="426" width="640" /></a></div>
<div>
Transfer to a bowl, remove the cloves (if using) and chill for a half hour.</div>
<div>
<br />Cream the butter and milk together until fluffy. Add the egg yolks and beat gently until combined, but don't go overboard or the eggs will curdle.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://travelbystove.palfreymedia.com/images/malaysia_cookies1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://travelbystove.palfreymedia.com/images/malaysia_cookies1.jpg" height="426" width="640" /></a></div>
<div>
Add flour and stir gently until you have a soft dough.</div>
<div>
<br />Mix the remaining egg yolk with the 1/8 tsp condensed milk and 1/4 tsp oil. Set aside.</div>
<div>
<br />So now you're going to divide the dough and the filling up into 50 portions. That's right, these things are pretty small. First roll the dough pieces up into balls.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://travelbystove.palfreymedia.com/images/malaysia_cookies2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://travelbystove.palfreymedia.com/images/malaysia_cookies2.jpg" height="426" width="640" /></a></div>
<div>
Take one of the balls and flatten it with the palm of your hand. Add one portion of the pineapple filling to the center.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://travelbystove.palfreymedia.com/images/malaysia_cookies4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://travelbystove.palfreymedia.com/images/malaysia_cookies4.jpg" height="426" width="640" /></a></div>
<div>
Now fold up the edges to form a little packet. Then gently roll the packet into a ball. Repeat until you're out of balls and filling</div>
<div>
<br />Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and put all the balls on the sheet. Cut a little criss-cross pattern into each cookie with the back of a knife, and then brush with the egg wash.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://travelbystove.palfreymedia.com/images/malaysia_cookies5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://travelbystove.palfreymedia.com/images/malaysia_cookies5.jpg" height="426" width="640" /></a></div>
<div>
Bake at 330 degrees for 20 to 33 minutes or until golden brown. Let cool before serving. Post guards to protect from your children.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://travelbystove.palfreymedia.com/images/malaysia_cookiesserved2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://travelbystove.palfreymedia.com/images/malaysia_cookiesserved2.jpg" height="640" width="426" /></a></div>
<div>
I probably don't have to tell you how much my kids liked these (Martin and I did, too). Really, as far as they were concerned, it made having to smell the shrimp paste all worthwhile. In fact I made this meal more than a month ago, and they still dream about pineapple cookies. My oldest daughter was watching me put this post together and when she saw the photo, she said, "Can you make those tonight?" Haha. As if I'll ever have time to make these from scratch again! Maybe on her birthday?</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Here's the printable version of the recipe:<br /><br />
<article class="h-recipe" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;">
<h1 class="p-name">
Pineapple Cookies</h1>
<i>from <a href="http://rasamalaysia.com/">Rasa Malaysia</a></i></article><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://travelbystove.palfreymedia.com/images/malaysia_cookiesserved.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://travelbystove.palfreymedia.com/images/malaysia_cookiesserved.jpg" height="426" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<article class="h-recipe" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><h4>
Ingredients</h4>
<ul>
<li class="p-ingredient">1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, softened</li>
<li class="p-ingredient">3 1/2 tbsp sweetened condensed milk</li>
<li class="p-ingredient">1 egg yolk</li>
<li class="p-ingredient">2 cups all-purpose flour or plain flour</li>
<li class="p-ingredient">1 whole pineapple, trimmed</li>
<li class="p-ingredient">1/4 tbsp whole cloves (optional)</li>
