Makes 1.5 quarts Gulp, gulp, slurp. A quart and half of homemade Watermelon Lemonade lasts 13.3 minutes in this house. When served out of half a melon? It’s gone quicker than a cat’s meow. As the pitcher empties, our bellies swell – Mr. Picky’s most of all. He loves the stuff. He’s been known to drink an entire cup in one long draw, his eyes grinning over the rim. Today’s recipe is inspired by the flavors of Ghana, where heavy watermelons pile up in the markets all summer long. This sweet/tart drink uses up the juicy fruit up quickly – perfect if there’s a lack of refrigeration (or – ahem – if there’s no room in the refrigerator for a half-eaten watermelon). So, scoop up your leftover watermelon for a pitcher of this rosy drink – you’ll be sitting pretty when the mid-summer sun tries to beat you down. Ingredients: 1 cup fresh lemon juice (3-4 large lemons) 6 cups scooped watermelon, blended (3.5 cups after blending) 1/2 cup sugar (or to taste) 1/4 cup …
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My sister, Elisa, has one of the coolest jobs in the world. She’s an art teacher. In the days when I was languishing at my desk job, I dreamed of being in her shoes – inspiring children, encouraging creativity, playing with paint, and being called “Ms. Foppiano.” (That’s my maiden name. I really like it, although I don’t miss spelling it for people: “F as in Frank, O, double P as in Paul, I, A, N as in Nancy, O.” What a drag.) Today, I simply dream of Elisa taking over as Ava’s personal finger paint instructor. Oh, the fun they would have. Elisa recently did a Ghanaian art project with her students. Adinkra, or pattern stamping, is traditional with the Asante people of Ghana. They stamp patterns on cloth with a calabash shell and then wear the special cloth for different occasions. If the cloth is black or red, the adinkra is worn at funerals and big departures. If the cloth is brightly colored, the adinkra can be worn any time, but most commonly on Sunday …
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Serves 4 I can’t begin to explain why or how this recipe works, but it does. Of the four adults who sampled the soup, every single person had thirds. Thirds. Epic. Groundnut soup is your passport to west Africa. In less than an hour, you’ll be spooning a delicate blend of fresh ginger, garlic, tomato and groundnuts (a.k.a. peanut butter), with bites of browned chicken and bits of hot peppers. And you’ll be mourning the time you lived without this soup. Special thanks to Ghana and the rest of West Africa for sharing this gem of a recipe with the world. Variations include a perfectly smooth soup (the ingredients can either be pureed or simply mashed together), as well as prepared with fish or beef instead of chicken. If you’re feeling adventurous, you can make an even more authentic version of Groundnut Soup by substituting fish stock instead of chicken stock and garnishing with crushed, dried shrimp. The spice level of this soup is mild-medium. You can add more heat with ground cayenne pepper, if desired. Ingredients: …
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I’m starting to think my closet will never be cleansed of my wooly, winter-wear. Sure, the sun is trickling down through the leaves, but the heater is on full blast. The last few days have dipped into the thirties overnight. Sunday afternoon we even brought my sad lemon tree back inside, straining to pull the giant bushy tree back over the threshold to prevent more leaves from dropping 0r, worse, yet, to avoid losing the baby lemons. Even my once-happy tomato plants are complaining of frost damage. To think – just last month it was 93F. What can I say. That’s Oklahoma weather for ya. The good news is our Ghanaian menu is great for all weather conditions. Indeed, many Africans eat spicy, hot food, even in the summer. The logic? Spices and warm food in hot weather induces heavy sweating; when your forehead breaks out into a sweat, the droplets catch a breeze and cool you down. Brilliant. Of course, it helps that many Ghanaians cook in outdoor kitchens. What sounds good to you? Red …
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I sipped my wine, listening to his travel tales. Here’s my favorite one: After several days of eating like a Ghanaian, Ryan feels a bit homesick and pops into a pizzeria. He orders a pie with his favorite topping – bell peppers, hoping to get a taste of “home.” The waiter delivers the pizza, piping hot, covered with dozens of neatly sliced pepper rings. The only problem? They were habeneros. Wow. When he calls for the waiter, the staff merely chuckle, stating the Indian tourists love their pizzas that way. Even after he picking the peppers off the pizza, each bite remained screaming hot, thanks to the juices that dripped down from the roasted habeneros. Amazing. Needless to say, the pizza didn’t taste of “home.” Ryan later sampled a more tame Ghanaian dish called Red Red – black eyed peas stewed with spices, peppers, onions, and a layer of red palm oil so thick it leaves a red ring around the plate (hence the name) [Recipe]. This would be a fun one to try on New …
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THE SCENE My friend Amanda has the same philosophy as I do when it comes to kids and food: they’ll learn to love good food if you feed ’em good food. That doesn’t mean it’s always easy. Recently Ava’s been turning her nose up at anything that looks funny – green, purple – whatever. The girl is simply not interested. The other day I made her spinach ravioli and she didn’t want any part of it. After fifteen minutes of practically begging the girl to take a bite, I finally just asked her: “Why won’t you eat it? Because it’s green!?” Ava nodded her head violently. Then she laughed. Then, most incredibly, she took a bite. And, then, another. This week, as I spooned the mustard and pickle-filled beef rouladen and a small pile of red cabbage onto Ava’s plate, she looked skeptical. I thought I’d try the same tactic: to giggle at the unusual until she was curious enough to take a bite. Ava’s Corner: THE FOOD Mini Beef Rouladen [Recipe] What I liked most about …
