In my humble opinion, the highs and lows of life are equally worthy of a great meal. Highs are cause for pompous, celebratory food that leaps, dancing into your mouth, while lows beg for rich, fattening foods that slide in softly and ground you (and your belly). It is therefore fitting that this week of highs (seeing Anthony Bourdain live at the Tulsa PAC) and lows (a miserable husband with a giant kidney stone that just won’t pass) be acknowledged with a special feast. As chance would have it, Benin is perfectly suited to this split-personality of a week, with an interesting blend of celebratory food (crab and bananas in orange sauce) and rich food (pureed black-eyed peas and coconut rice). Enjoy! PS – I’m not sure what happened, but this week’s Global Table is in varying shades of cream and brown. Not very visually exciting, but the flavors were good all the same. Crabs from Benin (Crabe Beninoise) [Recipe] What I liked most about this dish Crab is a real treat, classy enough for any …
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Serves 4 Benin’s Pureed Black-eyed peas are smooth and creamy thanks to peeling the beans. If you do not have the patience for peeling the beans, use a food mill or omit the step all-together. The resulting mash is rich and flavorful, but it looks a lot like mashed potatoes so you might give unsuspecting guests a heads-up. Ingredients: 2 cups dried black-eyed peas salt pepper 1 stick butter Method: 1. Soak beans overnight in cool water. Drain the beans and slip the skins off. For detailed explanation see Technique Thursday: Peeling Beans. 2. Cover beans with about an inch of water and simmer for about 15 minutes, then season with salt and pepper to taste. Continue simmering until tender. 4. Drain liquid off and puree. I used an immersion blender. You could use a ricer, food processor, blender, or a large mortar and pestle. 5. Throw in a stick of butter and beat it in with a wooden spoon. The mixture will look like thick mashed potatoes. Pureed Black-eyed Peas Votes: 0 Rating: 0 …
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Serves 4 This crab dish contains a classic Beninese combination: onion, pepper, and tomato. Please use fresh tomatoes… I only had canned and the flavor of the can totally takes over (in a bad way). I know, I know. I should have my blog taken away from me for doing it, but I forgot to buy fresh at the store. Just proof that I’m human 🙂 Ingredients: 1-2 garlic cloves, minced 1/2 cup onion, minced 1/2 cup diced tomato (I didn’t have fresh on hand so I had to use canned. I just chopped them a little finer) 1/2 serrano chili, minced (1 Tbsp of more mild jalepeno or even milder poblano can be substituted) 1/2 lb fresh lump crabmeat 3 medium eggs salt & pepper about 1/2 cup bread crumbs or gari Method: 1. Preheat oven to 350F. Add garlic, onion, tomato, chili pepper, crabmeat, egg, salt, and pepper to a medium bowl. 2. Spoon into 4 ramekins (these hold 3/4 cup ) (or clean crab shells, if you have access to them). 3. Sprinkle evenly with bread …
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Serves 2 Bananas in orange sauce is a fresh, summery way to use bananas as a dessert topping. When we made the Baked Brown Sugar Bananas for Antigua and Barbuda (made with brown sugar, rum and butter) I didn’t think they could be beat, but these west African bananas are totally different and just as yummy!! Ingredients: 1/2 cup orange juice 1/2 cup brown sugar 1 Tbsp lemon juice (optional) 2 slightly under-ripe bananas NOTE: We used red bananas which are about 4 inches long, you can also use baby bananas or regular bananas. Method: 1. Heat orange juice, brown sugar, and lemon juice in a skillet for about 15 minutes on low (there should be small bubbles breaking the surface, but not quite a simmer). The orange juice will reduce and thicken into a syrup. 2. Peel bananas and add to syrup. Cook for a few minutes per side, making sure to warm through. 3. Serve immediately with ice cream, pound cake, or plain. Baby Bananas in Orange Sauce Votes: 0 Rating: 0 You: …
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Serves 2-4 Found both in the Caribbean and parts of Africa, coconut rice is rich and fragrant. The strong flavor goes particularly well with grilled meats and spicy sauces. We even used some leftovers in an asian-style salad with spicy peanut dressing. NOTE: Wondering how to make plain rice? The technique is the same, just substitute water for coconut milk. Ingredients: 1 cup coconut milk 1 cup water 1 cup white rice salt & pepper Method: 1. Heat coconut milk and water and bring to boil over medium heat. 2. Add rice and seasoning. Lower heat, cover, and simmer for about 16 minutes. 3. Uncover and let rest 5 minutes. Fluff with a fork. Serve immediately. Coconut Rice Votes: 0 Rating: 0 You: Rate this recipe! Print Recipe Found both in the Caribbean and parts of Africa, coconut rice is rich and fragrant. The strong flavor goes particularly well with grilled meats and spicy sauces. We even used some leftovers in an Asian-style salad with spicy peanut dressing. Lifestyle5-ingredients or less, Vegan, Vegetarian Food TypeRice …
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The first three and a half minutes of this video tell the story of a couple who are engaged. In the story the man’s friend makes a pass on the woman. She refuses his advances and tells her fiancé what happened. The fiance then goes to confront him, but the friend says that he was just testing the woman’s fidelity. The singer says for us to judge for ourselves. Then the chorus says that the friendship is true. After 3’30 the people start dancing a really interesting local dance.
