It’s time for comfort food, warm, creamy, caloric.

After spending the morning adding to my resume—counterintuitive since I always thought less was more, despite being recently chastised by a headhunter to shorten my too detailed resume. Well, detailed is what another headhunter wants, so I resuscitated the lost parts for an updated resume. Job hunting is like dating. What appeals to one, may be off-putting to another.

In any case, I tackled the revision this morning. The recipient is pleased.

I’m feeling virtuous which always leads me to the kitchen. I have leftover rice from an adobo I was trying out for some friends. I’ll save the Filipino dish for another posting, today the question is what do you do with two cups of cold white rice other than reheat it or make it into a rice pudding?

I had my answer from reading an Andrea Camilleri’s Inspector Montelbano mystery. (I recommend them.) In one, Salvo Montelbano, solves a crime but delays meeting his girlfriend in Paris on New Year’s Eve (he meets her the next day—he’s a good guy) for his cook’s rice croquettes. He is a consummate foodie and will stop in the middle of an investigation when he hears a restaurant has fresh fish or almost any Sicilian dish cooked by his redoubtable cook, Adelina.

Most of us think of rice as from Asia, but did you know that the so-called “lost crops” of Africa include rice? The National Academies Press (NAP) which publishes reports issued by the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, the Institute of Medicine, and the National Research Council told me so.

African red rice, oryza glaberrima, as opposed to the Asian Oryza sativa helped ease a famine on the continent in 1203. It isn’t really “lost” either, just no where near as well known as its Asian cousin.

“Rice has been cultivated in West Africa for at least 1,500 years. Some West African countries have, since ancient times, been just as rice-oriented as any Asian one. For all that, however, almost no one else has ever heard of their species. Asia’s rice is so advanced, so productive, and so well known that its rustic relative has been relegated to obscurity even in Africa itself. Today, most of the rice cultivated in Africa is of the Asian species. In fact, the “great red rice of the hook of the Niger” is declining so rapidly in importance and area that in most locations it lingers only as a weed in fields of its foreign relative. This should not be allowed to happen. The rice of Africa has a long and noteworthy history. It arose in the flood basin of the central Niger and prehistoric Africans carried it westward to Senegal, southward to the Guinea coast, and eastward as far as Lake Chad.” — NAP

The following recipe uses ordinary, Asian rice, cooked in water. No short cuts. The rice should be cold.

Rice Croquettes

1 cup cold (refrigerated) rice
2 eggs, beaten
1 c. Parmesan cheese
1 cup Italian bread crumbs
1 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley (optional)
Salt and pepper
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
1 buffalo Mozzarella cut in tiny squares

Mix rice, 1 egg and Parmesan cheese, salt, pepper and cayenne pepper together. If mixture is too wet, add some bread crumbs until a spoonful holds its shape in your hand.

Beat second egg to a froth and pour in a shallow bowl. Fill another shallow bowl with bread crumbs.

Put the oil in a pan and heat until hot enough for frying.

Put a spoonful of rice in the palm of your hand. Place a couple of squares of mozzarella cheese in the center of the rice. Cover with another spoonful of rice mixtures and mold until you have a cylinder or patty shape. Alternatively, you can flatten one end and shape it into something that resembles a pyramid.

Gently, dip the croquette in the egg wash and then roll gently in the bread crumbs until all sides are covered. Gently slip the croquettes into the oil. When brown on one side — if the oil is hot enough this will not take too long — and gently flip to the other side.

Place the croquettes on a plate covered with two layers of paper towels to absorb the excess oil.

I ate these — warm, crunchy exterior, creamy center — with some leftover toum, a Lebanese garlic paste usually served with grilled chicken, and a Dogfish Head India Pale ale. Delish!

Till next time.

Melkam Megeb.  Bon appetit. Buen provecho. Mànmàn chī! Guten Appetit! Dober tek! Selamat makan! Nush olsun! Svādiṣṭ khānā

So I’m introducing a new, global note, a little cultural currency with the cuisine: Where in the world did all the foodstuffs, spices, etc. come from that we now take for granted in our recipes and at our meals.

