Ground Nut Soup

In 2011, I had the opportunity to travel to Ghana in West Africa for a short, 3 week study abroad. While there, I was fortunate enough to get a cooking lesson from our neighbor, Margaret. As she cooked, I took notes and created the following recipe. She didn't measure anything, but I think I guessed on the amounts pretty well. Since I've come home, I've made the recipe and it tasted great! I have another version of this soup in an African cookbook and requested that Margaret make this because I loved it so much and wanted to see how her version compared.  There's a few slight differences, but both are delicious!

I had prepared the chicken and made homemade stock before Margaret came for the lesson and she asked to see it and explain what I had done before she got started.  I think she doubted an American girl's cooking abilities.  Just so you know, I passed inspection

Preparing the chicken and stock

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3 lb chicken

2 cups groundnut paste

3 cups hot water

3 tomatoes

8 cups chicken stock

1 tsp salt, or to taste

red chile paste to taste (optional)

Place the chicken in a large stockpot with 8 cups water, onion, garlic, a piece of fresh ginger, carrots, salt, and black pepper.  Bring to a boil, cover, and simmer over medium low heat for 90 minutes.  Remove the chicken and let cool.  Strain the vegetables and any excess fat from the broth.  When the chicken has cooled, remove the meat and cut into bite sized pieces.  I made our chicken and stock before Margaret came over.  She asked to see it and approved of my methods of cooking.

In Ghana, groundnut, or peanut paste is available at the market.  In the US, you will need to use natural peanut butter (which will have added salt and sugar), or go to a supermarket where you can grind peanuts to make homemade peanut butter.

Place your groundnut paste in a large pot.  Add the water one cup at a time, stirring until smooth.  Cook the peanut mixture over medium heat, stirring frequently to prevent burning, for 15 minutes or until the peanut oil starts to separate.  Skim the excess oil from the top and remove from heat.

Meanwhile, core the tomatoes and boil, covered in a few inches of water for 5 minutes.  Remove the peel and blend in a food processor.  We didn't have a food processor, so Margaret pushed the cooked tomatoes through a slotted spoon with a fork.  She told us that if we wanted to make African food, we needed a food processor.

Place the cooked chicken in a large stockpot with 3 cups broth, tomato puree, and salt.  Bring the chicken mixture to a boil, then add the peanut mixture.  Bring to a boil and add the additional 5 cups of broth.  Partially cover and simmer over low heat for 30 minutes.  Add more water or broth if the soup gets too thick.  Serve with rice or fufu.  A few of us added a little red chile paste to give it a little spice.

Bear Pancakes

This is a simple way to make pancakes even more fun than they already are!  All you need is pancake batter, blueberries or chocolate chips, a large serving spoon, and a teaspoon.  Heat your pancake griddle, pour one scoop batter with the serving spoon and two scoops with the teaspoon for the "ears."  Using three blueberries, give your bears two eyes and a nose.  Voila!  Bear pancakes!

Go here for my recipe for half whole wheat pancakes.  Who needs a mix when making pancake batter is SO easy!

Nana's Rhubarb Sauce

I'll never forget the first time I tried this recipe in the summer of 1987.  I was visiting my grandparents and great-grandparents in Kansas with my dad and brother.  It was Sunday morning and I couldn't figure out why I had to wait so long for breakfast because I had never heard of 'Sunday brunch' (I was 8 years old).  Finally, around 10 am, we sat down and had a huge brunch.  The only thing I remember from the meal is Nana's (my great-grandma) rhubarb sauce on homemade biscuits.  When we got home, I begged my mom to get the recipe and Nana was nice enough to share it!  This recipe is easy to cut in half or double and uneaten portions of rhubarb sauce can be put in the freezer.

4 cups rhubarb
1 cup sugar
1/4 inch water

 (optional) few drops red food coloring

Put the water in the bottom of a medium sauce pan, then add the rhubarb and sugar.  Cook over medium low heat, stirring occasionally, until the rhubarb cooks down into the consistency of a sauce.  If desired, add red food coloring.

Note:  I do not add artificial dyes to my food due to health concerns.  This means that the color won't be as pretty, but it will be safer for your kids.

Rhubarb Roll

I love rhubarb!  This is my Great-Grandma Margaret's recipe and one of my family's favorite summer desserts.  The original recipe calls for red food dye and shortening.  I have adjusted the recipe to leave out these ingredients, see my note at the end.  

Syrup

2 C water

1 ½ C sugar

2 T butter

Heat to a boil, and then remove from heat.  Add a few drops of red food coloring.

