Transportation Is a Big Responsibility

This spice mix is fundamental to many Ethiopian dishes (about which more soon!), and since it’s just a mix, a doddle to make, although you need a coffee/spice grinder, and there’s lots of ingredients!

Ingredients:

To dry-roast:

• 2 tsp. cumin seeds
• 1 tsp. fenugreek seeds
• 1 tsp. cardamom seeds
• 1 tsp. coriander seeds
• 4 whole cloves
• 8 black peppercorns
• 5 dried chilis of your choice

The rest:

• 2 tsps. onion powder
• 1 tsp. garlic powder
• 1 tsp. turmeric
• 1/2 tsp. cayenne or other pepper powder
• 1/2 tsp. ground ginger
• 1/4 C. (4 Tbsps.) ground paprika
• 1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg

Method:

In a skillet over medium heat, add the “to dry-roast” ingredients, and cook them, swirling constantly, for 3-4 minutes until fragrant:

Allow them to cool for a few minutes, then grind them:

Add to the other ingredients, then stir:

A lot of Ethiopian recipes call for multiple tablespoons of berbere, so this probably won’t last long!

-R

I tried an experiment: four-gallon makes each of Cheddar, Cheshire, and Lancashire, all cloth-bound; then I could compare and contrast and find out which I preferred.

Perhaps I’ve developed some “cheese intuition,” or maybe it just smelled funny, but after six months there seemed to be something off with the Lancashire. Indeed, as I discovered after cutting it open:

Completely horrible and a spectacular failure, and it went straight into the bin.

Cheshire can be eaten young, after just a few weeks, but that wasn’t part of the experiment. It was with some trepidation that after two more months, I cut into the Cheshire:

. . . and should have sharpened my cleaver first!

The paste was dryer and crumblier (and oranger . . . I may have had a heavy hand with the annatto) than I expected:

But, you ask, how did it taste?

I gotta say, darn good. Somewhat different from a Chedder, maybe a bit sweeter?, but with a nice complexity of flavor.

So, very happy with this. I had resorted to buying some rubber supermarket cheddar, but now I have four pounds of similar, which will just get better in the fridge.

Edit: I made a basic baked mac ‘n’ cheese, and it was surprisingly delicious, maybe the best mac ‘n’ cheese I’ve had? Creamy and sweet, but with a real depth of cheesy flavour. Sorry, Kraft!

-R

Another non-recipe . . . other than a crust (and even that is optional), the only critical element is the custard. I love quiches with lots of vegetables, not only to make them a bit more healthful, but also more delicious! For this one I used green beans.

Ingredients:

• 1 pie crust
• 4 eggs
• 1 C. heavy cream, half-and-half, or milk (if using milk, 1 Tbsp. of melted butter is nice)
• 1/2 C. sautéed onions (or not)
• 1-1/2 C. cooked vegetables (or not, but recommended)
• 1/4 – 1/2 C. crispy bacon (or not)
• 1 C. grated or cubed cheese (or not)
• But you can’t omit all of them, or it’s just a custard pie!
• 1 tsp. salt (less if using salty cheese)
• 1/4 tsp. pepper or to taste
• The secret is in 1/4 tsp. nutmeg. The secret is always in the nutmeg!

I like to make the crust from scratch:

And blind-bake at 425 degrees for about 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, if using onions, sauté them over medium heat for a few minutes, until wilted:

Whisk the eggs and dairy together:

Then add the other ingredients and stir:

Pour it into the crust.

I got a little creative with the leftover crust dough, using these, which are meant to be used for vegetable slices in Japanese soups:

Bake at 375 for 40-50 minutes, or until a knife inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool for a few minutes before serving.

Yum!

-R

Keep in mind that “enchiladas” basically means “en-chili-ed,” the implication being that they’re cooked in a chili tomato sauce.

I had leftover spinach parathas, purple corn tortillas and some chapattis that needed to be used:

As well as some dhal and bean dip:

And made up a simple “Mexican” mix, whizzed up cumin and oregano, added to cooked chicken and corn with garlic powder and some white sauce:

And made enchiladas! I tried to observe cultural boundaries, but everything got a bit mixed up (and some of the breads broke):

They were covered with a non-culturally specific, generic tomato sauce and some grated supermarket cheddar:

But, you ask, how did they taste?

Actually pretty good, if not great. The “Mexican” ones were the best. But it was a good way to use up some leftovers, and acceptable in these pandemic times!

(plus another salad from my patio)

-R

Euphorbia persistentifolia:

E. rowlandii:

E. ‘MacGuffin’

Ça ne ressemble à rien que je connaisse:

E. cylindrifolia tuberifera x didieroides:

E. cylindrifolia ssp. tuberosa:

For a long time, I struggled with pie crust. Now it seems kind of a doddle — yes, it takes time, but there’s not that much actual work involved. I’d like to think that it isn’t due to Crisco, but since I started using it, I’ve had really consistent results.