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Because there is a shortage of information on Benin, I had to dig really deep to find some fun facts. In my search I happened upon a lovely blog by a young woman named Jen. Jen is an American who spent 2 years in Benin for the Peace Corps. I enjoyed reading through her experiences (although I am sad to report that they end mid-trip, suddenly and without explanation). First, I want to share a picture I found of her cooking class in Benin. You will see the lengths Jen and the other students are going to to get the food mashed and ready to eat. Makes you appreciate blenders, food processors, immersion blenders, and power gadgets in general. AND it makes me not feel so bad for having to peel 1,000,000 beans the other day. Upon reading some more of Jen’s blog, I learned that food service is typically very slow (in this entry she was visiting an area called Grand Po Po). In fact, some restaurants take 1-2 hours to prepare the food. Why, you …
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I spent the better part of a day peeling beans for our Benin Global Table. This is partially because it takes an eternity to peel beans and partially because my husband became incapacitated by kidney stones. All day we ran around to the doctor, the lab, and the prescription house. I didn’t take my beans with me which, of course, set me back several hours – but prevented me from looking like a crazy woman. Here’s how to peel beans: First things first. Soak 2 cups of beans overnight. 2 cups seems like a small, petty, insignificant amount of beans. Think to yourself, “Surely this paltry pile of beans will take no time at all to peel.” The next day wake up bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, ready to tackle the job. Stare in disbelief as you realize 2 cups of beans is now 6 cups of beans. Otherwise known as 1,000,000 beans that need peeling. Grab 2 bowls, 1 for the discarded skins, 1 for the clean beans. Begin the work of peeling the beans. Some beans …
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Although Benin is an impoverished country with many people living off a simple diet of fufu, yam, rice, and beans, the cuisine also offers upscale, global flavors, most notably influenced by French flavors and techniques. For example, this menu features crab, an commonly fished for in the south of Benin, prepared in a simplified French manner with eggs and vegetables. Crabs from Benin [Recipe] Lump crabmeat baked with egg, onion, garlic, tomato, and hot chili peppers Pureed Black-eyed Peas [Recipe] Steaming hot black-eyed peas are pureed and beaten with butter Coconut Rice [Recipe] White rice simmered in rich coconut milk Green Baby Bananas in Orange Sauce [Recipe] Bananas baked in orange juice and brown sugar. Serve hot as is, over plain cake, or with ice cream.
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Tall, thin, and irregular, Benin juts deep into the African continent, resembling a smoked turkey leg (which just happens to be my favorite fair food here in Oklahoma). Thanks to this unusual geography there is a notable difference between the food in the semi-arid north and the tropical south. Traditional Cuisine: Corn is the starch of choice in the more fertile south, whereas yams are more popular in the dry north. In both cases, the starch is cooked down into a mush-like consistency and eaten with the fingers. This traditional preparation is called fufu. The entire country also eats white rice cooked in rich, fatty coconut milk, when affordable. This tradition spread to the Caribbean where it remains popular. Peanuts are also traditional and are used many ways in Benin, the most prevalent of which is called kuli kuli. Kuli kuli are ground peanuts bound together to create balls which are then deep-fried. This rich treat is essentially deep-fried peanut butter. Mmm, sounds heart-stoppingly good. Culinary Favorites: Spicy peanut sauce is the ketchup of Benin. …
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