Easy Pancake Mix

We have been making this mix for a few months. It makes our morning cooking go so much faster!

Pancake mix

6 cups flour (use half whole wheat flour if you want)

1 tablespoon salt

3-6 tablespoons baking powder (up to you)

1/3-2/3 cup sugar (optional)

2 cups powdered milk

Pancake mix pancakes

1 egg slightly beaten (optional)

1 cup water

2 tablespoons oil (optional)

1 ½ cups pancake mix

If you take out egg and oil, add a bit more water

To make waffles increase oil to ¼ cup

We often mix in a few mashed bananas or throw in some chocolate chips.

Mashed Eggplant With Peanuts And Spices

Yes, this is my third post of the day, what can I say, I love a mid week public holiday.

This recipe was somewhat of a miracle for Phillip and I. It really came through in the clutch. We had asked Paul to buy us some eggplant and g-nuts from the market a few months back, and when he came home, he had enough eggplant for us to eat for a month, and the g-nuts he had brought were the pounded kind for g-nut sauce. (For the record, it was totally my bad on the g-nuts, I had not specified and assumed he knew I meant the whole ones. Phillip and I were on a major different flavor roasted g-nut kick at the time) I was so overwhelmed with what to do with a mountain of eggplant and a kilo of pounded g-nuts, that I frantically begain searching for eggplant and pounded nut recipes. Everything I found either called for peanut butter or for an oven to bake in, and I had neither. Then we came upon this gem, which we have made a million times and have served to two sets of happy guests. We even liked it enough to buy more pounded g-nuts. :)

Simmer in water about 8 minutes, until very soft:

1 medium unpeeled eggplant, chopped in large chunks (about 5 cups)

Drain off the water and mash the eggplant in a bowl.

Add:

2 Tablespoons crushed roasted peanuts

2 Tablespoons fresh chopped cilantro (optional)

In a saucepan, heat:

1 1/2 Tablespoons vegetable oil

1 teaspoon cumin/mustard/sesame seed mixture

When the seeds pop, (or if not using seeds, a minute later) add to the saucepan:

3 Tablespoons onion, chopped

1/4 hot pepper (optional)

1/2 small clove garlic

1/4 inch cube fresh ginger, grated (or powder)

1 1/2 teaspoons coriander/cumin powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon garam masala

1/4 teaspoon hot red pepper powder (opt.)

1/8 teaspoon turmeric

pinch cumin seeds

saute until the onions are lightly browned.

Add the eggplant mixture to the saucepan; combine, remove from the heat, and serve.

We never follow the spice measurements, we put in what tastes right. If you don't have one of the spices, no big deal.
Our favorite way to eat this is with chapatis.

Welsh griddle cakes

Its a public holiday here in Rwanda, and we decided a day off of work was a good day to try a new recipe. These are basically stove top scones.
I got this recipe out of the cook book we have, many of the recipes I found online included an egg, so add that if you want.
We didn't have shortening, so I used butter and took out the salt.

Combine:
1 cup flour
1/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon salt

Cut in:
1/4 cup shortening

Add:
1/4 cup raisins or craisins (Cinnamon or almonds would probably be a tasty thing to try, too)
2-4 Tablespoons milk, enough to hold the batter together. (you could just use water probably)

Knead it all together, then make small cakes about 2 inches across and 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick. Put them on a hot floured skilled on low heat. Cook until crusty brown on one side, then turn. You can sprinkle them with powdered sugar at the end if you like.

Basic Dahl

Phillip and I have made this Dahl at least 3 times in the last 2 weeks. We ate it with bread twice (Phillip's favorite, like the South African "bunny chow") and we ate it with rice once. Soon, we hope to try some sort of naan-ish flat bread on our skillet.

