Frugal Foodie on a Ghana Cedi: Candle-Lit Dinner

Let’s talk about electricity. You probably don’t think about it a whole lot (at least, I didn’t); something that’s easy to take for granted. A quick flip of a switch and voila, a luminescence appears without the slightest effort. But let’s suppose that is not the case. Perhaps 10:00am rolls around and BAM, the socket is dead, your computer has maybe an hour or two of life left, there is that important Skype call at noon, and the power could be out for an hour or ten. At least it’s a nice day, so take a break and go for a walk.

But let’s say it’s 6:30pm, you’ve just begun to put dinner on the stove, and suddenly you are left with little more than the glow of the gas burner. Now that’s a different story, but one that has become all too common here in Ghana. In the States, electric companies are responsible for ensuring adequate power to cover both base loads and peak usage. I can just imagine the outrage, the demands for compensation, the hours upon hours of customer service calls, if regular power outages occurred.

Here, the absence of electricity during certain days or times of day seems almostmandatory, and is very much expected. As many people cook with charcoal, or gas if they have the money, they don’t run into the same problems of non-functional microwaves, electric ovens, or burner coils (though refrigeration can be a problem in some circumstances).

Life without light – without the blaring TV, the ever-present computer – just goes on. It’s kind of nice though; you can sit, writing, listening to the sounds of all life around – the strange chirps and buzzes that only come with the night. Reading, talking, playing games, or actually getting that much-needed sleep rather than spending an extra hour or two on Facebook. There are also downsides to the unpredictability: work can come to a grinding halt (like my literature review progress, yesterday); food that was refrigerated or frozen could spoil; and the streets of the city become a little more hazardous for pedestrians.

Yet, power out or not, we still have access to it regularly; many communities are left without it entirely. In fact, in Ghana 28% of the population (about 7 million people) still has no electricity, and in the whole of Africa 550 million people (that's just under 50%) are without reliable electricity. While I fully believe that in the US model, we rely too heavily on a constant supply of electricity for devices and other stimuli, there are also serious barriers to development that coincide with its complete absence. Think about hospitals. Think about schools. Think about air control towers.

All that said, I quite enjoyed my torch-lit (yes, electric powered by rechargeable batteries…) dinner. It is by far my favourite combination of Ghanaian foods, and really the only dishes I can competently make myself.

Red-Red and Stew of Contumere ne Naadewa (serves 2-3)

6 small spicy peppers

5 cloves garlic, peeled and halved

3 onions, sliced thin

1 cm³ ginger, minced very finely

2.5 cups black-eyed peas, cooked

6-8 small tomatoes, seeded and chopped

2 tbs tomato paste

2 small eggplants, seeded and finely diced

3 cups/6-8 leaves cocoyam leaves or collard greens, shredded

2 tbs vegetable oil + 3-4 tbs red palm oil

Salt to taste

Water as needed

1. Place peppers, onions, and garlic in a bowl of water. Prepare the eggplant, and do the same but salted. Ever 10 minutes, drain the eggplant and refill with water

2. With a mortar and pestle, begin to grind the peppers until the seeds are no longer identifiable. Add half the onions and all the garlic, and continue to grind to a uniform pulp.

3. We’re making two dishes simultaneously, so in two saucepans, heat 1 tbs of vegetable oil and 1 tbs red palm oil over a medium flame. Add half of the pulp to each pan, stir, and then cover. Allow to cook only for 2-3 minutes, and then add half each of the rest of the onions (and maybe a splash of water, if it’s sticking). Now cook for about 5 minutes. 

4. To one pot, add the tomatoes and ginger. Cover and let stew for about 10 minutes to break down the tomatoes. Drain the eggplant one final time, and pour it into the other pot. Stir, add water if needed, and cover, allowing to stew for 10-15 minutes.

5. Thin tomato paste in ¼ cup of water. Add, along with beans, to the tomato pot. Reduce to a simmer and let the flavours meld for a nice 20 minutes. In the other pot, add the greens. You may have to do this in stages, as it will cook down considerably. Also reduce heat and let simmer for 15-20 minutes, until the eggplant is basically falling apart and the greens are very soft. Salt both stews to taste.

