Madagascar

Madagascar is a large island South East of Africa. It is the 4th largest island next and contains 5 % of the world's plant and animal species. 90% of it's plant population species can only be found in this island. Very cool! Madagascar is actually the largest exporter and producer of vanilla. The majority of the population is Austronesian (South East Asian/ Pacific Islander) and African. Malagasy is the main language spoken on the island, which has an influence from Malaysian and Polynesian dialects. French is the secondary language. The food in Madagascar seems to embody a lot of fresh vegetables and meats. It kind of reminds me a lot of Comoros food.

My search for recipes this time was actually simple. I was lucky enough to have met a friend, Tonny, from Madagascar on my China trip last year. He and his partner are two wonderful guys and so of course I had to ask him for help. Not only did he help me, he wrote this long e-mail detailing the recipes, etc. I must thank him this time for helping me out with these dishes this time. Below are recipes I copied from Tonny's e-mail to me.

Romazava



beef or chicken (I prefer chicken) cut into small pieces (I used about 4 pieces of breast meat chicken)
1-2 chopped onions
crushed garlic with a big chinese knife
1-2 cut tomato
salt
black pepper
brazilian cress, washed and drained

Under high heat, poor some oil into a stew pan (or cauldron), when hot, add onions and garlic, let it melt a little bit (3 to 5 minutes), add tomato, stir another 2 minutes, then add meat, stir until meat get brown, add water to cover well over the meat, and cover the pan. Bring to boil, then turn heat to simmer. Add salt, pepper, and I used to add a little bit of sugar in most of my cooking, to soften the taste. Cook for 1 hour or until desired consistency. Then add the cress. Turn the heat to medium. And after the liquid get to the boiling point again, wait for 3 to 5 more minutes, and that's it. We eat romazava with rice, and the broth can be served apart in a bowl or poured on the rice. Serve with extra grounded hot chili for spicy tongue.

Unfortunately, I was not able to use Brazilian cress because I couldn't find it. I had to end up using spinach. Sorry Tonny! The dish was not heavily spiced, but very natural. I loved it. It reminded me of home cooked chicken soup without the noodles---similar to my mwamba from the Congo. I loved the natural flavors of the spinach, tomatoes and onions with the chicken. On
top of rice, it was very tasteful. The soup on the side was fresh.

Ravitoto



beef or pork cut into small pieces
1-2 chopped onions
crushed garlic
salt
pepper
grounded manioc leaves
coconut milk

The first part is the same as for the romazava, except you add the grounded manioc leaves half way of the meat cooking. For 1kg of meat, you can use 2 pack of manioc leaves. At the end, add the coconut milk and stir well. Bring to boil again before turning the heat off. Serve with rice.

Manioc leaves are the same as cassava leaves or tapioca leaves. I used beef instead of pork, and it was great. Remember the time I made Saka Saka from the Congo? Well, I was not a big fan of saka saka. This time, I did cook the manioc leaves for about 2.5 hours and the leaves were a lot more mooshy---which was more like the creamed spinach. Honestly, it still had the taste of leaves even after the salt and pepper and coconut milk. I think I'm just not a big fan of cassava leaves. Greg loved the dish. He had it the next day and if I had made more, he probably would have eaten it all week. I must admit, this dish was by far better than Saka Saka.

Chicken Curry



Chicken
Curry powder (quantity depends on you, you put more if you like it stronger, and it depends also on curry quality)
1-2 chopped onions
crushed garlic
1-2 cut tomato
salt
pepper
some potato, cut into pieces
coconut milk

Under high heat, poor some oil into a stew pan (or cauldron), when hot, add onions and garlic, let it melt a little bit (3 to 5 minutes), add curry powder (I use 3 to 4 table spoon for 1.2kg of meat) and tomato and stir 3 minutes, then add chicken, stir a few minutes, add water, and cover the pan. Bring to boil, then turn heat to simm. Add salt, pepper, and a little bit of sugar. Cook for 30 to 40 minutes. Then add the potato. Simmer for another 20 minutes. Serve with rice.

Great dish! I can eat this every day. It is pretty much the same dish as the Comoros curry dish-- a lot of influence from the South East Asian area. On top of rice, I definitely enjoyed this dish. Madagascar food turned out to be excellent.

I am off to another country next week and I am letting Greg choose as I found out that he tends to get me off the African continent. As I leave my current country, I would like to thank Tonny for this awesome adventure. It was delicious.

My next country is:



Bosnia and Herzegovina! Woohoo!

As I am off to another country, I would like to say

Bon Apetit! (unfortunately, I could not find the translation in Malagasy)

Netherlands---Hearty and Heavy

The Netherlands is the first European country that I am going to embark on. It's so exciting. It isn't one of those popular countries where everybody visits and knows its cuisine, but we are somewhat familiar with it because of Amsterdam. I did find out that the Netherlands is sometimes called Holland, but actually it makes up only the western part of it. Famous artists from this area include Vincent van Gogh, Piet MOndriaan and also M.C. Escher. That is quite amazing. The main ingredient of Dutch cuisine seems to be potatoes. It honestly is the first time I'm actually using potatoes in any of my dishes. Weird huh? It was interesting that during the turn of the 20th century, many of the Dutch girls were sent to Huishoudschool (housekeeping school). They were taught to cook cheap and simple meals which influenced a lot of their meals of today. A lot of these foods include potatoes, carrots, cabbage, brussel sprouts, cauliflower and of course the meats---very heavy, but probably because of the weather too. The weather is temperate and does not get really hot; but it does get pretty cold in the Netherlands. One famous thing that did come out of Dutch cuisine is the cheese---like Gouda. I'm glad it got cold in the Bay Area as the dishes I prepared completely catered to this winter weather.

SLAW MET AARDAPPELS--Dutch Mess (Lettuce)
By: Jo Harmeling & Jenny Messer
http://www.pellatuliptime.com/historical-village/history/recipe/recipes.html



6 servings of Fresh Leaf Lettuce, coarsely cut up
4 - Hot chopped hard – boiled eggs
6 strips Chopped crisp fried bacon
1/3 c. Chopped green onions
6 servings - Hot boiled potatoes
1/3 c. vinegar
1/3 c. water

Sauce
1 T. butter
1 T. flour
½ c. water
2 egg yolks (or 1 whole egg)
½ c. sugar
½ c. vinegar

Melt butter, add flour; when well blended, add water and bring to a boil while stirring. Beat egg yolks, add sugar and vinegar; blend egg mixture and stir into hot sauce. Let mixture come to a boil. Have ready potatoes, eggs, lettuce, and onion. Cut bacon into small pieces, fry in skillet until nicely browned. Add 4 T. of above sauce to bacon grease. (The remaining sauce may be refrigerated for several weeks). Bring to a boil in skillet and keep hot. Place a layer of hot potatoes, mashed with a fork in bowl; then a layer of lettuce, 2 sliced hard boiled eggs, bacon, a layer of lettuce and 2 - 3 Tablespoons of hot bacon dressing. Add remainder potatoes, lettuce and slice eggs. Pour remainder of hot dressing over and serve immediately.

