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| Don't know how I survived this long without a working headlamp. So happy to have one! Thanks gammy. |
Probably from reading about the generally bland Basotho diet before coming here, I kind of thought I would be eating rice and beans feela (only) for the next two years. Thankfully, that has not turned out to be true. It helps that all the volunteers are supplied with a recipe book for ideas when we don’t want to make stew over and over, for example.
So, since I can’t cook for anyone back home yet, here are some recipes I’d highly recommend you try yourself.
And remember that 1) I’m cooking for one, but I usually make enough to have leftovers for a day or two at least 2) I like my food SPICY 3) Almost none of the measurements are exact. Cooking is, as they say, an art. Not a science.
Red Lentil Sauce
I put it on spaghetti, but it would probably also be good on fish or portabella mushrooms.
You need:
1 cup red lentils
1 onion, chopped
3 small tomatoes, chopped
1 bell pepper, chopped
Water
White vinegar
Salt
Pepper
Dried oregano and basil
Cayenne pepper
Any other spices you dig
White flour
A few spoonfuls or packets of tomato paste
In a small pot, cook lentils in 1 ½ cups of water. This will not take long.
When water is absorbed into lentils, add a few splashes of vinegar, the onion, tomato and pepper. Stir.
Add the tomato paste, some salt and pepper and about 2 cups of water (or less, depends how much sauce you want). Stir and cover.
Once some of the water has been absorbed, add copious amounts of basil and oregano and a few pinches of cayenne pepper. Also, more salt. Stir and cover again.
When you’re thinking, “damn this is taking a long time” add a few small handfuls of the flour, stir and cover. Also taste here and see if you need to add more spices. Stir and cover. Cook until it tastes tomato-y and it looks more like a sauce then like lentils sitting in water. Pour over whatever.
Lentil Potato Stew (This makes a lot. I was cooking for the week.)
You Need:
5 or 6 white potatoes (or sweet potatoes or squash), chopped into smallish pieces
2 cups of green or brown lentils
3-4 tomatoes
2-3carrots
A few huge handfuls of spinach/kale/rape/whatever leafy green you have around, chopped.
3 chili peppers, minced.
2-3 cloves of garlic, minced. (Or, garlic salt )
Salt
Pepper
Spices you dig. I think I put cayenne pepper, thyme, oregano, basil, cumin, curry powder and a garlic rosemary blend.
Put the potatoes, carrots and lentils in a medium-large pot with enough water to cover them. Cook until the lentils are cooked most of the way through.
While those guys are boiling, heat a healthy amount of oil in a large saucepan or a wok. Add the garlic, chili peppers, onions, tomatoes and spices. Stir around a bit and cover.
When the lentils are good, drain most of the water and add a bit of the water and the lentils, potatoes and carrots to the pan. Add the green stuff. Stir around and add more of the spices. Cover and cook until the potatoes are the soft, the green stuff is cooked down, and the tomatoes are shriveled to only a portion of what they used to be. Taste and add more spices as needed. Serve.
Steamed Bread
You Need:
A big ass pot, with water covering the bottom, about an inch (enough so the smaller pot is submerged a bit but still touching the bottom of the bigger one).
A smaller pot or pan, greased
Your favorite bread recipe
Or, you can use the recipe I always use:
3 cups flour (I always use wheat, but bread flour is probably better)
2 tsp of salt
2 tbsp of sugar
1 package of instant dry yeast
1 cup of warm water
*sometimes I add a tablespoon or two of margarine (real butter is like a unicorn here) and sometimes I don’t. It just makes it more, ya know, buttery (better).
Combine all ingredients except the water. If you’re putting the margarine/softened butter in, mash it in with a fork now.
Add the warm water bit by bit while you stir with your other hand. Add enough water so that the dough is manageable and not overly sticky.
Knead it/punch it down for 10 minutes or so. I like to blast Michael Jackson’s “Beat It” for this part.
Place in a greased bowl and let it rise for anywhere from 20-40 minutes, until it’s about double.
Place in the small pot/loaf pan. Put small pot directly into the big pot (don’t forget to add water to the big pot!).
Bake until a knife comes out clean, about 40 minutes.
DEVOUR.
Dumplings
I was feeling adventurous one night and decided to try this recipe from the Peace Corps cookbook. Make sure you use a metal spatula so they don’t fall apart a lil at the end like mine may or may not have.
For Wrappers You Need:
2 cups flour
pinch of salt
¾ cup just boiled water
To Make Wrappers:
Pour the flour on your work table and make a well in the center.
Pour the water continuously while stirring (as best you can-delicate balance between stirring and not burning your fingers here)
Once all the water is poured and stirred, knead the dough to bring it all together.
Knead the ball for two minutes. The dough should be nice and elastic-y.
Tightly seal in a plastic bag. This book says keep it anywhere from 15 minutes to two hours. I did 45 minutes and it ended up being a nice consistency.
Form small balls about 2 in. in diameter and roll them out as thinly as possible using as little flower as possible.
The cookbook gives a recipe for a yellow split pea filling, but I don’t fuck with split peas so I made a spicy lentil, tomato, garlic thing instead. To make this,
You Need:
1 cup of green or brown lentils, cooked
2 small tomatoes, chopped.
2-3 cloves of garlic, diced.
2 onions, chopped
a small chili pepper or 2, diced
Soy sauce
Sugar
Corn Starch
Salt
Vinegar
Whatever spices ya dig, but definitely curry powder and cumin
In a large saucepan, heat oil.
Add onions, chili pepper(s) and some curry powder. Cook until onions are translucent.
Add garlic. Stir.
Add tomatoes and tomatoes. Turn heat to medium low and cover for a few minutes, until lentils are softened and combined a bit with everything else. May need to add a bit of water here.
Make a sauce with the soy sauce, salt, vinegar, sugar and corn starch (optional, only for thickening). Pour the sauce in the lentil mixture. Stir in. Taste and add whatever spices you want. Cover and cook till its all a softened, spicy unit.
When everything’s finished…
Place a scoop of lentil filling in the center of each wrapper and pinch it closed.
Place a bunch of dumplings in a pan with ½ inch of water.
Cover and boil until the water is gone (about 10 minutes but keep an eye on them)
Drizzle about a tablespoon of oil around the dumplings so the bottoms begin to fry.
Transfer them to a plate. (Where the metal spatula is crucial).
Dip in soy sauce and DEVOUR.
…But lets not make this a one-way exchange. Send me your favorite recipes too!
Khotso.
Also...
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| This is definitely someone's flag |
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| post/pre-rain mist and storm clouds |
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| wildflowers, seen on a hike I took last weekend |
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| Really hard to see it, but I almost got to see the cattle-post, which is this lil house the herd boys stay in when they have to herd far away from home. But I tsamae'd (left) when a herd boy expressed his interest in having sex with me. Whoops. |
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| I did make it to the top of this peak. This is the view of the other side. |
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