Ingredients (for a single crust):

• 1-1/3 C. flour
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/2 C. Crisco, cold (this is important — put it into the fridge for at least an hour)
• 3 – 6 (or more) Tbsp. ice water

Method:

Stir together flour and salt. Add the chilled Crisco, then, using a pastry blender, cut in the shortening until it looks like this (you want some pea-sized bits, which will make the crust flakier):

Starting with 3 Tbsp. ice water, add the water, then add by 2 Tbsp. and stir to combine. You want a fairly pliable, not too dense dough.

THIS IS THE MOST IMPORTANT STEP!: Pat the dough into a short disk or tall pancake, about 3-4″ in diameter, wrap it, then refrigerate it AT LEAST for an hour, or up to overnight.

Unwrap the disk. On a floured surface, with a floured rolling pin roll it out to the size of your pan + 2 inches:

Butter the pan:

Dust the top of the rolled-out dough with flour, then carefully roll it around the rolling pin, and unroll it on the pan:

Use your favorite method to blind-bake it.

This recipe will give you some left-overs. Get creative!

-R

I bought this Atol Shuco kit just as an experiment. It’s a Salvadorean (and Guatemalan?) traditional food. Basically, you cook the corn flour and the powdered alguashte beans separately in water, then stir them together.

I don’t mean to denigrate anyone’s native foods, and perhaps my palate isn’t subtle enough to appreciate it, but this was horrible. Imagine tasteless hot flour soup.

But there was purple corn flour, so an obvious re-purposing was tortillas.

I stirred the two powders together with 1 C. of masa harina to make it up to 3 cups:

Add enough water to make a fairly soft, but not sticky, dough. No matter what you might read on the Internet, DO NOT ADD FAT OR OIL.

Roll the dough into balls. Now you can either pat them flat with your hands, or roll them out with a rolling pin, but I got to use my toy:

Place some plastic wrap on the opened surfaces, then add the ball of dough:

Squish:

Ett viola!

Peel it carefully from the plastic wrap and cook on a pre-heated (preferably non-stick) surface. NO OIL!!!

Cook on medium-high heat for 2-3 minutes, then flip and cook for another 1-2 minutes. Just like chapattis, they should be cooked through, with maybe a few scorch marks:

From 3 C. flour, you should get about 15 tortillas, depending of course on the size.

As they just come off the griddle, give them a sniff (don’t burn your nose!) The corny aroma is delicious.

I don’t think these are any better than yer basic tortillas, but they are a bit prettier!

Yum!

-R

This is a very simple vegetable curry.  Other than the usual suspects (garlic/ginger/onion/chile) the only flavorings are turmeric and coriander, so that lets the flavor of the vegetables shine.

You can use any assortment of vegetables.  This time I used a mix of squash, green pepper, carrots, eggplant, green beans, potatoes, and cauliflower.

This freezes well, but inevitably the texture of the vegetables will take a hit.

Ingredients:

• 1.  1/2 C. vegetable oil
• 2.  1 tsp. mustard seed
• 3.  2 inches ginger, peeled and finely chopped
• 3.  2 garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped
• 4.  1 onion, peeled and finely chopped
• 5.  1 green chile, finely chopped
• 6.  1-1/2 tsp. turmeric
• 7.  1 Tbsp. ground coriander
• 8.  2 lbs. mixed vegetables, sliced
• 9.  1 tsp salt
• 10.  1 C. coconut milk
• 11.  2 Tbps. chopped cilantro

Method:

1.  Heat the oil in a saucepan.  Add the mustard seeds and stir until they start to pop.  Add the ginger and garlic and stir for 30 seconds, stirring constantly.

2.  Add the onion and chile and fry until the onion starts to brown.  Stir in the turmeric and coriander and cook for one minute, stirring constantly.

3.  Add the vegetables and stir to coat.  Stir in the salt and coconut milk.

4.  Cover the pan and simmer for 30 minutes, adding water as needed, until the vegetables are cooked to the desired tenderness.

5.  Sprinkle with the chopped cilantro and enjoy!

This is a great tomato recipe.  See Ingredient 1a if you’re using the usual tasteless supermarket tomatoes. (Or you can make it with canned whole tomatoes, which generally have a much better flavor).

Ingredients:

1.  1-1/2 lbs. tomatoes

1a.  1 Tbsp. tomato paste, if you use the usual tasteless supermarket tomatoes (like I did).  This will make all the difference in the finished recipe.

2.  2 Tbsp. vegetable oil

3.  2 medium onions, chopped

4.  2 green chiles, chopped

5.  1″ ginger, chopped

5.  1 tsp. salt

6.  1 tsp sugar

7.  5 Tbsps. yogurt

8.  1 Tbsp. chopped cilantro

Method:

1.  Blanch the tomatoes in boiling water until their skins start to burst, then cool in cold running water.

2.  Remove the skins and chop.

3.  Heat the oil in a saucepan.  When it is hot, add the onions, chiles and ginger and fry, stirring frequently, until the onions begin to brown.  Stir in the salt, sugar, yogurt and tomatoes, and tomato paste if used.  Simmer, stirring occasionally, for 30 minutes.

4.  Transfer to a serving bowl and sprinkle over the cilantro.  Enjoy!

-R