• 1 T. sesame oil or, alternatively, olive or vegetable oil
• 1 cup finely chopped onion
• 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 1 T. finely chopped fresh ginger (or powder if you don't have fresh)
  
• 4 cups water or vegetable broth (we have used the little"maggi" cubes)
  
• 1 cup dried lentils, rinsed and picked over
• 1 t. cumin
• 1 t. coriander
• 1 t. tumeric
• ¼ t. cardamom
• ¼ t. cinnamon
• ¼ t. cayenne pepper
• 1 t. salt, or to taste (we don't use salt when using the maggi cube, those things are salty!)
  
• 2 T. tomato paste (not sure what you have in Uganda, but we use a whole one of those little 1 inch high tins of paste)

Heat up the oil. When its hot, put in the onion, garlic, and ginger.
Cook them until the onions are clear, stirring often.
Add the water or broth, lentils, spices and salt.
Bring to a low boil, then turn down the heat to low, cover and let the soup simmer for about 20 minutes, or until lentils are very tender.
Stir in the tomato paste. Cook several minutes more, or until the soup is desired temperature and consistency, adding more water to the dahl if needed.

One time we didn't have the paste, so we just left it out and added carrots to the mix. You can leave it more watery if you want it like soup, or let it get pretty dry. Its a great basic recipe to experiment with.

Avocado Nut Salad

This is too simple to be called a recipe, really - more of an idea. But I absolutely LOVE this salad.

Ingredients:
1. Equal quantities of avocados, tomatoes, and cucumbers.
2. A whole bunch of ground nuts or peanuts (not boiled).

Directions:
Layer 1/2 inch slices on a platter, alternating between avocado, tomato, and cucumber. Add a little salt on the avocado if you like. Grind up the nuts as thoroughly as you can (I use a bowl and the bottom of a mug) and cover the dish with them. That's all!

The avocado and nuts are almost like a dressing for the rest. I do this every time we have people over for dinner and get many more compliments on it than on anything that takes actual effort!

The most simple CHEESE recipe of life!

Hey friends, I'm finally getting around to posting this Ricotta recipe. Here it is:


Ingredients:

1 gallon of milk (You can use less if you'd like. 1 gallon = 1 lb of cheese)
1/4 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice or white vinegar
1 cheese cloth (I just use a dish towel from MEGA shoppers with larger holes than a normal towel)
1 colander

That's it!

Directions:

Pour milk into large pot and heat to 200 degrees F.
Don't have a candy thermometer? Me neither. But that's no problem. The milk should not be so hot that it boils, but should not be so cool that it doesn't slightly burn your finger when you test the temp.

When you think the milk is hot enough, pour in the 1/4 cup of lemon juice or white vinegar. If the milk doesn't instantly curdle, then your milk wasn't hot enough. This is no problem. Refill your 1/4 cup and wait until the milk is hotter. I've done this a few times and the cheese turns out just fine.

Once the cheese curdles, I turn off the heat and let it stand for 1-2 mins. Prepare your colander by lining it with the cheese cloth and placing it in the sink. Pour the pot of milk and curdles into the colander. This may take a few mins if your colander is small. Let the liquid drain and allow the cheese cloth to fill up with the curdles. Once you've successfully strained, tie the corners of your cheese cloth together and drape it over the sink. Allow the cloth to drain completely. This will take 30-60 mins. Then voila! Cheese!

At this point, I transfer the cheese into a bowl and add seasoning such as Italian, garlic salt, and basil. Then you're done!

FUN IDEA!
Zucchini wraps:
Slice Zucchini into long strips. Then grill over stove or BBQ. Place a dollop of cheese on each strip, roll, and secure with a toothpick for a mouthwatering appetizer!

White Bread & Cinnamon Rolls

So I'm back in the states, finding the places where jetlag and 3:30am meet, and spending hours and hours looking things up on the internet, just because I can. I thought I might finally get around to posting a few things here. First and foremost, bread.

