Pilau (Seasoned Rice Dish)

I made Pilau for my family as our Easter meal. I'm sad to say that after almost 10 years of marriage, it's the first time I've made it. It's sad because it was so darn easy! I should have been making it every week for years.
When I lived in Mombasa, Pilau was one of my favorite dishes. There was(is) a restaurant just down from the Mombasa Post Office called Little Chefs. They had great Pilau and Kachumbari. I always assumed it was a difficult dish to make because on several occasions I saw it made at the school where I worked and it seemed to take all day. Now, I have no idea what was being done because I can have it on the table i less than 45 minutes. Most of that time is simmering, with no work on my part. This recipe can be adjusted for more or less meat, different vegetables, more rice...whatever you need. I haven't had coconut milk in my pantry in a while because of the high cost. I opted to use chicken broth instead of the coconut.

(source)

Pilau


1 T oil
1 onion, diced
minced garlic
2t Pilau  Masala (or 1/2 t each of: black pepper, cumin, ground cloves, ground nutmeg, cinnamon)

1 lb meat: beef, lamb, chicken; in small pieces
2 c frozen vegetables (peas are a great option)
1 1/2 c Basmati rice
1 c coconut milk (or 1 1/2 c broth/water with bullion)
1 t salt
2 tomatoes, skinned and chopped (or a 14 oz can of crushed tomatoes)

- Heat the oil and then saute onion and garlic until clear. Add spices and saute for about 2-5 minutes; don't burn them.
-Stir in the meat and cook on medium until cooked to desired tenderness.
-Add vegetables (if they are hard, cook 2 minutes. If tender like peas, move to next step.)
-Add rice and liquid.
-Stir and bring to boil.
-Cover, reduce heat to simmer and cook 20 minutes.
-Serve with Kachumbari or cabbage slaw.

WARNING: This is such a delicious dish it may be addictive!!!

A Little Encouragement

It's such a great thing to hear that something I've written on here has benefited someone else. So, when Stretch Your Savings wrote a post on how helpful my post was, I was floored. THANK YOU

By the way, she has a wonderfully helpful site on saving money, couponing and all kinds of deals. Go check her out!!

http://stretchyoursavings.blogspot.com/2011/03/just-inspiration-i-needed.html

Put Your Bread Machine to Work

I keep having this recurring conversation where someone compliments me on my bread, then asks if its homemade. I answer, "Yes, I made it in the bread machine" and they reply "I have one of those, but I never use it."

The first few times this happened, I had to retrieve my jaw from the floor. But now that it's happened a ka-jillion times I've grown used to it. Well, I'm still a little curious why anyone would leave a $100 item sitting around unused. I mean, I get it if its "not your thing" but sell it already and get some cash!

Anyway, I'm writing this post for everyone out there who has a bread machine but rarely or never uses it because it takes too much effort and for those contemplating buying one. I thought I'd share how I keep the process simple. Bread has been getting more and more expensive in the last few years and although store bread usually has a good texture, its hard to find something with a good texture and great taste.

1. Unearth your machine and place it somewhere convenient and usable. If its buried you're never going to dig that bad boy out of a cabinet and find counter space for it. I keep mine on top of the deep freezer in the corner of the kitchen.

2. Get one or two recipes and use them repeatedly so you don't have to over think the process. Most machine manuals come with recipes that fit the size of your machine. I'd recommend a white bread recipe and a pizza dough recipe. When you're comfortable with these, you can swap some flour to make 1/2 wheat bread, cinnamon bread, or garlic Parmesan pizza dough. The possibilities are limitless.

3. Get all your ingredients in a convenient location so you don't have to spend a ton of time searching for them.

I keep my refrigerated items (yeast and butter) just inside the door and even cut some butter into the 2T. that I need so I don't have to dirty a knife.

  

I put the dry ingredients into smaller containers and even keep a measuring spoon and cups I need just to be used for bread. Then I keep all this in one container so its easy to grab and use.

I buy bread flour in bulk (25lbs) at S@ams Club and keep it in an airtight container. It actually was from cat litter we bought a lifetime ago but it fits the whole bag and the lid is super sturdy. And I got a smaller container from my mom that fits 5 lbs of whole wheat flour perfectly.