<li class="p-ingredient">1/2 cup sugar</li>
<li class="p-ingredient">1 egg yolk</li>
<li class="p-ingredient">1/8 tsp condensed milk</li>
<li class="p-ingredient">1/4 tsp oil</li>
</ul>
<h4>
Instructions</h4>
<blockquote>
<ol class="e-instructions">
<li>First make sure you've removed all those little brown specs and hairs from the pineapple, because you don't want those in your cookies. Now chop up the pineapple and put it in a food processor. Process until it's a smooth puree.</li>
<li>Put the pineapple puree and cloves (if using) into a non-stick pan and cook over medium heat. Keep stirring or it will burn. You want most of the moisture to cook off--when the puree is almost dry, add the sugar and lemon juice and stir to combine. </li>
<li>Reduce heat to simmer and keep stirring until the pineapple filling turns a lovely golden color. It should be really sticky.</li>
<li>Transfer to a bowl, remove the cloves and chill for a half hour.</li>
<li>Cream the butter and milk together until fluffy. Add the egg yolks and beat gently until combined, but don't go overboard or the eggs will curdle. </li>
<li>Add the flour and stir gently until you have a soft dough.</li>
<li>Mix the remaining egg yolk with the 1/8 tsp condensed milk and 1/4 tsp oil. Set aside.</li>
<li>So now you're going to divide the dough and the filling up into 50 portions. That's right, these things are pretty small. Roll the dough pieces up into balls, then flatten. Add one portion of the pineapple filling to the center and fold up the edges to form a little packet. Then gently roll the packet into a ball.</li>
<li>Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and put all the balls on the sheet. Cut a little criss-cross pattern into each cookie with the back of a knife, and then brush with the egg wash. </li>
<li>Bake at 330 degrees for 20 to 33 minutes or until golden brown. Let cool before serving.</li>
</ol>
</blockquote>
</article>
</div>
Becki Robinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00297315758886641877noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8867670219440554340.post-15079434217411279992017-04-01T16:14:00.001-07:002017-04-01T16:21:33.694-07:00Where is Malaysia?<div>
<div style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-size-adjust: none; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-image: none; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border: 0px; color: #222222; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, 'Nimbus Sans L', Arial, 'Liberation Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; margin: 0.5em 0px 1em; orphans: auto; padding: 0px; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">
My arch nemesis showed up again this week, you remember him, right? That's right, shrimp paste. </div>
<div style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-size-adjust: none; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-image: none; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border: 0px; color: #222222; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, 'Nimbus Sans L', Arial, 'Liberation Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; margin: 0.5em 0px 1em; orphans: auto; padding: 0px; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">
Shrimp paste is awesome in its smelly disgustingness and it's ability to make my children lose their freaking minds. I love shrimp paste, because I hate it so, so much, which makes it one of the world's most entertaining ingredients.</div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-qnpcslx8XBc/WOAzQrrY0SI/AAAAAAAADIk/kmgCdx7q2JcCzJVcRBtMFl5874fZ1Y78QCLcB/s1600/12844781515_8473f79ee9_z.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-qnpcslx8XBc/WOAzQrrY0SI/AAAAAAAADIk/kmgCdx7q2JcCzJVcRBtMFl5874fZ1Y78QCLcB/s320/12844781515_8473f79ee9_z.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Photo by <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/80112988@N06/12844781515/">Luke Zeme Photography</a>.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-size-adjust: none; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-image: none; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border: 0px; color: #222222; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, 'Nimbus Sans L', Arial, 'Liberation Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; margin: 0.5em 0px 1em; orphans: auto; padding: 0px; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">
