Berbere- Ethiopian Red Pepper Spice Mix

Recipes

Girl Cooks World

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April 10, 2019

So for this first day in Ethiopia I’m sticking with the basics. Berbere is one of the most important building blocks of Ethiopian cooking- you’ll find it as an ingredient in many stew recipes and in plenty of other dishes as well. Berbere’s primary ingredient is red pepper, but ten other spices round out the mix. When you add some to a dish, you’re adding a lot of complex flavor- not just heat.

Just one final note: recipes for berbere vary widely in terms of heat and spice. If you have a very delicate palate or are extremely heat averse, you can cut down on the cayenne and increase the amount of paprika.

Berbere- Ethiopian Red Pepper Spice Mix

All spices listed below should be dried and ground. If you can’t find ground spices or prefer to grind the spices yourself, simply use a coffee/spice grinder or a mortar and pestle.

Ingredients:

* 1 teaspoon ginger
* 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
* 1/2 teaspoon cardamom
* 1/4 teaspoon allspice
* 1/2 teaspoon coriander
* 1/2 teaspoon cumin
* 1/2 teaspoon fenugreek
* 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
* 1/4 teaspoon cloves
* 2 Tablespoons salt
* 1/4 cup paprika
* 1/2 cup cayenne pepper

Directions:

Combine all the spices and store in a small airtight container.

Ginger Chicken

Girl Cooks World

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April 10, 2019

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When I think of ginger chicken, I think of the local Hawaiian plate lunch variety. Deep fried pieces of chicken smothered in a sweet and sticky sauce that has a very slight, almost imperceptible, ginger taste. This, my friends, is nothing like that. Here, boneless pieces of chicken are stir fried with plenty of ginger matchsticks, onions and red bell pepper. It’s healthy, quick and tasty.

Ginger is not only the flavoring, but it serves as one of the dish’s vegetables as well. It’s got a nice peppery bite to it that is mellowed slightly by cooking; it ends up being almost caramelized. Choose whatever kind of chicken you like. I’m generally a fan of the dark meat, so I went with boneless thighs, but chicken breast would work equally well. Serve atop a bowl of brown rice for a healthy, one-dish meal.

Ginger Chicken

Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients:

3 Tablespoons vegetable oil
4 cloves garlic, smashed and minced
1 1/2 cups peeled, matchstick sized pieces of ginger
1 pound boneless chicken (your choice of white or dark meat)
2 Tablespoons fish sauce
2 Tablespoons gluten-free soy sauce
1 Tablespoon palm sugar (can substitute white sugar)
d1 large onion, sliced into wedges
1 red bell pepper, stemmed, seeded and cut into thin strips
4 scallions, thinly slices

Directions:

Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the garlic and ginger and cook until browned, about 4-5 minutes. Add the chicken, fish sauce, soy sauce, and palm sugar and cook until the outside of the chicken is no longer pink.

Stir in the onion and bell pepper and cook, stirring frequently, until the vegetables are tender crisp and the chicken is cooked through.

Serve atop a bowl or rice and garnish with the chopped scallions.

Greek Yellow Split Pea Purée- Fava

Girl Cooks World

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April 10, 2019

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Many cultures have their own special version of puréed beans or legumes: Israel (and many other countries) claim hummus, India has dal, Morocco has Bissara, etc., etc. So how to describe this Greek version? Well, It’s sort of similar to hummus, the bean purée most Americans are most used to, but it actually uses yellow split peas, not garbanzo beans. Just to make things seem more complicated than they really are, this dip is known as fava in Greece. But no, there aren’t any fava beans in there.

Rather than being served as a dip, this puree is generally served as a side to meat, fish or vegetable dishes. I particularly liked it as a side to chicken souvlaki (recipe to come later this week). Healthy, creamy, comfort food at its best.

Greek Yellow Split Pea Purée- Fava

Ingredients:

* 1-1/4 cups dried yellow split peas
* 3 shallots, diced
* 1 clove garlic, minced
* 1/4 cup plus 1 Tablespoons olive oil, divided
* 2 Tablespoons lemon juice
* 2 Tablespoons chopped green onions
* 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
* salt and pepper
* chopped fresh oregano, to serve

Directions:

Rinse the split peas and put in a large saucepan and over with several inches of cold water. Bring to a boil on the stove top, and then reduce heat and simmer, skimming if necessary, until the peas are very soft.

While the peas are cooking, heat one Tablespoon of olive oil in a frying pan over medium heat and saute the shallots and garlic until lightly browned. Remove from heat.

