Thursday, October 15, 2009

Lentil-y Lunch


Ingredients:
1 large chicken breast
1 can lentils prepared and salted
½ onion, finely chopped
1 teaspoon ginger
2 carrots, diced
a few cherry tomatoes sliced in half
1 tablespoon butter
2 cloves garlic, chopped
tablespoon cumin
3 leafy sprigs of cilantro, cut finely (use kitchen-herb sissors)
pinch pepper
pinch ground hot red pepper
1 cup water

Method:

Let ingredients slow-cook on low heat for about an hour.

White Chili

This is the first dish that I made in my new home, a small, one room apartment in Rabat, Morocco, that wasn’t eggs. I shared it with a friend, who told me he was sorry he couldn’t eat more. I hope you have a similar reaction.

Prep time: about 45 minutes

Ingredients:
1 large chicken breast
1 can white beans (“haricots blancs”) prepared and salted
½ onion, finely chopped
1 chicken bullion cube
2 carrots, diced
½ cup chopped cherry tomatoes
1 tablespoon butter
2 cloves garlic, chopped
tablespoon cumin
½ a hot green pepper, diced (more or less to taste)
small handful cilantro, cut finely (use kitchen-herb sissors)
pinch pepper
water
milk

Method:

In a pot, let ½ cup water, chicken bullion, carrots, and onions simmer.

Meanwhile, melt butter in a frying pan and add garlic. Chop up chicken and sauté in garlic butter. Add cherry tomatoes and let simmer for 5-10 minutes

Add white beans, cumin, and hot green pepper to main pot with veggies. Stir and simmer.

Add contents of frying pan to main pot. Stir and add ciltantro. Let simmer a few minutes, add between 1 and ½ cup milk and let simmer on low heat for 10 minutes

Super easy but delicious (Moroccan) eggs- dinner

I made this for many consecutive meals during my first week in my new apartment in Morocco. It’s cheap, tastes good and it’s fairly easy and quick to make. Later I found out that making eggs and tomatoes is a very common dish Moroccan women make when they don’t feel like cooking. What a coincidence.

Ingredients:
1 cup whole canned tomatoes
2 eggs
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 clove fresh garlic, diced
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon ginger
1 teaspoon cumin
salt and pepper to taste

Method:
In a frying pan let tomatoes, olive oil, garlic, and spices simmer for about 5 minutes. Add eggs and let cook on med-low heat until they cook they way you like them.

Eat with your hands, sopping up sauce and eggs with fresh bread.

Mango-Scallion Sauce

Ingredients:

Chopped mangos and mango juice

Chopped scallions

Fresh lime juice

Salt and pepper

Mexican hot sauce (Valentina, Chulula) to taste

Method

Simmer ingredients in a pot until scallions soften and juice thickens.

Add to grilled shrimp and chicken.

Dawn and Michael’s 30th Anniversary Trifle

Similar to Leah’s potluck surprise with some variation.

Ingredients:

Juice from ½ a lime
Powdered sugar
Vanilla
Ladyfingers
Strawberries
Juice from strawberries
French Brandy
White chocolate
Dark chocolate
milk


Method:

In trifle pan, put lime juice, dusting of powdered sugar and a spritz of vanilla. Place 1 layer of ladyfingers. Than add on layer of strawberries. On top strawberries place another layer of ladyfingers and sprinkle some French brandy and strawberry juice.

In a Pyrex microwaveable pour-spout measuring cup, melt white chocolate, dark chocolate and some milk in the microwave. Pour melted mixture on top of the trifle, covering it. Chill in fridge for at least 1 hour before serving.

Pork marinade

1 handful fresh rosemary

1 small fresh tomato

2 garlic cloves

2 roasted red peppers + some of the oil

blend in blender or food processor

Steak Marinade



2 cloves garlic


black pepper


green onion bulbs crushed w/ garlic press


butter


water


sour cream



Simmer in sauce pan for 5 minutes. Let cool a bit. While marinade/sauce is cooling, tenderize steak. Let steak marinade in fridge for a few hours before grilling.