Day 171! Swaziland - Karoo Roast Ostrich Steak - Up Next, Sweden

How does one pass up the opportunity to cook with ostrich? One doesn't. This traditional Swazi recipe for flash-fried, marinated ostrich steak, served with a pumpkin and mealie meal (ground maize) mash, is both unique to the this beautiful African country, and seasonally appropriate for what's regionally available in the Northeast U.S. during this fall season of pumpkins and squash. A big shout-out to my wonderful husband for schlepping to Savenor's Market in Cambridge after work to scoop up two beautiful ostrich fillets. If you're a fan of wild and exotic game, you MUST check out this full-service butcher shop and family owned business, which by the way, was Julia Child's go-to market, so you know, it's got some very special, hard to source supplies at the ready.

A landlocked country, Swaziland, also known as Ngwane or Swatini, is bordered by Mozambique and South Africa. The country's subtropical climate includes mountains and lowveld (wide open rural spaces). During the 15th and 16th centuries, the African people of Nguni descent migrated southward from Central Africa. Eventually, during the mid-18th century, a group of them settled in the area which is now Swaziland. These people, the Nkosi Dlamini, became known as the Swazis, and today both names live on in the country. Nkosi means ‘king’ and Dlamini is the surname of the royal family. After a long period of rule by the British (as a protectorate), the country gained independence in 1968. Unlike many African countries, Swaziland claims that it has been 99% free of political violence. Sadly, the country has been ravaged by the HIV/AIDS pandemic, and although health care has improved, the human, economic and societal toll is nothing short of tragic. For a more in-depth description of the country's history, readers are referred to this site.

Cuisine in Swaziland varies depending on seasonal and geographic region. Sorghum, maize, goat, ostrich, sugar, pumpkins, beans, corn, citrus, peanuts and rice are staple crops that are largely farmed by subsistence farmers. Mealie meal, a ground maize porridge is eaten in most every household as it's both plentiful and filling.

Red wine and juniper berries make the marinade

Slice the meat as thin as possible - Ostrich is very lean with almost no fat

Marinate overnight - crushed juniper berries smell heavenly

Pumpkin  - a staple in Swaziland is readily available in New England now!

Ground Maize - also known as grits or polenta - both of which I love!

Slice an onion super thin for the sauce

Crush up some green peppercorns for the sauce (I added extra)

White wine and cream ... there are few better combinations

Saute the onions, until butter turns nut brown, add wine, cream and peppercorns, salt and simmer

Serve and enjoy!

Karoo Roast Ostrich Steak (Recipe Courtesy of celtnet.org.uk)

2 ostrich steaks, thinly sliced
1 onion, finely sliced
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 cup white wine
6 green peppercorns, lightly crushed
1 pumpkin, peeled and cubed
1/2 cup mealie meal (ground maize)
3/4 cup red wine
5 juniper berries, lightly crushed
Butter for frying onion and ostrich

Slice the ostrich steaks as finely as possible and marinate in red wine and juniper berries and refrigerate over night.
Add the pumpkin and mealie meal to a pot, cover with water and boil for about 30 minutes, or until the pumpkin is soft. Add more water if needed. When cooked pour off any excess liquid and mash the pumpkin and mealie meal together.
Meanwhile, add the onion to a pan and sweat in a little butter until just nut brown.
Add the cream, white whine and green peppercorns and bring to gentle simmer.
Season and add a little arrowroot if the sauce is too thin.
Finally add a little butter to a frying pan and cook the ostrich by flash frying the meat. Do not over cook as the meat will become very dry.
To serve, place the pumpkin mash in the center of a plate, arrange the strips of ostrich meat around the outside and drizzle the cream sauce over the top.

Final Assessment: I love ostrich meat. It's lean and full of flavor, so I sauteed it for just a few seconds in a little bit of olive oil. The mealie meal and pumpkin mash is surprisingly delicious and filling. If you like grits or polenta, you'll love the combination. And, oh, the cream sauce - I could spoon that concoction out of the pan and call it a day. A wonderful, classy meal!


