Manje Mondays

Man, Normally I would have posted a really great recipe earlier today, but I have been BUSY. We celebrated my grandma's bday yesterday. she is the only grandparent I have left and I am am so in love with her. I just got a chance to get to know her when she moved out here to California in 05. Just when I had my son Christian.she is such a beautiful woman. I will have to post the beautiful picture I have of her when she was in her early 20's. Smoking! She was so gorgeous. She has that same spirit still.

Now she...she loves to cook...and eat! And my grandma can get down too. She will out eat any of us any time, anywhere. And from what I know, she can cook. She makes an incredible rice pudding. 

So here is a recipe that you can try some other night. And to represent Haiti,  here is a dish my dad says they both LOVE!

Black Rice with Shrimp

Rice with black mushrooms is an extraordinary dish with exquisite taste and aroma originating from the northern part of Haiti. The mushrooms are soaked in water then drained. The mush of the mushroom is discarded, the blackened water is used to cook rice, hence the phrase “black rice”.  Shrimp or lima beans can be added as well. As the Haitians do...Manje

Ingredients

2 cups of long grain rice

1 cup dried black mushrooms

4 cups of water

2 chopped cloves of garlic

1 small onion finely chopped

1 tablespoon of oil

salt, pepper to taste

1 lb shrimp, cleaned and cooked


Directions

1. Soak mushrooms in water overnight in a small bowl
2. Heat oil and fry onions and garlic cloves in a pot
3. Discard mushrooms and mix the water with onions and garlic
4. Add rice when water comes to a boil and simmer when it has dried
5. add shrimp and enjoy!

Manje Mondays

This is for a cooking-challenged, orange juice spilling friend of mine. This is where you should be spilling it at. Enjoy this easy recipe, I know you will love! 

Manje!

Salmon Panned in Orange Juice

serves 4

Ingredients

• 1  to 2 tablespoons butter
• 4  (6-ounce) salmon fillets
• Salt
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 1  cup  dry white wine
• 1 tsp. garlic powder
• 1/4  cup  orange juice
• 1/4  cup  rice wine vinegar
• 1/4  cup  honey
• 1/4  teaspoon  red pepper flakes
• 1  seedless orange, thinly sliced

Preparation

Melt butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Sprinkle salmon with salt and pepper, and sauté 4 minutes on each side. Transfer salmon to a plate, cover, and keep warm.

Turn heat to high, and add wine to skillet. Scrape any browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Stir in garlic and remaining ingredients. Cook 5 to 7 minutes or until sauce is reduced by half and slightly thickened. Serve over salmon.

Wine pairing: A Fumé Blanc, Sauvignon Blanc, or crisp Chardonnay will complement any citrus-seafood dishes (perhaps served with a tossed green salad and crusty French bread) for a light, refreshing supper.

Manje Monday

Nothing better than soup for a day when you are feeling sick. But even better when you are feeling good too!
I like adding cilantro into the soup. The green onions and the cilantro taste soooo good together!

Manje!

Rice Noodles with Broccoli, Ginger and Garlic
Recipe Serves: 4

The combination of ginger and garlic gives a classic Asian flavour to this quick and easy supper dish.

Ingredients:

250g rice noodles

250grms broccoli florets

For the sauce:

4 spring onions, very finely sliced

1 inch piece of fresh ginger, peeled and very finely chopped (or 1 tsp of ground ginger)

2-3 large cloves garlic, minced

3 tbsp bean sauce (in the Asian isle at the grocers)

¼ pint veg stock (or chicken stock if you cant find veggie stock)

2 tbsp soy sauce or to taste

6 tbsp sesame oil

Instructions:

To make the sauce, mix all the ingredients together and let stand while you cook the broccoli and rice noodles.

Remove the paper from the noodles.

Place noodles in a large bowl and pour over enough boiling water to cover

Leave to stand for 5 minutes

Rinse in cold water, drain well. Meanwhile, in a large frying pan simmer the broccoli and sauce together, when broccoli is cooked stir in the rice noodles. When heated through serve immediately.

Manje Mondays

"At times, the state of the world may appear overwhelmin. We must always remember our success to help us stay strong and never give up. We must speak with one voice and we must make a strong stand and believe that we can accomplish what ever we set out to do."

Sarah James, Gwinch'in International

Meat Free Mondays!