6. Fry up some plantain (1 per person is probably fine) and enjoy! Remember, in true form, only eat with your right hand. :)

Don't worry Mom and Day, I'm alive and well!

Frugal Foodie on a British Pound: Living Below Eating Cabbage

Dear Readers,

My how time flies. It seems like just yesterday I was writing a very similar blog post, setting up my second year participating in the Live Below the Line challenge. But a year has passed, and it is time again to stand in solidarity with those fighting for equity in our food system and those who suffer due to the lack thereof. For those of you who are new, what is this "challenge" of which I speak? Basically, the idea is that from April 28th to May 2nd, participants commit to subsisting on £1.00 per day (note, the change in currency...it will be interesting to see how my approach for the week changes overseas). 

While a more difficult undertaking than it may seem at first, this really only serves as a taste of what many people around the world experience day in and day out. As I've mentioned in previous years, it is difficult to re-create such a context. If ever hungry, there are countless ways I can obtain food; and if ever I were in any dire straights, there are a number of safety nets to ensure the chances of me plunging into utter poverty are pretty darn low. On top of the privilege of a good education and many of the freedoms that affords, I (or any one in a similar position) could comfortably go through life without contemplating a broader global context. Living below the line, while not an accurate representation of living in poverty, does provide considerable opportunity to engage with this broader context more explicitly - think about the person halfway across the world making a pittance to manufacture the goods we buy at ten times the cost; the farmer whose livelihood depend on the 23p he may get per kg of coffee bean (when we pay £2 for a short black!); or a family kicked off their land with no path of recourse. 

Anywho, I will be posting on relevant topics regularly leading up to the week, and updates during. Keep visiting! Comments are welcome. You can also follow @YumMusings on twitter! Please consider supporting the cause and helping me raise awareness and funds. Any sum donated will go to the Rainforest Foundation, an organization with the mandate to protect the rights to land and resources of indigenous people in Latin American tropical forests. The foundation works to improve both the communities' livelihoods, as well as the health of the ecosystems. Woohoo.

Oh Right, A Cabbage Recipe!
1/2 yellow onion, diced
1 small carrot, finely julienned
1 medium pear, cubed
1/3 savoy cabbage, shredded
1 tsp fresh ginger, minced
1-2 tbs sesame seeds
Salt to taste
Oiled skillet  (grapeseed or mild sesame)

1. Heat oil over medium-high, adding in onion to sautee. Cook until starting to turn translucent, then add carrots and cover pan. Keep covered for another 3-4 minutes, then give a stir and throw in the sesame seeds and pears. Re-cover and cook another five minutes.
2. Lower to medium heat. Add in shredded cabbage and ginger; give it a stir and cover. Continue to stir every couple of minutes until the pear is really soft, the cabbage is tender, and the onions are hardly perceptable. Salt to taste and remove from the heat. Serve as a side or with a protein (I had mung beans...)

For more, check out all related Munchable Musings from past Live Belows! And you don't have to trust my words ... just listen to Hugh Jackman (sold)!

What's Cooking? Currying Cabbage

We may have lost an hour of the weekend (or repaying that loan we took during the Autumn), but it is starting to feel like spring! Sunshine and warmish weather in DC meant people began to emerge from their hibernation, hanging out at grassy knolls and our urban parks. At the same time, we are still in a bit of limbo-land as far as fruits and vegetables grow. First plantings of the year are right around the corner, but we continue to eat roots and apples harvested in late fall, or the hardy greens that survive winter weather (or greenhouse-grown cherry tomatoes...oops). As such, my typical market basket right now looks very much the same from week to week.

Now, I do maintain my fridge shelf full of produce, needing a little bit of attention. Yet, with a full day of yoga and training for that not-so-distant marathon, I didn't have much time to play around in the kitchen this weekend. And let me tell you, when I have little time and cabbage as my ingredient of the night, things can get a little uninteresting. Luckily, I was feeling some creative juices flowing and decided bring some Asian inspiration to this staple winter vegetable. Unfortunately, as we learned a couple of weeks back, spices (and coconut, for that matter) are largely imports from tropical countries, from the mysterious 'Far East'. While during the spring and summer I try to stay pretty staunchly in the locavore camp, winter can be particularly daunting in the final month without some infusion of a little flare.

