Makes 16 When I ask for a cookie, I expect to get a sugary, crispy, heart-racing cookie. Something that makes me thirst for milk. But that’s not always what happens. Take raivas, for example. These cinnamon loaded Portuguese cookies are subdued. Doughy. Bready. Dry. But don’t be fooled. The texture isn’t a mistake. They are made specifically for dunking. Dipping. Sogging-up coffee, hot cocoa or tea. So why are we making Portuguese cookies this week, when we’re cooking West Africa? Simple. The people of Guinea-Bissau love Portuguese baked goods because they were a former Portuguese colony. Walk into any big city bakery and you’ll see what I mean. So, come along, let’s jump on the cinnamon train with the squiggliest, wiggliest, doughiest cookies I’ve ever seen Inspired by Lindy and her adaptation from Cozinha Tradicional Portuguesa. Ingredients: 8 Tbsp Butter 1/2 cup sugar 4 eggs 3-3 1/4 cups flour 1 Tbsp cinnamon 1/4 tsp salt Method: Put on a shirt with a wiggly design. Play a wiggly song. Vow to make wiggles, not war. Here’s how …
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Fills about 2 mason jars – 1 for you & 1 for a friend Have you seen the papayas at the market lately? They’re gorgeous. Sweet. Giant. Exotic. Plus they’re fun to pronounce: pa-pa-ya. Gotta love anything that ends with an affirmative. Since papayas are beloved in Guinea and Guinea Bissau, I really wanted to make papaya jam for you today. Unfortunately, jam making all but requires a chemistry major. I’m too footloose for that, so I made chutney. The cool thing about chutney is that it’s made the same way as jam, with the same ingredients… minus the powdered pectin and careful measuring. In other words, minus the headache. And, honestly, it’s quite a bit more authentic for West Africa. To give the chutney a bit of body I used the natural pectin found in orange peel. The result? A sweet, tropical chutney laced with the slightest hint of bitter orange peel (don’t be scared – it really is just a hint – nothing like bitter orange marmalade). NOTE: You may want to adjust …
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Serves 1 When I don’t have time for a bubble bath, I like to slip my dreams into a steaming hot cup of cocoa. Imagine my surprise (and joy) when I found out Guatemalans don’t make their hot cocoa quite like we do here, in the USA. Like their neighbors throughout Central America, Guatemalans make hot cocoa out of bars of pressed cocoa. Dry and crumbly, these hot cocoa bars are nothing like the creamy bars of chocolate we snack on. The good news? You can find them in your local Latino market and in the international aisle of some standard grocery stores. For more information and to see “the making of” these cocoa bars… see our post In Search of the Guatemalan Sweet Tooth. PS. Keep this recipe in mind around the holidays – Guatemalans love to sip a nice cup of cocoa with tamales during the Christmas season. Ingredients: 1-2 ounces (usually 1-2 squares) from a hot cocoa bar 1 cup whole milk 1/2 cinnamon stick, or powdered cinnamon to taste Method: First things, …
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Makes 3 cups Is your blender lonely? Do you want to blast away from boredom? Try pepian, a thick mole-like sauce from Central America and beloved in Guatemala. With a quick whizz-whirr in the blender, this vegan sauce (a.k.a. recado) blends the smoky flavor of roasted, toasted seeds and other goodness with a half stick of cinnamon and dried chili peppers. If that sounds like a lot of different ingredients, don’t worry, pepian is so balanced that even the pickiest eaters in your house won’t realize what they’re eating. The smooth, complex flavor makes me happy – especially when I’m in a cooking rut. Serve over vegetables or stew with chicken. Our recipe is adapted from our friends over at Uncornered Market (where you can watch a great video of Pepian preparation in Guatemala). They used guaque and pasa chilis; we could not obtain these so we substituted the closest we could find. The result was a completely mild pepian. Enjoy! Ingredients: 2 ounces sesame seeds, toasted 2 ounces pumpkin seeds, toasted 5 large roma tomatoes, …
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Makes 16 small or 8 medium tortillas This week’s Guatemalan Global Table starts off with a popular treat – the corn tortilla. Store-bought corn tortillas can be so … stale, dry and yucky. But, take five minutes to throw together a simple dough and you can smoosh out the best corn tortillas in the world – certainly as good as any you can find in Guatemala. Make them thick or thin, big or small – any way you shape them you’ll be glad you did. And if you have kids, watch out. You just might need to double the recipe (but don’t worry, they’ll be doing most of the work). Ingredients: 2 cups masa harina 1 1/4 cups water 1/4 tsp salt one giant helping of super secret ingredient (see below) Method: My recipe is not too different from the back of the masa harina bag. There’s one major difference though. I add… … and I think you’ll notice a real difference. With that being said, combine a healthy portion of love with masa harina, …
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Makes…as much as you can handle! I’m no mixologist, so I love when there’s a clear cut way to mix a drink, such as with the ever-mighty Rum Punch. The recipe is easy to remember, as long as you can count to four. You’ll need 1 part sour, 2 parts sweet, 3 parts strong, 4 parts weak. As for what specific ingredients to use? That’s where you get to be creative. Take “Sweet” for example: that could be a sugar syrup or a naturally sweet fruit juice. You get to choose. I went for a middle of the road drink – tropical, fruity and fresh without being cloying. As for the dash of nutmeg – it’s Grenadian fairy dust – be sure to add some for your finishing touch. Ingredients: 1 part sour: fresh lime juice 2 parts sweet: pineapple juice 3 parts strong: rum 4 parts weak: orange juice If my ratio confuses you, just replace the word “part” with cup, and you’ll end up with a little over a half gallon. Garnish: freshly grated nutmeg 1 …