Even though the holiday season is over, Valentine’s Day is only a month away and this is one sweet recipe-White Chocolate Cranberry Walnut Fudge-that combines disparate ingredients from around the world in a global fusion we’ve come to expect.

Cranberries from New England. Walnuts from Asia, though three-quarters of our “English” walnuts - (more on that English aspect in a moment)-are produced in California. And when is a nut not a nut? When it’s a walnut. Finally, where did the concept of fudge come from? It’s the legacy of a sugary, milky Scottish confection called “tablet” first mentioned in The Household Book of Lady Grisell Baillie in the early 18th century. By the late 19th century, a Vassar college student, Emelyn Battersby Hartridge, in an 1886 letter wrote that a classmate’s cousin, who lived in Baltimore, Maryland, made fudge and sold it for 40 cents a pound. She got the recipe and made 30 pounds for Vassar Senior Auction. Sales took off. You can now find numerous Vassar fudge recipes on the internet.

As a Peace Corps Volunteer in Ethiopia decades ago, one of the things that was a regular feature of our Peace Corps get-togethers in Ghion (aka Wolisso), the town where I was stationed, was fudge. We had limited ingredients, but there was always sugar, cocoa and tinned butter. So into a pot went those ingredients as we gathered for a meal. At its end one of the guys would beat the heck out of the shiny mixture until it was opaque and, voila, fudge.

It was on a New England holiday to see the foliage, the Massachusetts peninsula, Provincetown and the Kennedy compound at Hyannis Port that my mother and I visited a cranberry cooperative and I first came across this confection. Along with books with illustrations explaining the difference between dry and wet harvesting (dry ones for those ruby fruits we see at holiday time in the plastic bags; wet ones for sauce and other cooked products) the gift shop sold wonderful white chocolate cranberry nut fudge.

The cranberry (originally called “craneberry” by the Pilgrims because the small, pink blossoms that appear in the spring resembled the head of the indigenous Sandhill crane), along with the blueberry and Concord grape, is one of North America’s three native fruits that are commercially grown, according to the Cape Cod Cranberry Growers Association.
Cranberries are North America’s gift to the world; no where else on the planet are they grown.

Walnuts originated in Eastern Europe and central Asia. The walnuts we eat are Persian walnuts with thin shells and more meat and there are many Iranian recipes that include walnuts, from sweet to savory.

By the way, a walnut isn’t a true nut at all-just like a peanut isn’t a nut, but a legume. Botanically speaking, a walnut is a drupe, a fruit in which an outer fleshy part surrounds a pit with a seed inside. Everyone is familiar with peaches and cherries, but walnuts, almonds and pecans are drupes. We just eat the seed inside the pit instead of the fruit.

Herewith, a recipe that brings the world together in one sweet concoction:

• 12 oz white chocolate baking chips
• ½ tsp vanilla extract
• ½ cup powdered sugar
• 3 oz softened cream cheese
• ½ cup Betty Crocker vanilla frosting
• 2/3 cup sweetened dried cranberries
• ¾ cup walnuts
• ½ tsp grated lemon zest

Grease a 9″ x 9″ glass dish or line with tinfoil.
Blend cream cheese, powdered sugar and frosting together.
Melt white chocolate chips in saucepan over low heat or in the microwave. Add vanilla to the melted chips and quickly add mixture to the frosting-cream cheese mixture. Fold in cranberries, walnuts and lemon zest.

Spread in pan and chill in refrigerator until firm. Cut into squares. Place waxed paper between squares and store in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
Melkam Megeb. Bon appetit. Buen provecho. Mànmàn chī! Guten Appetit! Dober tek! Selamat makan! Nush olsun! Svādiṣṭ khānā

Dark and Evil Cranberry Relish

Ingredients
1 2/3 cups ruby Port
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup (packed) golden brown sugar
8 dried black Mission figs, stemmed, chopped
1 6-inch-long sprig fresh rosemary
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

1 12-ounce bag fresh cranberries
3/4 cup sugar

Preparation
Combine first 6 ingredients (all but cranberries and sugar) in medium saucepan. Bring to boil, stirring until sugar dissolves. Reduce heat to low and simmer 10 minutes. Discard rosemary. Mix in cranberries and 3/4 cup sugar. Cook over medium heat until liquid is slightly reduced and berries burst, stirring occasionally, about 6 minutes. Cool. Transfer sauce to bowl; chill until cold.

