A couple of days ago, after writing what I think will be my next to last Ethiopian Adventure blog post, I decided to get in the holiday spirit and bake. For years, each year about this time, I make the pumpkin bread recipe written in my mom’s (Barbara Lewis Duke Lightle) hand writing, a recipe she gave me decades ago. The recipe card looks a bit worn, but the results are as yummy as ever. Sift together 3 cups flour, 1 tsp. cinnamon, 1 tsp. nutmeg, 1 tsp. baking powder, 1/2 tsp. cloves, and 1/2 tsp allspice. In a large electric mixer bowl combine 1 cup cooking oil, 3 cups sugar (this is the original she used; however, I only use 2 1/3 cups sugar), and 3 eggs. Beat well. Add one small can pumpkin, 1 tsp. baking soda, and 1 tsp. vanilla. Mix well. Finally, slowly add the flour mixture. Pour into three well greased and floured coffee cans–each 1/2 full. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 min. to one hour. Her original recipe calls for adding 2/3 cup walnuts or pecans. I want to have three kinds of bread so I pour 1/3 into the first can with nothing added, then I add nuts to the rest and pour 1/2 of that into the second can. Finally, I add 1/2 cup golden raisins and pour the remainder into the last can. Cool thoroughly before removing from the cans. It helps to loosen the sides with a knife. Enjoy, share.
cooking
Talapia with Beets, Red Peppers, Swiss Chard and Bebere
This recipe makes good sized portions for two people.
2 talapia filets
1/2 red onion, coarsely chopped
1 red bell pepper chopped into bite sized pieces
1 medium sized beet, thinly sliced
2 handfuls Swiss chard–if large pieces, take a knife and separate the middle spine from the leaf part
Chop the spines and add to the onion
Olive oil
Cover the bottom of a large skillet with olive oil. Add the onions, chopped Swiss chard spines, and beets–I cut the beet slices in half. Saute until the onions are somewhat caramelized and the beets almost tender. Add the peppers and 1-2 tablespoons bebere or to taste. When the peppers are half done, add the filets. Sprinkle extra bebere over the filets. When they are almost tender, add the Swiss chard and sauté until the Swiss chard wilts. Serve over rice.
Note: I grow my own Swiss chard in a large pot in the house. This enables be to have my own supply. However, the leaves are tiny compared to the large leaves in the market, making it unnecessary to cut the green leafy part away from the center spine. Bebere is an Ethiopian spice which is slightly hot; it has a wonderful, unique flavor. You can use whatever spices you prefer.
My Ethiopian Adventure–on the Road to Lalibela, Part One
Although the Sunny Side Hotel’s rooms in Kombolcha seem elemental to say the least, the food there is some of the best I had in Ethiopia. One of the reasons for this may be their extensive gardens which not only hold flowers, but vegetables and fruit trees.
That’s a papaya in the middle.
Dinner consisted of fresh talapia–Lake Tana is full of talapia and is a common item on menus, perfectly grilled, julienned vegetables sautéed in sunflower oil and seasoned with a sprig of rosemary. The next morning we headed for Lalibela. The first larger city through which we drove is Dese. As in most Ethiopian cities, new construction could be seen everywhere. They do not use steel for scaffolding. They use eucalyptus as in this building.
We continually climbed switched back roads. Usually, terraced fields lay as far as we could see on the mountainsides.
Not too far from Dese, we came to the smaller town of Hayk. Hayk is the Amharic word for lake. The town is named after this nearby lake.
Seven species of acacia grow in Ethiopia. These, higher in the mountains, appear considerably more lush than those farther south in semi arid places. You cannot swim in this lake because, like many bodies of water in Africa, the schistosomiasis parasite lives here. There is a cure, but not very pleasant. Huge fig trees and acacias provide a setting like one sees in movies.
This monastery resides on a small peninsula that juts out into the lake. The sign says no women allowed. Foreign male visitors may enter for a fee–locals free. Lush fields surround the lake.
Yes, that is cactus on the right–not exactly a place I expected to see cactus. On the road out of the lake, we saw this girl walking and asked to take her photo. She is carrying dried dung. Houses are first framed in eucalyptus and then plastered with a mixture of dung and mud or just mud. Sometimes they are left the natural dark brown color. Some home owners prefer to paint them bright colors.
This is a typical house in most areas left unpainted with a metal roof. Everywhere people worked the fields the “old” way with a beautiful result.
We passed villages and towns of all sizes.
And always children as well as adults drove animals along the road.