Drain the cooked peas, reserving the cooking liquid. Transfer the peas to a food processor or high speed blender, like a Vitamix or Blendtec. Add the shallots, garlic and any of the cooking oil. Also add the remaining olive oil. and lemon juice and process until smooth. Add a little of the reserved bean liquid if you’d like a thinner consistency.

Add the green onions, thyme and stir by hand. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Remove to a bowl and top with oregano and an extra drizzle of olive oil, if desired.

Cucumber, Lime and Mint Cooler Recipe

Drinks

Girl Cooks World

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April 10, 2019

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Here’s another recipe inspired by Heidi Swanson to kick off the last week of Cleanse Month. The cucumber cooler recipe in her new cookbook, Super Natural Every Day, inspired me to adapt my Cucumber Agua Fresca drink into frozen slushy form.

You get the same heat relief of a 7-11 Slurpee without the high calorie count or the subsequent sugar crash. Really, you’re even doing yourself a favor health-wise, since you’ll be drinking in all the cucumber’s nutritional benefits.

Cucumber, Lime and Mint Cooler Recipe

Yield: 2 servings

Ingredients:

1 cucumber, partially peeled and cut into large chunks
3 cups ice
1 Tablespoon lime juice
6 mint leaves, plus extra for garnish
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
1 cup sparkling water

Directions:

Combine the cucumber, ice, lime juice, mint leaves, salt, and half of the sparkling water in a blender and pulse until smooth. Spoon into two glasses and top with a little sparkling water. Garnish with mint leaves, if desired.

Watermelon Tequila Mojito

Drinks

Girl Cooks World

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April 10, 2019

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I know it’s not even August yet, but I feel like summer is passing me by and I haven’t had a watermelon tequila mojito. Around here, kids start school next week… is that crazy or what? In my day, we got out of school in the middle of June and didn’t go back until after Labor Day.

I’ve been working too much lately, but I’m going to do my best to make the most of these next few weeks. And so my to-do list looks something like this:

Take a couple day trips to the North Shore- hit up Waimea, do some snorkeling, get some shave ice.. all that good stuff.
Get out on the water to take advantage of all of these summer swells.
Eat (or drink!) as much summer fruit as I can.

I think those are some pretty good goals, don’t you?

I’m already making good on #3. Watermelon has been a staple around here lately. When I saw a recipe for watermelon mojitos, I knew I had to try it. The Mexican mojito from two weeks ago was so good, I figured adding some fresh fruit could only make it better. I was right. It’s light and refreshing with a pretty pink hue to boot. But be careful- it goes down nice and easy but packs quite a punch.

Watermelon Tequila Mojito

Yield: 1 serving

Ingredients:

10 mint leaves
1/2 of a lime, cut into three wedges
2- 3 teaspoons sugar, depending on how sweet you like your drink
3 Tablespoons white or silver tequila
ice cubes
about 1/2 cup seedless watermelon, blended until liquidized and smooth
splash of lemon-lime soda or sparkling water
mint sprig and a slice of lime for garnish (optional)

Directions:

In a glass, muddle the mint, lime wedges and sugar (I use a wooden spoon). Add the tequila and stir to mix and dissolve the sugar. Add ice, the watermelon juice and the soda or sparkling water. Garnish with a slice of lime and mint leaves, if desired.

Mexican Mojito

Girl Cooks World

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April 10, 2019

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When you think of tequila, do you think of wild college parties, body shots, and Tijuana? Me too.* And I’ve never really thought of using tequila for much else besides the occasional margarita. But this Mexican mojito has gotten me rethinking tequila’s versatility.

Refreshing, light and citrusy, I can’t think of a better drink for a summer Mexican fiesta. Everybody does margaritas. Been there, done that. This one is a nice change of pace. Just don’t skimp on the mint- three sprigs sounds like a lot, but it makes it go down real nice. And also make sure to choose a high-quality tequila, like the ones in this best tequila curation (this is especially useful if you’re brand-new to tequila).

* Mom, don’t worry. I’ve never done a body shot and the only time I went to Tijuana was on our family trip to San Diego when I was like eight years old.

Mexican Mojito

Yield: 1 serving

Ingredients:

3 sprigs of mint
1/2 lime, cut into three wedges
2-3 teaspoons sugar, depending on how sweet you like your drink
1 1/2 ounces white tequila
handful of ice
1/2 cup sparkling water or seltzer water
slice lime and mint leaves for garnish (optional)

Directions:

In a glass, muddle the mint, lime wedges and sugar (I use a wooden spoon). Add the tequila and stir to mix and dissolve the sugar. Add ice and then the sparkling water. Garnish with a slice of lime and mint leaves, if desired.