Cranberry sauce can be prepared 1 week ahead. Cover and keep refrigerated.

This sauce has a very strong flavor — not overly fruity. A wimpy wine won’t be able to stand up to it.

—————

Cranberry Kick (not for kids)

Ingredients
1 (16 ounce) bag of cranberries
2 unpeeled navel oranges
¾ cup sugar (more if you like it sweet)

1 cup broken walnut pieces
1 Granny Smith apple, small diced
1 Bosc pear, small diced
¼ cup diced, crystallized ginger
2 Tsp fresh ginger, julienned

2 Tsp Grand Marnier
2 Tsp black rum, like Gosling’s Black Seal
2 Tsp Belle de Brillant pear liqueur

Preparation
In food processer, pulse cranberries, navel oranges and walnuts with sugar. Don’t pulverize mixture into mush; this relish should be coarsely chopped and substantial. It should easily mound on a spoon. Set aside

Dice apple, pear and crystallized ginger. Julienne fresh ginger. Add to cranberry/orange/ walnut mixture. Toss. Add liqueurs and toss again. Can be made in advance.

Melkam Megeb.  Bon appetit. Buen provecho. Mànmàn chī! Guten Appetit! Dober tek! Selamat makan! Nush olsun! Svādiṣṭ khānā

Feed the Fear Bean Soup

You will need:

• 1 pound dry navy beans, soaked overnight
• 2 ham hocks or ham bones
• 1 chopped onion
• 1/2 cup chopped celery
• Parsley, rosemary, thyme
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• chopped ham or ham from the meaty bone
• water to cover ingredients
• salt and pepper to taste

Preparation:

In a large slow cooker, place soaked beans, ham bones or ham hocks, chopped onion, celery, herbs, minced garlic, and water.  Cook for six hours.  Season with salt and pepper.  Recipe serves 12 or more.

Celebrate Sanity Cassoulet

• 1 pound dry navy beans, soaked overnight
• 1 pound pork sausage links, sliced
• 1 tablespoon whole cloves
• 1 whole onion, peeled
• 3 sprigs fresh parsley
• 1 sprig fresh thyme
• 1 sprig fresh rosemary
• 1 bay leaf
• 1/2 pound bacon
• 3 carrots, peeled and sliced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 pound skinned, boned duck breast halves, sliced into thin strips
• 1 fresh tomato, chopped

Preparation:

Brown the sliced sausage over medium heat in a large skillet.  Stud onion with cloves.  Roll up bacon and tie with a string.  Make a bouquet garni– a bundle of aromatic herbs tied together– in this case, fresh parsley, rosemary, thyme.  Place soaked beans, sausage, bacon, onion studded with cloves, fresh herbs, bay leaf, carrots, minced garlic, and duck in a large slow cooker. Add enough water to cover the other ingredients. Cook for one  hour on HIGH. Reduce heat to LOW, and cook for six to eight hours. Remove onion, bacon, and herbs. Stir in chopped tomatoes.  Continue cooking for a half an hour.  Serves six to eight, generously.

Till next time.

Melkam Megeb.   Bon appetit.    Buen provecho.   Mànmàn chī!  Guten Appetit! Dober tek!    Selamat makan!   Nush olsun!   Svādiṣṭ khānā

Well, I’m an eater now.  I eat when I’m happy and I especially eat when I’m depressed which means I’ve been cooking a lot lately.  My candidate, whose communications director I was, lost the primary. This is depressing because he was a true public servant, and, because, I now don’t have a job.  Again.

So, between bouts of lanquishing in the Slough of Despond, I’ve been cooking.  And this being Keat’s ” season of mists and mellow fruitfulness,”  full of “fruit with ripeness to the core,” I’ve been making jams and jellies, chutneys and, most recently, a plum cake.   The plum cake was occasioned by the gift of a small bottle of schnapps made by nuns in a convent in Leichtenstein.  It is especially easy because I used boxed yellow cake mix, the kind that you add a stick of butter to.

