The spice blend Berbere (when the Ethiopians say it, it sounds like “Barbara”) seems to define the Ethiopian stew called wat. According to Wikipedia Berbere contains: chili peppers, garlic, ginger, dried basil, korarima, rue, ajwain or radhuni, nigella, and fenugreek. A couple of these spices are hard to acquire outside of Africa.
Karl’s Berbere Ethiopian Spice Blend
Filed under Sauces and Spices
adapted from under12parsecs
Niter Kibbeh is a key ingredient in many Ethiopean dishes. I suspect that the clarifying process and spices were meant to keep the butter from going bad in Ethiopia’s hot climate before refrigeration. I made this the day before, so that it would be ready when I started cooking my feast. I will be using this ingredient in my doro wat, shiro wat, and abesha gomen.
Filed under Other, Sauces and Spices
Jan really loves turkey and she has been running her legs off at work (literally, yesterday she walked 7 miles back and forth across campus, as recorded by her Fitbit). I decided to surprise her tonight with roasted turkey, stuffing and green beans, but I wanted to keep it to a weekday’s level of effort.
Karl’s Weekday Thanksgiving
Filed under bread, Main Dishes, Poultry, Sauces and Spices, Side Dishes, Vegetables
I lived on the West Bank of New Orleans (Gretna) for a couple of years in the 70’s. I have eaten my fair share of real Cajun food, and I have a good idea what it should taste like. If I am just cooking a dish for a weekday meal I will usually just use a Paul Prudhomme’s “Magic” blend. One thing I will not be doing is using the Prudhomme recipe I saw him make on TV one time. While I am sure it was delicious, I am too much of a Californian to follow a recipe that starts, “when the two pounds of butter has stopped frothing, add the three cups of onions.”
Karl’s Cajun Spice Blend
Filed under Other, Sauces and Spices
The Moroccan spice blend Ras el Hanout is shrouded in mystery, the closely held family and trade secret of the Moroccan spice merchants. Ras el Hanout means “head of the shop,” and each shop’s owner has their own unique mix, the best spice mix their shop can provide. Some blends have as few as ten ingredients, but others are said to have as many as fifty to one hundred spices. Some include such exotics as: grains of paradise, orris root, monk’s pepper, and nigella. Some purportedly included aphrodisiacs like Spanish fly, but if it is a secret how would we know? The result of all of this secrecy is that the blends, that all go by the name of “Ras el Hanout,” can be radically different from one shop to the next on the same street, let alone from towns in the north or south of Morocco.
Thirty Spices Measured Out
Filed under Sauces and Spices
A few months ago I had tried making molé for the first time, based on a recipe by Ty and Juels. This was one of our Sunday challenges before I started writing this blog. I found Ty’s recipe, but I could not help myself, I had to make some changes. That is just the kind of cook I am, I even have trouble following my own recipes. I rarely make the same dish the same way twice, I am constantly tinkering.
Mole Poblano
Filed under Sauces and Spices
Adapted from orayeena “The secret for good eastern food. Actually it’s a mix of 8 spices.”
On the Internet many non-Middle Easterners complain about how they can’t get Lebanese 7 spices right. Orayeena let slip why this is so, because there are actually 8 spices in the mix. (Of course there is pepper in it! Why would anyone count the pepper as a spice?).
Karl’s Lebanese Seven Spices
Filed under Sauces and Spices
Adapted from The Shiksa in the Kitchen
1 English cucumbers
1/4 tsp salt (or more to taste)
1 cup plain lowfat Greek yogurt
3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 tbsp fresh chopped mint
1 clove garlic, crushed (or more to taste)
1 tbsp fresh lemon juice (or more to taste)
Pinch sugar
Fresh mint sprig for garnish (optional)
Filed under Sauces and Spices, Side Dishes, Vegan, Vegetables
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Miriam
Jabberwocky Stew 