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Serves 6 Stressed out? Time for a Caribbean Oil Down – and I don’t mean massage. This heavy duty dish is made by stewing cassava or bread fruit in coconut milk and curry. The result is a thick, indulgent stew worthy of any party. Our version is vegan, but pork bits are typical. With such rich ingredients, Oil Down seems more suited to a ski slope than a beach party, but, still, Grenadians eat this dish in their bathing suits. Brave, brave people. Oil Down is so rich that you may be able to stretch this one pot dish a lot further than six people. Especially if said people are teeny weeny or even tall, yet thin. The stew gains its richness thanks to the coconut milk which is a defining feature of this popular Caribbean meal. Serve with rice. Ingredients: 3-4 yucca/cassava, about 2 lbs 3 carrots 2 stalks celery 1 onion vegetable oil 1 Tbsp curry powder 1 whole hot pepper, optional 2 cans coconut milk (about 31/2 cups) 2 cups water salt …
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Makes about 10 Perhaps you’ve had a rough week. Perhaps you need a little comfort. The time is right… come over my friends; let’s make a batch of Spinners & Sinkers. I thought I knew what a dumpling was until I met a batch of Caribbean Spinners and Sinkers. They don’t look like any dumpling I’ve ever had. They are long and gently tapered, which causes them to sink and spin and dance while they cook in simmering water. Traditional dumplings just bob and float. Spinners and Sinkers are also incredibly easy to make – an ideal activity for children – and, in my opinion, quicker to throw together than a traditional dumpling. They are dense and substantial – add them to soups and stews, such as Oil Down and your belly will be quite pleased with you. Recipe adapted from The World Cookbook for Students. Ingredients: 1 cup flour 1/4 cornmeal 1/2 tsp salt warm water, as needed Method: To make a fresh batch of comfort, start by mixing together the flour and cornmeal …
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Makes 1 1/2 quarts Pull up a chair. I have a secret to tell you. You are missing out on one of life’s greatest pleasures if you’ve never made homemade ice cream. I’ve spent many a summer day hovering over a spinning, whirring ice cream machine… waiting – rather impatiently- for the liquid to solidify into creamy goodness, just so I can eat it up with a spoon directly out of the container. The milk and cream mixture completes its glorious transformation in less than thirty minutes in a machine (which is a great plug and play alternative to the hand cranked models of yore). Today’s recipe comes all the way from Grenada yet tastes so familiar, almost like summertime eggnog, thanks to the addition of their pride and joy – the noble nutmeg. I call it ever-so nutmeg because it is ever-so good. The bonus? Our recipe is a little lighter than some ice creams, which typically include equal parts milk and cream. NOTE: If you purchased a 2 cup container of heavy cream, …
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Serves 4 Mr Picky’s eyes bulged when I told him that an authentic Greek salad does not include lettuce. “I thought all salads had to have lettuce,” he said. I went down the list of ingredients, playing up what might be my favorite salad in the world, simply in the hopes of converting him. He hate olives and vinegar, and barely tolerates tomatoes, so it was a tough sell. Still, Greek salads are on my short list. In New England you can get one at almost every restaurant. Here, in Tulsa, Oklahoma, I’ve only managed to find them in Greek restaurants, of which there is sadly a short supply. The good news? It’s spectacularly easy to make at home. I find dressing this salad at least thirty minutes ahead of time gives the flavors a chance to mingle. Ingredients: 2 tomatoes, cut into wedges 1 green pepper, sliced thinly 1/2 an English cucumber sliced thinly, or 1 regular cucumber peeled and then sliced 1/2 red onion, sliced thinly 3.5 ounces feta, cubed 1/2 cup kalamata …
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Serves 4 When I started this Adventure I was seriously grill-challenged. Today, I am a new woman. I’ve learned how marinades can transform bland meat into craveable hunks of goodness, as with the intensely lemony Georgian Chicken recipe we made a few weeks ago. And now, today, I bring you Greek lamb… I would choose to eat these lamb chops over eating out any day of the week. The key is to slowly marinate the meat until it practically tingles from the inside out with garlic, lemon and a hit of rosemary. Ingredients: 2.5 lbs lamb, any combination of: Lamb Rib Chops Lamb T-Bone Chops Leg of Lamb, cubed (for kabobs) For the marinade: 4 cloves garlic 1-3 sprigs fresh rosemary 1 tsp salt 1/2 tsp oregano 1/4 tsp pepper 2 strips lemon peel, or 1/2 a lemon zested 1/4 cup olive oil 1/4 cup lemon juice Method: Run to the store and buy some potted herbs. Plant them here, there, and everywhere. They’ll make your garden so gorgeous. An herb garden is unbelievably easy to grow and …
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Makes 1 serving I’ll try every dish at least one time thanks, in great part, to this humble dessert. I first had it on my 8th grade class trip to Greece, during a day trip to the Delphi ruins. The road weaved and bobbed through dark green forests that clung to the mountainsides. I, too, was dark green by the time we stopped for lunch at a quaint restaurant nestled under a cliff. Unfortunately – or fortunately – Greek food awaited. There was no time to be sick. While I have no memory of the main course, I do remember the dessert – yogurt with a dollop of golden honey. I’ve thought of it often since then, much like an elderly woman dreams of young love. Of course, at the time, I was nowhere as poetic. In fact, I met the dessert with an ugly face. A yuck face. I almost pushed it away, but – on a whim – decided to give it a chance. Thank goodness for small miracles. Ingredients* *These proportions should serve …
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