© 2010-2011, What's Cooking in Your World? Sarah Commerford/All Rights Reserved

Green Fruit Salad with Orange Yogurt Dressing

A tangy, citrus mixture coats sweet and sour bits of fruit to create an explosion of creamy, sweet, and zesty flavors in every bite. The emerald color of this fruit salad looks festive for the upcoming holidays, and it is super easy to toss together.

Ingredients

2 cups green grapes

2 green apples, cored and diced

3 kiwis, peeled, halved, and sliced

1/2 cup Greek yogurt

1 teaspoon orange zest

3 tablespoons orange juice

1 tablespoon confectioner’s sugar

Instructions

In a large bowl, toss fruits together.  In a small bowl, whisk yogurt, orange juice and zest, and sugar.  Coat the tossed fruit with yogurt mixture.

Bargain Shopping at Grocery Outlet

I love a good deal, so you'll frequently find me perusing the wares at garage sales, thrift shops and outlet stores (not to mention sale racks!). Bargain hunting might as well be called "treasure hunting," as far as I'm concerned. Nothing beats the thrill of finding a long out-of-print copy of Better Than Store Bought cookbook, a discarded Moulinex meat grinder, or Santander chocolate priced to move (all things I've scored). Actually, the thrill is in just the possibility of finding something, which is exactly why I like shopping at Grocery Outlet.

Grocery Outlet buys closeouts and discontinued items so you never know what they will have. Unlike similar stores, they focus on quality brands and they have just about everything you'd find at a regular supermarket, including some organic produce. Sometimes you can figure it out why the product ended up there, because the size or the packaging gives it away. It might be something that was packaged for food service or a big box store. Or it might have been a seasonal promotion or flavor.

As you can imagine, each product has a story to tell, on an insider tour I learned why a terrific wine ended up being sold at a bargain price (a bank note was due and the winery needed cash) why an expensive beauty product ended up being discounted (the packaging changed and they needed to reduce inventory), why some fancy imported cookies were available (an order was cancelled after the shipment had already left Germany for the US) and why an adorable stuffed toy was being cleared out (a typo on the label). Prices vary but are often discounted 50% or more.

I also learned that Grocery Outlet is a third generation family owned company and that each store is independently operated and very involved in the local community. Employees even participated in a "hunger challenge" style effort to experience what it was like to live on a food stamps budget.

Here are some the excellent finds from my most recent shopping trip:


Ok, so clearly this is NOT Baby Romaine! But who cares? It's an organic salad mix for an unbeatable price.


Greek yogurt. This stuff normally sells for $1.65 each at my local supermarket, and here it was 2 for a dollar!


Thomas' English Muffins really are the best you can find at any supermarket as far as I'm concerned, and $2.49 a pack is a steal.


I am crazy about Numi's puerh tea! Even with a coupon I can't get it this cheap.


Not on my usual shopping list, but how could I resist Terra Chips with Olive Oil, Roasted Garlic and Parmesan and for only $1.99 a bag? They are delicious by the way.


I'm guessing the new name "mascarpone fresca" is what caused this to end up discounted from what the regular price $5.49 to only $1.99 (is it just me or does mascarpone sounds like the name of an Italian crime syndicate?) All that really matters is that the price is amazing for this luscious ingredient necessary for tiramisu. It's not on my regular shopping list, but like I say, I can't resist a bargain...

My thanks to Grocery Outlet for giving me a tour, introducing me to your buyers, sharing your stories and for giving me a gift card. (It will probably come as no surprise that I spent much more of my own money because I found so many good deals!)
What's the best closeout you've found or store where do you routinely find them?

