A Girl's Reflections

Nothing spells spring like these colourful roasted cauliflower I picked some up at my local Whole Foods Market last weekend.

After work on Monday evening I roasted them intending for them to be part of our dinner.

However, they never made it to the dinner table, my sister and I eat them while they sat on top of the stove “cooling”

INGREDIENTS

Cauliflower cut into florets
3-4 Cloves Garlic, sliced and minced (or per taste)
1 tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Lemon Juice to taste
Salt and Pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS

Toss the cauliflower florets along with Garlic.
Add Lemon juice.
Add in the oil.
Roast at 400F for 20 – 25 minutes.

Enjoy!

For more Food Friday fun, stories and recipes visit Rattlebridge Farm and Simple Living.

I was about five years old, sitting at the dinner table playing with my food when I asked my uncle – “What is Palaver Sauce?” Sensing I was looking for an excuse not to eat my leafy green stew and rice, he told me a story.

Once upon a time my great, great, great grandma Eno was on her way back home when she spotted a group of foreigners making their way towards her village. She quickly took a short cut arriving ahead of the foreigners to warn her people.

The village elders decided to welcome the visitors with open arms and Ashanti hospitality; sounding their talking drums they alerted citizens about the visitors and their plan for a warm reception.

Eno was chosen to prepare her village famous Kontomire (Coco Yam Leaf) Stew to welcome their guests.

The foreigners were received at the village centre under a Baobab tree, where young children entertained them with traditional dances and young women served them food and drinks.

After they had eaten, the foreigners began to quarrel with each other making “palaver”. They explained that the sauce was so good that it had them quarreling and that is how it became known as Palaver Sauce.

Uncle Sam went on to explain that Palaver is a Portuguese word for quarrel or persuade.

The foreigners had bad intentions, they had come to capture their strong men and women, to take them across the corn farms, over the seas into servant-hood. however on this day the food and hospitality of the people saved the village.

“Eat to Eno’s honor” He added.

Whenever I make Palaver Sauce, I imagine Eno preparing hers not knowing it will save her village.

INGREDIENTS
6 cups of kale chopped
4 large tomatoes diced
2 medium onions diced
8oz smoked salmon broken into pieces
1/4 cup red palm oil
1 clove garlic diced
2 habanero peppers diced (adjust per taste)
Ginger crushed about a tablespoon
Salt (to taste)

DIRECTIONS
Heat oil in a Dutch oven or sauce pan
Sauté onions and habanero peppers for a few minutes or till onions are translucent
Add garlic, ginger and tomato cook for another 10 minutes
Add chopped leaves simmer on low heat for about 10 minutes
Add smoke salmon let it continue to simmer letting the ingredients marry and meld.
Salt to taste.

This recipe makes a lot of sauce and serves about 8 – 10 people. I paired mine with rice. Do not forget to account for the carbohydrate in the rice or whatever you chose to pair it with. It can also be enjoyed by itself.

Related Post – Food Friday – Palaver Sauce (Spinach stew)

For more Food Friday fun, stories and recipes visit Rattlebridge Farm, Simple Living, Food on Fridays and Foodie Friends Friday.

While other kids watched cartoons and dreamt of Disney prince and princesses I grow up watching Bollywood movies like Sunita (Yeh Vaada Raha) and The Burning Train.

A few weekends ago I queued up a few Indian movies on Netflix and decided to have a Bollywood weekend.

Making a big pot of Vegetable Samosa soup enhanced the experience.   This soup yields about six servings.

Ingredients

2 Tablespoons of Olive Oil

10 Ounces of Potatoes, diced

1 Medium onion, chopped

3 Medium tomatoes on the vine, chopped

1 Large carrot, diced

1 Medium leek, chopped

2 Celery sticks, diced

4 Ounces of frozen green peas

1 Teaspoon of cumin

1 Teaspoon of powdered ginger

1 Teaspoon of turmeric

1 Tablespoon of Cayenne pepper (optional)

4 Cups of Vegetable stock

Directions

Heat oil in a large pan

Add cumin, cayenne pepper, ginger and turmeric (Stir well)

Add onions, celery, leeks and potatoes in that order cook for about five minutes.

Add tomatoes, cook for another five minutes

Add vegetable stock and bring to a boil

Reduce the heat, cover the pan and simmer for about 20 minutes.

Add peas and continue cooking for another 5mins

Salt to taste

For more Food Friday fun, stories and recipes visit Rattlebridge Farm, Simple Living, Food on Fridays and Foodie Friends Friday.

Until we made the blueberry cornbread, I never thought blueberries will go with cornbread, however they turned out to be a perfect pair.

The plan was to let it cool so we could slice it up and take pretty pictures, but a few friends stop by and it was quickly devoured. It was a great accompaniment to our afternoon tea.

These two pictures are the only prove that it did exist.

INGREDIENTS

1 cup coarsely ground corn meal

1 cup flour

1/4 cup turbinado sugar

4 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

1 cup + 2 tablespoon unsweetened almond milk

4 tablespoon grape seed oil

1 tablespoon ground flaxseed meal + 3 tablespoons water

1 1/2 cups blueberries

Nutritional Facts via Recipe Analyze (Calorie Count)

DIRECTIONS

Mix the flax-seed meal and water in a small bowl and let the mixture sit for two to three minutes to thicken

Preheat oven to 350° F, grease a loaf pan and set aside.

In a bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the almond milk, oil and flax mixture.

Mix together the wet and dry ingredients and stir until blended.

Stir in the blueberries

Pour into pan, bake for 25 minutes, or just until a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean and the top is lightly browned.

For more Food Friday fun, stories and recipes visit Rattlebridge Farm, Simple Living, Food on Fridays and Foodie Friends Friday.