For details about the latest battle in my war against smelly things that people like to eat, you'll have to come back in a few days. Today, I'm mainly just going to talk about the nation that helped to perpetuate the obscenity of shrimp paste in my life (this week): Malaysia.</div>
<div style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-size-adjust: none; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-image: none; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border: 0px; color: #222222; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, 'Nimbus Sans L', Arial, 'Liberation Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; margin: 0.5em 0px 1em; orphans: auto; padding: 0px; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">
In terms of population density, Malaysia is a good-sized nation in Southeast Asia, the 44th most populous country in the world, in fact, with more than 30 million shrimp paste eating people residing there (sorry, I'll stop now). It shares a land border with Thailand and maritime borders with Thailand, Singapore, Vietnam, Indonesia, Brunei and the Philippines. The southernmost point of continental Eurasia is in Malaysia, though the southernmost point of Eurasia overall (including islands) is actually in Indonesia.</div>
<div style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-image: none; border: 0px; color: #222222; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, 'Nimbus Sans L', Arial, 'Liberation Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; margin: 0.5em 0px 1em; orphans: auto; padding: 0px; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">
<div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/23/Malaysia_(orthographic_projection).svg/550px-Malaysia_(orthographic_projection).svg.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/23/Malaysia_(orthographic_projection).svg/550px-Malaysia_(orthographic_projection).svg.png" width="319" /></a></div>
Some cool facts about Malaysia: it's one of only 17 designated "megadiverse" nations in the world, which means that it is one of only a few countries that harbor that majority of Earth's species, kind of like how only a few people harbor the majority of the world's wealth, you know. That fact is made somewhat less cool when you learn that the US is also one of the world's 17 megadiverse nations, or maybe more cool depending on your perspective. I guess I don't really think of the US as being particularly megadiverse since the same five species keep showing up on my trail cam every week.</div>
</div>
<div style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-image: none; border: 0px; color: #222222; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, 'Nimbus Sans L', Arial, 'Liberation Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; margin: 0.5em 0px 1em; orphans: auto; padding: 0px; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">
<div>
Malaysia is a pretty forward thinking place: the state religion is Islam, but non-Muslims have the freedom to practice, too. The government is a lot like the British government except that the king is an elected official (chosen from a pool of the hereditary monarchs that rule each of nine Malaysian states, which sadly means that regular people can't "run for king.") Like England, Malaysia also has a prime minister.</div>
</div>
</div>
<div>
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "helvetica" , "nimbus sans l" , "arial" , "liberation sans" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 16px;">There are three major ethnic groups in Malaysia: Malays, Chinese and Indians, which means that the cuisine is heavily influenced by all three traditions. There's also influence from Indonesia, Thailand, Portugal and Britain, which really makes the food pretty wonderfully diverse and interesting.</span></span></span></div>
<br />
<div>