This dish seemed very familiar, but I still can not put my fingers on it. They call it a salad, but I must say with the potatoes in it, it was really really heavy. The sauce was like a hollandaise sauce, rich and creamy. I didn't salt the potatoes enough so remember to do that or it'll taste a bit bland.

Hutspot
By: Jessica Ashurst
http://www.tastebook.com/recipes/733652-Hutspot



This is a legacy of the Spanish invaders, who, according to legend, left a pot of this stew behind in their abandoned trenches when the town of Leiden, which they had been besieging, was liberated in 1574 – so this hutspot was one of the first foods its starving inhabitants found. Before potatoes were introduced in Europe hutspot was made from parsnips, carrots, and onions.
This dish is a Dutch favorite that will heat you up in the cold winter months. I definitely enjoyed this dish, but it was kind of like mash potatoes, mixed with onions and carrots and chunks of meat. I can see myself being in a winter storm eating this dish...so hearty!

1 lb boneless Chuck, or Polish Sausage
5 medium Potatoes
1 lb Carrots
½ cup Onion
4 Tbsp Butter
Milk
Salt and Pepper

1. Cook the meat in any way you would like
2. Peel and cut Potatoes
3. Dice Carrots, and cut Onions
4. Boil Potatoes, Carrots, and Onions for 20-30 minutes, until tender.
5. Drain the vegetables.
6. Mash the vegetable, and add Butter, and Milk.
7. Add Salt and Pepper to taste.

Weener Taart (Dutch Apple Tart)
By: ElleFirebrand
http://www.recipezaar.com/Dutch-Apple-Tart-305551



Ingredients

2 cups flour
3/4 cup butter
3/4 cup sugar
1 lemon, zest of
4 apples, peeled and sliced
1/2 cup raisins (optional)
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
2 tablespoons jam
1 egg, beaten

Directions

1. Combine flour, butter, 1/2 cup sugar and lemon zest, using pastry cutter. Dough will be very soft.
2. Roll to fit a 9-inch round cake pan, but large enough to trip for top strips.
3. Combine sliced apples, raisins (if using), cinnamon and jam, and fill the pastry.
4. Roll out dough trimmings and cut strips for top of tart.
5. Brush crust and strips with beaten egg.
6. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour.

Hands down, one of the best desserts I've ever made. This apple pie dish was delicious. I followed the recipe to the point and it was excellent. I didn't know what jam to use, so I used grape jam and it was awesome. I baked the pie for only 50 minutes, so the apples were not completely softened, but I liked it that way. If you want the apples to be completely cooked without the crunch, that extra 10 minutes would've been perfect. I think I'll be making this pie during Christmas....yes, it was that awesome!




Next off is Madagascar. We are going back to Africa. The good thing about this place is that I have a friend from Madagascar, so I am looking forward to getting home recipes from him.

Comoros-- yummy!

I didn't think I have ever heard about this place, until Tim, my cousin's fiance, reminded me last night about the plane crash that occurred not too long ago where there was that teenage survivor. Not that it helps me understand the country any more, but hey, there is my connection to Comoros. Comoros consists of four islands off the east coast of Africa and right above Madagascar. The country was inhabited by Africans, Swahilians, Arabs, and the French. It also was where merchants stopped by boat before the Suez Canal was built. It's influence by so many different cultures probably is why they are also well known throughout Africa for their excellent cuisine. In turn, Comoros food turned out to be my favorite meal I have so far cooked. You can see the South Asian influence and spices with the mix of the African/island style food that blends together so well.

1. Poulet au Coco
http://www.celtnet.org.uk/recipes/miscellaneous/fetch-recipe.php?rid=misc-poulet-au-coco



Ingredients:
1kg chicken meat, diced 30ml butter 2 medium onions, chopped 4 garlic cloves, chopped 2 tsp curry powder 300ml coconut milk 1 tsp fresh thyme 6 spring onions, chopped 1 bunch parsley, finely chopped
Method:

Fry the chicken in the butter until golden brown on all sides then add the onion, garlic and curry powder. Stir-fry the mixture for 5 minutes then add the coconut milk, thyme, spring onions and parsley. Season with salt and pepper, stir well and allow to simmer for 20 minutes. Serve on a bed of rice and squeeze lemon juice over the top.

This dish was actually really easy to make, and it was delicious. It did not taste like any African foods we have had, but instead it had a very Indian-island-like flavor. The flavor was like Indian curry, but without the heat and a lot of fresh veggies. It was excellent on a bed of white rice. The recipe was direct and simple. I am already craving for this dish.

2. Le Me Tsolola
http://www.celtnet.org.uk/recipes/miscellaneous/fetch-recipe.php?rid=misc-le-me-tsolola



Ingredients:
2 green bananas, peeled 300g fish, cut into pieces 300g meat or tripe (or a mix) cut into pieces. 2 onions, finely chopped 4 tomatoes, chopped 400ml coconut milk salt, black pepper and cayenne pepper to taste

Method:

Fry the fish, meat (and/or tripe) in a little oil until well browned. Add the bananas to a pot and add the fish and meat to them. Add the onions and tomatoes, pour-in the coconut milk and bring to a simmer. Season well then cover and allow to simmer for an hour (add a little water if it becomes too dry). Serve immediately on a bed of white rice.

The coconut milk, tomatoes and meat made this dish hearty. The mixture of fish and chicken makes it a surf and turf stew--sort of like Carribbean food. One thing you must do is cook down the tomatoes for the 1 hour. It really infuses that tomato flavor into the coconut sauce and it gave it this milky-thick and pink consistency. If you like a tomato alfredo sauce, you'll like this. Because I used Orange Roughy, a very tender fish, I had to fry the fish beforehand, but did not place it back into the stew until 30 minutes into cooking the dish. It kept the fish tender, but not too flakey where it would fall apart. Otherwise, just follow the instructions and you will have yourself a very easy to cook, but delightful meal.

Although I did have such a surprise with preparing this dish and eating it, I must admit my excitement was not there anymore. I believe it is because I consistently keep getting African cuisine and I really wanted to branch out into other areas of the world. If this continues, I'm not sure how long I can last blogging about this. I might need to take a break or something. So I let Greg pick my next country and guess what? We are going to the Netherlands! Finally! Thank you someone up there. I needed this break. Finally, a country I actually know.

See you all in the Netherlands!
Arabic is the common language of the Comoros Islands and as they would say:

أ.ن. وجبة شهية.