Beer Damper- Australian Gluten-Free Beer Bread

Archive

Girl Cooks World

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April 10, 2019

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Beer Damper- Australian Gluten-Free Beer Bread

Back in the day, stockmen (people who take care of livestock… yes, I had to Google that) who were working and traveling in remote areas used to make damper over a campfire. Back then damper was made from a simple mixture of wheat flour, water and salt, although it seems like it’s evolved over the years to mean almost any sort of Australian quick bread.

Beer Bread – Damper

It took me a couple tries but I finally got a gluten-free damper that I was happy with. It was springy, had a soft crust, and kept surprisingly well (although it didn’t last too long). I baked this in a small springform pan to get the same roundish shape of the original dampers, but feel free to bake it in a normal loaf pan. Then added some beer… I have a feeling that the stockmen wouldn’t mind.

Just one note of caution: I tested the bread after about 45 minutes, and a toothpick came out clean. I started slicing it and another part of the bread was still wet. So, make sure to test several areas of the bread before taking it out of the oven.

Ingredients:

1 cup brown rice flour
1/2 cup cornstarch
1/4 cup millet flour
2 Tablespoons rice bran (can substitute brown rice flour if you’re unable to find)
1 Tablespoon brown sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/4 teaspoons xanthan gum
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cup beer
3 Tablespoons oil
2 eggs

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and grease a 6.5-inch springform pan and dust with rice flour.

In a large bowl combine the brown rice flour, cornstarch, millet flour, rice bran, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, xanthan gum and salt. Then, stir to combine.

In a medium bowl, mix about half of the beer with the oil and eggs and then add to the dry ingredients and stir to incorporate. Add the remaining beer and stir well to mix.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for approximately 1 hour, or until a toothpick inserted in several areas all come out clean.

If you want to try another recipe with beer, then you’ll like my pluto pups (Australian beer battered hot dogs).

Jamaican Carrot-Ginger-Lime Juice

Girl Cooks World

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April 10, 2019

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I’ve bought those half gallon jugs of Odwalla carrot juice several times but never managed to actually finish one. I wish somebody had told me the Jamaican secret to making carrot juice awesome- ginger and lime.

We had some beautiful weekend weather with light winds, which made it the perfect time to do some surfing. This was the perfect post-surf pick-me-up. If the ginger doesn’t wake you up, the color sure will. Ginger is one of the most beneficial plants that you can include in your diet. Many health food brands incorporate ginger into their snacks and drinks. For example, Arden’s Garden offers a ginger root shot, while using it in many of its cold-pressed juices.

I used my Vitamix to make the juice but I’m sure a regular blender will work as well, though you may want to strain it to make sure it’s free from pulp. And yes, that dayglow/safety/fluorescent orange is the real color of the drink. No photoshop magic there.

Carrot-Ginger-Lime Juice

Yield: 2 servings

Ingredients:

2 cups peeled and chopped carrots, about 6 medium carrots
2 cups cold water
1 teaspoon grated ginger
2 Tablespoons lime juice
sugar to taste
crushed ice for serving

Directions:

Combine the carrots, water, ginger and lime juice in a blender and process until smooth. Strain, if necessary, and add sugar to taste. Pour over crushed ice.

Pineapple with Chile Salt

Recipes

Girl Cooks World

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April 10, 2019

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Just as other folks are calling it quits from the blogging game, I’ve decided to stage my triumphant return! (sarcasm hopefully noted)

As much as I’ve loved taking the time off for both work and fun (international trips! beach days! reading actual books!), my slacking has started to catch up to me. No longer am I able to quickly pull up new favorite recipes online… recipes are now scattered in various notebooks and scraps of paper. It’s a bad scene.

And so I’m going to ease back in with a quick and easy recipe, which is barely even a recipe. Sweet, sun-ripened fruit with a sprinkle of spicy salt? Truly a match made in heaven. Right after I tried this for the first time, I made it about four times in the subsequent week. It was the perfect after work pick-me-up snack. If you don’t have easy access to pineapple like I do, feel free to substitute your favorite fruit. And I may or may not be heading off to make some chile salt right after I hit post, so that I can sprinkle some on that Alphonso mango sorbet in the fridge…

Pineapple with Chile Salt

Yield: 3-4 cups

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 0 minutes

Total Time: 15 minutes

Ingredients:

* 1 pineapple, peeled, cored and cut into chunks
* 2 red finger-length chiles, thinly sliced
* 2 TB sea or kosher salt
* 2 teaspoons sugar

Directions:

In a morar and pestle, pound the chiles, salt and sugar until the chiles have begun to break down and have tinted the mixture a light pink. Scoop mixture into a small serving dish.

Dip the chunks of pineapple in the chile salt and enjoy!