Futari

Futari (From Tanzania)

2c pumpkin, peeled & cut into 2" chunks

2c sweet potatoes, peeled, cut into 2" chunks

3T onion, finely chopped

1T butter

Juice of 1/2 a lemon

1/2 t cloves

1t salt

1-2c coconut milk

1t cinnamon

If your pumpkin or winter squash is very tough and hard to cut, you may want to estimate the amount you will need, and then use a very sharp knife to cut off a big chunk.  Boil the piece for 3-4 minutes, then plunge into cold water until cool enough to handle.  At this point, the pumpkin or squash will be easier to peel and chop.

Fry the onion in butter until just golden brown.  Combine with the pumpkin or squash and the sweet potatoes in a heavy pot.  Add lemon juice, cloves, salt and a cup of coconut milk.  Cover and simmer for 10-12 minutes.

Uncover, stir gently and add cinnamon.  Cook for another 15-20 minutes until vegetables are tender, stirring constantly to prevent sticking.  Add more coconut milk or a bit of water if mixure becomes dry.

From The African News Cookbook
African Cooking for Western Kitchens
Africa News Services, Inc.
Edited by Tami Hultman

From Penguin Books, 1985

Cooking:

LOL!  The name comes from two variants to this recipe wherein the cup of coconut milk is subbed with 1/4c peanut butter and warm water.  I bought coconut milk cheap at Costco several months ago & so any excuse to use it can't be wasted (besides, there were leftovers in the fridge from the peanut butter stew at the time--Sunday or Monday night?). 

Anyways, I subbed the sweet potatoes with yams & pumpkin with Kuri squash (still have some of it left!).  I bought two yams, and cut an equal amount of squash...found I had enough for a double recipe!  Miraculously, I was short on onion, so I subbed with dried onion...only to not even have enough for a normal recipe.  So that was basically useless.  Having some ginger laying around, I cut 2 matchsticks of ginger to make up for the loss of onion (and future omission of cloves).  It was a good idea...but the ginger was either too old or too little to have much of an impact on the final outcome.  I did use 2 cans of coconut milk to get enough liquid for my comfort.


Eating:

Yummy!  This went down so fast & furious, it was gone before that dense peanut butter stew was!  Coconut milk makes everything go down smooth.  And the lemon juice was excellent (though fairly subtle--maybe I didn't squeeze the lemon hard enough?).   

I still need to get rid of the rest of the kuri squash somehow...2c of squash per recipe just doesn't use out a much of a large winter squash.  And I've got a monstrous zuchini lurking around that needs to get eaten soon too....

Peanut Butter Stew!!

Vegetable Mafe (From Senegal)

2 Large Onions, finely chopped
4 Tblsp peanut oil
2c pumpkin, winter squash, or sweet potatoes, peeled & chopped into chunks
4 turnips
4 medium potatoes, quartered
2 large carrots, chopped into chunks
1/2 a head of small cabbage, coarsely chopped
2 large tomatoes, quartered
1 bunch of fresh leafty greens (spinach, Swiss chard, turnip greens) or 1 small package frozen greens
2 chili peppers or 1 tsp cayenne pepper
2 cups tomato sauce
3/4 cup peanut butter

Brown the onions in moderately hot oil in a large, heavy skillet or stew pot.  Add the vegetables, one at a time, sauteing each for a minute or so before adding another.

Stir in tomato sauce, along with about a cup of water, reduce heat, and simmer until all the vegetables are tender.  Spoon out about half a cup of the hot broth and mix it with the peanut butter to make a smooth paste.  Add to the pot, and simmer for another 10-15 minutes.  Serve over rice or a stiff porridge.


From The African News Cookbook
African Cooking for Western Kitchens
Africa News Services, Inc.
Edited by Tami Hultman

From Penguin Books, 1985


Cooking:

I did not leave nearly enough time to actually soften the vegetables (or I didn't chunk them small enough; it took me nearly an hour to simmer them to tender).  Using my largest pot, I ran out of room before getting in the tomatoes & greens.  And I subbed half the turnips with rutabagas--Safeway's turnips were fail that day.  In floating around the Internet looking for the difference between turnips & rutabagas, I noticed that Mafe is frequently cooked with beef (in place of some of the squash & excess of root veggies).  Happily enough, I chopped most of the vegetables right after work.  When Kyndra got home that night, it was simply a matter of chopping the onion--pondering and skipping the tomato--and starting to cook.

Not having peanut oil, I used butter instead.  And I used ground cayenne pepper instead of a fresh one.  I used an ultra dense winter squash called "kuri squash" that looks like a reddish-orange pumpkin.  I was hoping to use a substantial amount of it beings that was one thing that drew me to this recipe, but I couldn't fit very much into my pot (overcrowding had set int by the time I was preparing this).


Eating:
Wow!  This stew is so filling!!!  We served it over rice & a normal sized bowl was almost more then I could eat.  This would be great for a feast or large groups.  Kyndra & I have almost finished it after eating it for lunch & dinner for 3 solid days.  I wish I had known of this recipe in college when I always had a supply of peanut butter on hand & did vegetable soups regularly.


For next time:
Just fill the pot with whatever vegetables are on hand (probably more realistic) and using the 1c:2c:3/4c water:tomato sauce:peanut butter ratio for everything else.

Intro...

Actually, I should have started a blog when I started cooking curries about two years or so ago.  I had been looking for something new to cook & more exotic tasting then beef stew or mac & cheese.  Unfortunately, I missed that opportunity; and Kyndra isn't nearly as loving of Indian-style curries as I and my former roommate were.  So I tried getting into Thai cooking, but my cookbook & I didn't really bond as well as I thought.  Now I'm on to African cooking.

I can follow a recipe to a tee, but the rebellious part in me sometimes comes through & I just choose to deviate.  So be prepared for strange substitutions and modifications (frequently to facilitate the usage of leftovers).  I will endeavor to cite my sources & include the original recipe alongside whatever whimsical changes I happened to make.

Cheers!
Steven

I'm tickled purple!!

 The pattern for cutting out the fabric quarters is called Magic Mix Quilt by Sweet Seams, a part of McCalls.  I did not put the quilt together like the directions said.  After I sewed many of the squares together, I cut them again and flipped.  I am a fan of bright and busy colors, and most of my quilts are based upon my mood.

There is a strange sense of excitement you get from cutting fabric......this is my favorite past-time!  Keeping a scrap box is also a ton o' fun! ( The purse is from random contrasting fabrics).