Gambia--simple but delicious

Gambia is situated in the western part of Africa surrounded by Senegal to the north, east and south and the Atlantic Ocean to the west. It is the smallest country on the African continent. Being the smallest country makes you think how little resources the country has, hence the limitation in their cuisine. Actually, it is an agriculturally rich country because of the river that flows right through the country, allowing easy access of goods, fishing and agriculture to the people. One cool information is that they are well known for their music and dancing in Africa.

To join me on my experience this time was Mike and Nidhi and of course Greg. I forgot to mention that Greg has been the DJ for most of our dinners. He actually finds the station online that plays that country's music and basically it is our background music for our dinner. It even more enhances the ambiance for our dinners. Plus, he also helps me with some of the pictures of our food.

Researching the dishes of Gambia got me a bit excited just because everything sounds so flavorful and fresh. This will also be the first time I actually make a dessert for the country.
So, let's start!

Chicken Yassa to Die For: (recipe by Linda Voychehovski)
http://www.africanculture.dk/gambia/yassa.htm.



Ingredients
* 8-10 skinless chicken breasts (or their equivalent)
* For the marinade
2/3 c. oil
1 c. red wine vinegar
1 c. freshly-squeezed lime juice
6 chicken-bouillon cubes, crushed
24 small garlic cloves, mashed
6 tsp. fresh ginger, grated
2 tsp. salt (or to taste)
12 tsp. coarse black pepper
3-4 tsp. red pepper (ground or flakes)

Directions
The Night Before:
* Make the marinade by combining all the ingredients (except the chicken)
* Clean the chicken breasts. Place the chicken in a large glass baking dish. Pour about 1/3 to 1/2 of the marinade over the chicken, and let it marinate overnight. Reserve the rest of the marinade. At some point, turn the chicken over.

The Big Feast:
* Next evening, turn on the broiler in the oven. Put the rack on the 2nd rung from the top. Broil the chicken 15-20 minutes on each side. (In my oven, 15 minutes usually does it.) The chicken should look crispy but not burnt. If you're really ambitious, when the top side of the chicken is under the broiler, take it out & baste it after 5 or 6 minutes. Then finish broiling.
* While you're broiling the chicken (or even before), saute a lot of thinly-sliced onions in a non-stick skillet. Cook slowly over medium-low heat till golden.
* Heat the reserved marinade in the microwave. If you don't have a microwave, add toward the end of the cooking time in the oven. You have to do this because otherwise, all the marinade will evaporate at broiling temperature.
* Heap the sauteed onions over the chicken. Serve with warm French or Italian bread which is great for mopping up all the marinade. Also serve with a good salad of greens.

I must admit Linda's recipe was perfect. It was very thorough and to the point. I didn't have problems following this recipe. This chicken marinade was great. The only problem was that I left it in the oven for so long that the chicken dried up a little. I would probably only cook it for like 20 minutes next time and it should be good enough, allowing the chicken to taste more moist. Other recipes call for the chicken to be grilled and I think it might make the chicken taste even better. I'll have to try that next time.

Chicken and Beef Benachin (recipe by Adele Faye Njie)
http://www.africanculture.dk/gambia/benachin.htm



Ingredients
1/2 chicken
1/2 lb beef
4 onions
2 slices yate
1 teaspoon pounded fresh peppers
2 large fresh tomatoes
3 dessertspoons tomatoe puree
3 cloves garlic
2 bay leaves
1 1/2 cigarette cups oil
1/2 small cabbage
1 large bitter tomatoe
1 large aubergine
1 slice pumpkin
2 big peppers
black pepper to taste
2 or 3 cigarette cups rice (1 lb)
6 cigarette cups water
salt to taste

Directions
1. Prepare, wash and cut chicken into portions. Remove gristle, etc from beef, wash and cut into equal portions.
2. Mix chicken and beef together. Season with salt, black pepper, pounded garlic and vinegar. Allow to stand for 1/2 hour before cooking.
3. Prepare vegetables accordingly.
4. Peel, wash and slice onions thinly.
5. Fry the chicken in hot oil until brown, turn over and fry likewise. Remove from pan and put aside.
6. Add beef and fry until quite brown. Add the sliced onions and fry until golden brown.
7. Placed the washed, scalded skinned and sliced tomatoes to rest of ingredients in pan.
8. Put the tomato puree and pounded fresh peppers into saucepan. Cook gently for 15 minutes.
9. Pour in measured water.
10. Bring to a boil, add all the prepared vegetables, fried chicken, bay leaves and salt.
11. Remove the chicken and vegetables when cooked and keep in a warm place. Taste seasoning.
12. Add the washed rice to cooking pot. Put the big sliced peppers and bring to a boil.
13. Reduce heat and cook under low heat until most of the liquid is absorbed.
14. Serve. Pile the rice on an oval dish, place the vegetables and chicken on top.

Adele's recipe was actually really difficult to follow. I must say the food turned out delicious, but her directions were so confusing. I actually had to compromise a bit with her recipe to get it right. There are so many vegetables and meat in this dish, I strongly recommend having everything diced and cut. I did not buy the yates, which is a taro root, for my recipe. I instead substituted it by adding more pumpkin (butternut squash). I also did not marinade my chicken and beef together as Adele asks you to separate it later when you have to cook it. I have no idea what she is talking about. Instead, saute the chicken first with some onions then take it off the heat. Then saute the beef and also remove from the heat. I only say this because again later she wants you to separate the meat with the veggies which is hard to do. Afterwards, in the same pan, I would saute the onions, tomatoes, pumpkins for a bit. Add the water to the dish and bring to a boil. After that add the aubergine (eggplant), the bay leaves, the cabbage and the chicken and cook it. Remove all the veggies and chicken from pot with a strainer and keep it warm. At this point to the soup base, add the rice, bell peppers and beef into the pot. I used brown rice so it would take about 1 hour to cook. In around the 40 minute mark, I decided to add the veggies and chicken back in to cook completely. Once the rice is all cooked, you are done. This officially is my favorite African dish. It reminds me of Spain's paella. It was so tasty. I even craved for it the next day. I highly recommend anybody to prepare this dish.

Chakery (http://recipes.wikia.com/wiki/Chakery)

Ingredients
1 pint of vanilla yogurt
8 ounces of sour cream
12 ounces of evaporated milk
1 can of crushed pineapples
dash of nutmeg
splash of vanilla flavoring
3 cups Couscous
1/2 water
1/2 stick of butter

Directions
1. Mix the yogurt, sour cream, evaporated mike, pineapples, nutmeg and vanilla flavoring together in a big bowl.
2. Take the couscous, butter, and water put them in a bowl and stick in the mic until the butter is melted. Then mix really good.
3. Then you can mix them together or you can put the first mixing on top of the couscous.