CAPRESE BREAD & BUTTER PUDDING (serves 2)

Ingredients:

4-6 thick slices of day-old white bread

butter

1 large ball of mozzarella cheese, sliced

2 ripe plum (or about 8 baby plum) tomatoes, sliced

a handful of fresh basil leaves, finely chopped

3 large or 4 small eggs

150ml milk or single cream

salt and pepper

1 tsp dried oregano

Method:

Pre-heat the oven to 190C and lightly grease 1 large or 2 small (about 10cm x 10cm) ovenproof dishes.

Butter the bread on one side only and cut each slice into 4 triangles.  Cover the base of the dish with overlapping triangles of bread, buttered side down, with the bread points pointing slightly upwards.

Tuck tomato and mozzarella slices in between the slices of bread and sprinkle with half the basil.  Season with salt and black pepper.

Add another layer of bread, this time with the buttered side facing up and repeat the step above to add the tomato, mozzarella, basil and seasoning.

Whisk together the eggs, milk/cream and oregano and pour over the bread layers as evenly as possible.

Place on a baking sheet in the pre-heated oven and bake for about 20 minutes or until the egg mix has set and the top is beginning to brown.

Serve immediately with a big green salad.  This would also make a fantastic vegetarian main course for a dinner party - although you'll have to fight off the meat eaters!

Welcome to Manje Mondays

Manje is to eat in Haitian Kreyole! Thats what Mondays are all about. New week, new attitude.

You'll find Recipes and Cooking Tips each week. Try new things. Submit ideas. Ask questions! But most of all...ENJOY
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Five Chefs’ Secrets You Should Know

1. Read your recipe: At least know what ingredients and how much you will need before you begin. I know it can seem tedious to measure out your ingredients and have a load of small white or clear bowls like you see on Food Network all spread out before you. But trust when you need to throw in two eggs, scrambled and all your ingredients take a "timeout" while you head back to the fridge to move out all the leftovers so you can reach all the way in the back to grab your eggs, you will be thankful for a little prep before hand.

2. Heat Up your Pan: Give your pan and oil a little time to heat up before adding any food. And I dont mean one minute. Heat encourages food to release whatever moisture they have. Thats Good. Otherwise, you end up with tough rubbery mushrooms. And on the other hand, dont overheat. Things just get burned, so simple

3. Stir Crazy-Stop It:  The heat from the pan or grill is transferred to the food through direct contact or touching. The food has to reach a certain temperature (depending on what you’re cooking) in order to reach “doneness.” Every time you stir/putz/flip the food, it loses contact with the pan and has to start the heating process all over again. So by over-tending, you’re actually extending your cooking time and you run the risk of altering the food’s texture and color by moving it around too much.

4. Taste the Food: Thats all their is to that one. You might seem like you're doing a great feat when you season and stir and present, only to find that the meal taste like mush... uncooked mush at that. so just give it a taste as you go along.

5.Recipes are Guides: Cooking times are most often listed as guides for cooking in the recipe but know that common sense is the best part of the recipe. Ovens vary, gas ranges and electric ranges are different. Check your food periodically, and do what your food needs.

Cooking is an art; the perfect mix of practice, common sense, and skill, in that order. So relax. Cook more often and have fun.

Saumon Grille (a standard Haitian meal)

Marinade
½ cup oil
¼ cup dry white wine
1 clove garlic crushed
2 teaspoons of herbs: parsley, tarragon, thyme

3 Lbs. Fresh Salmon Steaks

1/4 cup Lemon juice
4 Tbsp Butter, melted
1 Medium Red Onion, sliced
1 Red Bell Pepper, Julienne
Fresh Ground Black Pepper

Steps
1. Place Salmon Steaks in a large bowl, and pour lemon juice. Clean Salmon thoroughly and rinse in cold water.
2. Place in a nonmetallic dish just large enough that the liquid covers the steaks.
3. Mix all marinade ingredients and pour the marinade over the steaks.
4. Marinate for 30 minutes to 1 hour in refrigerator. Turn the salmon occasionally.
5. Pour 1/2 of melted butter on Salmon Steaks.
4. Broil about 4 inches from heat source, turning the steaks after 3 minutes and basting often with marinade. Add Onion and Red Bell Pepper
Having toasted the second side 3 minutes, test with the knife. Continue cooking until the fish flakes easily.

See you back tomorrow for Taylor's Tuesday!