Day 121! South Africa - Medallions of Ostrich with Port and Caramelized Black Current Sauce - Up Next, Nepal

Tonight's dinner was made entirely possible by the kindness and generosity of the folks at Savenor's Market who donated the meat for this South African meal: Medallions of Ostrich with Port and Caramelized Black Currant Sauce. After a fairly extensive search, I decided on this ostrich recipe, accompanied by butternut squash (a staple in the country) and a salad of mixed greens, from my local organic farm, Hopestill Farm. I hope I've captured the country's rich culinary traditions, but if you're of South African descent and have other suggestions, I'd love to hear from you!

Savenor's  Smokin' Band of Butchers
 Mark, Ed, John and Brian

Now, for an appreciative word and big shout out to my friends Julianna (the GM), and the awesome Butchers at Savenor's. First, if you haven't been to Savenor's Market in Cambridge or Boston, you're missing a true culinary experience. This little market is packed with every possible kind of exotic meat, interesting cheese, wild mushrooms, produce, hard to find spices and so much more. The staff is both knowledgeable and helpful, and if I hadn't had to go back to work this afternoon, I would have stayed the whole day. Bummer how work's always messing with my personal agenda.

Honorable mention goes out to Leo, the "Wine Guy" at Trader Joe's in Framingham, who hooked me up with a lovely, very reasonably priced bottle of 2009 Goats Do Roam South African red for the sauce and a little sippin'. Thanks so much for your expertise and interest!

Slightly less than twice the size of Texas, South Africa is located on the southern tip of the African continent. This beautiful country sits on the coastline of the Atlantic and Indian Oceans. It's neighbors include Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Swaziland, and Lesotho, an enclave surrounded by South African territory. This culturally diverse is both ethnically and historically complex and country boasts 11 officially recognized languages. Slightly less than 80% of the country's population is of Black ancestry and the largest community of European, Asian and racially mixed citizens make up the balance.

Cuisine in South Africa has many cultural influences. Tortoise, crayfish, mussels, dried and salted meat, bush meat, ostrich, coconuts, squash and dried fruit and fruit paste are all locally produced and eaten.  Thanks to the the country's mild climate, potatoes, cabbage, corn, sunflower, peppers and green beans are available. On the northern tip that generally gets more rain, bananas, pineapples and mangoes grow in abundance. In addition to indigenous cooking, Dutch and British traditions can also be found in the form of meat and chicken pies.

Medalions of Ostrich with Port and Caramelized Black Currants Sauce (Adapted from Cooks United)

1-3/4 cups red wine
2/3 cup port
2-3 Tbsp. black currant jam (or cranberry sauce if you can't find currant jam)
4 Tbsp. whole green pepper corns
1/2 cup fresh cream
2 large or 4 small ostrich steaks
1 Tbsp. crush black pepper corns
2 Tbsp. olive oil
4 sprigs fresh rosemary
Salt and pepper to taste

Pour the wine into a saucepan and bring to a boil over medium heat. Stir in the cranberry jelly. reduce heat and simmer until caramelized. Add the port, reduce again until the sauce is quite thick. Add green peppercorns and cream and let it reduce for a few minutes.

Cut streaks into two portions and coat them with black peppercorns, then brush with oil on one side. Heat the oil in a pan over medium to high heat, when hot, place steaks, oil side down, into pan. Brush the top of the steaks with oil and cook steaks quickly for 2 minutes per side.

Serve with butternut squash garnished with roasted pumpkin seeds and a green salad.

Final Assessment: Well, my husband stated that ostrich would forever be his "birthday" meal of choice. The meat is lean, tender and has the texture of  a really good cut of beef, without all the fat. We all agreed that ostrich has a milder flavor than beef. I seared it in a very hot pan for about 2 minutes on each side because we like out meat rare. The peppercorn crust and currant sauce was both sweet and spicy in the best possible way. I'm forever a fan.

Sautéed Mixed Greens Recipe

Bags of organic arugula at the store always tempt me. "Buy me!" they say, "Eat salad for a week, it'll be great!" Of course after three or four days the bag is half full and the contents start to look rather wilted and sad. Then comes regret. Why did I buy that bag in the first place? Recently I found the solution to the problem of wilting greens, a problem that I'm guessing may also be yours.


