Today, let me show you how Vietnamese food is like a dream. Delicate. Lingering. But, also, let me show you how their food is like a celebration. Bold. Unapologetic. Before I do, call your friends and family because today’s recipe is a Vietnamese food party. The star? The DIY Fresh Spring Roll. Here’s how it works: Every guest gets to pick and choose their fillings, from cucumber and sprouts, to vibrant mint, thai basil, and cilantro. The best part? Everyone gets to cook their meat at the table in a vinegar and lemongrass broth. You can do this in a crock pot, a fondue pot, or, if you don’t have any of these, simply cook the beef in the kitchen right before dinner. Think of Bò nhúng dấm as Vietnamese fondu… also known as hot pot. Some like to cook shrimp, others beef or pork. I’ve even heard of people cooking squid in the broth. The bets part about this recipe is that the ingredients can be prepped and gathered way ahead of your guests ringing …
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If it were up to me, every gardener would know about Dimlama, the Uzbek one-pot answer to harvest-time (no canning required). While every Uzbek family makes it a little differently, potatoes, carrots, peppers, and tomatoes are standard fare, as is a hearty sprinkling of whole cumin seeds. The key to dimlama rests in the layering. First of all, lamb is browned, then onions are added in the mix. One they submit to browning, the remaining vegetables are layered (and, once they’re added, you never stir the pot!). The final layer is always cabbage, which helps seal in the moisture. When the vegetables release their juices, they drip down to the bottom of the pan and deglaze all those nummy browned bits. The result? A luscious brown gravy worthy of being sopped up by a nice piece of Central Asian Yogurt Naan. Serves 6 Ingredients: 1/2-1 lb cubed lamb or beef 1 large onion, sliced in quarter moons 5 small yellow potatoes cut in half 2-3 large carrots, peeled & sliced 2 red peppers, sliced in strips 2 …
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Combo. It’s one of South Sudan’s most popular dishes – a thick, wet combination of spinach, peanut butter, tomatoes, and (sometimes) meat. Peanut butter is a common meal component throughout Africa (like Ghana’s Groundnut Soup, Sierra Leone’s Gluten-free Peanut Bites, Senegal’s Cinq Centimes Cookies, and Malawi’s Peanut Balls), but Combo stands out as one of the more rustic dishes I’ve come across. Even still, South Sudanese no longer living in South Sudan make Combo to bring themselves back. That’s how they taste home again. Combo first came to my attention thanks to Brian Schwartz who kindly phoned the South Sudanese embassy to ask about popular dishes. Thanks Brian! You can have it with or without beef (or perhaps goat is more to your fancy?). I’ve even seen it with sweet potatoes in the mix. No matter what you do, just be sure to include the essentials: spinach and peanut butter. Adapted from the South Sudanese Cookbook. Ingredients: 1 1/4 lb beef, cubed vegetable oil 2 onions, chopped 4 garlic cloves, crushed 3 cups beef stock …
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Sometimes we need a meal that can fill every corner of our heart, one that can bump out those rough and tumble emotions that bog us down… the ones that keep us from being happy. Carefree. Enter Suqaar, from Somalia. Suqaar (pronounced sooh-car) is one of Somalia’s most beloved dishes and can be made with any meat, from lamb, to chicken, to beef. Generally the meat is cut into very small pieces, about 1/2″ cube or smaller. The meal is then rounded out with an assortment of veggies – usually carrots, bell pepper, onion, and -sometimes – potato. There are no complex spices. There are no convoluted cooking techniques. Just good food, hot and happy. While some like to add cumin, most recipes omit any spice but salt. The flavors are simple and reflect the Italian influence on Somali food (hello, garlic and onion!). The meat and vegetable juices reduce to form a luscious gravy … and a delicate, controlled flurry of cilantro adds the finishing touch. Suqaar can be scooped up with flatbreads, but it …
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“WE YU YεRI PIKIN SE “MAMA DE KUK כKRכ”, PAPA BIN DכN TכK AM. If you hear a child say “Mama is cooking okra,” it’s because Papa said it.”* When I read this old proverb from Sierra Leone, I get goosebumps. The truth is, children pick up everything from their parents, from what’s for dinner to more serious considerations, like world views, either loaded with prejudice or full of grace. While sipping soup or nibbling rolls, they overhear snippets of conversation; verbal jabs and eye-rolls are noted. And nowhere is this more noticed, than at the dinner table. In fact, I’d like to suggest that this is one and the same: what’s for dinner reflects, in a very serious way, our world views. At every meal, our kids get a double whammy as they witness the foods we eat and refuse to eat. They notice when we squirm and mock our way through other people’s “normal.” Friends, we have the power to shape our children’s very thoughts, yet we so often forget that the main way …