A Visit to Straus Creamery & Cowgirl Creamery

In the San Francisco Bay Area we are very lucky to have such incredible dairy products produced in our own backyard. Though many enjoy the milk from Straus Family Creamery and cheeses from Cowgirl Creamery very few have seen exactly where those products come from. Last week I got a chance to visit both, thanks to Cathy Strange, the Global Cheese Buyer for Whole Foods Market. While visiting California she took a small group of writers to visit both the dairy and the cheesemaking facility, at Tomales Bay and Petaluma. I learned what makes Albert Straus, Peggy Smith and Sue Conely such pioneers.


Albert Straus is a second generation dairyman. He took over his parents farm which was established in 1941. He transformed what was a struggling conventional dairy and converted it to the first organic organic dairy West of the Mississippi River in 1994. Despite all the challenges of running a dairy farm today it is thriving. In moving forward, he embraced many of the practices from the past, including using glass bottles, selling milk that is not homogenized and bringing back Jersey cows and Jersey crossbreeds. Jersey cows are smaller and produce less volume of milk so they were bypassed in favor of Holsteins but yield a richer, higher fat milk.


To be organic, all the feed must be organic and free of growth hormones rBGH and rBST, but Straus goes one step further, verifying that the feed is GMO free as well. The cows are milked twice a day, and the young calves live in clean and idyllic quarters with plenty of access to pasteurized milk which helps them grow to be particularly healthy and robust.

All power at the dairy is offset by a methane gas digester that takes waste from the cows and turns it into electricity.


Straus has led by example, encouraging many local dairies to "go organic." Now 50% of the dairies in Marin and Sonoma counties are organic.


Peggy Smith and Sue Conley co-founders of Cowgirl Creamery got into the cheese business, inspired by the Straus matriarch, and Albert's mother, Ellen Straus. Both women came from the restaurant world and began by creating fresh organic cheeses from Straus milk. They still make clabbered cottage cheese, creme fraiche, and fromage blanc, but what they are most known for are some of their unique aged cheeses, especially the soft ripened bloomy rind Mt. Tam, Inverness and my favorite, the luxurious triple cream washed rind Red Hawk, so pungent and buttery, which won best of show at the American Cheese Society in 2003.


Peggy and Sue work with local organizations like Marin Organic and the Marin Agricultural Land Trust (where Sue is currently board chair) to ensure that farmland is protected.


At their main cheesemaking facility in Petaluma, not far from Straus dairy they use the freshest milk, and are particularly gentle with the cheese curds, creating very high quality cheeses.

Thanks Cathy! Come back and let's visit some more cheesemakers soon.

While Straus Family Creamery is not regularly open to tours, you can book ahead if you wish to visit Cowgirl Creamery or take a class.

Day 170! Suriname - Bojo Cake (Coconut and Cassava) - Up Next, Swaziland

It's been a while since I've cooked or baked anything sweet, so when I came across this lovely Bojo Cake from Suriname, I instantly stopped looking for another recipe to represent this interesting South American country. Granted, there are hundreds of great dishes I could have picked, but... rum-soaked golden raisins, grated coconut, coconut milk, vanilla, cinnamon, almond extract and cassava, all baked up in a cake? Fugetaboutit! The ingredient substituted for flour is cassava, also known as manioc, a starchy tuber that is available (fresh, frozen or dried) in most any tropical market. If you're not inclined to grate a fresh coconut, frozen unsweetened grated coconut is also available in most tropical markets as well, and is better (in my opinion), than dried. Finally, a quick shout out to Jackie's Primitives, a neighborhood antique store where I picked up the beautiful fork and knife (pictured above) for $5 - please visit her website if you like vintage antiques, accessories and linens that aren't an over-priced rip off!