<span style="font-size: 16px;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "helvetica" , "nimbus sans l" , "arial" , "liberation sans" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #222222;">Of course, there's the shrimp paste thing, too. Check back for details. </span></span></span></div>
Becki Robinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00297315758886641877noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8867670219440554340.post-35854331915372503672017-03-09T11:17:00.001-08:002017-03-09T11:17:22.963-08:00Recipes from Malawi<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-vKydmpwS79k/WLx0FijON_I/AAAAAAAADF0/Ol4SRI-xwWUI-IR9z27PGRWjfVH9QxRngCLcB/s1600/malawi_meal.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-vKydmpwS79k/WLx0FijON_I/AAAAAAAADF0/Ol4SRI-xwWUI-IR9z27PGRWjfVH9QxRngCLcB/s320/malawi_meal.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
I must have been in the mood for simple food this week, because I did enjoy our culinary journey into the little nation of Malawi. Now I say "simple" but these recipes weren't simple in taste--yes, the ingredients were basic, but they were still a nice combination of flavors.<br />
<br />
Fish is really important to Malawian cuisine--remember from my last post that 1/3rd of Malawi's area is occupied by a lake. But I just didn't find a whole lot of fish options online (I know there have to be some out there, but I didn't have any luck) and with only one exception my kids hate fish anyway, so I settled on a chicken dish and, just because I did need some small way to torture my children, that cornmeal porridge stuff that everyone hates.<br />
<br />
Here are the recipes I chose:<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-PozXfAYl8cM/WLxzafBr6zI/AAAAAAAADFo/f_mc1GuHhwUdT4smOmvfmJCVNzBmkUTpwCLcB/s1600/malawi_chickenserved.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-PozXfAYl8cM/WLxzafBr6zI/AAAAAAAADFo/f_mc1GuHhwUdT4smOmvfmJCVNzBmkUTpwCLcB/s640/malawi_chickenserved.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<b><a href="http://travelbystove.blogspot.com/2017/03/recipes-from-malawi-nkhuku-ya-sabola.html">Nkhuku Ya Sabola</a>.</b> Spiced chicken curry made with tomatoes and potatoes.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-MFuzHfEuKJs/WLxzsDm0ZrI/AAAAAAAADFs/_WkxE1bInH0C8pxtuWTn5NBSdpcGO0aBwCLcB/s1600/malawi_nsimaserved.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-MFuzHfEuKJs/WLxzsDm0ZrI/AAAAAAAADFs/_WkxE1bInH0C8pxtuWTn5NBSdpcGO0aBwCLcB/s640/malawi_nsimaserved.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<b><a href="http://travelbystove.blogspot.com/2017/03/recipes-from-malawi-nsima.html">Nsima</a>.</b> A polenta-like porridge made from cornmeal and butter.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Hlsql2DsQ0s/WLxz3jTZDdI/AAAAAAAADFw/MXnbymJwamQA7wWB9AKTD8rsiPfx8t0mQCLcB/s1600/malawi_frittersserved.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Hlsql2DsQ0s/WLxz3jTZDdI/AAAAAAAADFw/MXnbymJwamQA7wWB9AKTD8rsiPfx8t0mQCLcB/s640/malawi_frittersserved.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<b><a href="http://travelbystove.blogspot.com/2017/03/recipes-from-malawi-banana-fritters.html">Banana fritters</a>.</b> Yes, something deep fried. Because I really needed the calories.Becki Robinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00297315758886641877noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8867670219440554340.post-19039632597845716522017-03-09T11:17:00.000-08:002017-03-09T11:22:08.665-08:00Recipes from Malawi: Nkhuku Ya Sabola (Spiced Chicken Curry)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-PozXfAYl8cM/WLxzafBr6zI/AAAAAAAADGA/ig_PffBSdO4UnOfeOgrBKvBLqfY77EvHACEw/s1600/malawi_chickenserved.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-PozXfAYl8cM/WLxzafBr6zI/AAAAAAAADGA/ig_PffBSdO4UnOfeOgrBKvBLqfY77EvHACEw/s320/malawi_chickenserved.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
So let's face it, any recipe with the word "curry" in the title is going to be tasty by default, because, you know, curry. Of course the funny thing about Indian curry is it almost never has actual curry powder in it--or if it does, it's really a mixture of spices you put together in your own kitchen, which sort of fall under a generic umbrella of "curry" spices. Lots of other nations, though, make curries that get most of their flavor from a pre-mixed commercial curry powder, which is true for this Malawian chicken.<br />
