Serves 2-4 When I look at this photo, my tummy literally rumbles. My mouth opens a little in expectation. I actually find it as appealing as my Guinness Chocolate Cake with Bailey’s Buttercream that I made for Ireland. Weird, but true. What can I say? Mom taught me to eat my veggies. I’ve been trying to convince Mr. Picky. I’ve been working on Ava. My enthusiasm hasn’t started a wildfire. Yet. Still, I’m here to tell you what every Kenyan knows – the simple truth – green food does a body good. Especially when stewed with juicy tomatoes, rich broth and sweet onion. It’s also a fantastic way to stretch resources throughout the entire week – something built into the Kenyan name “Sukuma Wiki,” which literally means “stretch the week.” I’m into it. Simple, affordable, and delicious. What’s not to love? Ingredients: vegetable oil 1 large onion 1 very large tomato (or 2 small) 1 bunch kale (about a dozen stalks) 1 cup broth salt Method: Let’s get started. First, fly to Kenya and pick up …
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Makes 6 rolls (on 1/2 sheet nori seeweed) – serves 2 Do you have a yearning to be creative? An artist? Do you want to release your imagination into the wild? Are you also hungry? The answer is sushi. While sushi making is an art that requires years of training to master, everyone can play the game. It’s like I tell my husband – you don’t have to be Michelangelo to paint a personal masterpiece. Similarly, you don’t have to be a sushi chef to fill your belly with satisfying sushi. Today we’re tackling futomaki. Futomaki is a large sushi roll, typically filled with vegetables and/or cooked fish. I thought this was a good place to start for those of us who don’t have refrigerated work spaces for handling raw fish. After all, let’s be honest. This is all about fun. Not tummy troubles. So let’s get our art on and make some sushi. Once you get the hang of it, I highly suggest having a sushi themed small dinner party. It’s super sushi fun. Here’s what you …
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As far as I’m concerned there’s only one way to enjoy a movie: cuddled up to a plate of stuffed artichokes. I’ve already managed to brainwash the rest of the clan into agreement. I started young with Ava – at 10 months old she became enamored when I found one the size of her head. Today – at just two years old – she’s an artichoke eatin’ pro. To enjoy your next movie with an artichoke, you just need three accessories: a giant bowl for the discarded leaves, napkins, and a small bowl of melted butter with fresh lemon juice squeezed in, if you like that sort of thing. My husband doesn’t…I do… So we have separate dipping bowls. This recipe has been passed down in my family for generations – although everyone makes it different. Mom actually never wrote her version down, so I had to watch and try to memorize her steps. Lucky for me, it’s really easy – just stir everything together, pile onto the trimmed artichoke, steam for 45 minutes-1 hour and enjoy. …
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Serves 2-4 Ava’s my little alarm clock. Most days we get up about 8 am (bless her). On the mornings that I wake up before Ava, I like to sit in the drowsy quiet, by the window. I’m not really asleep. I’m not really awake. I’m just glad for a few minutes to stare into the stillness and daydream. Often my thoughts turn to people in other countries. Slowly, I sip my tea and wonder … what are they doing, right now? Are they sleeping? Awake? Are they happy? Sad? Do they Tweet? Are they obsessively checking their Facebook? Are they sitting by a window wondering about me? Hello? Is any body out there? And then Ava wakes up and the excitement of the day begins. I can tell you one thing for sure – right now, somewhere in Israel, someone is eating Shakshouka, breaking their bread and dipping it in the rich sauce. This simple one-pot dish was once considered the working man’s food and is balanced – loaded up with protein, veggies, and …
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Nope. That would be weird. No, this is peanut sauce, the perfect complement to Gado Gado. And what is Gado Gado, you ask? The coolest way to stay cool in Indonesia. Made from an assortment of tofu, tempeh, young jack fruit, cooled boiled potatoes, eggs, and green beans, Gado Gado is a dream-come-true for those of us who like to use leftovers. Of course, to keep things fresh and crunchy, most Gado Gado salads also add a blast of cabbage and sprouts. If that sounds too healthy, no worries. While I went light on the peanut sauce, I’ve read that many salads are swimming in the stuff. I got the same effect by dipping each bite until totally coated in peanut sauce. It was brilliant. What are we waiting for? Let’s hit up a floating market and make some Gado Gado. Ingredients for 2-4 2 handfuls green beans, steamed and cooled 4 small red potatoes, boiled, cooled, and quartered 4 eggs, hard-boiled, cooled, and halved 1/2 package tempeh, pan fried in oil 8 oz tofu, pan …
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Serves 4 It’s creamy. It’s earthy. It’s one of my favorite dishes from India. Ladle saag panner over basmati rice and it’s also a surefire way to get a picky man to eat his spinach. Ingredients: vegetable oil 1 tsp fresh grated ginger 1 tsp fresh grated turmeric 2-3 tsp homemade garam masala 1 onion, chopped 3 cloves garlic Serrano chili, sliced thinly (to taste) 1 lb frozen spinach, thawed, juices retained homemade paneer, to taste salt pepper finishing touch 2 Tbsp butter 1/4 cup half and half (or more to taste) Method: There’s only one way to get a picky man to love spinach. Load it up with good flavor. Blend it so it’s no longer slimy. And add some delicious cheese to distract him from all the green. First step: gather the ingredients. Whole Foods had fresh turmeric this week (see bottom right), so I did my happy dance. Next, toast the ginger, turmeric, and garam masala in vegetable oil over medium heat until fragrant. Add the onion, garlic, and Serrano chili. Cook until softened, …