Eighty languages are spoken in Ethiopia. Some, like Amharic and Oromo, are spoken my millions, others by only a particular small tribe. Everywhere we went people knew Amharic, an Afro-Asian, Semitic language (like Arabic and Hebrew) which originates in the ancient language of Geez, a language now only used as the sacred language of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church. English is taught in elementary school, which is compulsory through the eighth grade. Because of too many students and too few schools and teachers, especially in rural areas, school is half a day. One group goes in the morning and another in the afternoon.
Lazy Day and Dinner
Cool and cloudy reigned today. Now tornado warnings west of here glide across the TV screen I’ve turned on mute. About now, the severe thunderstorms are supposed to start. A repeat of yesterday when I took these photos from my patio.
Fed Rosie earlier to beat the predicted storm, swept the dirt and little rocks from yesterday’s storm off the drive, and strolled around to get some exercise. After several hectic days of no cooking, decided to cook something vegetarian.
1 medium sized purple onion coarsely chopped
6 medium brussels sprouts cut in half
1/2 large red bell pepper coarsely chopped
1 teaspoon chana masala (East Indian spice)
1 teaspoon berbere (Ethiopian spice)
Olive oil
Pour enough olive oil in 8-10 inch skillet to cover the bottom. Saute the onions in the oil until translucent. Add the brussels sprouts and spices. Stir and cook until the brussels sprouts are cooked but still crisp. Add the red pepper and sauté. Do not over cook. Serve over Jasmine rice.
Not quite ready but almost.
Berbere on left sent from Ethiopia by my friend’s mother.
Jasmine rice ready to serve. Here is how I cook the rice:
Pour enough olive oil in the bottom of the saucepan to barely cover it. Add 1 heaping tsp. finely chopped garlic and briefly sauté. Add one cup rice (here I used white but sometimes I mix red, black and white evenly) and sauté a little bit more. Add two cups water and 1 tsp. vegetarian bouillon (I prefer Better Than Bouillon). Stir and cover with several paper towels or one thick tea towel. Place lid on top and turn down to low. Cook 1/2 hour if using only white rice. Other rice requires double the time.
The finished product ready to eat.
Now I am going back to reading while awaiting the lightning and thunder. About 1/3 way through a light but entertaining read: “Coyote Cowgirl” by Kim Antieau.
Dinner Parties and Commitments
When I committed to writing daily and then blogging, it never occurred to me that this might entail writing in the middle of the night after hosting a dinner party and then cleaning up. Some people just go to bed and clean up in the morning. Yuck!!! Who wants to wake up to a big mess with bits of food solidified to plates and remnants of red wine looking like dried blood in the bottom of wine glasses. No me. So here I am fulfilling my commitment to write daily.
Usually, I invite a lot of people over and work like crazy or give up and do potluck. This time I decided on something simple for six friends (three couples). One friend is a vegetarian so everyone ate vegetarian. The menu included homemade refried black bean casserole–the favorite of two of these friends. The recipe for this dish is on a previous blog post. In honor of my former exchange student son, Gaston Luis Zulaica del Sueldo, I made one of my best salads ever. When he lived with me, he made salad almost every night, spectacular, colorful salads. I made a mixture of Jasmine and several other kinds of rice and the following casserole which has no name so guess I will need to invent one.
Vegetarian Casserole with Soyrizo
Pour enough olive oil into the bottom of a heavy casserole dish to cover it. Thinly slice purple potatoes (I think they are called blue, but they look purple to me), and cover the bottom with a layer of these. Cover the potatoes with a layer of chopped onions, then a layer of coarsely chopped poblano peppers–I added a few halved and seeded jalapeños. The next layer is soyrizo crumbled to completely cover the previous layers. If you are not vegetarian, use chorizo. Repeat the previous layers. Combine 3 T of flour and 1 cup milk. Pour over the top of the casserole. Bake until the potatoes are done. You can make all this several hours in advance and pour the milk mixture over it just before it goes in the oven. I actually used the grill outside on low to bake it this time–warm day and did not want to heat up the house. We finished off dinner with chocolate chip mint ice cream with Chambord poured over the top. We also enjoyed a while dessert wine called Electra.
Salad a la Gaston
Good friends.