<br />
Like many African recipes, this one is simple to make and has only a handful of ingredients (recipe below).<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-GLg6YK9ZxU0/WLx8WKsjPvI/AAAAAAAADGI/cF8CEEmJn5oeMKgNKRvQPn33I5ogAJ9bgCLcB/s1600/malawi_chicken1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="425" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-GLg6YK9ZxU0/WLx8WKsjPvI/AAAAAAAADGI/cF8CEEmJn5oeMKgNKRvQPn33I5ogAJ9bgCLcB/s640/malawi_chicken1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
First, season the chicken with salt and fry in oil over medium heat until browned on all sides. Remove from the heat and transfer to a large pot.<br />
<br />
If there's any excess oil, pour it off and then use the remaining oil to saute the the onions.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-wD_bKFhzl4E/WLx8WFwVbyI/AAAAAAAADGM/P_8QoZ8jnhs-vxKaboFeNYqAR5ux-sfjwCEw/s1600/malawi_chicken2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-wD_bKFhzl4E/WLx8WFwVbyI/AAAAAAAADGM/P_8QoZ8jnhs-vxKaboFeNYqAR5ux-sfjwCEw/s640/malawi_chicken2.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
When the onions are translucent, add the tomatoes, chili pepper, thyme and curry powder.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-N7ziSNAAW58/WLx8V41L4hI/AAAAAAAADGE/o5g8Ec1nuYc3Q213RX1LTKnmYT3l1_FZQCEw/s1600/malawi_chicken3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-N7ziSNAAW58/WLx8V41L4hI/AAAAAAAADGE/o5g8Ec1nuYc3Q213RX1LTKnmYT3l1_FZQCEw/s640/malawi_chicken3.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
Cook the spices until fragrant, then add the water and stock. Bring to a boil, then transfer to the pot with the chicken. Let simmer uncovered for 45 minutes. Add the potato cubes and cook for another 15 minutes, or until the potatoes are tender. Season with a little more salt and pepper and serve.<br />
<br />
I enjoyed this recipe, though my kids of course were ho-hum as they always are about anything that contains, you know, actual vegetables. So they spent a lot of time removing each individual little bit of onion, tomato and potato and then picked at the rest and asked me when dessert would be ready. That's OK, I'm used to it. At least Martin and I enjoyed our meals.<br />
<br />
<br />
<article class="h-recipe" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;">
<h1 class="p-name">
Nkhuku Ya Sabola (Spiced Chicken Curry)</h1>
<i>from <a href="http://ayileche.wordpress.com/">Ayileche</a></i></article><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-PozXfAYl8cM/WLxzafBr6zI/AAAAAAAADGA/ig_PffBSdO4UnOfeOgrBKvBLqfY77EvHACEw/s1600/malawi_chickenserved.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-PozXfAYl8cM/WLxzafBr6zI/AAAAAAAADGA/ig_PffBSdO4UnOfeOgrBKvBLqfY77EvHACEw/s640/malawi_chickenserved.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<article class="h-recipe" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><h4>
Ingredients</h4>
<ul>
<li class="p-ingredient">1 lb chicken, skin on</li>
<li class="p-ingredient">Salt to taste</li>
<li class="p-ingredient">3 to 5 tbsp oil</li>
<li class="p-ingredient">3 onions, chopped</li>
<li class="p-ingredient">5 tomatoes, peeled and chopped</li>
<li class="p-ingredient">2 tbsp curry</li>
<li class="p-ingredient">1 jalapeno pepper, chopped fine</li>
<li class="p-ingredient">1 tsp dried thyme</li>
<li class="p-ingredient">1 cup water</li>
<li class="p-ingredient">2 cups chicken stock</li>
<li class="p-ingredient">1 cup potatoes, peeled and cubed</li>
<li class="p-ingredient">Salt and pepper to taste</li>
</ul>
<h4>
Instructions</h4>
<blockquote>
<ol class="e-instructions">
<li>First, season the chicken with salt and fry in oil over medium heat until browned on all sides. Remove from the heat and add to a large pot.</li>
<li>If there's any excess oil, pour it off and then use the remaining oil to saute the the onions. When the onions are translucent, add the tomatoes, chili pepper, thyme and curry powder.</li>