Herewith:  Easy Plum Cakes (This recipe makes two)

Enough plums, halved, to cover  (2) ceramic or glass pie pans

Duncan Hines Golden Butter Cake mix

1½ sticks of butter, softened

2 cups sugar

2/3ds cup water

Cinnamon

Nutmeg

Vanilla extract

Optional (schnapps or brandy)

Cut plums in half, stem to stern; remove seed.   Place cut side down in a large shallow glass dish.   Pour on liquor and let marinate for two hours.

Place plums cut side down in well buttered pans (be generous with the butter because otherwise the plums may stick; they may stick anyway).

Next make a simple caramel sauce with 1 cup white sugar and 1/3 cup water.  (You can use some of the liquor from the plums.)  Heat the sugar/water mixture without stirring (though you can swirl the pan from time to time) until the sugar is a beautiful light golden brown.  Pour hot sauce directly over plums.

Now here’s the easiest part.  One box of butter yellow cake mix, the kind that requires the addition of a stick of melted butter.  Follow package directions. I add nutmeg and cinnamon and extra vanilla to the mix, but you don’t have to do anything.   Pour the cake mixture over the plums to cover.

Put pans  in 350 degree oven for 30-40 minutes or until cake is done.  Straight from the oven, invert cake onto a serving plate.   Let cool.  Dust with powered or granulated sugar.

For a more formal dessert, serve with sour cream, whipped cream, Devonshire cream or, to really gild the lily, ice cream.

Eat.  There.  I feel better already.

Melkam Megeb.  Bon appetit. Buen provecho. Mànmàn chī! Guten Appetit! Dober tek! Selamat makan! Nush olsun! Svādiṣṭ khānā

1 ½ cups sliced fresh mushrooms

3 cloves garlic, chopped

1 medium size onion, diced

2 Tsp olive oil; 1 Tsp butter

2 carrots micro-waved in a half cup of water until tender but not soft

1 cup grape tomatoes, halved

¼ cup currants

3 large dates, seeded and chopped

1 Tsp. apricot jam or 3 dried apricots, chopped

1 Tsp honey

1 tsp. cayenne pepper

1 ½ Tsp Ras Al Hanout spice*

1 5.8 oz box of couscous mix (I used Near East roasted garlic and olive oil but whatever suits your fancy just so long as it cooks in 5 minutes)

½ cup pine nuts (optional)

Sauté garlic in olive oil in large frying pan until light brown.  Add onions and mushrooms and stir over medium heat, cooking until mushrooms begin to brown and onions are translucent.

Meanwhile, scrap carrots and cut into 1 inch pieces.  Put carrots in a microwave proof container, cover with water and cook for 5 minutes.

To the mushroom mixture, add carrots, grape tomatoes, dates, apricot jam, honey, cayenne pepper and Ras al Hanout spice and cook until everything is thoroughly mixed.   Pour in the water from the carrots, including it as part of the water that the couscous mix calls for-usually 1 ½ cups.

To this mixture, add the seasoning that comes in the package and the butter and bring to a boil.

Stir  the couscous into the mushroom water mixture,  cover and remove from heat.  The couscous will soak up almost all of the liquid in five minutes.  It should be almost completely dry before serving.

Put the couscous into a warm, shallow serving bowl.  Sprinkle the couscous with pine nuts if you wish and serve immediately.

The couscous would go nicely  with a green salad.  Have Middle Eastern pastries for dessert with mint tea, Turkish coffee or expresso.  Or fresh fruit.

Homemade Ras Al Hanout:

Mix together the following and heat in a saute pan for a few minutes to mix flavors.  Cool. Will keep for a month in a sealed jar, stored in a cabinet.

1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground ginger
I teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander seeds
1/2 teaspoon cayenne
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

More next time.