Coconutty Curried Cabbage (serves 2)
1 tbs coconut oil

1 tsp mustard seed 

1/4 yellow onion, chopped

1 tbs grated fresh ginger

1 large clove garlic, minced

1/2 tsp turmeric

1 tsp cumin

1/4-1/2 tsp cayenne

1/4 cup dried, shredded coconut

1/4 cup chopped cashews (optional)

1/2 small purple cabbage, cut into strips

salt to taste

1 tbs lemon juice
water as needed

1 cup Butler's soy curls (completely optional...)

1. Heat coconut oil in a medium skillet on medium heat until melted. Immediately add mustard seeds and onion, cooking until mustard seeds begin to pop.
2. Remove from heat, add in spices, ginger, coconut, and nuts, stirring until completely covered. Place back on heat.
3. Toss in cabbage, salt, and lemon juice (it keeps the purple vibrant!). Cover pan and allow to cook until cabbage is fork tender, stirring every 5 minutes or so. If you are adding in some sort of protein, you can do so after about 15 minutes.
4. Serve warm, perhaps with some quinoa, rice, or even naan!

Check out more tasty delights on Wellness Weekend.

What's Cooking? Spicing Things Up

Spices have long had a certain mystique to them. The dried seeds, roots, bark, or fruits of a plant have been used for thousands of years to add flavor, color, and complexity to culinary concoctions. Herbs and spices were sought for medicinal purposes, to cure the bad humors. Used in religious ceremonies and for preservation or embalming, spices made their mark in the historical record. Movement throughout much of the ancient world was due in large part to trade of spices. And during the middle ages, these coveted commodities fetched a grand price on the European market. They inspired conflict and war, and spurred on exploration and an age of discovery around the globe. It's interesting to consider that the now commonplace cinnamon or pepper were once treasured status symbols of civilization.

What I find fascinating about spices, though, is why they have such potent flavors and medicinal properties. According to a Cornell study now a decade and a half old, found that chemical compounds in common spices act as anti-bacterial agents. Not surprisingly, those same chemicals are what ward off pests that threaten the plant's survival. And if you are a proponent of cultural evolution, you can see how taste might be influenced, and more likely to survive to the next generation, in circumstances where cooking used a lot of spice to kill of bacteria in food. In Ayurvedic tradition, herbs and spices are also noted for their impact on digestion and properties that affect the constitution (such as heating and drying). Ginger, cumin, and turmeric all support strong digestion, and pepper and garlic have powerful antibacterial properties.

Good Health Curried Peas

1/2 onion

1/2 shallot

1 tsp mustard seed

2 cloves garlic

1 tbs olive oil

1 tsp sesame oil

1 cup split peas (soaked overnight)

3 cups vegetable stock (or water in a pinch)

1 carrot, chopped

1 parsnip, chopped

1 sweet potato, cubed

1 cup kale, chopped (optional)

2 tsp salt, to taste

2 tsp turmeric

2 tsp curry powder (or additional turmeric, cumin, cayenne,

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp cayenne chili pepper

1 tsp fresh ginger, grated

1. Heat oils in a sauce pan over medium heat. Saute onion and shallot, with mustard seed, until translucent, about 5 minutes, and then add garlic.

2. Pour in water and bring to a boil. Add split peas and allow to cook for about 15 minutes. Continue to cook another 10 minutes with carrot, parsnip, and sweet potato. 

3. Conclude by adding in the array of spices, adjusting accordingly for your taste, but don't be shy! Allow to simmer another 15-20 minutes. Serve in a bowl as soup, or reduce the amount of liquid by 3/4 cup and serve with rice.

Mmm, tasty and fortifying! Find more culinary marvels on Slightly Indulgent Tuesdays and Wellness Weekends.

Photo credits: Riyaad Minty (top); Colin Houston (bottom)

What's Cooking? The Smell of Ginger

A delightful aroma, wafting down the stairs from the kitchen (yes, my kitchen is on the second floor), draws my attention away from whatever it is I was doing the moment before. Despite being very decidedly a warm weather crop, ginger often evokes a sense of comfort and well-being most desired during the cold winter months. Gingerbread and gingermen appear in great numbers during the winter holidays. Ginger tea is a staple warm beverage, and ginger ale can cure any upset stomach. It was at one of those holiday parties where I first came across (a veganized version of) David Lebovitz's fresh ginger cake. Perhaps love at first bite, the spicy-sweet and amazingly fluffy cake has almost haunted me. So, I recently took a stab at baking it myself, and yesterday concocted a gluten-free version. It's a little crumbly, but still quite moist and tasty.

