Grandmothers to Grandmothers, from the Stephen Lewis Foundation

A little over a week ago, I had the privilege of doing a cooking demonstration for a wonderful charitable organization called Grandmothers to Grandmothers, which is a campaign of the Stephen Lewis Foundation. These grandmothers have jewelry parties to raise money for grandmothers looking after their grandchildren in Africa. The jewelry is made in Africa and sold here with all the proceeds going back to them.

Kitchen Inspired provided a cooking demonstration at their party and included demonstrations on authentic African cuisine from the regions of Tanzania and Dar es salaam. Below are pictures of the demo and pics of some of the dishes, which included cumin oil shrimp and crushed peanuts, and an Indian/African Fusion Sambusa(very similar to Samosas of India)chaat.

To find out more about the Grandmothers Campaign please see visit the following site: http://www.stephenlewisfoundation.org/grandmothers.htm

Photograph Credit: Maureen Murphy

When all else fails...a good Frittata never hurt anyone

Long day, cannot decide what to eat, wife is in the mood for whatever, raining outside and it is very gray and dreary. When all else fails a good Frittata is the way to go, all you need are a few left over items in the fridge and you are good to go. Today we went for a goat cheese, spinach and roasted red pepper one. Below is the recipe, and it totally hit the spot. Hope you enjoy...sorry no pic for this one

6 eggs
1/4 cup milk
Generous pinches of salt and pepper
1 roasted red pepper, patted dry and cut into bite-sized strips
A handful of baby spinach leaves
1/4 cup creamy plain or flavoured goat cheese, crumbled
1 Tbsp. butter

Preheat broiler and set rach about 3 inches from element.


In a medium bowl, whisk eggs with milk, salt and pepper. Stir in roasted pepper, spinach and half the goat cheese.

In a large nonstick pan, melt butter over medium heat. Stir egg mixture, then add to pan. Evenly distribute red pepper, spinach and cheese.

Once edges start to set, tilt pan and lift set edges. Let uncooked egg run onto pan. Cook until the top is barely set, about 3 minutes. Sprinkle with remaining goat cheese.

If hand of pan is not ovenproof, wrap with foil. Set pan under broiler for 30 to 60 seconds. Let stand a couple of minutes before serving in wedges.

Recommended beverage: a Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Mimosa, Bloody Mary, Screwdriver

Request for Utensil and Chicken Curry

Anonymous wrote


Chef Bear,

I am looking for an uber-utensil - a potato peeler and a zester. I want the best money can buy - any suggestions?

Also, I'd like to make a chicken curry dish, with a twist for a gal-pal get-together in April. Got any suggestions?

cap from Ottawa

For the Potato Peeler, I am quite happy with my Paderno one, been using it for years and has yet to really go dull on me. Price wise it is quite resonable, have a look at the following link: http://www.amazon.com/Paderno-World-Cuisine-8-Inch-Stainless/dp/B001VMAW3Q

As for the zester, I have a few and the best one I have used that is found at Home Sense in Ottawa is a  Wusthof Silverpoint Lemon Zester.

Now Chicken Curry with a twist, that is a bit of a noodle scratcher and I thought about it for a couple of days and came up with the following:

Chicken Curry Penne

Ingredients:


3-4 Boneless Chicken Breasts

3-4 onions finely chopped

2-3 chopped tomatoes

1 Green chilli de-seeded and chopped very fine

1 tsp mustard seeds

1 tsp grated Garlic

1 tsp grated Ginger

1 tsp Chilly powder

1.5 tsp Coriander powder

1 tsp Garam masala powder

1/2 tsp Turmeric powder

3-4 tsp cooking oil

2 cloves

1 cup coconut milk

1 Stalk curry leaves

Salt and Pepper to taste

Enough Penne for 5 people

3 tomatoes peeled and de-seeded
(see the following link from e-how on how to peel and deseed: http://www.ehow.com/how_5616460_deseed-tomato-tomato-soup.html)

Preparation

1. Heat oil in a pan and add mustard seeds. They will begin to "pop" and once that happens, lower your heat and move to the next step.

3. Add ginger and garlic paste and saute for about 3-4 minutes careful not to allow it to burn
4. Add Green chilli, chopped onion, curry leaves and sauté for 5-6 minutes till the onions turn golden brown

5. Add chopped tomatoes and salt and sauté few minutes till the tomatoes are crushed into a paste

6. Add red chilly powder, turmeric powder, coriander powder, Garam masala powder, cloves and stir fry few minutes.
7. Add chicken pieces , mix well and stir for about 5-6 minutes
8. Add water as required  if mixture is very dry and salt and pepper. Then cover for about 15 minutes

9. After about 15 minutes, when chicken fully cooked add coconut milk and boil for 1 or 2 minutes.
10. Garnish with curry leaves and chopped coriander leaves

11. Boil Penne according to directions or if using fresh penne, boil until al-dente about 3-4 minutes.

12. Once the penne, has cooked add it to a pan with some olive oil on medium heat and add in the peeled and de-seeded tomatoes. Saute for about 5 minutes and transfer to a large serving plate.

