Breakfast: Cinnamon Yogurt Bread

There’s nothing like a warm baked bread, muffin or coffee cake with a cup of coffee to start your morning.  Here is a super simple, and cozy, coffee cake recipe.

Note: We have a very small cake pan, so this recipe makes the equivalent of one loaf, if you have a real oven and two loaf pans, feel free to double and share with a friend or neighbor.

Ingredients:
2 TBSP Oil
½ Cup Sugar
1 Egg
½ Cup Yogurt (50-60mL)
1 Cup Flour
¼ TSP Salt
1 TSP Cinnamon
¼ Cup Sugar

Directions:
Combine all but the final two ingredients (cinnamon and ¼ cup sugar) in a mixing bowl, mix thoroughly until smooth.
Combine the remaining sugar and cinnamon in a separate bowl.
Place half of the dough into a greased Bundt-type pan or loaf pan.
Sprinkle half of the cinnamon and sugar mixture on top, add the rest of the dough.
Sprinkle the remainder of the cinnamon and sugar mixture on top, run a knife through dough to make sugar swirls.
Bake, on 350F (180C) if you have a real oven for about 20 minutes, or until toothpick comes out clean.
If you don’t have a real oven, we use our largest Dutch oven, and raise the cake pan up a few inches off the bottom of the pan by using small tomato paste cans, a tuna can would also work, or you can use sand.  Cook with lid on (creating an oven-type affect) for about 20 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Meatless Monday: Tofu “Chicken” Nuggets with Honey Mustard

Finding ourselves wanting American comfort food with freshly delivered tofu in our kitchen, we decided to venture in making tofu “chicken” nuggets.

Ingredients:
Enough tofu for 2 people, varies based on appetite
1 Cup Milk (regualr or soy)
1 Cup Cornmeal
1/2 Cup Flour
1 TSP Cayenne
Salt and Pepper to Taste
Oil, for frying

1/4 Cup Honey
1/4 Cup Mustard

Directions:
Cut the tofu into ‘nugget’ sized pieces.
Add the milk to a shallow bowl.
In another bowl, mix together the flour, cornmeal, cayenne, salt and pepper.
Drench the tofu in milk, then dredge through the flour mixture.  Repeat until all pieces of tofu are covered.
Heat oil for frying, while you are preparing the tofu.
Fry each ‘nugget’ on each side until golden brown.
To make the honey mustard, mix equal parts of honey and mustard in a small bowl.

Serve immediately, and enjoy, pretending like you are in America!

Election Party Appetizers: Egg Rolls

Another great finger food that we all love are egg rolls!  They are easier than you may think to make at home, and even if you have an Asian restaurant to get them from, you will definitely be deemed the ‘hostess with the mostess’ once people know you made these from scratch!

Ingredients: (Makes 8 larger eggrolls)
Dough:
2 Cups Flour
1 Egg
½ TSP Salt
¼ to ½ Cup Water
Filling:
1 Small Zucchini, cut into matchsticks
1 Carrot, cut into matchsticks
1 Small Eggplant, cut into matchsticks
3 Cloves Garlic, Minced
Soy Sauce (or Maggi Sauce if you don’t have the real thing…)
2 TBSP Oil + Oil for Frying
Dipping Sauce: (If you don’t have hot Chinese Mustard Available)
½ Cup Mustard
2 TBSP Hot Sauce (like Sriracha)

Directions:
In a small bowl, mix together egg, salt and a dash of water.
In a mixing bowl, add the flour and make a well in the center, pour the egg mixture into well, slowly mixing and adding a teaspoon of water a time until a dough forms.
Knead for 5-8 minutes and set aside while you prepare the filling (needs to rest for at least 25 minutes).
In a skillet, add oil, soy sauce and garlic, let sauté for a minute.
Add veggies and sauté until veggies are soft, remove from heat.
Once dough has rested, divide into 2, roll out each section into a thin large rectangle, and cut into 4.  This will make your 8 egg roll shells.
In a small bowl of mug, mix together some flour and water to make a paste.
Take the shell and fill with 1/8 of the veggie mixture, fold closed like an envelope, sealing edges shut with the flour and water paste.  Continue until all eggrolls are made.*
In a deep skillet or Dutch oven, heat oil for frying.  While oil is heating, mix together your mustard and hot sauce for the dipping sauce, set aside.
Once oil is hot, add eggrolls and fry until all sides are crispy.  Remove from oil and set on a paper towel for a minute to try.
*If you are serving these for a party, you can stop at this stage and set them on a plate, covered, for up to an hour so that they can be served hot when guests arrive.

Serve, with hot dipping sauce on the side, and eat while (hopefully) your political party is ahead in the polls.

Election Party Appetizers: Bruschetta

With the election less than a week away, we know people are getting ready to have result watching parties with friends.  We are too!  We are excited to be hosting a group of fellow volunteers to watch the election results roll in.  We thought we’d spend the week sharing some of our favorite appetizer or party foods, that can be made almost anywhere in the world.
We love bruschetta, a bit size treat that is easy to prepare, especially ahead of time.