A northern South American country, Suriname is bordered by French Guyana, Guyana, Brazil and the Atlantic Ocean. Slightly larger than the state of Georgia (U.S.), Suriname was originally sighted by Christopher Columbus in 1498 and was inhabited by the indigenous Arawak and Carribs. The Spanish and Portuguese explorers never took much interest in this country, until 1616, when the Dutch settled the area and claimed it as a Dutch colony in 1667. However, the colony did not thrive, largely due to violent up risings against the treatment of slaves and indigenous people as well as the high cost of employing enough labor to cultivate and maintain Dutch plantations. As a result, a large number of slaves fled to the interior of the country, and established a vibrant West African culture than continues to thrive today. Over time, the viability of Dutch coffee, sugar and cocoa plantations waned and was replaced with rice, banana, and citrus crops, which continue to support the country's agricultural economy today. In addition, the country's natural resources such as bauxite, gold, oil, iron, ore, minerals, forestry, hydroelectric power, fishing and shrimping also support the economy.

Suriname's tropical climate is home to rain forests, savannas, coastal swamps and hills. This beautiful country's ethnic groups include Hindustani (East Indians), Creole, Javanese, Maroon, mixed race, Amerindians and Chinese. Given this rich cultural mix, Suriname's cuisine is different from typical South American cuisine, as it incorporates Indonesian and East Indian traditions. Tropical fruit, seafood, potatoes, cassava, rice, sweet potatoes, lentils and plantains are staple foods. Pom, dhal, curries, roti, bakbana (fried plantains) and Bojo cake are all typical dishes and foods enjoyed in Suriname.

Coconut milk, golden raisins soaked in rum, eggs, sugar, cinnamon, vanilla & almond extract

 Cassava 

 Grated coconut

 Grated cassava (boiled for 30 minutes first)

 Combine cassava, coconut and cinnamon

 Whisk eggs, coconut milk, vanilla and almond extract and salt

 Add melted butter

 Add coconut mil mixture and raisins

 Bake in 9" round or square pan (I used a springform) and smooth with spatula

Bojo Cake (Recipe Adapted from South American Food)

1/2 cup gold raisins
1/3 cup rum
1/2 pound peeled manioc root (boiled first for 30 minutes with wood center removed)
2 cups grated unsweetened coconut (fresh or dried)
1/3 cup sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon
2 eggs
1/4 cup coconut milk
1 Tbsp. vanilla
2 tsp. almond extract
4 Tbsp. butter, melted
1 tsp. salt
Graham cracker pie crust (optional - I did not use this as it's not traditional)

1. Soak the raisins in the rum over night if possible.
2. Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
3. Butter a 9-inch round or square cake pan, and line the bottom of the pan with waxed paper or parchment.
4. Finely grate boiled manioc root (easily done in a food processor). Stir the coconut and grated manioc root together with the cinnamon and sugar in a large bowl.
5. In a small bowl, whisk together the eggs, coconut milk, vanilla, almond extract and salt.
6. Stir the liquid ingredients into the coconut mixture. Stir in the melted butter. Stir in the raisins and the rum.
7. Pour the batter into the prepared pan.
8. Bake for 1 hour, until brown on top.
9. Run a knife around the edge of the pan while the cake is still warm, then let cool in the pan.
10. Cut into small slices or squares and serve.
11. The cake is delicious warm or cold, with a dollop of whipped cream.

Final Assessment:  Whoa! This is an amazing cake. It's more like a tropical macaroon, filled with rum-soaked raisins, the depth of cinnamon and aromatic vanilla-almond flavor. It's rich, rich, rich - and my book, there's no need to bother with cake if it's not decadent, which this one is. A++

© 2010-2011, What's Cooking in Your World? Sarah Commerford/All Rights Reserved

Rice with Fried Egg and Sausage

This simple, yet hearty, breakfast has evolved and changed with us over the years, but it has always been there in some form or another; a comfort breakfast for those mornings when you really need it.  We began making this breakfast in the Japanese tradition taught to me by my parents, a raw egg cracked over freshly cooked rice and mixed with Japanese furikake seasoning.  These days, we prefer a hybrid Japanese-Hawaiian version, using a fried egg instead of raw egg, adding meat, and keeping the ingredients separate until each bite.  Using thick soy sauce drizzled on lightly allows the umami flavor to stand out as distinct from the creamy yolk and savory meat, and offers a light alternative to the Hawaiian gravy.  Keeping ingredients separated in a more concentrated form in the bowl allows the flavors to really play off of one another in each bite.