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Makes 1 large bowl If you’ve never had jicama or chayote, you’re in for a real treat. Jicama is watery and crunchy, a lot like water chesnuts, but mildly sweet. Chayote is in the squash family, and you can taste it. When dressed with a splash of lime and orange juice, the salad brings together the tropical flavors of Central America. Ingredients: 1 jicama, peeled and sliced into matchsticks 1 chayote, sliced into matchsticks 2-3 large oranges, segmented 1/2 large red onion, sliced thinly 1-2 limes, juiced fresh cilantro, to taste olive oil salt & pepper Method: Welcome to a pantry of fresh flavor. Of deliciousness. Of happy salads just waiting to be made. Slice everything up, nice and thin. Segment the orange – meaning cut off the skin and use a sharp knife to cut wedges out from between the segments. Sprinkle with plenty of lime juice. Realize your salad bowl is much too small to do any ingredient tossing. Pile everything into the largest, reddest bowl you can find. Douse with a splash …
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Serves 2-4 I never thought the day would come. I never thought I would conquer the mighty yucca. This tuber has made sweat, cry, and is quite possibly be the reason why I blacked out and went crashing to the floor one night after eating way too many Bâton de Manioc – out cold for a good thirty seconds. To be fair, the next day the doctor blamed dehydration. Regardless, given my terrible past with this tuber, I have a deep need to remedy my track record, this time with yucca fries. Who can mess up fried yucca, right? As far as fried food goes, it’s healthier than a potato but gives you the same indulgent fix. So, dip it in the oil until golden, sprinkle some salt and satisfy those munchies! Ingredients: 1-2 yucca vegetable oil, for frying salt, to taste Method: Make sure you’re very hungry. Yucca fries are delicious, but leftovers aren’t acceptable. They get soft. When your stomach is growling good and loud, peel and quarter the yucca, being careful to …
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Makes about 18 triangles While I probably ate Spanakopita in Greece, I can’t be completely sure. You see, I was much too busy singing “Some say love” to my first boyfriend while walking around ancient ruins, holding hands. Literally. We blushed occasionally. Our palms were sweaty. Gosh. Corny doesn’t begin to describe it, but – even still – I will attempt to convince you of the wisdom of Bette Midler which, ironically enough, applies directly to the mighty spanikopita: It’s the heart afraid of breaking that never learns to dance. It’s the dream afraid of waking that never takes the chance. So here’s my message for you: no matter what your trepidations might be, suppress them long enough to make spanakopita. Don’t worry about unwieldy phyllo dough breaking – just keep it covered with plastic wrap so it doesn’t dry out. Don’t worry about falling asleep while making them – borrow a friend to help you. You’ll laugh and conquer the challenge together! And, if you have a little spare time, take a trip to Greece and …
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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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Serves 4 I’m not sure why this idea seemed so strange to me. West Africans love greens with peanut butter (they call them groundnuts), and I should have never doubted them. The earthy peanuts stand up to the mighty bitter spinach. It balances out nicely with the sweet peppers, but spicy would work wonderfully as well. If you can pick up the spinach and onions from your farmer’s market, I highly recommend it. The fresh flavors will crunch and zip and smile inside your mouth. Ingredients: peanut oil (or regular) 3 green onions, sliced 1 lb fresh spinach 1 red bell pepper 1/4 cup natural peanut butter 1/2 cup water salt pepper or cayenne Method: I was just so happy the farmer’s market opened up for business the same day we cooked The Gambia. Look at these green onions and the healthy, sultry spinach. That’s right. I said sultry. Cook the pepper in hot peanut oil (or vegetable oil if you don’t have any) Add in peanut butter and water. Stir to combine into a …
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Serves 4 When I was little, mom made ratatouille all the time. We ate it hot in the winter and cold in the summer, but always with loads of garlic. She’s half Italian, half Hungarian so – naturally – I figured ratatouille was a dish from our own, personal heritage.Later, when I moved to France, ratatouille turned up everywhere. Who knew? Ratatouille is French, French, French. Most popular in the south of France, around Nice (one of the hotspots for rich and famous folk, on the French Riviera), ratatouille means “to toss food together.” They key to great flavor is browning the veggies. With summer on the horizon, I dream about grilling each ingredient and tossing together into a ratatouille inspired salad. Ingredients: 1/3-1/4 cup olive oil (as desired) 1 large onion, sliced 1 red bell pepper, cut in 1″ pieces 1 yellow bell pepper, cut in 1″pieces 6 cloves garlic, sliced 1 1/2 lbs zucchini, sliced into rounds 1 small eggplant – about 1 1/2 pounds – cubed 4 roma tomatoes, chopped 1/4 tsp chopped fresh …
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