Botswana Food Night by Kate Krimson

Freddy G and I traveled to Botswana in our latest cooking excursion. The inspiration for this trip was The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith. Both the book and the HBO series based on the book are amazing. The main character, Precious Ramotswe, makes bush tea for pretty much every client that enters her detective agency. So I bought some African Rooibos (bush tea) for $1.79. This particular kind of bush tea from Celestial Seasonings was probably sweeter than pure bush tea because it was flavored with vanilla.

For a little snack/appetizer we prepared dodo (plantain chips). They were simple to make. All we had to do was slice the plantains into ¼ slices, fry them for five minutes in vegetable oil, and sprinkle with salt. Unfortunately, the flavor that was enjoyable was the mingling of salt and oil on the plantains and not the plantains themselves.

 The best dish of the night was definitely the sweet corn soup. Soft kernels of corn and pieces of chopped onion swirl around in this creamy and peppery soup.

 The main course was samp (hominy) and beans (black eyed peas). Overall this meal was okay. The main thing that I did not like about this dish was its primary flavors were onions and ground cloves, an overwhelming combo to the taste buds and to others who may have to smell your breath.

 

 For dessert we made steamed groundnut cake. The taste of peanut in the cake was enjoyable, but the cake itself was dense and not very moist.

French Food Night by Freddy G

This weekend Kate Krimson and I sauntered over to France for this week’s cultural meal. We cooked Beef Bourguignon, a traditional French recipe once considered a peasant dish, and some chocolate soufflés.


Beef Bourguignon consists of braised beef in red wine and is stewed with onions, carrots, and mushrooms. This recipe came from Julia Child's book “Mastering the Art of French Cooking.”
The consensus among all who tasted our dish was that it was delicious. We think it may have been one of the better dishes we've prepared thus far.

Beef Bourguignon

Kate with her serving of Beef Bourguignon

Kate serving up the Beef Bourguignon

It was followed later with a chocolate soufflé. It was served hot and was absolutely gooey and decadent.. This recipe came from food vlogger “BoyEatsWorld” (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NxccmuSrn3s ).

Chocolate Soufflé

Freddy G with the Chocolate Soufflé

                             Me wearing a beret and fake mustache that Freddy G made

                                   Freddy G wearing a beret and fake mustache that he made

The entire evening went great and I hope you all give French cuisine a try yourselves. I don't think you'll be disappointed.

Indian Food Night by Kate Krimson


Freddy G and I prepared some Indian food on Saturday night. While we prepared our first recipe, naan (a flatbread), we listened to a CD of traditional Indian music that Freddy G checked out from the library. We used a recipe from Fine Cooking (http://www.finecooking.com/recipes/homestyle_indian_naan.aspx). I thought it came out good. It was a bit chewy, but overall it was a fine bread.

For the main course, we made Tandoori Chicken (http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Tandoori-Chicken-238388) I could not find vindaloo paste, when I went shopping, so we made it from scratch. I accidently used more ginger than I was supposed to, but I think the dish still came out okay.

Our final recipe was Mango Lassi (http://tv.disney.go.com/disneychannel/passtheplate/index.html). If you like fruit in general or if you just like mango, it’s a great easy recipe. I’m not a huge fan of either, so it was not my favorite thing in the world.

Next, we will be preparing some French food.

Japanese Food Night by Freddy G

Hello YES MA'AM Blog readers,


Kate Krimson and I had our “Journey to Japan” food excursion this weekend. Since Japan was my idea, I took the helm when planning our menu and am also writing today’s post.


The meal began with Soba buckwheat noodles served in a broth consisting of Dashi (soup stock), mirin and soy sauce.


After making the dough, cutting, and boiling the noodles we can understand why most people in modern Japan opt for instant noodles. Okay, so for a first try the soup was pretty good, though the noodles were a little chewy.

Me Rolling Out the Soba Noodle Dough

Soba Noodles in Dashi

Kate Slurping a Soba Noodle

                                                         Me Slurping a Soba Noodle

I discovered a recipe for “Pork Cutlets and Rice” in a Japanese cookbook from the library. Fried pork cutlets coated in Panko and served over rice with a kind of eggy, oniony type of sauce. Not bad and Kate chose brown rice which made this dish all the more healthy.

                                                              The Pork Cutlets and Rice
To accompany the meal I chose Sake, a traditional Japanese wine made from rice rather than a fruit. Our drink preferences run closer to mixed drinks rather than straight alcohol. I expected something a little sweeter, and the straight sake just made Kate cringe. So after mixing it with some cranberry juice it became quite drinkable.

                                                              Sake with Cranberry Juice
All in all I have to say that the authenticity is what one would expect from amateur home cooks.
For a first foray into the realms of Asian cuisine it was a good try.


Next week we will be cooking Indian food.

Tahiti Food Night by Kate Krimson

Saturday, my best friend, Freddy, and I started a new tradition: every weekend we are going to cook food from a different region of the world.



For our first weekend, we cooked food from Tahiti. The main dish that we prepared was Poisson Cru, a dish of raw tuna fish, coconut milk, lime juice, and vegetables. Many refer to Poisson Cru as the national dish of Tahiti. We used this recipe (http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Poisson-Cru-Tahitian-Salad-242084). It came out pretty good, but it was a little too salty.

Our Poisson Cru

Me Dishing Out the Poisson Cru

For dessert, we made Po’e, a banana-based pudding. We used this recipe (http://www.lighthousetravel.net/Tahitian_Food.html).This definitely didn’t come out like pudding. It was some were between pudding and bread. I’m not sure where we went wrong. It still tasted good, even though we were texturally expecting something else.

Po'e in Coconut Dish

Me doing the Monty Python and the Holy Grail Coconut Horse Galloping Noise

Freddy doing the Monty Python and the Holy Grail Coconut Horse Galloping Noise

 

Freddy questioning why anyone would want to wear a coconut bra.

Next weekend, we are going to travel to Japan via our taste buds.