WHITE BREAD

3 cups flour

1 T sugar

1 cup warm water

2 1/4 tsp yeast*

2 T butter or oil

1 tsp salt

flavor/spices (such as rosemary, cinnamon & raisins, caramelized onions, garlic, etc.) optional

CINNAMON ROLLS (you also need:)

cinnamon (lots)

sugar (lots)

butter

powdered sugar (lots)

milk (just a spoonful)

vanilla

walnuts & raisins (optional)

DIRECTIONS FOR TRADITIONAL YEAST*

1)Melt sugar into the warm water and stir in the yeast.

2)Mix together flour, salt and spices in a separate bowl.

3)When the yeast has begun to foam and bubble, stir in the butter or oil, then slowly add the flour mixture

DIRECTIONS FOR INSTANT YEAST*

1)In one bowl, mix together the water and butter/oil. Don't try too hard, you know about oil & water.

2)In a second bowl, mix the remaining dry ingredients (yeast, sugar, salt, flour).

3)Slowly stir the flour mixture into the water.

CONTINUING ON...

4) Mix well until ingredients are thoroughly combined.

5) Set dough on a lightly floured surface and knead for 10-12 minutes. Seriously. It's a long time, but it matters.

6) Set the dough in a clean bowl and cover with a towel. Let rise for one hour in a warm location. Anywhere in Uganda should work. ;)

7) Divide the dough into two small loaves, divide it into a bunch of tiny dinner rolls, or just shape it into one big loaf, and set it into an oiled/greased pan, cover with a towel, and let rise another hour. You can also make cinnamon rolls at this point-

8)If you like your bread shiny, you can brush it with eggwhites at this point in time. And maybe even sprinkle some sesame seeds on top.

9)Bake for 10-15 minutes at 190C/375F or until lightly browned.

CINNAMON ROLLS

After the first rise, roll the dough out into a roughly rectangularish shape. The thinner the dough, the more layers of cinnamony goodness. Spread a generous amount of butter onto the dough, then sprinkle with lots of cinnamon and sugar. Maybe even some walnuts and raisins. Roll it up, slice into 1 1/2 inch slices, and lay them out sideways in a pan. Let rise one hour, then bake at 190C/375F for 10-12 minutes or so.

Meanwhile... put a lot of powdered sugar in a mixing bowl. Stir in a few tablespoons of butter, then a few drops of vanilla, then a tiny bit of milk, until the mixture resembles frosting. Spread generously over freshly baked cinnamon rolls.

The end.

Thanksgiving Green Bean casserole

Ok, I'm breaking my soul food virginity and finally putting out for the rest of you.  You are welcome.  This recipe is posted due to a special request.  Love, DLW

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons butter
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon white sugar
• 1/4 cup onion, diced
• 1 cup sour cream
• 3 (14.5 ounce) cans French style green beans, drained
• 2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese
• 1/2 cup crumbled buttery round crackers
• 1 tablespoon butter, melted

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. Melt 2 tablespoons butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Stir in flour until smooth, and cook for one minute. Stir in the salt, sugar, onion, and sour cream. Add green beans, and stir to coat.
3. Transfer the mixture to a 2 1/2 quart casserole dish. Spread shredded cheese over the top. In a small bowl, toss together cracker crumbs and remaining butter, and sprinkle over the cheese.
4. Bake for 30 minutes in the preheated oven, or until the top is golden and cheese is bubbly.

Holy Cow

What can you do with a gallon of milk?

Wendy and I jut completed a huge cooking feat. We made cheese. Cheese that can kick African Gouda ass. I will describe how we made 1 lbs mozzarella, ice cream, a cup of ricotta, butter and buttermilk all from 5 litters of milk. Before I start with this monster, dairy-inspired blog, I have a bit of a guilt trip I need to remedy. For the mozzarella and ice cream you need a few cheap, yet hard to find ingredients, Citric acid salt and rennet tablets. You will also need a thermometer, which also might be tricky. Let me know if you can find them in UG. I feel bad because this seems to defy the “local ingredients” assumption of the blog. Here is the deal. Anyone that is inspired to make cheese, email me or post in the comments and I can get the supplies by February from the states. The rennet and citric acid cost less then 10 bucks total and can probably make like 40 lbs of cheese.