Pretty ladies
The Story Circle Network Conference and My Commitment: This Is What I Know
When I first started blogging more than two years ago, I committed to blogging once a week. That I managed for a year or so and then since that time, it became more sporadic. Full time job, writing poems for my book, visitors, mini vacations, all sorts of stuff got in the way. Really, I let it lapse, but refused to give up. Last Thursday, I drove to Austin with my daughter and grandson for the biannual Story Circle Network Conference. The plan: while I conferred, they played. The Story Circle Network is an organization for women which encourages women to write, to tell their stories, to share these stories, and when possible and desired, publish those stories in various forms from memoir to poetry. This was my second time to attend and my first time to attend as a new board member. A former mentor/teacher of mine, Len Leatherwood, facilitated a workshop entitled “Transforming Your Writing Life in Just 20 Minutes a Day”, the last workshop I attended. She blogs everyday. I follow her blog. No matter what, she sits down and writes 20 minutes minimum a day separate from the writing she does with her students–she teaches writing privately in southern CA. One of her recent blogs has been accepted for publication–a piece of flash fiction. She nearly begged us to commit to this kind of writing practice. Previously, I had refused, flat out refused, partly thinking that if I tried it, more than half the resulting writing would be crap. Nevertheless, she and her workshop convinced me that at least for one month I must try this. Now all of you following my blog will be inundated with daily blog posts. I am filled with curiosity as to how people will respond. Maybe it will be like my Facebook posts–yes, I am an almost addict–the posts I consider most meaningful for the universe at large are the ones people ignore and the ones I consider personal trivia receive the most response. Maybe I will track what appeals to my readers. Some I won’t know because with blogging I share to Facebook and to a couple of professional networks, I have no clue who read what. Once I received an email regarding a poem I posted. Although it never showed up as a like, the lady actually told me she read my poem in church! Who would have guessed. I forgot to time myself so have no idea how long I have been here writing.
Here I am writing about why I am writing. On the stove I smell Jasmine rice cooking. I love Jasmine rice from Thailand. I am a very picky rice eater and prefer to mix equally white Jasmine rice with black and red. For one thing, it looks lovely when done–a sort of dark reddish purple. Since I sautéd chopped garlic in olive oil, then added the rice and sautéd for about 15 more seconds, then added water and some broth just before I started writing this, the smell of Jasmine rice fills the house. I piled a bunch of paper towels on the top before I put on the lid or you can use some cloth towel–a habit I picked up from my Iranian ex-husband. Iranians really know how to cook rice. I am also drinking a glass of Cupcake Shiraz which I bought on the way home from work. And yes, Shiraz is also the name of a city in Iran where they actually grow grapes or at least used to. But of course, drinking wine is no longer acceptable in Iran or at least not publicly. Good Muslims do not drink at all.
I did write something worthwhile while in this workshop and will share–doing this last because it won’t count as my daily writing since I wrote it yesterday.
This Is What I Know
My parents loved me, really loved me.
My mom was proud of my accomplishments.
Dad gave me a love of books, intellectual curiosity, and a
sense of wonder.
Mom gave me a love of music, beauty, and cooking.
Happiness is a choice.
I do not believe in luck. You make your own luck.
Life is an exciting adventure.
Horses give me joy.
Singing gives me joy.
Dancing gives me joy even if I rarely have the opportunity.
Family relationships can be distressingly complicated.
I am proud of my children and their accomplishments.
Religion matters much less to me than 99 per cent of the people I know.
Ethnic and religious prejudice distress me and I do not
understand those kinds of attitudes.
I am a good writer.
I want to make a real difference in the world.
I am happy 99 percent of the time.
Blessings flood my life.
My close friends and children and grandson are more
important to me than they know.
Writing has enriched my life.
I have few regrets:
One I have rectified;
the other I cannot–
my dad is dead.
Curried Vegetables with Quinoa
This recipe originated out of my desire to learn to like quinoa. Except for some quinoa cakes at a local restaurant, I had never eaten quinoa that I thought delicious. Actually, I found it a dreadfully boring food. Nevertheless, I became determined to find a way to like it. Why? Nutrition. It is good for you. So let’s start with how I learned to cook quinoa so it is actually tasty.
Quinoa
Olive oil
1 cup quinoa
1 3/4 cups water
1 tablespoon finely chopped garlic–I am lazy about garlic and buy it by the giant jarful, already chopped
1 heaping teaspoon vegetable or chicken base–I use Better Than Bouillon
Rinse quinoa thoroughly–it requires an extremely fine strainer. Pour enough olive oil in a medium sauce pan to cover the bottom. Place the chopped garlic in the olive oil and sauté a minute or so at medium high heat. Add the quinoa, stir quickly to mix with the garlic and oil mixture. Add the water and base. Stir thoroughly to combine the base with the other ingredients. Bring to a boil, turn heat down to low. Cook approximate 20 minutes or until the quinoa has absorbed the liquid and is fluffy. Quinoa reheats well in a microwave so you can make extra for meals later.