Fresh Ginger Cake (adapted from David Lebovitz)

1/2 cup fresh ginger, grated

1/4 cup blackstrap molasses

1/2 cup sugar 

1/4 cup agave

2/3 cup oil 

1/2 cup water

2 tsp baking soda

1/4 cup: millet, brown rice, buckwheat, tapioca, and almond flours

3 tbs garbanzo flours

1 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp all spice

1/4 tsp ground cloves

sprinkle powdered ginger

dash black pepper

1 tbs apple cider vinegar

1/4 cup crystalized ginger, chopped (optional)

1. Combine molasses, sugar, agave, and oil in a large bowl. In a small saucepan, bring water to bowl and then add baking soda. Pour water into bowl and whisk until combined; mix in ginger. 

2. Sift in flours and spices, using a large spoon to incorporate all dry ingredients. Add in vinegar and optional candied ginger. 

3. Pour batter into 6 large muffin cups (or a small pan, greased and floured). Bake at 350F for 25-30 minutes, until top is set and a knife comes out clean. Allow to cool completely...and then enjoy!

Check out more goodies at Slightly Indulgent Tuesdays.

What's Cooking? A Dose of Ginger

Daylight hours are still scarce; temperatures continue to drop; and trees are bare of any remnant foliage. When the world didn't end on the Winter Solstice a week and a half ago, I resigned myself to yet another winter, and yet another season of nagging colds taking advantage of a weakened immune system.

Ginger, a root in the same family of plants as turmeric and cardamom, has been used across the ages for use in medicine and spice. As would be expected considering its relatives, cultivation of the root originated in South Asia, spreading to East Africa and the Caribbean. Ginger grows in tropical, subtropical, and humid climates, which could be why it fares well in the Mid-Atlantic during the muggy summer months. I stashed away a bit of our harvest of fresh ginger in the freezer for later use, to brighten up a winter day.

Ginger Sunshine Shake

4-6 slices frozen peaches

1/2 orange, peeled

1/2 medium banana

1/2 cup plain almond milk

1 tsp grated fresh ginger

2 tsp agave (optional)

Well, this is super-easy. Just blend! Add water as needed for consistency. 

Also, if you have a good amount of the fresh stuff, you make David Lebovitz's Fresh Ginger Cake, which is phenomenal! Add an extra teaspoon of baking powder and a teaspoon of apple cider vinegar instead of the egg, and you should be golden!

Slightly Indulgent Tuesdays, anyone?Also check out Raw Foods Thursdays! (there's something every day now :)

Thirsty Thursday: A Dose of Vitamin C

A most amazing raw pecan pie with coconut whipped cream

.

Following standard protocol for one of my trips up to the Big Apple, I have developed this nagging cough. Now I can never understand the impetus for this ailment, as my trips are pretty tame - consuming large amounts of yummy vegan food, practicing yoga, and walking nearly everywhere. One hypothesis is that I have a mild allergy to the city itself; another is merely that the bus ride to and from the city is a breeding ground for all sorts of unpleasant microbes (sure, like that one is plausible...).

So after eating my fill of the exquisite raw pecan pie at Quintessence (I will figure out how to replicate it) and a satisfying brunch at Caravan of Dreams, among other tasty exploits, I now must suffer the consequences. In an attempt to combat my apparently compromised immune system, I have begun dosing myself each morning with a healthy serving of vitamin C. This imbibable cocktail of fruits and vegetables will hopefully help me overcome my current state of malaise.

Sunny Side Up Smoothie

3 small carrots, chopped

4-6 slices frozen peaches

1/2 banana

1/3 cup orange juice or water

1/3 cup almond milk

1 tsp grated fresh ginger (or 1/4 tsp dry)

1/4 tsp cinnamon

Simply add everything to a blend or use an immersion blender, and let 'er rip until carrot has been minimized. Enjoy as a cheery start to the day!

This puppy is going up on Wellness Weekend, too!