Mozzarella

Supplies

• 3.75 liters of milk (whole, unpasteurized, the more direct from cow the better)

• 1-1/4 tsp. Citric Acid Salt

• ½ rennet tablet

• 1tsb Salt

• Thermometer that you are willing to put in food

• 1 linen dishtowel

1. Warm the milk very slightly to get to 88F

2. Dissolve 1-1/4 tsp. Citric Acid Salt in ½ cup cool water. Then stir into 88F milk

3. Dissolve ½ rennet tablet in ¼ cup cool water. Also, mix this into your warm milk

4. Leave pot undisturbed until a “clean break” achieved. This could be anywhere from 1-4 hours. This is the most important step! The clean break is tested when you put your finger in the pot at an angle and pull up. If the milk will cleanly fall to either side without leaving residue on you finger, you can move to the next step.

5. Cut the curd. Make ½ inch curds by sticking a knife to the bottom of the pot and cutting lines from the back of the pot towards you and then make another set of cuts perpendicular to the previous ones.

6. Stir and keep the curds separated as you warm the pot to 108F. Hold the pot at 108F for 35 minutes and stir every 5 minutes.

7. Collect the curds by poring into a linen cloth held in a colander. Collect the whey by putting something under the colander if you wish to make ricotta. Let the cheese drain for 15 min.

8. Break up the curd and mix in 1 tsb. salt.

9. Put cheese in a dry pot over very low flame to heat the glob. Knead the cheese. Fold it onto itself. The cheese will become soft and elastic, forming that deliciously familiar mozzarella ball.

To store, make saline water and store in the fridge. Eat within the week. This stuff goes bad fast. OR, bread mozzarella sticks and eat a pound of cheese in a sitting :)

Freezer Ice Cream

Not quite like Ben and Jerry’s, but still pretty good.

Supplies

• 1 rennet tablet

• ½ cup sugar

• 1-1/2 cup whole milk

1. Dissolve the rennet tablet in ½ cup of water.

2. Put milk and sugar in sauce pan (add vanilla or chocolate if desired). Heat and stir to 110F

3. Mix in dissolved rennet.

4. Quickly remove from heat. Put liquid in a pan and place in the freezer.

5. Freeze until firm. Then break into chunks with a fork, when whip with a mixer.

6. Mix in something exciting, bananas, mangos, go wild. Freeze again.

Whey Ricotta

1. Take the whey from the mozzarella and let it sit at room temperature over night. It still has active ingredients from the mozzarella.

2. In the morning raise temperature to boiling. Stir frequently, do not let it burn or boil over. This takes a while.

3. Remove from heat and let the pot sit until cool.

4. Strain into cloth-colander contraption. Tie up cloth; it could take a bit of time to strain completely. After you can lay the cloth open-face and flat to continue the drying process if you want.

5. Remove from cloth and enjoy.

Butter

Wendy and I purchased a 5L jerry can of milk so we had a bit of leftover milk. If the milk is raw whole milk, the cream will be forming at the top. Remove the cream and shake it vigorously for a while in something like tupperware. Boom, butter. Additionally, the remaining liquid in the Tupperware is buttermilk. Go ahead and craft some of John’s fantastic blister biscuits.

Suggested playlist while making milk product:

1. Milkman of human kindness-Billy Bragg

2. Milk Cow blues –Elvis Presley

3. Cigarettes and Chocolate Milk- Rufus Wainwright

4. Ernie-Benny Hill

5. Milk bottle symphony-Saint Etienne

6. Milkman-Aphex Twin

7. Milk-Garbage

8. No Milk today-Herman’s Hermits

9. Milkshake-Kelis

Justin's favorite vegetable soup

When I was just starting to experiment with cooking, I made this soup all the time. My family has a guy named Justin living with us, and this was his favorite thing I made.