Curried Vegetables
1/2 medium purple onion, chopped
1 large poblano pepper, seeded and coarsely chopped
3-4 portabella mushrooms, sliced
1 large jalapeño pepper, seeded and coarsely chopped
1 small beet, sliced and cut into smaller pieces
1/2 cup coarsely chopped butternut squash
Olive oil
1/2 tsp. curry powder–I used Malaysian Seven Seas Curry by Spice Appeal
1/2 tsp. masala–I used Chana Masala by Spice Appeal
Use whatever curry you prefer. This curry is a mite hot.
Saute the onion, mushrooms, squash, and beets in olive oil until slightly tender. Add spices and peppers and sauté until tender but still slightly crisp. Serve over the quinoa or rice.
Regarding olive oil: I use it to make nearly every kind of food from all over the world. I use a lot because I really like it. I have even made pie crust out of olive oil. It is one of those few oils you can use and know it is good for you.
Holiday Break Fun and Recipes
Because of my job, I am on the last day of a two week holiday break. What a productive and fun time it has been. Christmas Eve, my friends, my daughter, and my grandson came over. For the first time ever, I made ham in a big Crock Pot and it melted in our mouths. They requested I make my signature Refried Black Bean Cassserole and roasted vegetables so I did. Other food requests included chocolate spiders for dessert–they are cookies.
Ham in the Crock Pot
Cover the bottom of the slow cooker with a 1/2 inch thick layer of brown or turbinado sugar mixed with 2-3 T tapioca. Place ham on top of the sugar. Cover the top of the ham with preserves of your choice. I used homemade pineapple/apricot preserves I had made several years previously. Cook on low for 6-8 hours. Note: I used spiral sliced ham precooked. You do not need to add any liquid, it will make its own. If you wish, once some liquid has accumulated, you can periodically baste the ham.
Christmas Eve dinner, eating and relaxing at the dinner table.
At the bar before dinner while I am still cooking.
Lingering and relaxing around the dinner table.
These same friends came over about 1 1/2 weeks later. The special request that time was for another round of Refried Black Bean Casserole. This is one of those recipes I invented but never measure anything, just make to taste. This last time I decided to work at paying attention to what I used so I could share. It may or may not be exactly what I do every time, but it is close.
Refried Black Bean Casserole
2 cans black beans drained
Enough olive oil to cover bottom of large skillet
1/2 red onion, finely chopped
3-4 Tablespoons organic ketchup
3 Tablespoons cumin–add or subtract to suit you taste
Tortillas
Grated white cheese–I usually use monterey jack
Heat oil in skillet and add onions. Cook until translucent. Add black beans, one can at a time. Take a regular table fork and mash beans repeatedly until most of the beans are mashed–I like to leave some not totally mashed to add a bit of texture. This is easier to do if you only add one can at a time. Thoroughly mix beans and onions. Add the cumin and ketchup and stir thoroughly and keep mixing until the mixture it thick and heated through. Use a round slow cooker or casserole dish. Oil bottom of dish and place one tortilla in bottom. Place enough of the black bean mixture on top to cover the tortilla, then sprinkle the grated white cheese on top. Repeat layers, ending with grated cheese. You may use any kind of tortilla. However, I prefer whole wheat flour, but anything works. Heat through until cheese is melted. You may also make the bean mixture a day in advance and refrigerate. If you do this, it will take longer to heat the casserole.
In between cooking adventures, one of my best friends and I decided to take a quick trip to Albuquerque, NM. We visited our favorites places in Old Town, ate here and there when we felt like it, and stayed someplace new to both of us, Los Poblanos. We loved this place. It is located a bit north of downtown and Old Town, off of Rio Grande Blvd. by the river, and includes 25 acres of lavender fields, a barn, a solar powered swimming pool–not open in the winter, a restaurant, a farm store, an herb garden, paths for strolling here and there, and an impressive tree lined entry drive.
Looking down the entry drive of Los Poblanos.
The barn and other out buildings.
The lavender field. They offer many lavender products in the Farm Store as well as balsamic vinegar, cookbooks, and various other items related to what they grow and organic farming and cooking.
A view of the main house and restaurant area.
A view near one of the many walking paths.
The fireplace in our room.
Although I have been to Old Town in Albuquerque many, many times, never before did I go inside the beautiful old church on the square. They allow photography so I took a photo. It was all decorated for Christmas with a nearly life sized nativity scene.
