The best food in Africa

I apologize for not posting for so long. I do have good excuses....like I spent over a month in Africa and it was Thanksgiving and my wedding anniversary. But the reality is that despite having those good excuses, I have still made the following discoveries: 1) Keeping a blog takes up a lot of time if you want to do it well, and 2) I'm an inspirational writer, and I'm not always feeling super creative. So, there you have it. I will do my best to make my posts more frequent so you can have new exciting recipes to try at home, but I can't promise anything.


To celebrate my return back to America, I thought I would share a new Ethiopian dish I learned how to make during my recent visit. Ethiopian food has easily become one of my favorite ethnic foods. It's full of spices and rich flavors. And you eat it with your hands....food is just more fun when you can eat it with your hands! The common spice used in most Ethiopian dishes is berbere (pronounced "burberry") and it's the key ingredient in the dish below.


My friend Bekele, his wife and their house helper taught me how to make Shiro. The first time I just watched them make this delicious, velvety goodness.... I thought, I can do this, not a problem! Then it was my turn to make the shiro and put into practice what I had learned a couple days prior. I wasn't able to get through the entire recipe without a bit of guidance (Ethiopian cooking is more about your own interpretation and experience, not by measurements and exact recipes). But...after my first attempt I was officially sworn in as an Ethiopian cook and considered "half Ethiopian."

I love ethnic food and it is so fun to make. A little warning before you get started....this is not a science. You may have to do a few trial runs before perfecting your version of this popular Ethiopian dish. Have fun!


Ethiopian Shiro


• Chop up a small onion (I would use shallots) as small as you can. Fry onion in about ½” of sunflower oil for 3-5 minutes. I would use a small pot to cook.
• Add 1 ½ to 2 TBL Berbere spices. You can adjust based on how spicy you want it.
• Fry onion, oil, and spice mixture for a minute.
• Add a small can of tomato paste and 2-3 garlic cloves mashed up. Fry together for about 5 minutes.
• Add water (about half way up in pan). Allow water to boil and cover. Boil for 10-12 minutes.
• Add 2-3 TLB Shiro powder. Allow mixture to boil and thicken for at least 10 mintues. You just really have to go by looks here.
• Add some course sea salt for taste.
• Finish with 1-2 TBL Ghee (or butter).
• Serve hot with Injera…Enjoy!


Delicious Ethiopian Cuisine



Some good Ethiopian Recipe Sites:

http://ethiopianrecipes.net/

http://www.ethiopianrestaurant.com/recipes.html

http://www.food.com/recipes/ethiopian

Old Fashioned Family Fun

My brother, mom, and I have started a new family tradition. I don’t think it is ever too late to start new traditions. This one is a real winner….we take one Sunday every quarter to have an all day cooking extravaganza. Trust me, this isn’t for armatures.  We’ve made everything from homemade tamales (including the sauce from scratch) to homemade fresh pasta. Some new adventurous spaghetti sauce is always on the agenda.

In honor of our new family’s tradition, I’d like to share a couple family favorites. Since my family is Italian, naturally we like our meat sauce, so we are sure to make a couple huge pots on our quarterly cooking days. This is a great way to stock up our freezers with dinner-sized portions of sauce to pull out for a quick, deliciously homemade weeknight dinner. Check out our great meat sauce base at Making it Spicy.

Another family favorite is a powerfully tasty chili recipe. I actually got this when I was working at John Henry’s café my senior year at Oregon State. The café no longer exists…so I feel like I have to keep the dream alive, and share this amazing, simple, but flavorful chili recipe. This is another great item to stock your freezer with…as the chili just gets better and better as the ingredients have time to marinate together. Get it at Making it Spicy.

Enjoy these family favorites...and let me know if you try them out...I'd love to hear what you think!

-Erica Stillar 

Summer is for Farmer's Markets

My new favorite past time living in SE Portland is to bike to the Hollywood Market on Saturday mornings and shop for fresh, local produce.  I've discovered that my shopping habits remain the same even when I shop at the Farmer's Market. I love returning to the same vendors, getting the same amazing fresh, organic ingredients, but do my best to creatively come up with a new way to use that ingredient. I think my favorite vendor of the summer has been Peak Forest Fruit. They sell a variety of wild mushrooms, which I always find myself buying, even if I have no idea what I am going to do with them. The little fungi are just so tempting! They also have the best cherries I've ever had! Needless to say, I've become a loyal customer.


One vegetable at the market that keeps calling my name is the colored chard. It's like vegetable eye-candy. Seriously...it must be a crime to have a vegetable look this good. I'm a sucker for color...and it comes in rainbows. I have to admit I've never tasted, bought, or cooked chard. Every time I go to the Farmer's Market I walk by this lusciously seductive vegetable.... it calls my name.... yet I just cant find the courage to buy it. I'm intimidated. I don't know how to cook this stuff...and it's probably not going to look as good as it does displayed in all it's glory at the market when I cook it. New goal.....Purchase alluring green vegetable and attempt to make it appetizing and potentially delicious. 

Colorful Swiss Chard

In honor of Farmer's Markets and the approach of summer's end, I decided to make one of my favorite late summer meals this evening....Roasted Tomato Soup. The secret to this amazing soup is using a variety of tomatoes. I like the big beefsteak, mixed with a few early girls, romas, heirloom, and the long skinny kind (I cant remember their name, it starts with an "m"...you'll figure it out when you go to the market). It's delightful with a grilled mozzarella and pesto sandwich. :) Happy Eating!

Get the recipe at Making it Spicy.

-Erica Stillar