It’s hard to write a recipe for it, because I change it every time I make it, and I never measure, but here is the general idea. Use what you have around, add and subtract as necessary.

Onions
Garlic
Carrots
Green peppers
Shredded cabbage
Can of diced tomatoes or tomato paste
Can of black beans, or a few handfuls of black beans that you pre soak
Vegetable or chicken stock
Cumin (lots)
Cayenne pepper
Black pepper
Olive oil
Lemon or lime juice (optional)
Cocoa (optional)

Sautee onions and garlic in olive oil in a big pot. Add soup stock. If you have a blender, blend up the can of diced tomatoes and some of the beans. This will give the soup some extra thickness. Put in all the spices, the tomatoes and the beans. Add the vegetables in shifts so they don’t get mushy. Add the cabbage only a few minutes before the soup is done. Let the soup simmer for a while. Add more spices as necessary. Sprinkle a little cheese on top if you have it. Make some garlic bread, and enjoy!

Ramen Salad

This is a favorite that is at almost all of my family gatherings. We started making it here in Rwanda, and it brings me right back to family birthday parties!

Cabbage Ramen Noodle Salad

When we make it at home we use a bag of cole slaw, but here I use:
Shredded cabbage
A carrot or two grated
chopped green onion (optional)

Sugared G nuts or almonds, or toasted seaseme seeds (sim sim)
Crushed Ramen (pound on the bag of noodles until they are the size you want)

Dressing:
1/2 cup oil
1/4 cup vinegar
1/2 cup sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons soy sauce

Shake it all together and eat!
Don't toss the ingredients together if you plan to have leftovers, the noodles get really mushy.

Blister Buttermilk Biscuits

alliteration aside, these biscuits are really easy, and a great taste of home (amanda and i like to pair them with bbq wandegeya chicken and coleslaw). the aftermath has been well documented, so use caution when removing these beauties from the oven.

3 cups flours

2 tbsp sugar

4 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

1 tsp baking soda

.75 cup (1.5 sticks) chilled butter, cut into 1/4 inch pieces

1.5 cup buttermilk - if you don't have buttermilk, just mix 1.5 tbsp vinegar into the milk and let it stand for about 15 minutes. not quite the same but it does the trick.

Mix flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and baking soda in large bowl. Using fingertips, rub butter into dry ingredients until well mixed and no large butter chunks are left. Add buttermilk and stir. Use about .25 cup dough for each biscuit and drop them onto a baking sheet. Bake at around 200 C for about 15 minutes.

One Fine, Fall Day.

I think that we can all agree that FALL is one of the things most missed when in Uganda (or Rwanda). David, Ally, our new friend Lexi, and I decided to have a fall weekend... Filled with homemade pumpkin soup, caramel apple cider, and pumpkin pancakes :)

Pumpkin Soup Ingredients:

Pumpkin, of course

Olive Oil

Milk

Chilli Powder

Cumin

Sugar

Salt

Garlic

Vegetable or Chicken Stock

and Water

(The amounts are not exact, as we did not really follow a recipe. Just use your intuition and taste buds to make it delicious!!).

First, Cut and peel the pumpkin (we used a medium sized one... and it fed 6 people). Cut it into large cubes. Season with Chilli powder, drizzle with oil, and bake in the oven for about 20 minutes.

Remove from oven and combine the pumpkin, approximately 2 cups of milk, 3 cups of water, a couple teaspoons of the vegetable powder stock, cumin, chilli powder, a couple teaspoons of sugar, salt, and chopped garlic in a large pot. Bring to a boil and let boil for a few minutes. Turn heat down and let simmer for 10-15 minutes while stirring/mashing frequently. While cooking, the pumpkin should begin to fall apart. Mash/Mix until the mixture reaches a soup consistency (you can blend if you want it completely smooth).