Tomorrow I go back to work. With friends coming over for Christmas Eve, a trip to the local museum with my friend Roberto Borja, his family coming over for dinner again, the trip to Albuquerque with my friend Zuriash, hanging out with my daughter and grandson, it turned out to be one of the best holiday breaks ever. Here’s to an equally wonderful 2014.
Fun, Food, and Community with Vegetarian Enchiladas
A couple of weeks ago, one of the blogs I follow, getsetandgo, created a post about “community” with photos of an Indian festival where all sorts of people come together to celebrate–a community. She requested others post photos of their community events. After reading her blog post, I decided to tell about my attempt to start a monthly “community” :
Several months ago, I reached way out of my comfort zone and started a monthly potluck. When and where I grew up, inviting people over for a potluck was socially unacceptable. If you invited people over, you cooked everything yourself. If people wanted to bring something, insisted, well, ok, but otherwise, no, no, no. Because of work, writing, and singing, I invited a number of friends over only every few months. In September, I decided it would be far nicer to see people more often and invited some friends over for potluck. They asked if we could do this regularly so a monthly ritual began. More and more friends keep asking to join. It remains a type of hit and miss thing. Sometimes 16 people show up, sometimes only five. My most recent event was a week ago. Because some of these friends are vegetarian, I invented a recipe, vegetarian enchiladas, just for them. I also made pork roast and chicken enchiladas. The vegetarian enchiladas disappeared quickly and everyone wanted the recipe.
Vegetarian Enchiladas
Six tortillas (I used whole wheat)
1/2 purple onion, chopped finely
1 large poblano pepper, chopped finely
1/2 medium sized red bell pepper chopped finely
1 package cream cheese
Olive oil
1 tsp Mexican spice mix
1/2 tsp chipotle pepper, ground (I used Spice Appeal-adjust to hotness desired)
Shredded monterey jack cheese
Red enchilada sauce–I used canned because my cooktop is awaiting repair
Saute onions and pepper in just enough olive oil so they will not stick or become too dry. Mix in cream cheese and spices until thoroughly blended. Fill the tortillas, roll up, and place in an 8 inch casserole dish. Cover with a light layer of enchilada sauce. Sprinkle enough shredded cheese on top to cover. Cover with aluminum foil. Place in a 350 degree oven for 30-40 minutes.
In the spirit of the getsetandgo blog, I took photos of my friends as we talked and ate. The enchiladas were all gone before it occurred to me that it would be nice to have a photo.
Additionally, I regretted not taking a photo of three of my women friends with long hair. Another friend who has spectacular, very dark grey, long hair and just turned 70 recently told me a story about how a mutual acquaintance came up to her and told her no woman over 60 should have long hair. It annoyed me so much in an odd sort of way that I now wear my hair longer than usual.
Mom’s Pumpkin Pie Recipe
Today, Thanksgiving Day, I will make Barbara Duke Lightle’s (my mother) pumpkin pie, using a recipe and blender she gave me decades ago. The recipe includes a small hand written note about her preferred way of combining the ingredients. My grandson loves this pie and the idea that what he is eating is a recipe from his great grandmother, a woman he will never know. He tries other pumpkin pies but likes only this one. Dad loved this pie, too. After Mom died and he discovered he was gluten intolerant, he taught himself to cook. He made this for himself sans the crust–pumpkin pudding.
1 1/2 cups cooked or canned pumpkin
1 1/2 cups milk or milk combined with cream or evaporated milk
3 eggs
3/4 cup brown or white sugar
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp ground ginger
(or use 1/2 tsp nutmeg and 1 tsp ginger for a more spicy flavor)
Place all ingredients in a blender. Place your hand over the blender cover before starting the motor. Blend just a few seconds, until smooth, and pour into pastry lined pie shell. Bake at 450 for ten minutes, then bake at 350 for 30 minutes longer or until firm in the center. A piece of outer peel of orange can be blender grated into the pie mixture–if you do this, place in blender with 1/2 cup milk and blend fine before adding other ingredients.
You may use squash instead of pumpkin.
The hand written note says, “Juliana, if you use half evaporated milk it gives wonderful flavor and I like white sugar best”.
I use evaporated milk totally and white sugar like Mom recommended. I have never used orange peel. The cinnamon I am using today comes from a tree at my friend’s mother’s house in Ethiopia.
This seems a great day to also thank my mother for all she taught me: cooking, singing and playing the piano, a love of beauty–flowers, wildlife, good food, the list is endless. She taught me think positively, to believe in myself, to make the most of what life brings, to never give up. Thank you, Mom!!!
writingontherim 