Saturday, February 11, 2006

African and French


Foo foo: smashed plantains. These took time, but hardly any effort. These plantains had a natural lemony flavor to them.


Injera: flat bread for eating Ethiopian food. It didn't taste at all like what they serve in restaurants. The bread was too stiff and the distinct sour taste was missing. I think I can attribute those to too thick of a batter and using whole wheat in place of t'ef. Still good though, like a wheat pancake.


Nketia Fla: peanut chicken stew. This was really good. I shredded the chicken and partially pureed it in addition to Bittman's recipe. This dish is from Ghana.


Argh, I can't cook dried legumes for the life of me! Here are my yellow split peas after an hour of soaking and THREE hours of simmering!!! The pea was so undercooked it still bounced when dropped on the counter. I heard that you can't cook dried legumes with acidity (tomato) because their interaction prevents softening. But so many recipes include tomatoes, how can that be true? Nevertheless, these were left in the fridge overnight, slow cooked for 4 more hours the next day, and are now in my fridge waiting to be eaten.



Soup au Pistou: this was a special treat for Ben, since I hardly ever cook mushrooms. The soup had a really good flavour. Served with parmesan basil toasts.


One nice thing about Ben being home is that the dishes are always done when I back from work. And as a bonus, he lets me play Vanna White! ;-) Six, count 'em, six cabinents for me to close.


mis en place :-)

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