So, this is my first dessert and it tasted okay. I'm not sure if the Gambian's eat it cold or room temperature, but I definitely prefer it to be cold. This dish was very similar to rice pudding, but definitely a lot less flavor. It's missing something, but I can not get my finger on it. Maybe it needs more sugar?

Gambian food was one of my most successful meals. Their dishes had very simple and natural ingredients, but it was full of flavor. I will be sad to leave Gambia, but for sure I will be coming back to this cuisine. I had our friend Nidhi pick the new destination and it was:



The next destination is Comoros. Yes, another African country! I must admit that I am tired of getting Africa. I don't know how long I can continue this journey if I keep cooking African cuisine. I feel like I need a change. When is it going to happen? I guess looking at the bright side, Comoros is not on the African continent, but is an island off the coast of Eastern African and in between Madagascar. I am hoping for something a bit different and we'll see. See you all soon! The official language in Gambia is English, so I will leave today by saying:

Enjoy Your Meal!

Burundi- Simple Cuisine

The oddest thing about picking Burundi is the fact that it is right next to the Republic of Congo. What are the chances? Well, the changes of picking an African country is quite high as there are 47 independent countries in Africa relative to the 190 countries in the world. I have a feeling I'll be in Africa a lot. It's interesting to see how the cuisine changes throughout Africa. Although Burundi sits right next to the Congo, there are major differences that set them apart. First, Burundi was occupied by the Germans and Belgium, not the French. They are also a landlocked country, so vegetation will be different. Plus, they are a really poor country. These all contribute to the types of ingredients and recipes I will be finding there. One thing that I did find interesting was the influence of spices from the middle east and South Asia in their dishes. My research for this country was limited as most of their dishes related to plantains, bananas, or kidney beans. There were not too much variation in their recipes.

Boko Boko Harees (Chicken with Bulgur Wheat) Recipe
http://www.celtnet.org.uk/recipes/miscellaneous/fetch-recipe.php?rid=misc-boko-boko-harees



Ingredients:

600g whole or bulgur wheat
3 chicken breasts
3 sets chicken giblets
1 large onion, grated
1 small onion, sliced and shredded
3 tbsp turmeric paste
5 tbsp sugar
1.2l water
6 tsp ghee
2 tsp salt

Preparation:

Place the wheat in water and allow to soak for 3 hours. Drain the wheat at the end of this time, then place in a large pot along with the chicken and grated onion. Add enough water to cover this mixture by 3cm. Add half the salt, bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer.

Meanwhile make a sweet turmeric sauce by cutting the chicken giblets into very small pieces and simmering with the turmeric paste and 120ml water. Add a pinch of salt and 3 tbsp sugar to the mix. Cook gently for 10 minutes then allow to cool

Once the wheat is thoroughly cooked and softened (about 30 minutes) remove the chicken breasts and shred finely. Add the chicken back to the wheat and stir to combine. Add 3 tsp ghee and continue stirring until it is well mixed-in. The wheat paste should be of the consistency of a thick dough. If it's too runny cook further to thicken the sauce.

Now fry the remaining onion in the left-over ghee. Cook until they turn crispy.

To serve, allow the chicken and wheat mix (Boko Boko) to cool until just warm and serve in a bowl accompanied by the fried onion and turmeric sauce in separate bowls.

Finding tumeric paste was difficult. I even went to an Indian supermarket and they did not have it. So, I just made my own tumeric paste with tumeric powder, water and oil. Even with this mixture, the tumeric sauce was very sweet and bitter. It has this metallic like flavor, which honestly was not appealing. The bulgur and chicken dish was almost like a Congee dish. It reminded me of the day after Thanksgiving where my mom uses the bones of the turkey to make Congee for us. It was a very simple, but filling dish. I enjoyed it. I think I'm just used to eating congee-like meals with salty preserved vegetables and meat dishes. Not just by itself. So this dish almost seems like there was something missing. The tumeric sauce also had giblets, which are the kidneys, heart and liver of the chicken. This is the first time when I've used the whole part of the animal in my cooking. I appreciate this simple meal and can find myself making this dish when I'm sick and want something bland to eat, or when it is a cold day when I crave a hearty rice dish. I would probably add ginger and green onions to kick up the flavors a bit.

Beans and Bananas Recipe
http://www.celtnet.org.uk/recipes/miscellaneous/fetch-recipe.php?rid=misc-beans-bananas



Ingredients:

500 ml dried red kidney beans
4 green bananas or plantains
2 tbsp palm oil
1 small onion, thinly sliced
1/4 tsp salt
Hot chilli pepper to taste

Preparation:

Soak the beans for at least 3 hours in plenty of water, Drain, place in a pan, cover with plenty of water and boil for 40 minutes, or until tender. Drain.

Peel and chop the bananas then add the oil to a pan and brown the onions. Add the beans and bananas to the oil, season with salt and pepper then stir-fry for 2 minutes. Add 1l water and simmer until the beans are completely cooked and the liquid has reduced to about 250ml. Serve hot as an accompaniment.

I used plantains that I found fresh from my Spanish supermarket. The recipe is straight forward and easy. I did get the kidney beans from a can, so I did not have to soak it or cook it because it is already done. Very easy! I'm a fan of this dish. Greg was not. The salty flavor of the kidney beans and the sweetness of the plantains complemented each other well. The colors of this dish was amazing. It's interesting to see that they would eat this as a main dish while I would probably eat this as a side dish to huge meat dish. The contrast just makes you think. For them its survival, for us its something we take for granted. Burundi cuisine was probably the least appetizing that I have cooked. It is definitely food for survival more than food for enjoyment.

This time we did not have guests over. Instead I got to pick the next country:



Gambia! Another African country. Why did I not pick a country in Europe or Asia or South America? I must say I'm tired of cooking African cuisine. I want something different. Well I guess Gambia might surprise me. Regionally, it is different from the other African countries.

In Burundi, they either speak Kurundi or French, but I was unable to find a translation in Kurundi, so I will do it in French again:

Bon Appetit!

Burundi--Reliving African cuisine

After having cooked Congolese food, I am confident about Burundi cuisine. Burundi is one of the poorest countries in the world with 80% of the population living in poverty. This is partly due to the fact that it is land locked on all sides. From my research, a typical Burundian meal consists of sweet potatoes, corn, and peas. Meat is so expensive that most Burundian's have it a couple times a month. So, I'm guessing I will be cooking very few meat dishes for this next challenge. One of the main things they also eat is Ugali, which is cassava flour in water---another name for FuFu. Oh no! I'm not too excited about this. Red kidney beans seem to also be a very popular dish cooked in different ways.

