sukuma

 A Facebook friend who is from Kenya recently mentioned sukuma and it piqued my interest.  I've got some gorgeous greens that will do well in this.  I checked different recipes and like this one (the spices look great) which I'll try this weekend.  (I'm not going to make ugali or fufu, so I'll eat it with rice.) 

Ingredients

• 1 large white onion
• 1-2 cloves minced garlic
• 3 medium tomatoes diced
• 1/2 tsp curry or turmeric
• 1/2 tsp coriander
• 1 T smoked paprika
• 1/2# ground beef (or other meat)
• 1 T bouillon powder or cube 
• 1 bunch collard greens or kale
  
• 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper (to taste)
• 1/2 juiced lemon, about 1 T
  

Instructions
1. In a medium- large skillet, add oil, onions, and garlic, and sauté, for about 2-3 minutes, stirring constantly to prevent any burns.

2. Then add tomatoes, curry, coriander, and paprika, and continue stirring with a heavy wooden spoon, about 2 minutes.

3. Add minced meat, bouillon powder; stir until ingredients have been thoroughly combine. Simmer for about 5 minutes or more. 

4.  Throw in chopped collards, cayenne pepper, lemon juice, Continue cooking for another 5-10 minutes until flavors have blend and greens are cooked, according to preference. Adjust seasonings –Salt and pepper, turn off the heat.

Remove from the heat and let it cool.  Best with ugali (I eat it with naan). 

goat and collards

Seeking to clear my refrigerator and freezer, I shall assemble a West African-style "soup." Sorry for the lack of measurements - I just empty up what I have.

*onion, chopped
*garlic
*goat meat, chopped
*peppers - bell or chili (in Liberia, they mash the garlic & chili peppers in a mortar/pestle - not chop. Makes the flavor richer)
*(celery)
*collards, one bunch, cleaned thoroughly and chopped; and/or other greens (such as mustard greens, cabbage, etc.)
*okra (frozen is fine)
*diced tomatoes (a can; or some tomato paste, juice, sauce, etc. - the acid helps tenderize the goat and adds a great flavor)
*other vegetables as desired including carrots, potatoes, yams, etc.
*stock (I use whey from yogurt making and homemade stock)
*seasonings to taste (salt, pepper - in Liberia they use a lot of MSG, which I do not; can also blend in a couple tablespoons of peanut butter toward the end of cooking)

Saute onion, garlic, peppers, and celery (if desired) over medium-low heat in peanut oil. (High heat will burn garlic and make it bitter.)

Add in goat meat and brown it. (Or remove the first ingredients and brown the goat alone)

Put that in a crock pot with the rest of the ingredients, add stock to cover, and let cook for several hours. The goat needs a long time to cook in order to tenderize, and that won't hurt the collards (I would use a tough green like collards rather than spinach for that reason, and any other vegetables added should be hearty as well to avoid turning to mush) - and the long time will help the flavors meld and the okra adds a great body.

Goes great on rice!

Moroccan oranges

I saw these on the blog of a friend of a friend, and couldn't pass them up. I'll just copy it word for word and someday for a special occasion make them (because now, this is more sugar than I eat in six months!): (and yes, see labels, I know that Morocco is not in the Middle East - but this seems something that would be served there ...)

Chantal's Mother Moroccan oranges

This is what you need

4 oranges
1 cup of honey
1cup of sugar
whole cloves
2 cinnamon sticks (1 for the syrup and the other broken in half for the jars)
2 1-pint jars
and what I have added over the years which is of course, optional

A couple of fresh orange or lemon leaves, washed and dried
and a dash of Grand Marnier or Cointreau

Wash the oranges well with hot water to make sure they are completely clean. Remember, you will be eating the whole orange here. Slice the oranges into 1/3 inch slices. I normally use medium size oranges so they will fit nicely into a wide mouth pint jar. In a large frying pan for instance, place the sliced oranges and cover with water. Simmer at the lowest heat for about 20 minutes or until you can pierce the skin easily. Don't let them get too soft or the effect won't be the same. Firm but tender is the operative word here.

Drain them and then lay them flat on a cooling rack. I leave them out overnight covered with a piece of saran wrap. The following morning stick a whole clove in each slice and set aside. Now mix the honey and sugar to make a syrup. Bring the syrup to a boil and then lower the heat to simmer. Add 1 cinnamon stick and reserve the other. Carefully add the orange slices into the pan and simmer for another 20 to 30 minutes.

Now comes the fun part. I cook with tongs and I would be completely useless without them, but I am sure a slotted spoon or even a fork, providing you use it horizontally as you would a spatula, would make your job easy; You have to be careful as they break easily at this point, arrange them into layers into the 2 pint jars. Divide the syrup among the jars and add the cinnamon sticks. Wipe the edge of the jar clean and either add a citrus leaf to each, or a dash of liqueur. They are perfect without either but they are superb with both.

Serve with creme fraiche, or some of Trader Joe's French Village vanilla yoghurt. And then come back to tell me where your unicorn took you.

goat stew

Modeled after this. Used to have really excellent goat stew (called soup) in Ghana but I want to put some vegetables in it. I think the important things are the tomato, a little peanut butter, chilies and garlic, and cooking the goat a long darn time.

1 lb of goat
1-2 large onions (include the trinity of celery & pepper if desired)
2-4 cloves of garlic
a jalapeno or small chilies
2-3 T peanut oil
2-3 T tomato paste
a bay leaf or two
1/8 tsp of cloves
1/8 tsp of ginger
1 dash of cayenne
salt and white pepper
1 T freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 cups of beef stock (I'll use bouillon) (add more water as necessary)
2-4 carrots (or some pumpkin or a yam), in chunks
1 pound okra
2 T peanut butter

Peel and dice the onions, and slice the carrots (or pumpkin).

Crush the garlic and chilies with mortar & pestle.

Heat up the butter to medium heat and saute the meat and onion, garlic, chilies for a few minutes (till onions are translucent). Put them in a crockpot.

Then add tomato puree, spices, lemon juice, and the stock.

Cook several hours in the crockpot (about 5 hours on high).

About an hour before serving, stir in vegetables and peanut butter.

Check the seasoning. I like it with white rice.

***
This turned out really good, though I'd go lighter on the cloves. It has a rich, deep flavor. Other vegetables would be really good too, such as green beans and zucchini (though added late, to make not mushy).

Somali tea

This is really chai-esque. It's super yummy and I'm very excited because I just got

and that makes it even easier to make. Yay!

My Somalian friend Asha made this once and I modified her instructions to make the perfect tea for me. The point? You can add and mix it up however you like. But I tell you: I never would have gotten through the bar exam preparation without this!

Put into tea kettle:

1/2 mug of milk
1 1/2 mugs of water (she says should be equal amounts of milk & water)
2-3 teabags (I use one reg and two decaf)
5 or so cardamom pods
a stick or two of cinnamon, broken into pieces
a hunk of ginger chopped (mine's always frozen, so not very well chopped)
4-5 cloves
sugar or honey (I put in about a teaspoon but most people like it sweeter)

Heat it all up together. Let it simmer, turn it off, heat it up again. Stir so it doesn't boil over or burn. Enjoy!