It turns out arugula is quite wonderful when lightly sauteed in olive oil. It's somewhat bitter and earthy but in a good way. It's even better if you mix it with some other greens. I use a bit of frozen spinach which is mild but silky and some fresh escarole which has a lovely spring flavor and juiciness when it's cooked. The mixture of flavors and textures creates a compelling dish that isn't just a terrific side dish, but begs to be layered in a grilled cheese sandwich. With or without ham or bacon, this is good stuff!

I buy arugula a lot. But you could just as easily use fresh but beginning-to-wilt spinach, swiss chard, kale, mustard greens, turnip tops or beet greens. Experiment! The amounts of greens are up to you and what you have on hand. I almost always have some individually quick frozen (IQF) spinach in the freezer but don't use it if you don't have it, this is all about cooking economically and making do with what you have. No garlic on hand? No problem! Want to use red chile flakes in addition to onion and garlic? Go for it! You have nothing to lose but some greens that are probably not ready for a starring role in a salad, Mr. De Mille. The basic technique is just to place the ingredients in the pan in order from most sturdy to most fragile. The sturdy stuff will take a little longer to cook than the fragile stuff, but we're talking only a few minutes.

Sautéed Mixed GreensServes about 4 as a side dish

Ingredients

2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup chopped onion
1 clove garlic minced
1 cup frozen spinach
8-10 leaves of escarole
1/2 bag of arugula, about 4 handfuls

Instructions

Heat a large skillet over medium high heat. Add the olive oil and when hot, add the onion. Cook for three minutes, stirring frequently with a wooden spoon, add the garlic and cook for just 30 seconds then add the spinach and the escarole. Cover and turn the heat down to low. Let it cook for a minute or two, just until the spinach barely defrosts. Remove the lid and stir, then add the arugula and stir. The arugula will wilt very quickly, in just a couple of minutes. Season with salt and you're done!

Enjoy!

Day 120.5 - Caramelized Vidalia Onion Dinner Rolls

This recipe for Caramelized Onion Dinner Rolls comes from one of my favorite cookbooks, The Victory Garden Cookbook, by Marian Morash. My Mom gave me this book many, many years ago, but any time I'm looking for inspiration using any vegetable (name it, it's in this book), this is my go-to source. The original recipe uses sauteed white onions, but I decided to use Vidalia onions and caramelize them, simply because I love them and had them on hand.

This is not a complicated recipe, but it does take some time as the dough needs to rise, rest and rise again. Making the dough the night before cuts down considerably on the assembly, but whatever you decide, the hours it takes from start to finish is so, so, so worth it. Your house will smell heavenly and you'll feel like the rock star you are when taking these beautiful golden dinner rolls out of the oven. Served up along-side a big Sunday dinner, for a special occasion or with a simple green salad, these rolls bring both elegance and comfort to the table. Now how can that be anything but most excellent?

Caramelized Vidalia Onion Dinner Rolls (Adapted from The Victory Garden Cook Book)
(makes about 30 rolls)

2 packages active dry yeast
3 eggs
4 1/2-5 cups flour
1/2 cup vegetable shortening
1/2 cup sugar
2 cups sliced Vidalia onions
2 tsp. salt
7 Tbsp. butter

Dissolve the yeast in 1/4 cup warm water. Let stand for 10 minutes. Beat eggs and combine with 2 1/2 cups flour, 1 cup warm water, shortening, sugar and alt. Using a mixer beat at medium speed for 2 minutes. Stir in the remaining flour to make a soft, slightly sticky dough. Cover , and let rise until doubled in bulk. Punch down. Refrigerate 4-6 hours or overnight in the same bowl.

Remove from the refrigerator 3 hours before baking. Saute onions in 2 tablespoons of butter until golden brown; cool. Divide the dough in half. Roll each half into a 1/2 inch thick rectangle. Spread each rectangle with 2 tablespoons softened butter, then spread with onions. With the long side facing you, roll into a jelly-roll shape. Cut into 1-inch slices. Place cut side down into greased muffing tins. Cover and let rise until doubled in bulk. Melt the remaining tablespoon of butter and brush over the tops.

Bake in preheated 400F oven for 12-15 minutes

Serve warm right from the oven with plenty of butter or as is.

Day 120! Nauru - Mango Papaya Sherbet - Up Next, Nepal

Some of my favorite fruits in the world are tropical. Although I love all fruit, the taste, color and smell of mango, pineapple, passion fruit, papaya, kiwi and persimmon, to name just a few, transport me straight outta this forbidding New England climate to an exotic tropical island. So, while searching around for a recipe from the Pacific Island of Nauru, this one for Mango Papaya Sherbet verily begged me to make it. How could I refuse?