Sweet Potato Cakes

Jon and I are always looking for ways to use Uganda's delicious sweet potatoes.  Here's our favorite:

You need:
a few sweet potatoes
a couple ears of corn (or a can of sweet corn)
milk
garlic
salt
pepper
sugar
flour
egg

First, you basically just make mashed potatoes.  We make them by peeling and then boiling the sweet potatoes.  Then we mash them with milk, garlic, salt, pepper, and a little bit of sugar.  Then, add the corn, an egg (to make them stick) and some flour (to give them more of a bread-like texture).  Mix well, form into small pancake-sized patties, and then grill them (preferably in butter).  They freeze really well, so you can just throw the left overs on the grill.  YUM!

Pancakes

here's my pancake recipe... one batch feeds about 4-5 people, so you can half it if you like for 2-3 people.

1 1/2 cup flour
3 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
3 tblsp sugar
1 1/4 cup milk
1 egg
3 tblsp melted butter

to spice things up, you can add either bananas (2 small sweet ones) and chocolate chips, or apples (1) and a teaspoon of cinnamon.

Homemade HUMMUS.

We all love hummus. Especially when it can be compared to Effendy's. YES PLEASE. This recipe can be created using a blender or not (we have done both). It is smoother and creamier if it's blended, but it tastes equally delicious either way :)

Ingredients:

• 2 cans chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil, or more as needed
• 1/2 lemon juiced
• 2 tablespoons roughly chopped fresh parsley
• 2 cloves garlic (chopped finely if not using a blender)
• 1 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 to 1 teaspoon cumin
• Pepper (add desired amount)
• 1/4 cup water

Directions:

Combine all ingredients in a blender (or a bowl) and blend (or mash) until it has reached a smooth consistency.

It's pretty easy. And pretty delicious.

Roasted Curried Veggies with Coconut Rice

We discovered this the first week in Uganda and make it all the time.  Just throw in whatever veggies you have available!

We use:

Sweet potatoes
Zucchini
Onions
Carrots
Eggplant

We chop them up, boil the carrots and potatoes a bit to get them halfway cooked, and then coat them in the following seasonings:

Olive Oil

Minced Garlic

Curry Powder
Salt
Pepper

Roast them in the oven (you could also just stir fry them for those of you without an oven) at around 200 C for about 15 minutes.

For the rice, replace some of the water with coconut milk and make as normal.  Not a precise science, but very delicious.

Balsamic Green Beans

Green beans are in abundance and inexpense around these parts, so here's a way to make them a little more interesting:


First chop off the ends of the beans, then boil them for 5 minutes. Once the beans are cooked, drain them and set them aside.


In a frying pan saute a clove of garlic (as much as you want) with a teaspoon of olive oil. Then add the cooked green beans to the pan and add the following seasonings:


1 tbsp balsalmic vinegar
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 smidge of cayanne pepper (I'm aware that a "smidge" is not an exact measurement, but it just depends on how spicey you like them.... just sprinkle some and then taste until you get it right){optional} if you have italian seasoning or tony's, sprinkle some on


Cook the beans with the seasonings until they sizzle and then serve!

Sugared G-nuts

I LOVE g-nuts, and we have been eating a LOT of them at our house. This is our favorite way to roast them.

Put the G-nuts in a thin layer in a frying pan at medium heat. Stir them so they roast evenly. When they are done roasting they will start popping. Don't over cook them.
When they are roasted, add about a cup of sugar (enough to cover the bottom of the pan) and stir into the g-nuts. In about a minute the sugar will start to melt. When it starts melting, stir it really fast so it doesn't burn, until most of the sugar is melted and coating the nuts. There will still be some whole grains of sugar left, and that's fine, it makes it nice and crunchy. This sugar process is fast, you don't want to over cook it and have it burn. When the nuts are coated in the melted sugar, spread them out on a flat surface to cool. When they are cool they are a great snack or are good on salads.