<li>Cook the spices until fragrant, then add the water and stock. Bring to a boil, then transfer to the pot with the chicken. Let simmer uncovered for 45 minutes. Add the potato cubes and cook for another 15 minutes, or until the potatoes are tender. Season with a little more salt and pepper and serve.</li>
</ol>
</blockquote>
</article>Becki Robinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00297315758886641877noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8867670219440554340.post-16214917176670388992017-03-09T11:16:00.001-08:002017-03-09T11:23:53.474-08:00Recipes from Malawi: Nsima<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-MFuzHfEuKJs/WLxzsDm0ZrI/AAAAAAAADGA/IoCzBhOkRcUnvNQ-nBK1khen9BKyIlg8gCEw/s1600/malawi_nsimaserved.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-MFuzHfEuKJs/WLxzsDm0ZrI/AAAAAAAADGA/IoCzBhOkRcUnvNQ-nBK1khen9BKyIlg8gCEw/s320/malawi_nsimaserved.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
So I know I've made something like this before, in fact I distinctly recall the looks on my kids' faces when they realized I expected them to eat it. And I can also recall a box of it sitting in my kitchen cabinet for like, years, because I kept thinking that I'd need it for another blog night. And then I'm pretty sure I recall pitching it because I realized that I probably should try hard not to need it for another blog night, because that's how much everyone hated it.<br />
<br />
Of course, I can't find any reference to it in any of my old posts, so it must have had some other name. Anyway, here we are again, and yes I'm making this very similar (though not exactly the same) stuff because I really just didn't feel that the meal would be authentic without it.<br />
<br />
So the good news is, there's really nothing simpler to cook than this stuff. It's just cornmeal, water and butter. Here's how to do it:<br />
<br />
Heat the water until it's just lukewarm. Then add a little bit of the cornmeal and stir until any lumps dissolve.<br />
<br />
Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer. Sprinkle the rest of the cornmeal over the simmering water, stirring constantly so it doesn't get lumpy. It's going to get pretty thick, so keep stirring until it's smooth and has an almost dough-like consistency. Add the butter and stir it in.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-z4e2sIvrc6s/WLx8XdjHSAI/AAAAAAAADGk/82WXhSzyJyozSXbAfegeXdZewApQZmtwACEw/s1600/malawi_nsima1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-z4e2sIvrc6s/WLx8XdjHSAI/AAAAAAAADGk/82WXhSzyJyozSXbAfegeXdZewApQZmtwACEw/s640/malawi_nsima1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
So I actually did not hate this stuff as much as I remember hating it. The main dish had a lot of liquid in it, so it was really just a stand-in for rice. It was really good at mopping up all the juices. Of course, my kids took one look at it and didn't want anything to do with it, but really, that was to be expected. It was quite heavy so I didn't eat all of it, but the butter made it somewhat less than bland, and as I said, it was great at mopping up the liquidy part of the chicken curry.</div>
<br />
Here's the complete recipe:<br />
<br />
<article class="h-recipe" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;">
<h1 class="p-name">
Nsima</h1>
<i>from <a href="http://recipes.wikia.com/">The Recipe Wikia</a></i></article><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-MFuzHfEuKJs/WLxzsDm0ZrI/AAAAAAAADGA/IoCzBhOkRcUnvNQ-nBK1khen9BKyIlg8gCEw/s1600/malawi_nsimaserved.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-MFuzHfEuKJs/WLxzsDm0ZrI/AAAAAAAADGA/IoCzBhOkRcUnvNQ-nBK1khen9BKyIlg8gCEw/s640/malawi_nsimaserved.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<article class="h-recipe" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><h4>
Ingredients</h4>
<ul>
<li class="p-ingredient">1 lb chicken, skin on</li>
<li class="p-ingredient">Salt to taste</li>
<li class="p-ingredient">3 to 5 tbsp oil</li>
<li class="p-ingredient">3 onions, chopped</li>
<li class="p-ingredient">5 tomatoes, peeled and chopped</li>
<li class="p-ingredient">2 tbsp curry</li>
<li class="p-ingredient">1 jalapeno pepper, chopped fine</li>