Located in Micronesia in the South Pacific, Nauru is the world's smallest island nation, covering just 8.1 square miles. The island sits high on the sea and is actually the tip of an undersea mountain. It's nearest neighbor is Brnaba Island in Kiribati.  Originally settled by the Micronesians and Polynesians, Nauru was annexed and claimed as a colony by the German Empire in the 19th century. After WWI, the island's governance changed hands and was administered by Australia, New Zealand and the UK. Finally, in 1968, the Island declared independence.

Sadly, the island is now at risk of disappearing. In part due to rising sea levels as a result of global warming, but also of strip mining the phosphate resources that once made the island one of the richest in the world. Corruption, poor governance and environmental exploitation has left this once lovely island ravaged and barren.

I couldn't find any recipes specific to Nauru (but that doesn't mean they don't exist). The closest I came was a Pacific Islands cookbook, that made mention of the island. Coconut, bananas, cassava, fruit and fish are the foods predominantly eaten. Due to terrible economic problems, fresh food has become hard to come by. Many families now rely on canned and prepared food due to a lack of fertile land and agriculture. One statistic I came across claimed that this tiny island has the highest obesity and heart-disease rate in the world.

Mango Papaya Sherbet (Adapted from the Pacific Islands Cookbook)

3/4 cup ripe papaya pulp
3/4 cup mango pulp
3 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice
1/2 cup orange juice
1-1/2 cups milk (I used 2%)
1 cup sugar

Press papaya and mango through a coarse sieve or colander. Add lemon and orange juice.
Di solve sugar in milk and add gradually to the fruit mixture.
Pour into pan and freeze, stirring every half-hour, or used an ice cream maker and follow manufacturer directions.

Final Assessment: OMG - this sherbet is the best I've EVER tasted...and I'm not just blowing my own horn. My boys, my most loving, but also harshest critics, unanimously agree. So there you have it - dreamy-tropical deliciousness in a bowl.

Day 119.5 - Homemade Dog Biscuits - Rock Your K9-Companion's World

This is my dog. I love him. I-love-him. He's the only male in my house (and I'm out-numbered 7-to-1- including the leopard gecko and turtle) who does exactly what I ask him to without whining about it. Not only that, but he does it for the purest reason: to please me. Every girl should be so doggone lucky.

Since I started this cooking project, he has been by my side every step of the way. He accompanies me everywhere I go, and gives me mad props when I'm cooking something he likes. In fact, as I write, he's sitting by  my feet giving me unfailing moral support. Working as I do from home, I could feel isolated, but not so. My Buddy Boy (that's his name), hangs out all day in my office, looks interested when I talk to him and remains calm when mayhem reigns supreme. All he asks for is a few nice long walks in the woods, 2 meals a day and a good belly rub now and then. I could never repay him his loyalty.

Original Painting, Chris Harford

It seemed only right, then, that I cook something special for him. No more of those dry and boring dog biscuits for my boy. These are healthy, relatively tasty (of course I sampled one), and contain no preservatives, chemicals or fillers. And really, how would you feel if you had to eat the same thing every day of your life, twice a day, out of a metal bowl on the floor -  point taken?

For a little added detail, I used rubber stamps and pressed names into some of the biscuits, because I'm pretty sure my dog can read.

Buddy Boy Biscuits (Adapted from cooks.com)

2 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1/2 cup dry milk
1 Tbsp. wheat germ
1 tsp. beef or chicken bouillon or soup base
pinch of powdered garlic
1 tsp. brown sugar
3 Tbsp. bacon fat or peanut butter
3 Tbsp. canola oil
1 egg, beaten
1/2 cup ice water

Mix together flour, dry milk, wheat germ, bouillon, garlic powder, and brown sugar until well combined. Add bacon fat (or peanut butter) and canola oil and mix, then add egg and water and continue mixing until mixture forms a ball.

Roll dough out on an oiled surface to 1/2 inch thickness. Cut into doggy bone or any shape you like using a cookie cutter. Reform scraps and cut again until all the dough is used.

Bake in a preheated 350F oven for 25-30 minutes. Cool on wire racks. Store in an air-tight container or tin.