As I'm reading more about the poverty rate and HIV/AIDS rates in the country, I can't help to feel so blessed to be where I am. In an hour, my mom is making me fried shrimp and steak, as we will be gorging on large amounts of meat dishes. Then I'm thinking, most of the Burundi population is having that in their lifetime. If that. It makes me think what makes me so special compared to them? I'm not. But I'm wondering if they even know if they are living in a worse situation than most people in the world or do they think it is just normal. Hmmm....it depresses me to read about all this. I'm going to sign off to ponder..... See you all soon in Burundi!

Syria: we see eye to eye!

When Greg picked Syria last week, I was excited and a bit relieved. Relieved…I say….because, Greg’s sister, Michelle is engaged to a Syrian guy, George. Ever since they have been together, she had been raving about Syrian food. George had told us that he loved Kibbeh and even posted on Facebook a tantalizing picture of fried Kibbeh on his site. Honestly, without hesitation I was already sold on making that dish. Next up, Michelle had been busily asking George’s parents about recipes for me. So, I definitely have to thank Michelle, George, Shoushan and Adam for these awesome recipes and I hope I served the country justice. (Remember, I am an Asian guy with no cooking experience and I am not good with directions either, so PLEASE cut me some slack). Secondly, on my search for Syrian cuisine, I found this one woman, who to me is the Rachel Ray of Syrian and Mediterranean cuisine….Dede Masha'Allah. She not only provided me with recipes, but she also taught me how to do it. You can find her on www.dedemed.com. I highly recommend this site as she seriously made it simple and gave you good tips on how to make these dishes. All the recipes were taken from Dede’s site and I used ideas from Shoushan to help me guide through Syrian cuisine.

Syria is a small country that borders the Eastern part of the Mediterranean Sea. The country is mostly Sunni Muslim with 90% being ethnically Arabic. In 1975, archeologists excavated the city of Ebla in northern Syria, and it is thought to be one of the most ancient civilizations on earth. It is though that Ebla to be the oldest Semitic language. Crazy huh? Did you also know that the new president of Syria is actually an eye doctor? Cool huh? I kept thinking of Syria being all desert and dry, but the Euphrates river courses through the east, making it a bit lush in some areas. That is why there are such vibrant vegetables to start off my first dish: Tabbouleh.

Tabbouleh: a fresh salad that contains burgul (a type of wheat that expands with water). I decided to make a salad once I found out that Kibbeh was going to be all meat. My recipe came from Dede and you can find it directly from: http://www.dedemed.com/index.php/Vegetarian-Recipes/Tabouli.html.



Ingredients:

2 Tomatoes or 2 Cups Diced
1 Cup chopped green onion
4 Cup chopped parsley flat leaf
1 Cup yellow onion chopped
3 leaves fresh mint
1/4 Cup dry or 1/2 cup soaked burgle
1 tsp dry mint
1 tsp salt
1/2 Cup lemon juice
1/2 Cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

Directions:

Rinse and finely chop parsley and fresh mint leaves and place in a bowl. Add chopped tomato, green onion, yellow onion, and soaked burgle and combine with parsley. In a separate small bowl combine salt, dry mint, lemon juice, olive oil and cayenne pepper then add to parsley mixture and let sit for 5 minutes before serving to allow burgle to absorb some of the dressing.

One tip: go to the Chinese supermarket to get your produce. I was able to get large amounts of Parsley and veggies for such a cheap price. Remember to soak the Burgul in a lot of water for a couple minutes until it expands and gets soft. Then drain all the water out and you will be fine. In terms of the olive oil, I put all of it in the salad, but I found it quite overwhelming. I would just slow mix the salad and add oil to the desired amount next time. In the end, the salad was really easy to make and it was delicious. The lemon juice and mint made it so fresh and light even with the large amounts of olive oil. I will surely be making this all the time!

Kibbeh (2 ways): Two ways mean that I will fry some of it and another way I will bake it like a casserole. By frying it into balls, it will be my appetizer. In a casserole style, the Kibbeh will be my main dish. The baked dish is almost like meatloaf with middle eastern/ Mediterranean spices. Instead of using bread crumbs, I’m using Burgul. The fried Kibbeh is very much like a Samosa, but theouter casing is made out of Burgul and meat. It basically is a meat lovers dish. My recipe came from Dede and you can find it directly from: http://www.dedemed.com/index.php/Other-Recipes/Kibbeh-Recipe.html.






Ingredients:
2 lbs superfine ground beef or lamb sirloin
1 cup dry burgul No. 1
1 cup chopped onion
2 basil leaves
3 tbs Kibbeh seasoning
2 tsp salt

Stuffing:
1 lb ground beef or lamb
1 cups chopped onion
1/2 cup sliced almonds or pine nuts
1 tsp 7 spices
1 tsp salt
2 tbs olive oil

Kibbeh Seasoning:
1 tsp allspice
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground corriander
1 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp ground clove
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp dried sage

Directions

For the Kibbeh dough, rinse the burgul in water and pour off the water but leave some excess for the burgul to soak up, let it sit for about 2 hours. In a food processor combine the burgul, meat then remove. Next in the food processor blend the onion, and basil, place in the bowl with the burgul and meat. Add the kibbeh seasoning and salt and kneed the ingredients until well combined for about 3 minutes.

For the stuffing, in a pan on medium heat add 2 tablespoons of oil then add the meat and stir until mostly cooked, then add the onions, salt nuts and seasoning and cook until lightly browned and well combined.

Next you can shape the kibbeh into balls or footballs and stuff them with the stuffing and fry them in vegetable oil or make kibbeh in a baking pan and cook in the oven at 350-400 degrees for about 35-40 minutes or until golden brown. Serve kibbeh with salad, yogurt or tzatziki yogurt and cucumber sauce. Check out Dede's video for better instructions on how to shape and present the kibbeh.

Making Kibbeh was a challenge. Again, I must thank Dede for making a video and showing the rest of the inexperienced world how to prepare this dish. The first suggestion is to start with preparing the stuffing and kibbeh seasoning. When soaking the burgul, I did it for about 1.5 hours and it turned out fine. Like what Dede said, have a bowl of water handy as it does get quite sticky to handle. I must say, when I was blending the meat, it was quite disgusting to the smell. I was worried. It was not until you added the seasoning did I start to gain more confidence. The fried balls was like making dumplings and it was actually fun to make. The casserole was quite simple too. Watch Dede do it! Remember to buy LEAN meat or it will be quite greasy when it bakes. I had to drain out a lot of oil as I bought the 80/20 ground beef. The Kibbeh was tons of work, but it was completely worth it. Out of all the cuisines I have made, this by far is the most labor intensive. But I can see why George loves it. It was a ball of meat stuffed with more meat and almonds. I now want to be Syrian because of this.