<li class="p-ingredient">1 tsp dried thyme</li>
<li class="p-ingredient">1 cup water</li>
<li class="p-ingredient">2 cups chicken stock</li>
<li class="p-ingredient">1 cup potatoes, peeled and cubed</li>
<li class="p-ingredient">Salt and pepper to taste</li>
</ul>
<h4>
Instructions</h4>
<blockquote>
<ol class="e-instructions">
<li>Heat the water until it's just lukewarm. Then add a little bit of the cornmeal and stir until any lumps dissolve.</li>
<li>Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer. Sprinkle the rest of the cornmeal over the simmering water, stirring constantly so it doesn't get lumpy. It's going to get pretty thick, so keep stirring until it's smooth and has an almost dough-like consistency. Add the butter and stir it in.</li>
</ol>
</blockquote>
</article>Becki Robinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00297315758886641877noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8867670219440554340.post-6691453799701966082017-03-09T11:16:00.000-08:002017-03-09T13:49:41.883-08:00Recipes from Malawi: Banana Fritters<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Hlsql2DsQ0s/WLxz3jTZDdI/AAAAAAAADGA/H6f2SQGL0MgxEj23xZcF_EBVupOnmnoDgCEw/s1600/malawi_frittersserved.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Hlsql2DsQ0s/WLxz3jTZDdI/AAAAAAAADGA/H6f2SQGL0MgxEj23xZcF_EBVupOnmnoDgCEw/s320/malawi_frittersserved.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
So after all the child torture (I'm just kidding, they didn't hate it <i>that </i>much), I decided to give everyone a treat. I actually knew pretty well in advance that these banana fritters would be a treat, because "banana" and because "deep fried." I don't see how you could get that combination wrong, unless you deep fried your bananas in motor oil or something.<br />
<br />
And these are easy, too, though I don't recommend them for every day. They are super-greasy, and obviously not a part of a healthy eating plan. But if you want to make your kids feel better about that nsima, well, you can't go wrong with some banana fritters.<br />
<br />
First, mash up the bananas with some sugar and salt. Hopefully you have a super-cute helper to add the sugar for you.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-AN5z4Tos_ls/WLx8WSB59_I/AAAAAAAADGk/VRnIQhcp6hMAPTwxaKFeHPNuJORrHDOPACEw/s1600/malawi_fritters1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-AN5z4Tos_ls/WLx8WSB59_I/AAAAAAAADGk/VRnIQhcp6hMAPTwxaKFeHPNuJORrHDOPACEw/s640/malawi_fritters1.jpg" width="426" /></a></div>
Now stir in the cornmeal and mix until you have a nice dough.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-0SNnPEJKxhs/WLx8XG4VbNI/AAAAAAAADGs/z_G7y1LGLeQdb2d3xewMg2kl3RRUPRjkwCEw/s1600/malawi_fritters3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-0SNnPEJKxhs/WLx8XG4VbNI/AAAAAAAADGs/z_G7y1LGLeQdb2d3xewMg2kl3RRUPRjkwCEw/s640/malawi_fritters3.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
Heat some cooking oil (something with no flavor of its own, like canola) until bubbles rise around the non-stirring end of a wooden spoon.<br />
<br />
Fry until golden. Mine were a little on the overdone side, but no one cared.<br />
<br />
Dust with powdered sugar and serve.<br />
<br />
Everyone loved these. What's not to love? Crispy, banana, deep fried, dusted with powdered sugar. Of course my sugar-loving older daughter thought that there wasn't enough sugar:<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-XBsZY7liInM/WLyJBJtl5XI/AAAAAAAADGw/DjEvELuRAtAYwHAbLMRSIm2slxVDC3X8QCLcB/s1600/malawi_fritters4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-XBsZY7liInM/WLyJBJtl5XI/AAAAAAAADGw/DjEvELuRAtAYwHAbLMRSIm2slxVDC3X8QCLcB/s640/malawi_fritters4.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
Her dentist worries about her.<br />
<br />
<br />
Here's the recipe:<br />
<br />
<br />
<article class="h-recipe" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;">
<h1 class="p-name">
Banana Fritters</h1>