Melkam Megeb. Bon appetit. Buen provecho. Mànmàn chī! Guten Appetit! Dober tek! Selamat makan! Nush olsun! Svādiṣṭ khānā

Time to get up, straighten up the room, put fresh sheets on the bed, organize the cold medicine, tissues, etc. on the nightstand, shower and get into some fresh clothes, whether jammies or jeans.

Time to relinquish your horizontal position for a seated one, in favorite chair, with some music and a book and a cup of tea or coffee with a special treat just for you: honey crisps.

There are lots of variations of this delicate cookie, which can be made with molasses as well. They’re easy to make, requiring only that you keep watch that they don’t burn. There’s a delicate moment when they’re done and when you’re over the edge into burnt. You’ll just need to experiment.

I’ve gussied them up by dipping them in white or dark chocolate, and sprinkled them with coconut or almonds before they completely cool, but, by far, my family’s favorite is just plain.

I recommend cooking them on a Silpat non-stick baking mat which allows for easy removal, but you can also line your cookie sheet with parchment paper.

What you’ll need to make about two dozen:

• 1/4 c. unsalted butter
• 1/4 c. honey
• 1/2 c. light brown or powdered sugar
• 1/8 teaspoon salt ( I add more because I like the salty-sweet taste)
• 3 tablespoons flour

Preheat oven to 350°.

Put butter, honey and sugar in a medium size ceramic bowl and microwave until contents are melted and foamy. Remove, add flour and salt and whisk until well combined and creamy. Let cool slightly, about 5 minutes.

Line your cookie sheet either with a Slipat* or parchment.

Spoon ½ tsp. of the mixture onto sheets about 4 inches apart. Give them plenty of room because they will expand a lot.

Bake until dark golden brown and lacy looking, anywhere from 7 to 12 minutes, depending on your oven. Remove from oven and let cookies firm up, 2 to 3 minutes. If you want to sprinkle them with almonds or coconut, now is the time. When cookies are cool but still warm, carefully peel away parchment. (A Silpat makes this much easier.) If the cookies firm up too soon, stick the backing sheet back in the oven for about a minute to soften.

You can now shape the cookies by laying them over a rolling pin or hand roll them into little tubes. Let them completely crisp. If you want, dip the cookies in chocolate.

You can make these cookies one day ahead of when you want to eat them, but put them in an airtight container if you do. They’re so much better, I think, eaten freshly made.

More next time.

Melkam Megeb. Bon appetit. Buen provecho. Mànmàn chī! Guten Appetit! Dober tek! Selamat makan! Nush olsun! Svādiṣṭ khānā

I never ate Bobotie when I was in South Africa, but I had mealie pap, which would go well with this curry-like dish. Anyone have a recipe for mealie pap?  If so, please share.

Here is what you’ll need for the Bobotie.

1 c. dried apples
½ c. dried pitted prunes
½ c. dried apricots
½ c. seedless golden raisins
1 ½ c. chicken stock or water
1 ½ lb. cubed lamb (you can substitute beef if you want)
½ c. flour
1 tsp. salt
3 T olive oil
1 c. finely chopped onions
2-3 cloves of garlic, chopped
3 T curry powder
1 Tsp brown sugar
1 -2 tsp cayenne pepper
2 T vinegar
1 T lemon juice
Salt and pepper

Condiments

Salted peanuts, chopped
Scallions, chopped, including green parts
Lemon chutney
Sliced banana
Grated coconut

Soak dried fruit in water for an hour and a half. Dredge lamb in mixture of flour, salt and pepper. Brown in 2 Tsp of oil on all sides in a large frying pan. Remove the meat and any juices from the pan. Add last of the olive oil. Sauté onions and garlic. Return the lamb and its juices to the pan. Add cayenne, curry powder, stir over low heat 2 minutes. Add fruit and soaking water, brown sugar, vinegar, and lemon juice. Partially cover and cook about an hour, adding more stock or water if necessary. Cook until most of the liquid has disappeared.

Serve over white rice and let guest sprinkle on condiments of their choice.

More next time.