Hummus: I hope everybody knows what this is. I decided to prepare this dish as Greg really wanted to have it. Plus, I’ve never made homemade hummus before and it was real easy. My recipe came from Dede and you can find it directly from: http://www.dedemed.com/index.php/Vegetarian-Recipes/Hummus.html.



Ingredients:

1/4 Cup Yogurt
1 Can Garbanzo Beans "Chick Peas"
1/2 Cup Tahini (Sesame Seed Paste)
1/2 Cup Lemon Juice
2-3 Cloves of Garlic
1/2 Tsp of Salt
1/4 Tsp citric acid "if you need more lemon taste"
2 Tbs water "if to thick"
3-4 Fresh Mint Leaves "for taste"
2 Tbs of Fresh Parsley "for garnish"
1 Tsp of Cayenne Pepper or Paprika "for garnish"

Mix first 9 ingredients and blend until smooth and to desired thickness. Garnish with parsley, cayenne pepper and olive oil.

Easiest dish ever to make and it was yummy! I would add more garlic next time and add less lemon juice as it was a bit sour to my taste.

Even with all the work to prepare this meal, it was definitely a success. It actually tasted even better the next day. I made a sandwich with the Kibbeh, Tabbouleh and yogurt in a pita bread and it was so yummy the next day for lunch. So, my goal now is to just visit Little Rock and get George's parents to cook for us the real thing.

My friend Alain joined us at this last dinner and he really enjoyed it. We had him choose the next cuisine and guess where we are going to now.......



We are going back to AFRICA!...

As the Syrians will say in their country:

أ.ن. وجبة شهية.

Saint Lucia-- I'm going Bananas!

With a population of 166,312, Saint Lucia is smaller than SF Bay Area. The country is known for its beautiful beaches and hence their economy thrives on tourism. Just remember if you are driving in the country, they drive on the left side of the street--- they used to be part of Great Britain. St. Lucia is also known as a large exporter of bananas and so I was not surprised that a lot of their dishes contained bananas---and it was not in the dessert form either!

So the three dishes I decided to try were:

1. Callaloo Soup: This soup is known as their national dish. The combination of the tropical island's vegetation with the seafood sounded a bit interesting, but I was definitely curious to try it out. I based my recipe on http://www.cdkitchen.com/recipes/recs/262/Callaloo22433.shtml, so thank you to whomever made this recipe.



Ingredients:
1 pound callaloo leaves (substitutes: spinach, Chinese Spinach, or Swiss Chard)
6 cups chicken stock
1 onion, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, chopped
3 scallions, chopped, using green and white parts
1/4 teaspoon thyme
4 ounces lean salt pork cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1/2 pound fresh, canned, or frozen crab meat
1/2 cup coconut milk
1/2 pound young okra,
OR
10 ounces package frozen okra, sliced
Salt and pepper to taste
Pickapeppa hot pepper sauce, Tabasco, or any other similar sauce, to taste

Directions:

Wash the greens and coarsely chop. Put the greens into a large heavy saucepan with the chicken stock, onion, garlic, scallions, thyme, and salt pork. Cover and cook at a gentle simmer until the pork is tender. Add the crab meat, coconut milk, and okras and cook until the okra is done, about 10 minutes. Season to taste with salt, pepper and hot pepper sauce.

Firstly, salted pork was essentially the same as bacon. Once I found that out, I knew this soup was going to be a hit at my house. I sauteed the bacon with the onions and garlic first before adding the chicken stock to bring out the flavors, which was not stated in the directions. Man, did it smell so good! It only took me about 10 minutes to get it to a boil and then basically, I added the rest of the ingredients and let it sit. Instead of using hot pepper sauce, I used two finely chopped serrano chilis and it gave it just enough kick. I couldn't find fresh okra that day at the Chinese supermarket so I used frozen chopped ones which were great. Usually, if you go on weekends they said they would have the fresh ones. It took about 25 minutes to prepare and cook. So easy! Callaloo is absolutely one of my favorite soups I have ever had. With the aroma of the bacon and onions, the taste of tropical coconut and crab meat flavors, and the spicy kick in the end from the chilis; I will recommend everybody to try this dish. Next time I'm going to add shrimps and clams to it. This is a must have if you are ever at my house or in Saint Lucia!

2. Saint Lucia Banana Chicken: I found this recipe online on www.cooks.com
(http://www.cooks.com/rec/view/0,1839,157174-249192,00.html). I decided to choose this just because I have never incorporated bananas into a main course before and so I really wanted to try it and see how it tasted. Greg isn't a huge sweet and savory kind of guy and so I was crossing my fingers on this!




Ingredients:
6 chicken cutlets
6 thin slices lean ham
1 ripe banana
1 tbsp. all-purpose flour
1 egg
1/4 tsp. coconut flavoring
6 tbsp. grated coconut

Directions:
Flatten chicken cutlets and arrange a ham slice on top of each. Peel banana and cut into thirds crosswise and cut each third in half lengthwise, then place one piece on top of each ham slice. Roll each cutlet eggroll-style, enclosing banana and ham in the middle. Place rolled cutlets in a single layer, not touching, in freezer for 15 minutes. When ready to cook coat each chilled roll lightly with flour then with lightly beaten egg flavored with coconut flavoring. Roll in grated coconut. Spray a baking pan with cooking spray, arrange chicken rolls in a single layer and bake in 350 degree oven for 25 minutes.

I actually used breast chicken, cut it very thin and flattened it with my knife to tenderize the meat. It is very important to freeze the chicken for 20 minutes after getting it all wrapped because it prevents it from falling apart, especially when you dip it in the egg and flour.
Coconut shavings were a difficult thing to find. Even Mi Rancho Supermarket in Menlo Park or the chinese supermarkets didn't have it. Greg had to find it for me in Whole Foods. Most stores will have sweetened coconut shavings, but you need to use the unsweetened ones. This dish was almost like a Chicken Cordon Bleu with bananas as the center and not the cheese. Remember that Saint Lucia was first found by the French then the English took over it later, so the dish probably originated from that. The banana in this dish was not overpowering, but it also didn't do too much to it. I think I prefer the cheese next time. It was still a really tasty dish and when you cut it in half, it looks so professionally made. The one thing I will add to this dish is to salt and pepper the chicken before wrapping it.

3. Saint Lucia Plantains: Honestly, I have never actually made plantains with peanut butter and onions, so I wasn't so sure about this dish. I did get my recipes from Sylvia Court at
http://www.pavilion.co.uk/dwakefield/curriculum/ks2/recipes.htm. She didn't really go to detailed into the directions, so I was kind of left in the dark with how to really prepare this.



INGREDIENTS:

* 2 large green plantains
* 1/2 cup breadcrumbs
* 1 egg
* salt
* 2 tablespoons peanut butter
* 1 onion and stick of celery (minced)
* 1/2 cup milk

METHOD / DIRECTIONS:

Cook plantains and crush whilst hot. Add other ingredients and blend well.
Place in dish and bake in moderate oven for 25 minutes.