Ingredients

½ cup Calrose rice

1 egg

¼ tablespoon butter

1 teaspoon thick soy sauce

splash of Sesame oil

sprinkle of Nori Goma Furikake

1 turkey breakfast sausage link

Instructions

Cook rice fully in rice cooker or pot according to package directions.  Cook turkey sausage according to package directions; we generally just use a skillet.  For the egg, melt butter in skillet on medium heat.  Crack egg into skillet and fry just until egg white is cooked, or sunny-side up, roughly 1 minute.  Using a spatula to lightly break up the egg white around the yolk as it cooks will help ensure a fully cooked white, while keeping the yolk runny.  Put rice in a bowl, and lightly drizzle on sesame oil, thick soy sauce, and furikake seasoning.  Place the fried egg on top of the rice.  Chop up sausage and toss it in the bowl.  Just before eating, use a fork and knife to cut the egg up into small pieces and let the yolk run over the rice.

Favorite Foods of Hawaii

During the plantation era workers in Hawaii sat together at lunch and ate a bite of whatever their co-workers brought. It might have been adobo, fried rice or teriyaki. Call it potluck, Hawaii style. Trying new flavors has long been part of Hawaii's heritage and something you should do too when you visit. Trying local specialties and discovering new (and old under-the-radar) places in Hawaii is one of my favorite vacation activities.

Everyone has their "must try" things to eat in Hawaii. Here are just a few of mine and where to find them on Oahu. Each one of these dishes tells you a little something about the culinary history of Hawaii.


Poke (pronouned po-kay)
Where to find:
Everywhere, but Alicia's Market has a big selection

This is perhaps one of the most "authentic" dishes from Hawaii. It's primarily raw fish and it comes in many varieties such as wasabi, tobiko, and Maui onion, but traditionally it was just chunks of fish such as ahi, salt, seaweed and a bit of toasted kukui nut, all native ingredients.


Manapua
Where to find:
Royal Kitchen in Chinatown

These filled buns look like cha siu bao, but the version you find in Hawaii is larger and a little sweeter and much lighter. The dough seems a bit more Portuguese than traditional Chinese. You can also get it filled with Kalua pork which you definitely won't find outside of Hawaii.


While at Royal Kitchen don't miss the "pork hash" Hawaii's version of siu mai. It's unique and succulent with less ingredients than siu mai, but it's very tasty all the same. Both the manapua and the pork hash are very inexpensive.


Taro ChipsWhere to find:
Everywhere but for freshly made chips go the Hawaiian Chip Factory Outlet

You may or may not appreciate poi, but you are sure to enjoy taro chips. The Hawaiian Chip Company opened in 1999 and makes very popular vegetable chips served at restaurants, on Hawaiian Airlines and they are widely available in stores. But at the factory shop you can get a freshly made hot bag of chips and season them yourself. You can also get a snack, like the killer sliders they serve on Saturdays.


Malasadas
Where to find:
Leonard's Bakery

These Portuguese donuts are a must. The big neon sign at Leonard's letting you know when they are fresh will lure you in. I don't know anyone who doesn't love these hot, yeasty, moist-in-the-middle pillows of love, better than any Krispy Kreme, that's for sure.


Shave IceWhere to find:
Many places, but I like Tats the best

Better than a snow cone, more like a snowball, the best shaved ice is super fluffy. Shave ice first appeared as a cooling treat on the plantations, and was brought to Hawaii by the Japanese. Get it flavored with something tropical like lilikoi. It's sweet and cooling which is the perfect combination when temperatures rise. Favorite spots are widely debated. It's often said the older the shave ice machine, the better the shave ice.

My thanks to the Hawaii Visitors & Convention Bureau and especially local girl and Oahu writer Catherine Toth for introducing me to some (but not all) of the items featured here