smoked fish and potatoes

I have no idea what I'm doing here, but I grabbed some potatoes and smoked fish (most likely mackerel) at the grocery store, and doggone it sounds good, so here goes:

*Steam the potatoes until pretty done.

*Debone the fish.

*Saute onion and garlic in oil. When soft, add in the fish.

Eat the fish on the potatoes, topped with yogurt (which is all i have ... should have picked up some sour cream).

I'll eat it with stewed okra & tomatoes ... and now I'm very hungry!

I'm in Liberia!

While it's possible to eat from a supermarket here if one's tastes go towards $15 per box cheerios and $7.50 bags of M & Ms (I spent a long time staring at those before leaving them behind), I'm cheap.

Fortunately I can eat out a lot for a good price. Well, I can eat out for a very expensive price, but what I'm finding is that I would much rather pay $2 for cook shop Liberian food than $20 for western food such as chicken quesadillas (they're actually only $9 or so I think, but most things are quite expensive). There's a fellow in the office with a hookup of a nearby woman who will even deliver, so some days that's perfect (though, if I'm too busy to go out to lunch, I'm likely too busy to eat - and I got scolded seriously for not sharing when the food was delivered).

Liberian diet is VERY rice heavy. Which for me is great! I find it interesting how the quality of the rice varies so much depending on where you eat. At an expensive restaurant it's perfectly white, but less expensive has some grains with dark ends (burned?), etc. Of course I like the cheap stuff. The diet is a lot of greens (potato greens, cassava leaves, and numerous other kinds I can't think of right now), very spicy with these tiny peppers that pack a punch. People add pepper sauces made of these peppers. Into the greens or soups of whatever sort (my least favorite is palava which is made I think with jute leaves that are slimy) are put chunks of fish, chicken, and beef - usually all three in one bowl. Liberians cook with a LOT of oil and Maggi seasoning cubes.

So, the challenge for me will be: a varied, healthy diet. I won't be eating the chicken quesadillas on a regular basis, but I will be going for the potato greens. In my own cooking I will experiment a lot with the local fish: I need to find a good supplier and then have my way with it.

There aren't a lot of sweets here except for fruit: year-round is bananas and pineapple, and I missed mango season sadly. Peanuts are another snack sold regularly, and I used to see fresh peanut butter at the refugee camp though I haven't seen it around here yet.

And so my culinary adventures begin!

cocoa banana muffins

From here. Very yummy!

Ingredients:

1/2 cup applesauce (or substitute vegetable oil)
1 egg
1 cup sugar
2 very ripe bananas, mashed
1/2 cup cocoa
1-1/2 cup flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla

Preheat oven to 350F. Cream applesauce, egg, sugar and banana. Stir in remaining ingredients. Pour into greased muffin tins. Bake for 25 minutes. Makes 1 dozen muffins.

a must-try bread recipe!

No, I do not feel like baking bread when the temperature soars to double digits. Usually at this time of the year, I'm eating off the few loaves I baked during the last nice days before summer hit full-force. This year didn't really work out that way.

But this recipe intrigues me and I cannot wait to try it when we bump back down to double digit temperatures.

Crockpot Sweet and Sour Pork

Crockpot Sweet and Sour Pork
Originally uploaded by gummychild

Mmm...it smells so good! I've made this for dinner, and it's been stewing wonderfully today, waiting for Shelton to get home from class so we could eat this together for dinner tonight. =)

Pictures of food in a crockpot aren't as nice looking as those that are plated, but I guarantee you that this smells heavenly. It's not the traditional Panda Express type of sweet and sour pork that one may envision when they hear "sweet and sour pork"...it's a different type, and not really Chinese either, ha ha. But if it tastes as good as it smells, it's a winner and keeper in my recipe book! =)

I got it online. =) Anyway, here's the way I made it, and you can make it too! =)

Ingredients:
- 1.5 to 2 pounds of Country Style Pork Shoulder meat
- 1 red bell pepper, chopped up.
- 1/2 an onion, chopped up.
- 1 can of pineapple chunks (20 oz); you will need 3/4 Cup of the juice.
- 1/4 Cup of Rice Vinegar (or cider vinegar)
- 1/4 Cup of water
- 1/4 Cup of brown sugar, packed
- 1 Tbsp. of light soy sauce
- 2 Tbsp. of starch
- 1/2 tsp. of salt (to taste)

Directions:

1. Place the pork, bell pepper, and onion in the crockpot.
2. Mix well everything else except for the pineapple chunks in a bowl, and add it into the crockpot. Save the pineapple chunks in the fridge.
3. Turn the crockpot onto low and cook for 8 hours.
4. At about 45 minutes left of cooking, add the pineapples in.
5. Serve with hot rice! =)

Lemon-Fig Cake

Lemon and Fig Cake
Originally uploaded by gummychild

Made these mini cakes for my mom's birthday last weekend! ^_^ They were delicious, and not too sweet (she always complains that baked items are way too sweet, hee hee...), so it was perfect!

Because I didn't have a full cake pan and baked them in mini sized ones, they were kinda like giant muffins...but still good, and would be extra tasty with coffee, tea, or hot cocoa. ^_^

This is from Martha Stewart's little magazine book of recipes, Everyday Food, the Holiday Baking 2007 Edition. =)

Ingredients:

- 1/2 Cup olive oil
- 1/2 Cup milk
- 1 large egg
- 1-1/2 Cups all purpose flour
- 3/4 Cup sugar (I used only 1/2 a cup)
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 package (about 7-10 ounces) of dried figs, stemmed and coarsely chopped up (about 1-1/2 Cups)
- 1-1/2 teaspoons of finely grated lemon zest (from 1 lemon)

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Brush a 9" tart pan with a removable bottom with some oil, or use a cake pan lined with parchment paper on the bottom.

2. In a medium bowl, whisk the oil, milk, and egg.

3. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt.

4. Add the milk mixture into the bowl of dry ingredients and stir until smooth. Don't overmix! Gently fold in the figs and lemon zest.

5. Spread the batter into the pan, and set the pan on a rimmed baking sheet. Bake until golden and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 35 to 40 minutes.

6. Cool in the pan for about 15 minutes before unmolding the cake onto a wire rack to cool completely. To serve, cut into wedges. The cake can be stored, wrapped well in plastic, at room temperature for up to one day.

Papaya Milkshake

Papaya Milkshake (1)
Originally uploaded by gummychild

A really tasty smoothie for a hot day like today! =)

Ingredients:
- 1 ripe papaya, scooped out into pieces with a spoon
- 3 Cups of milk
- 2 Cups of crushed ice
- 7-8 teaspoons of sugar (to taste, really)
- cinnamon
- mint leaves to garnish

Directions:

Use a blender to blend everything except for the cinnamon and mint leaves together (be careful! Remember that blenders can go crazy if you fill it all the way up...about halfway up is good, and if you need to do this in batches, that's fine too).

Serve with a dash of cinnamon sprinkled on top of the foam that will naturally be made, and top with a sprig of mint for some color, pizazz, and flavor. =) We didn't have any mint leaves available, but I think it would be nice. =)

We served ours in martini glasses, but this will serve beautifully in a tall glass as well! =)