<i>from <a href="http://anjimile-mtila-oponyo.blogspot.com/">Anjimile Mtila Oponyo</a></i></article><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Hlsql2DsQ0s/WLxz3jTZDdI/AAAAAAAADGA/H6f2SQGL0MgxEj23xZcF_EBVupOnmnoDgCEw/s1600/malawi_frittersserved.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Hlsql2DsQ0s/WLxz3jTZDdI/AAAAAAAADGA/H6f2SQGL0MgxEj23xZcF_EBVupOnmnoDgCEw/s640/malawi_frittersserved.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<article class="h-recipe" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><h4>
Ingredients</h4>
<ul>
<li class="p-ingredient">3 ripe bananas</li>
<li class="p-ingredient">1 tsp sugar</li>
<li class="p-ingredient">1/8 tsp salt</li>
<li class="p-ingredient">1/2 cup cornmeal</li>
<li class="p-ingredient">Oil for frying</li>
</ul>
<h4>
Instructions</h4>
<blockquote>
<ol class="e-instructions">
<li>Mash the bananas up with the sugar and salt.</li>
<li>Stir in the cornmeal.</li>
<li>Heat the cooking oil until bubbles rise around the non-stirring end of a wooden spoon.</li>
<li>Drop spoonfulls of batter into the hot oil and fry on both sides until golden.</li>
<li>Drain on paper towels and dust with powdered sugar.</li>
</ol>
</blockquote>
</article>Becki Robinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00297315758886641877noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8867670219440554340.post-40562820818265082452017-03-02T19:09:00.001-08:002017-03-02T19:11:05.933-08:00Where is Malawi?<br />
So as you might recall from like a thousand years ago, which is when I was last actually active on this blog, I don't really love African food. That's not really a fair thing to say, really, because African food is a product of its environment--it includes a lot of root vegetables, not a whole lot of meat or seasoning, and that cornmeal stuff that is like polenta, which I actually don't really like either. But the meal I did from Malawi really was pretty good, despite the fact that Malawi itself is one of the poorest nations in Africa. That just goes to show you that simple food can be pretty satisfying, as long as it's prepared well.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-DnO_-pmxywc/WLjdBR2APrI/AAAAAAAADE4/n-Op1UTV50ME9vLBfzum3pBpADKJ7pQ8gCLcB/s1600/26190616733_23bdfa830a_z.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-DnO_-pmxywc/WLjdBR2APrI/AAAAAAAADE4/n-Op1UTV50ME9vLBfzum3pBpADKJ7pQ8gCLcB/s320/26190616733_23bdfa830a_z.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo by Neil Palmer (<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/ciat/">CIAT</a>)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Malawi is a landlocked nation in southeast Africa. It was once known as Nyasaland, which probably means about as much to you as it does to me. Its closest neighbors are Zambia, Tanzania and Mozambique, and it's kind of hidden there in between them all. Malawi is one of the smallest countries in Africa, and is actually even smaller than it first appears since a whole third of it is occupied by a lake (also called Malawi).<br />
<br />
<br />
There are a lot of undeveloped countries in Africa, and Malawi is one of the least developed of all of them--in fact, it is one of the least-developed countries in the world. It's economy is based on agriculture and there is an appallingly high rate of infant mortality there, plus a low life expectancy of around 50 years. HIV/AIDS is common, and a lot of people die from it, so many that the country currently has a half million AIDS orphans.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/ab/Location_Malawi_AU_Africa.svg/250px-Location_Malawi_AU_Africa.svg.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/ab/Location_Malawi_AU_Africa.svg/250px-Location_Malawi_AU_Africa.svg.png" /></a>
So that's depressing, and now let's talk about the cuisine. Because the country has an agricultural economy, there is a decent variety of foods grown there including sugar, coffee, corn and potatoes. Cattle and goats provide meat, and Lake Malawi is a source of fish. And the staple is that cornmeal thing I mentioned earlier, which is basically a stand-in for bread or rice and does a good job soaking up the juices of whatever is served with it. Yes, I did make some of that with my Malawian meal, so stay tuned to find out how we liked it (I bet you can guess!)Becki Robinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00297315758886641877noreply@blogger.com0