Ethiopia and Kenya (sort of)

This is my first E.A.T World entry.  I am super excited about this project!  For this entry I made two African dishes listed at The Fairest Feed.  For many subsequent entries I will be working my way through Extending the Table compiled by Joetta Handrich Schlabach.  I have hardly cracked this open, so I'm excited for this opportunity!  Not to mention there is a wonderful Index that lists recipes by country!  For the most part I want to go alphabetically (by country), but I was already planning to make these and excused it since the continent starts with an A (just this once).  From here on, however, my personal rules for this event will be A-Z.  I will allow myself to make something out of order ONLY if it is a letter I have passed.  Let the games begin!

Shiri Wat is an Ethiopian Pea Stew.  After looking at other Shiri Wat recipes, I think this may qualify more as an African Peanut Stew which seems to be popular in the West.  Here is a bit of info. I found on the Recipes Wiki, "In Ethiopia every family keeps a supply of powered, spiced, hot ground peas known as Mit'in Shiro. You can buy it at an Ethiopian grocery or make it from scratch...", hence the Shiro in the name.  On this blog it says, "Shiro is a flour made from ground legumes. It is not entirely clear what kind of legumes- I have heard chickpeas, fava beans, and split peas are all possible ingredients, although it seems like the menus at the Ethiopian restaurants we frequent say it’s made from chickpeas. Mit’in shiro is just like plain shiro except it already has spices added and thus has an orange color. Mit’in shiro (used to make shiro wat) is hot, but shiro alecha is mild."

Regardless, we made this dish and it was good.  We used cashew butter instead of peanut butter and cannellini beans because I forgot to soak the black-eyed peas we bought. It was wonderfully think and creamy :)

Maharagwe is a spicy bean stew from Kenya.  Most recipes I found chose Red beans, but according to this site maharagwe means 'beans' in Kiswahili.  Traditionally, it includes coconut milk and curry spices.  Once again we followed a recipe from The Fairest Seed.  Though we did have the black-eyed peas this time, I realized that I was all out of chili powder.  So I threw in paprika and cayenne pepper.  We were pleased with the results :)  (For some extra spice throw on some red pepper flakes!)

  Be sure to check the above recipes out.  If you want to try out some African cooking yourself, you might be interested in these links:
The Congo Cookbook
Ethiopian Recipes
Maharagwe (another version)
West African Peanut Stew

Also, this seems like a good site for many around the world recipes: Whats4Eats.  I encourage everyone to try out some world cuisine soon and maybe jump on the train and take the E.A.T. World challenge yourself ;)

Dancing souls, Happy animals and Massaman Curry

Herzog did it again. Another completely fantastic film (Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call - New Orleans)! And Nicolas Cage was amazing, doing what he does best :) Cage truly has a way with eccentric, offbeat characters. A wild man that does it well! And Herzog? Well, perhaps the same could be said. Here we are stranded in New Orleans and he still manages to reflect on a few reptiles. He loves those animals. Herzog has a way of drawing out amazing characters and creating an atmosphere unlike any other director I know.

How happy would you be if you found this is the mail?

Adam and I haven't exchanged gifts yet and are excitedly waiting for packages to come in the mail. Today an envelope came addressed to me from sweet Amey at Vegan Eats & Treats
It's a wonderful cookbooklette that made me smile with each page! I'm super excited to try out the recipes, especially her recipe for Disaronno Cookies (which I have never had)!

Here's the cover and I will include another image at the end. Because I really can't get enough of these :)


Tonight's dinner was Massaman Curry. We have this once a week generally because it's cheap, easy and delicious! Recently we have tried some of Maesri's other pastes, but this is still our favorite. The original came from Mac & Cheese. Since we like to make enough for leftovers, here was tonight's variation:


Massaman Curry

Ingredients:
Onion
4 med. potatoes
19 oz. tofu
fresh spinach leaves
fresh broccoli
2 cans Maesri Massaman Curry Paste
2 cans Coconut Milk
Red Pepper Flakes
Cashews

Saute onion on med. heat until it starts to brown on the edges, it will be a dark golden color. Dump in the curry paste and saute for 1-2 min. Add coconut milk. Mix until the paste and milk seem evenly mixed and allow a few bubbles to form (maybe a min. or so). Dump in potatoes, tofu, broccoli and spinach and mix thoroughly. Allow the curry to cook for 15-20 min. or until potatoes have softened to your liking, stirring periodically. About 2 min. before the curry is done add cashews and red pepper flakes. Serve over rice.

We like ours pretty spicy. For a milder sauce use more coconut milk or less paste.


One more image from Amey's super cute cookbooklette!