13. Top the penne with the chicken curry, toss ensuring the penne ends get filled with some of the delicious curry sauce and server.

Let me know how it goes.

Thanks

Gumbo Required

Raining here like crazy last two days, after an amazingly beautiful Easter long weekend. Was lucky enough to BBQ two of those days, but for the past two days nothing but thunder showers and grey skies. Started feeling like the weather was right for some good old fashioned seafood gumbo, also known as swamp water in some parts. While I always enjoyed the way I was taught to make it, I stumbled across a website and decided to try their version out. It turned out amazing!!!!!
This is the way I am doing my gumbo going forward. Below is the recipe and a link to the site I got it from. Enjoy!

Seafood Gumbo Courtesy of http://gumbopages.com/food/soups/seafood-gumbo.html
Just remember ... you CANNOT have a good seafood gumbo without a good seafood stock. Don't use water, and don't use bottled clam juice.

Remember to use a non-reactive (non-cast iron) pot for any gumbo (or any dish, for that matter) that includes okra or tomatoes, as they will discolor.

These recipes can be cut in half if you don't want to feed an army.

Do NOT under any circumstances use imitation crabmeat, or surimi, in any crab gumbo dishes. If you tried that in Louisiana, you'd be shot on sight. If you try it elsewhere ... I'll know. And I'll come into your dreams and haunt you and you'll be slowly devoured by dull-toothed alligators.

This gumbo uses a very small amount of roux, so that it remains light. You may omit the okra if you like, and thicken the gumbo with filé powder instead -- it'll still be good, but will have a quite different flavor.

• 1/2 cup oil
• 1/2 cup flour
• 2 medium onions, diced
• 2 green bell peppers, diced
• 3 ribs celery, finely diced
• 4-6 cloves garlic, minced
• 4 tomatoes (or 8 Roma tomatoes), seeded and diced (if you like tomatoes in your gumbo)
• 1 cup tomato purée (see above)
• 2 pounds okra, chopped
• 4 quarts shrimp stock, crab stock or fish stock
• 1 tablespoon Creole seasoning blend
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
• 2 bay leaves
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
• 2 pounds medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
• 2 dozen oysters, freshly shucked, liquor reserved
• 4 blue crabs, cleaned (optional)
• 1 pound fresh lump crabmeat, picked over for shells and cartilage
• 1 tablespoon filé powder (if okra isn't used)
• 8 cups cooked long-grain white rice

In a large, heavy pot, heat the oil and add the flour. Stir constantly until a light brown roux is formed, then add the onions, bell pepper, celery and garlic. Sauté until the onions become translucent and the vegetables are tender. Add the tomatoes and tomato purée, if you wish, and cook over medium heat for 10 minutes. (I know I sound like a broken record, but I'm not one of those people who likes tomatoes in my gumbo, but lots of people do. Your mileage may vary.)

Add the seasonings, and about 1/2 teaspoon each of salt and pepper, and continue to cook another 10 minutes. Add the okra, and cook for another 10 minutes, then add the stock. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to simmer and cook another 30 minutes.

(If you wish a more rustic gumbo, you may add whole blue crabs. Remove the hard top shell from the crabs (reserving for stuffed crabs or for shellfish stock), and break each crab in two down the middle. Remove the claws. Add to the stock.) With the gumbo on very low heat, add the shrimp 10 minutes before serving, the oysters and oyster liquor 5 minutes before serving, and the crabmeat just before serving (don't cook the crabmeat, just stir until it is heated through). Taste and correct seasonings.

If you don't like okra, or if you just prefer to make a filé gumbo, remove from heat and sprinkle the filé powder on the surface of the gumbo, then cover and let stand for 15 minutes. Then uncover and stir to mix. Be careful if there are leftovers -- filé doesn't reheat all that well, and you must be careful to reheat gently. If the gumbo comes back to a boil after the filé has been added, it will get stringy.

Place about 1/2 to 2/3 cup of rice in each bowl and ladle the gumbo over and around it. Serve with plenty of french bread and good beer or white wine.

YIELD: About 10-12 entrée servings or 20-24 appetizer servings (omit hard shell crabs if serving cups of gumbo as an appetizer).