At first, I didn't oil my pan and the bananas started to burn quickly. I suggest to oil the pan before anything. I used a cast iron skillet because it would make it easier to just put it into the oven to bake. I mixed the breadcrumbs, egg, salt, peanut butter, milk and onions together in a separate bowl first, which got kind of dry. The directions didn't tell me when to put it in, so after the bananas were done, i just poured it in. Remember to smoosh the bananas as it will get the flavors into it. It was a dry mess at first, so I added more milk (maybe a half cup) to the dish and was able to get a better mixture. After baking it for the 25 minutes, it turned out quite good. It wasn't an eye candy dish, but it tasted real good to me. I wonder how other countries make their plantains?

I was very impressed with Saint Lucia food. There was the African and French influence with the combination of tropical and seafood ingredients that made it so special. I know a lot of the other countries near this Island also makes the Callaloo soup, so I can't wait to make it again. After dinner, I had Greg pick the next country and it was:




I am totally looking forward to Syria. Greg's sister is marrying a Syrian guy and so I have already e-mailed her for recipes. Looking forward to talking about my next adventure.

As the Saint Lucian's would say:

ENJOY YOUR MEAL!

Saint Lucia- Introduction

The last week, I deviated from my international cooking to visit Nebraska, basically the epicenter of good ole' Americana Everywhere you turn, there were only Fords, Chryslers GMs. Everywhere you go, there were only "white" people. Everywhere I went, their radar eyes would zoom in on me. There were rows and rows of cornfields with stinky cow farms and tons of horses roaming around. People were extremely nice and charming. But of course, they had great food. Nebraska steaks were melt in your mouth, tender and juicy. Maple sticks, a must-have maple dipped donut, were to die for (I seriously ate one for breakfast, lunch and dinner daily). Their ribs were fall off the bone delicious. They also had fresh eggs that was so flavorful, especially scrambled with Nebraska rolls (a type of bologne ham)--Thanks Jennifer for that!

Now I'm back and ready to visit Saint Lucia. I'm excited for this little island. St. Lucia seems to have been a colony of France and Britain, with an ethnic make-up of about 82% African. They are a large exporter of bananas, so I can't wait to see what their dishes are like. Tourism seems to be what this island is known for. One little tidbit: They have won two Nobel prizes, making them the country with the most Nobel prizes per capita. Cool huh? I'm thinking because of it's Ethnic make up, I will see the African influence from last week maybe incorporated into the dishes here. I'll find out soon! See you all in a few days!

The First Supper

With the festive Congo music in the background last night and some good ole' Maker's, I started preparing my three Congolese dishes. It turned out to be more time consuming than difficult.

1. Mwamba (chicken stew): I got the recipe from (http://www.recipezaar.com/Mwamba-170705) whose screen name was Sackville. The recipe was a bit vague, but embodied all the other recipes I was looking at for Mwamba quite accurately.





Ingredients
1 chicken, cut up, or 1 kg beef or lamb, or 750 g fish fillets, fresh or thawed
Salt to taste
Oil
2 large onions, cut up
2 to 4 chili peppers, mashed, or diced
1/2 to 1 tbsp. dried crushed red pepper
6 or 7 tomatoes, peeled, seeded and mashed

Preparation
Season chicken, meat or fish with salt. In a heavy stewing pan, sauté chicken, meat or fish in the oil with onions until well browned. Add chili peppers, tomatoes and just enough water to cover. Simmer until tender and thoroughly cooked. Chicken mwamba is usually served with boiled rice. Fish, lamb or beef mwamba is usually accompanied by fried plantain.

I will suggest that you saute the chicken on a separate pan first to brown (especially if you are using drumsticks like me) because the onion browns way too fast and also you kind of get a great color on the chicken. I also used 1 1/2 Serrano chilies peppers which are really really spicy so beware. The cook time was about two hours. Remember to boil the chicken then simmer it. Don't boil it for two hours or you might end of having meatless bones. It was a simple dish, but the aroma in my kitchen that night gave it a comfy homey feeling like one of those "mom" dishes on a cold winter night. The dish's simple flavors from the tomatoes and onions infused into the succulent meat with the slight tinge of heat from the chilies was purely delicious. I will without doubt continue to make this dish.

2. FuFu: This recipe was found in the Celtnet recipes (http://www.celtnet.org.uk/recipes/miscellaneous/fetch-recipe.php?rid=misc-fufu).




Ingredients
400g fermented cassava flour (or cassava flour)
600ml water

Preparation:
Method: In a large stock pot add the cassava flour and mix the water with this to form a smooth paste. Heat gently, stirring continually (stir from the edges of the pot towards the centre) until the paste thickens and you can begin to form it into a ball. The consistency and colour changes from a white liquid to a yellow glutinous paste. Before the fufu is ready the entire mixture should be yellow. If you have a ball and some bits are still white, add a little more water and continue to cook until it's all done. The final consistency should be that of a well-kneaded bread dough.

Follow the prep for this above and it was very easy to make. Here I'll even calculate it in cups for you to make it even easier: 400 grams is about 1.75 cups and 600 ml is about 2.5 cups. Just remember not to put the pan on high heat or it probably would burn and stick to your pan. Fufu has this sticky doughy consistency that tasted just like flour and water. I did what they did in the Congo where they made a small ball out of it and then indent it with a finger to scoop food with it and it worked well. Like Andrew Zimmerman when he went to Africa and tasted this, it was definitely an aquired taste. Greg enjoyed it with the Mwamba, but honestly, I was only able to have it twice and I was done with it.

3. Saka Saka: Thanks to the guidance of A. Soleil Banguid in the Bay Area, I don't think I would have ever been able to make this dish. Please refer to (http://www.ivu.org/recipes/african/saka.html) for more information.




Ingredients:
3 packages of frozen cassava leave
1 package of frozen spinach (or fresh)
2 green sweet pepper(cleaned and finely chopped)
half habanero pepper ,chopped
1 small package of green onions
1 big red onion roughly chopped
1 big red onion cut in round 6 big cloves of garlic ,mashed
salt,black pepper to taste
1 and half of palm oil half cup of peanut butter
1 liter of water

Preparations:
Put all the ingredients together in the pan except: peanut butter, palm oil, onion cut in round. The water shoud cover the veggie. Let it boil till the cassava leaves are tender when you taste, if not soft add more water. The secret is to have them soft before the final step (oil and peanut butter). Once the veggies are soft, you should have at least 1 cup of water left, if not add so and set the pan aside. In a small container melt the peanut butter with some oil and pour over the veggies, mix them all together. Then add some saute onions and then pour onto the the veggies and return the pan to the fire. Mix everything together and let it simmer for 15 min and ajust the spices. Serve with cassava or foufou or rice, bread or boilled yuca.