Melkam Megeb. Bon appetit. Buen provecho. Mànmàn chī! Guten Appetit! Dober tek! Selamat makan! Nush olsun! Svādiṣṭ khānā

Cabbage is wonderfully good for you, so you can make this recipe with less bacon or no bacon at all.

2 ½ cups of shredded cabbage
1 small onion, thinly sliced
2 cloves of garlic minced
1 Granny Smith apple, coarsely chopped
4 slices of maple flavored bacon
1 Tsp olive or canola oil
1 Tsp maple syrup
Salt and pepper to taste
¼ tsp cumin
½ tsp cayenne pepper (or less if you don’t like hot food)

In medium size sauté pan, fry bacon until crisp. Put bacon aside on a paper towel covered plate. Discard bacon grease, but don’t clean the pan. Add 1 Tsp olive oil and heat. Add minced garlic, onions and apples, sauté for about 5 minutes. Mound shredded cabbage onto of onions, garlic, apple mixture and sauté until cabbage is wilted and reduced by half, stirring frequently to move the cabbage on the bottom to the top.

Stir in maple syrup and season with salt, pepper, cumin and cayenne pepper. Cook for 5 minutes more. Stir in crumbled bacon, toss, and serve hot.

More next time.

Melkam Megeb. Bon appetit. Buen provecho. Mànmàn chī! Guten Appetit! Dober tek! Selamat makan! Nush olsun! Svādiṣṭ khānā

I’m pleased to say that I did keep one of my resolutions from the Uh Ohs by 2009 by losing 18 pounds and lowering my cholesterol by 28 points. I lost it off through stringent commitment to 1300 to 1600 calories a day and exercise six days a week. I slacked off after Thanksgiving and so still have 30 pounds to go, but I’m back on track and slowly, slowly the pounds will come off.

The older you get the more you realize that health is one of the best blessings. You may lose your job, but if you’ve got your health, you are alive and can remake your life through downsizing, another job, relocation. Anything. But all the money in the world won’t buy health. That said, I’m embarking on a healthier new year. That means more soups (great filler uppers), more vegetables, and more water. Here’s a soup that meets those qualifications and that the kids will like as well.

With some variation this is a tortilla soup that I learned from Jay Godwin, the director of photography for the Austin -American Statesman, and “the fellow” of a fellow Japan Society alumnus, Denise Gamino, an award-winning reporter for the Austin American-Statesman. This is a different way to use a store bought roast chicken.

Tortilla Soup

• 6 tablespoons olive oil
• 6 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 onions, coarsely chopped
• 6 coriander seeds, coarsely broken in a mortar
• 1 (14 oz) can diced tomatoes
• 1 (14 oz) can whole corn
• 1 large red pepper, diced
• 2 tablespoons ground cumin
• 1 tablespoon chili powder
• 3 bay leaves
• 2 tsp dried oregano
• 6 cups chicken broth, canned or cubes to taste
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 to 1½ teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
• 4-5 cups shredded cooked chicken
• 1 cup shredded Jack cheese, optional
• 1/2 cup coarsely chopped fresh cilantro leaves, for garnish
• 2 limes, cut in wedges, for serving
• 8 corn tortillas, cut in ½ inch strips

In a stockpot over medium heat, heat the olive oil. Add the onions, garlic, and tomatoes; cook, stirring for 15 minutes until the vegetables are reduced by half. Pour in the chicken stock, season with coriander, cumin, chili powder, cayenne pepper, bay leaves, oregano, and salt. Simmer for 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, put the tortilla strips in a single layer on a large baking sheet. Bake in a 400 F oven for 8 to 10 minutes or till crisp and lightly browned. Remove from oven and sprinkle with cumin and cayenne pepper.

Add corn and diced red peppers to stock mixture and simmer for an additional 5-10 minutes to mix flavors.

Put a pile of shredded chicken in soup bowls, ladle hot soup on top. Top with tortilla strips (and cheese if you’re not watching your calories). Garnish with chopped cilantro and serve with lime wedges.

More next time.
Melkam Megeb. Bon appetit. Buen provecho. Mànmàn chī! Guten Appetit! Dober tek! Selamat makan! Nush olsun! Svādiṣṭ khānā