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I know very little about beer. So little, in fact, that I’ve been known to drink it on ice. While I’ve been told this is an epic sin, I can’t help myself. There’s nothing better after a hot, sweaty bike ride in the summer than beer on ice. That being said, I thought our German Global Table was the perfect opportunity to take a stab at homebrewing. This is my step-by-step eperience making German Altbier. I am using the Brewer’s Best kit which can be purchased at High Gravity in Tulsa, Oklahoma (you can also order from them online). If you purchase their kit, you’ll get the full instructions and my procedure might help along the way. At the very least, you’ll learn what not to do. They also have classes. This isn’t an ad, by the way. I bought my own kit. High Gravity did loan me a bucket though! Hurrah for that. Now… if I can just get over there to return it. Day 1: First lesson… Apparently one needs a giant pot …
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Serves 2-4 Welcome to Germany! Mustard, pickles, onions, bacon, and the beefiest beef you can find – all tucked into a luscious gravy and served with red cabbage [Recipe] and potatoes. First, a few tips. Rouladen should be made with wide strips of tough beef -the kind that benefits from slow cooking. Typically this is round steak, but my supermarket only had chuck roast. The meat should be about 4″ wide and very long and thin. Have your butcher cut it for you. If you think of the meat like a brick, they should be cutting strips from the widest part of the brick. They’ll only be able to do it if they have a slicer. Our butcher didn’t have a slicer, so they couldn’t cut wide slices – they had to cut from the skinny side. No problem – we just made mini rouladen. When you get it home pound it as thin as you can. Only simmer the rouladen until the beef is tender. You might want to make one or two extra …
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Serves 6 There’s one thing I know for sure. This recipe is served all over Germany and other eastern European countries. You almost don’t have to look at a menu before ordering it (unless, of course, you’re eating at a Chinese restaurant in Germany). Red cabbage is super simple to make -the hardest part is cutting the cabbage. And that’s not very hard. Unless you don’t have a knife. Ingredients: 1 head red cabbage, cored and sliced thinly (about 3 lbs) 1 small onion, thinly sliced 1 cup water 1/2 cup vinegar 1/4 cup sugar 1 bay leaf Salt pepper Method: Today is the day you get to take out your anxiety on a small purple cabbage. It’s loads of fun. First, core and slice it. Next, add it to a large pot with sliced onions, sugar, vinegar, and a bay leaf. A little water, salt and pepper balance things out. Simmer for 1 1/2 hours or until the cabbage is as tender as you’d like, tossing occasionally. I found tongs the best way to …
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Pull up your chair to the German dinner table and you’ll likely eat a heaping plate of meat and potatoes. You might even encounter a crunchy gingersnap or a soft, spicy gingerbread cookie [Recipe]. What you might not expect, however, is that your cookies could be in your meat dish. That’s right. The German dish called Sauerbraten is a slow-cooked pot roast, loaded up with vinegar and a rich, brown gravy thickened with nothing more than cookies. But let’s start at the beginning, shall we? First, the meat hangs out in a vinegar bath for a week and a half, along with a healthy sprinkle of pickling spices. Second, the meat is slow-cooked with the vinegar mixture in a hot oven. Third, the vinegar mixture is strained and simmered with finely crushed gingersnaps to make a spicy, tangy brown gravy. Amazing. I must eat this dish as soon as possible. What about you? Would you try it? Happy Fun Fact Friday! Have a great weekend… hope you have something fun planned. Photo of Sauerbraten: Johann …
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This is my favorite cake. All 21 layers of it. It has been since my mitten-wearing years. My mom used this intricately layered almond and chocolate cake as an activity for us kids – something to keep us busy on rainy mornings, when crayons had lost their interest. It is single-handedly responsible for my obsession with almond paste (and it’s sweeter counterpart, marzipan). The original recipe might as well be called “the dance of dirty bowls.” I took a hacksaw to the method, removing five extra bowls. Your baby soft hands will thank you. The best part? No cake goodness was harmed in the streamlining of this recipe. NOTE: You need two days to make this cake because the cake needs to chill in the fridge overnight. Serves 12 Ingredients: All ingredients should be room temperature 1 1/2 cups almond paste, tightly packed (12 oz) 6 Tbsp half & half 1 1/2 sticks butter (12 tbsp), softened 1 cup sugar 10 eggs, separated (put the whites in a bowl big enough to whip them up to …
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If you’re feeling a bit overwhelmed at the thought of spring cleaning, try making these recipes, especially the beer and cake. Good luck. If you’re as clumsy as a frog, as I am, you’ll be cleaning up half-fermented beer splatters and chocolate drips for days. Squeak, shluck, squeak, shluck. That’s the sound of my sneakers on sticky tiles. Shudder. Of course, the final result allows you to eat and drink your sorrows away, so there’s that. Or you could just not be clumsy in the first place. Your choice. Mini Beef Rouladen [Recipe] Thin strips of beef spread with spicy mustard and rolled up around diced onions, bacon, and a piece of pickle. Served in a red wine gravy. Eastern European Red Cabbage [Recipe] The easy, ever popular cabbage dish – simply slice and cook with a bit of vinegar, sugar, and water. The bay leaf is for good luck. How to homebrew: German Altbier (Beer) [Recipe] This isn’t so much a recipe as a photo journal of my first attempt at brewing beer with ingredients …
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