Looking at the chopped cassava leaves, it resembled spinach at first, so when Soleil says "be patient" and it will take 2-4 hours to cook, I was worried this dish was going to be way over cooked and mooshy. To my surprise, cassava leaves are dense fiberous-like greens that definitely required a lot of time to cook down. It was about two hours before Stacey, our guest, was to arrive that I began cooking this dish. I really should've given myself way more time. Like two hours more. So, in order for me to cook this dish faster, I basically boiled it with the lid off for two hours and cooked it down. Remember if you are to do this to watch over this pot as the water boils down really quick and the dish can get very dry. Just add water if needed. Saka Saka by itself has a grassy kale-like flavor with the end consistency of collard greens. With the peanut butter, it really softened that grassy taste and it also gave it more of a creamy texture. (Or it would've just been like we were eating cooked grass or leaves from a tree) Greg loved it and had seconds, Stacey thought it was good, and I will give it another chance.

Here is what it looked like after we plated it:



The basic idea of Congolese comfort food was no different than what you and I eat-- a basic meat dish, a vegetable dish and a carbohydrate. They used the accessible ingredients around them combined with the importation of spices from being colonized to create these great simple dishes. I was thoroughly surprised today. I'm even going to continue making the Mwamba but maybe adding my own twist to it. Woohoo! I conquered my first official country and many more to go. As our guest, I had the lovely Stacey choose the fate of my next trip:



While Congo's official language is French, it is befitting to say:

"Bon Appétit!"

and see you all next time as I travel across the Atlantic Ocean to my next destination.

The calm before the storm.

The last few nights, I've had this recurring nightmare of one of my dishes the Saka Saka. I keep imagining that I will overcook it and the dish would just be a pile of green moosh. I can not get it out of my head.

Rewind to two days ago: I finally decided what I wanted to cook!

1. Mwamba (muamba): this dish is a chicken stew with tomatoes. Sometimes, they use lamb or fish, but I'm going to stick with a chicken. The only difference with their stews is that it has a bit of some heat strewn in it. It sounds simple enough.

2. FuFu (FouFou): A cassava flour ball. This dish is more like rice to the Chinese, Pita to the Greeks, and Nan to the Indians. Its the basic carbohydrate that allows them to dip with their stews and dishes. My boyfriend's (Greg) sister, who has been to the region, says they are like rocks that sit in your stomach...sounds tasty?

3. Saka Saka: It is another name for Cassava leaves, but when cooked as the main ingredient in a dish, it is also has this name. This is the my dreaded dish. I found the recipe from this Iowan Congolese gentleman named A. Soleil Banguid. This dish almost sounds like Palak Panir without the cheese or a creamed spinach without the cream, while substituting the spinach for cassava leaves. The recipe calls for me to simmer it for 4 hrs, but on other sites, it says only for 2 hours. I look at the cassava I have and they look like spinach. When you cook spinach for 2 to 4 hours, doesn't it become moosh? To top it off, Greg's friends are coming over for dinner at 8pm, so I'm hoping I can get it done in time and hope it tastes good. I can't just play it by ear and eat it whenever.

Two days ago, I also went to the African Foods Market (one of three in the bay area) in Campbell to get my main ingredients. As I walked into the store, I was in a different world. I definitely stood out like a sore thumb. I looked so lost that a man actually came up to me and offered to help me. Does that ever happen to out of place shoppers in Chinese supermarkets? Here is the kicker. The guy was from the Congo, of all places. It's a sign! So, of course I told him about my journey and asked if my dishes were common to the region. Luckily it was. Also, of course I asked for some pointers, but he really didn't give me any pointers about cooking besides how to eat fufu. He did say that "fufu will make you stronger" after you eat it. Hope he doesn't mean it will make me mentally stonger as I suffer the consequences of digesting these rock-like mortars. We'll wait and see!

In a couple hours, the show will begin....

"The horror! The horror!"

Following the footsteps of Charlie Marlow in the Heart of Darkness (based on Joseph Conrad's visit to the Congo), my psyche has been continually echoing "The Horror! The Horror!" throughout my daily activities. Watching the show "Man vs. Food", looking at my patient's eyes through my ophthalmoscope, eating a red velvet bundt cake; my mind like a broken record player keeps saying "Am I going to be able to pull this off?" "Am I crazy?". (First, I wish I can be Adam and venture in his greasy yumminess. Second, the Optic Nerve does look a little like an egg-- I hope they eat eggs in the Congo. Thirdly, why can't they make bundt cake the official food of the Congo?. ) Okay, I'm officially insane and need to stay on track.

This last week, I have been desperately researching the Congolese culture and history to get a better idea of what I am dealing with. With 66,020,000 people in this country (19th largest in the world), centered in Africa and the Second Congo War killing 5.4 million (deadliest since WWII), I realized I have no idea who they are. I'm glad I'm doing this project. (read up on the Congo at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Democratic_Republic_of_the_Congo). In terms of the variety of foods they eat, it is typically local available fruits, grains and vegetables, milk and meat products, which is expected. One major staple they have is the cassava root (or Yucca), which I have never heard of before. To my surprise, I found out that cassava is also known as Tapioca, which comes in those famous forms of sugary balls added in a milky tea served in those ultra-bubbly type Boba cafes, found usually within a 1 mile radius to a Ranch 99 market. Knowing this, I am feeling much better now about all this. Their food isn't too foreign to me....sigh

Thanks to my better half in partaking on this journey, he has helped look up some Congolese recipes with me and will be my food-test lab rat for the next few years. Hope he doesn't leave me for McDonald's after, but I do promise to have lots of Pepto ready. After using Google's search engine to find recurring recipes of popular dishes, I think I have a good menu for this weekend. With the help of two great sites The Congo Cookbook site and RecipeZaar and an Iowan Congo lady (A. Soleil Banguid), I am ready to begin cooking.

The first day jitters

Yesterday, as I was cutting out the tabs for the countries, I bumped into my most feared continent---Africa. I really don't know the cuisines at all. I've had Ethopian food about 3 times now and really have not enjoyed it yet. I am definitely open minded about it, but hesitation and fear has started to slightly creep into my head. I think there are more countries in Africa than any other continent. Wow, embarking on this task is going to be way more difficult than I had imagined.

Just before I picked my first country, I was feeling really anxious. I had clammy hands. My mind was hoping for a safe and easy country to kick start this journey, and I chose......


Democratic Republic of Congo (Congo-Kinshasa)

(Take a deep breathe)--speaking to myself. (Relax)--again, speaking to myself.
I'll definitely be doing a lot of researching for the next week on this. Wish me luck!