Dough 

2 C flour

4 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

6 T shortening

2/3 C milk

Mix the flour, salt, and baking powder together.  Add the shortening and mix until it forms small crumbs.  Add milk.  The dough will be sticky.  On a floured surface, roll into a rectangle.

Rhubarb

4 C rhubarb

½ C sugar

3 T cinnamon

Mix together.

Put the rhubarb mixture onto the center of the dough and roll up (see picture).  Cut with a knife into 2 inch slices.  Put slices into a 13X9 inch baking dish and pour sauce over the top.  Bake at 350 for 1 hour.

NOTE:  This is my great-grandmother’s original recipe.  I leave out the red food coloring in the syrup.  I also substitute 6 T butter for the shortening and decrease the milk to ½ C. 

Red, Red with Fried Plantains

This past summer, I had the opportunity to travel to Ghana in West Africa for a short, 3 week study abroad. While there, I was fortunate enough to get a cooking lesson from our neighbor, Margaret. As she cooked, I took notes and created the following recipes. She didn't measure anything, but I think I guessed on the amounts pretty well. Since I've come home, I've made the recipes twice and it tasted great! (Imagine an African version of Chile).

Red, Red

1 large piece of ginger
3 cloves of garlic
2 small onions (1 chopped, 1 for the puree)
1 lb black eyed peas cooked according to package directions and drained
1 cup palm oil*
3 tomatoes, chopped
1 6 oz can tomato paste
1 – 1/2 tsp red chile paste

Pinch of nutmeg (optional)
1 cube fish bullion (optional)
salt to taste

Combine ginger, garlic, and one of the onions in a food processor and process until it becomes a thick paste. It should make about 1/2 cup. Heat the oil in a large pot over low heat. Add the chopped onion and cook for 2 minutes. Add the ginger, garlic, and onion puree and cook for an additional 3-4 minutes, stirring frequently. Add the chopped tomatoes, tomato paste, salt, and chile paste, stirring to combine (also add nutmeg and fish bullion if using). Cover and cook for 5 minutes. Add the beans, as well as a little water if the mixture is too thick (it should be the consistency of a thick chile. Cover and cook over low heat, stirring occasionally while you make the fried plantains. Can be served with either plantains or rice.

*Palm oil, which is quite commonly used in Ghana, may be difficult to find in the U.S.A. It is colored very brightly red and is what gives the meal its name. If you can't find it in a store in your area, it is available on amazon.com

Fried Plantains

Palm oil or canola oil
8 – 10 ripe plantains
1 tsp salt

Fill a frying pan with 2 to 3 inches of palm oil and heat over medium high heat. While the oil heats, cut the plantains in half lengthwise, seeding if desired, and slice in 1/2 inch slices. Toss the plantains in a bowl with the salt until coated. Add to the frying pan (you may need to do in 2 or 3 batches) and deep fry for 7 or 8 minutes until the plantains turn red from the oil and float to the top. Margaret reminded us several times to always hold the handle when stirring the plantains in the hot oil. Remove the plantains and drain in a sieve or on a plate lined with paper towels. Serve as a side to red, red.

It's been awhile...

So it's been awhile since I added an entry to my blog because not only am I a working mom, I'm also currently in grad school. I've been having a lot of ideas lately however, so am planning to take some time out of my busy schedule to add some more recipes and cooking ideas. Tune in for more!

A Favorite Cookbook

I’ve always loved cooking. Some of my fondest childhood memories are of helping my mom cook dinner or bake cookies. By the time I was 11 or 12, I was making spaghetti and bean burritos on my own. By my late teens, I had the basics of cooking down. When I left home, I wanted to expand my cooking repertoire and lucky for me, I worked at a bookstore where I could buy bargain cookbook for under $2. I bought several fancy books that were simply too hard. When I would look through the recipes, I wouldn’t understand the directions (what’s a bain marie?) or I wouldn’t know what the ingredients were or where to find them (What are kaffir lime leaves?). Luck for me, I stumbled on a great cookbook that was perfect for my cooking skills and allowed me to make meals that were not too hard, but looked impressive and tasted delicious! What is this wonderful book? Better Homes and Gardens America’s Best-Loved Community Recipes Volume II. I later purchased volume I and still continue to use both cookbooks frequently. They have step-by-step instructions, pictures of every dish, and recipes from all categories. I believe they are out of print, but I just checked amazon.com and they are still available for purchase. After using these cookbooks and several other intermediate level recipe books, I was eventually able to tackle the difficult books as well!