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Last chances only come once. Last chance to tell that boy you like him. Last chance to wear hypercolor. Last chance to wear a micro-mini. Because, guess what? The 90’s are over, and they’re not coming back. (not that I’m bitter) (well, maybe about the mini skirt thing). Take a look outside. This might be your last chance to fire up the grill in 2012. Come December, when the Mayan’s pop in to say hello, you might wish you took the opportunity. Especially when it comes with so much DIY goodness. I’m a big fan of DIY meals. (Remember when we made “Foe” (similar to Pho)? No one’s bowl looked the same. Yet they were all major Yum Town). Today we’re exploring the popular South American DIY called Carne Asada, a.k.a. the most lovely barbecued meat you’ll ever nibble. Carne Asada can be found all over – from Mexico (hey, there’s those Mayas again), to the fine countries of South America. It is an especially fond part of the Paraguayan Global Table…and so here we …
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Beef Rendang is an art. And I could eat it every single day of my life. While there are many ways to make this flavorful curry, there are two things for certain – the dish must be slow-cooked until the flavor absorbs completely into the meat, and – secondly – the curry must explode with flavor. In a good way. The flavor part is the easiest. In fact, there are so many amazing ingredients – galangal, ginger, lemongrass, kaffir lime leaves to name a few – that you can’t help but make an amazing curry just by throwing them in a pot together. As for the slow cooking? Follow those famous words of wisdom and just “Let it be.” NOTE: If you would like your hot pepper to grind smooth, simply soak it in hot water for half an hour. I like the little hot bits, so I processed it dry. Recipe inspired by the cuisine of Chef Norman Musa. Serves 2-3 Ingredients: For the stirfry paste: 3 stalks lemongrass, chopped 2 inches of thumb-thick …
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I love presents. Surprises. Happy faces. So does my daughter. Imagine her ecstatic two-year old delight, then, when her dinner was a lidded present filled with a bounty of rice, sausage and beef? But the real surprise wasn’t her reaction – it was Keith’s. My very own Mr. Picky has been asking for stuffed peppers ever since I made them last week.Who knew this man would fall so hard for a simple stuffed pepper. Who knew he’d be so easy to please. He’s right, though. And, for the record, so is Kosovo – the lovely country that inspired this dish. So pull up a chair. Today we’re feasting on chilly autumnal food. Festival fall food. PS. This recipe is beloved in Kosovo where peppers, tomatoes and eggplants are all stuffed. Feel free to add your favorite herbs. Once you try it, you’ll be hooked. Makes 8-10 small stuffed peppers, or 6 large Ingredients: 1/2 lb ground sausage (pork or chicken) 1/2 lb ground beef 2 large cloves garlic, crushed 1 onion, chopped 1 cup rice, cooked (about …
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Serves 4 Hello, sky. Have you been outside lately? It’s amazing. The sky wants to swallow me up into a great big smile. Go ahead – check it out – take a look. See if it does the same thing to you, too. And the coolest part? That same sky you’re looking at – I’m looking at it, too. We’re all looking at it. Together. Over here, in Oklahoma-land, we’re tiptoeing into fall. I know because I recently felt the first chill of winter – the one that hits you upon walking outside in flip flops and a t-shirt. The chill that sends you straight back into the house for sneakers and a coat, even though you’re already ten minutes late. In this sudden shift, memories of Oklahoma’s outrageously scorching summer already seem vague and distant – replaced by fresh, cool air. And here’s the deal: I can’t stop eating stews. Today’s meaty stewed goodness greets us all the way from Kenya. It’s all about hearty love and fall flavor. Or fall love and hearty flavor. Or …
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Serves 2-4 Do you get hungry late, late, late – in the dark corners of the night? Does your stomach growl? Your mind race? Do you ever feel like you need a big bite of goodness before you can roll over and snooze? Me, too. Indonesian Beef Satay is just the ticket. Believe me when I say I would turn on my grill at midnight to eat this satay. Here’s the truth: I’ve never simply sat and eaten a half pound of meat in my entire life. I’m just not that into meat. Until today. Completely, and without remorse, I ate an entire half pound and would have continued on to eat more skewers, if I could have weaseled some away from Keith and Ava. The Satay are rich and sweet from the kecap manis (sweet soy sauce), wonderfully fragrant, and incredibly addictive. Apparently I’m not alone because many Indonesians are known to eat up to 6 skewers in one sitting. Ingredients: 1 small onion, chopped 4 cloves garlic, chopped 1 1/2 tsp minced ginger …
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