Ingredients:  (For about 12 bruschetta servings)
1 Baguette-type loaf of bread, sliced into 12 round pieces
4 Tomatoes, diced
1 Small Onion, diced
5 Cloves of Garlic, diced and about 1 clove worth set aside
1 Bunch of Basil, thinly sliced
Oil
Salt and Pepper to Taste
1 Cup Mozzarella Cheese Grated, if available

Directions:
In a skillet, heat about 2 TBSP oil and 1 clove of garlic, minced.  When it starts to sizzle, add slices of bread, and cover.  After a few minutes, turn over and cover again.  Once bread begins to get crispy, take off heat and set aside.
In a bowl, add tomatoes, remaining garlic, onion, basil, a dash of oil and salt and pepper.  Mix well and let sit for at least ½ hour to let flavors mix.
If adding mozzarella, sprinkle mozzarella on tops of each piece of bread and add back into your skillet/pan to melt cheese.  *Note: Do this step directly before serving; everything else can be done ahead of time.
Immediately before serving, arrange bread slices on plate and top with tomato mixture.
Serve with napkins, and enjoy the election!

Breakfast Burritos!

Breakfast burritos are our favorite breakfast, by far, and possibly, our favorite meal.  We could eat them daily, but that would mean that we would also need to eat tacos for dinner daily too.  They are a great use of any leftovers, especially Mexican leftovers.
To make, heat your leftover tortillas, and taco filling.
Dice a tomato, onion and hot pepper.  Sauté in a little oil with some salt and pepper.
Add beaten eggs to pan (approx. 2 eggs per person) and scramble.
When eggs are set, add into the assembly line for tacos.
Top with hot sauce, sour cream if you are lucky enough to have it, or any other leftover taco toppings from the night before.
A delicious, and protein filled, way to start the day!

Meatless Monday: Black Bean Tacos

We love Mexican food, and serving in Cameroon doesn’t stop us from eating it!  It just means we have to put in a little more effort to enjoy a good Mexican dinner, but, it is always worth it! While tacos typically thought of having a ground beef filling, we made this version of tacos with a spicy black bean filling, topped with fresh onion, tomato, lettuce and avocado.  It definitely satisfies our cravings for tex-mex!

Homemade Corn Tortillas (makes 8 thin tortillas):
¾ cup white flour
¾ cup corn flour (otherwise known as couscous de maize flour, if living in West Africa)
3 TBSP oil
½ cup warm water
½ TSP salt

Directions:
In a small cup, add the salt to the warm water, dissolve.
Mix the flours together in a bowl, add the oil.
Mix with your hands until crumbly.
Add the salt water, a few tablespoons at a time, kneading together dough after each addition.  Add water only until the dough sticks together and becomes a dense ball.
Let the tortillas rest, even though they won’t rise, for about an hour.  Do not let rest for too long, trust me!
Divide dough into 8 equal portions, and roll out thin.
Cook on an un-oiled skillet on medium heat.  The dough will bubble and brown, cook each side for about 2-3 minutes.  Continue until all tortillas are heated.  Set aside until dinner.

Black Bean Taco Filling:
2 ½  cups prepared black beans (they need to be soft, so either take them out of a can, or soak/boil them until soft if you started with dry beans)
1 cup stock of your choice, since it is Meatless Monday, we used vegetable stock
2 TBSP cumin
1 TBSP chili powder
1 piedmont (or jalapeno, or Serrano, or whatever hot pepper you have available), minced
1 green bell pepper, diced
1 carrot, diced
2 tomatoes, diced
1 onion, diced
The juice of a lime
Salt and pepper to taste
*Any of the vegetables are optional , add more or take some out of the recipe depending on your preferences

Directions:
Add all ingredients together in a big pan, whatever you have that is most similar to a Dutch oven.
Bring to a boil, and reduce heat to let simmer.
Simmer until vegetables are soft and the stock is absorbed.
When finished, it should be thicker mixture of it all.

Serve with tortillas, and taco toppings of your choice.
See what we do with the leftovers tomorrow – – sometimes the leftovers are better than the dinner itself!

Meatless Monday: Zucchini and Tomato Pasta

 

Keeping with the Meatless Monday tradition, here is another recipe for you to choose from.  A quick, easy, and satisfying pasta with fresh leek, tomato, zucchini, and of course, garlic.

 

 

 

Ingredients:
1/2 Pound (250g) pasta, any short noodle will do…Penne, Macaroni, Ziti, etc.
Olive oil, approx. 4 TBSP or enough to just coat your skillet
4 Cloves garlic, minced
2 Pinches of salt
2 Leeks, thinly sliced
1 TBPS Red Chili Flakes*
2 Tomatoes, diced
1 Medium zucchini, diced
Salt and Pepper, to taste
Parmesan cheese, option and to taste, depending on your dietary preferences
Directions:
Add water to cook noodles to heat to bring to boil.
While waiting on water, dice garlic, leeks, tomatoes, and zucchini.
When water is about to boil, heat olive oil, garlic, salt, leeks and red chili flakes.
Allow to simmer.  Add pasta to boiling water.
Once pasta is added to boiling water, add the tomatoes and zucchini to the oil mixture.
When noodles are done, drain and return to pot over low heat.
Pour oil and veggie mixture over noodles, heat for 1-2 minutes.
Serve immediately with salt and fresh ground pepper, adding Parmesan cheese if desired.

*If your region of the world does not offer dried red chili flakes, here are a few replacements:
Asia – Add a dried spicy pepper to the oil while cooking all of the veggies.  Remove before pouring the oil/veggie mixture over pasta.  While sauteing, it will flavor the oil and leave a hint of spice.
South America/America – Use a hot pepper of your preference, jalapeno for less hot, serrano for more heat.  It won’t taste as “Italian” as the red chili flakes would, but if you want a small kick to your dish, dice it up and add at the same stage you would have done for the chili flakes.
West Africa – dice up a piemont of any color, and add when sauteing the leeks and garlic.

Enjoy your Meatless Monday dinner, you deserve it after making through another Monday!