All my dry ingredients are kept just inside the pantry, which is right beside the machine, so I don't have to drag it far.

So when I need to use my bread machine I can do it quickly. And I know that whatever I make will turn out yummy. Lately I've found out how quick it it to make dough and then shape them into rolls, let them rise in the oven and then bake them! i can have hot rolls on the table in less than 2 hours. I'll admit, if you've worked all day away from home and just walked in the door, its not gonna happen. But, you can find time on the weekend and even get the kids involved in shaping rolls and then freeze some for during the week.

But, my favorite will always been fresh pizza! Here's one topped with onion, green bell pepper, pulled pork, feta and Swiss cheese!

Happy baking :)

Cucumbers

For the second year in a row my mom has started a itty-bitty veggie plot outside my kitchen window. Its probably 3x8 feet. This year we have tomatoes and cucumbers. The herbs didn't take for some reason. Anyway, we take turns caring for it and enjoy what it produces. Here's what I brought in today. On a good day I usually get 2, three at most so I'd say the rainstorm this weekend did us good. have any good cucumber recipes to share?

Kachumbari

A delicious side or salad to go with main entrees. Similar to homemade, fresh salsa.
1 med. onion, finely chopped or thinly sliced
1 green chili pepper, finely chopped
2 tomatoes, thinly sliced and chopped
1/2 bunch of cilantro
Juice from 1/2 lime (to taste)
salt
Combine all the ingredient in a sealed container and let sit overnight or longer. Stir every 6 hours or so. Add more lime and/or salt after 12 hours, if needed.

Kenyan Recipes

My loving Hubby promises he knows how to cook the food of his homeland, but he can't tell me how he just has to do it. Or so he says. I did do some cooking in my mother-in-law's kitchen, but not enough to learn all I wanted. I found some great recipes a few years ago on the website of a Kenyan caterer, but now I can't find the site to reference these. You'll just have to believe me that they're yummy!

Chapati

4 c. flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/2 c. coconut milk
1/4 c vegetable oil

Sift flour. Combine milk and salt and add to flour. Knead. Divide into 8 balls. Roll out balls, brush oil onto circle and roll into 'sausage'. Coil into wheel and roll out. Put oil onto one side, fry, and repeat.

Bread machine variation: I put flour, salt, and cocunt milk, plus 2 T. oil into bread machine on dough cycle. I then divided into balls, rolled out and fried with melted butter flavor Crisco on each side. The machine saves a step and lots of time.

Meal Planning for Time Saving

"Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternla life, which the Son of Man will give you." John 6:27 NIV of The Bible

My friend Ashley over at Clay Woman shared some ideas about meal planning and grocery shopping once-a-month for time saving. While I had been doing once-a-week shopping, she spurred me on to spend a few more minutes thinking about it and less time in the grocery store. I found a few things helpful, so I thought I'd share them.

My goals were
1) Not have a house devoid of food or supplies and be asking my husband yet again, "what do you want to eat? I have to order pizza/go shopping."
2) Plan meals that were simple to cook, healthy, low-budget, lasted for multiple meals and tasty.
3) Never go to fix a meal only to find out I had fogotten to buy half of what I needed to fix it!
4) Minimize our overall food budget, both home-cooked and eating-out.

What works for me:
1) I print out these handy calendars from Calendars That Work. You can pay a small fee and get all that you want or go back every few months to get another (or make something similar yourself).

2) I then add three sections to the workspace. One to keep track of money spent on groceries, a second for money spent eating out, and a third for the meals that I will fix (and buy groceries for).

• I start my monthly calendar before the month ends, adding which meals I will make. Lots of these will be replicated from other months.
• When I go grocery shopping, I add my expenses to the calendar and where I spent the money.
• After eating out, I add the location and total cost to the calendar. This helps curb my desire to eat out when I realize how recently we last ate out. (We try to go out for lunch, this is much cheaper and easier to bring along our son as a family outing.)

3) I have staples that I always buy when they run out, not just when they appear in a recipe. This list wil differ for every family. Here are some of mine: Spices (black pepper, salt, crushed red pepper...), minced garlic, milk, butter, lunch meat, lunch cheese, crackers, coffee creamer, coffee, cereal, flour, brown sugar, vinegar, baking soda, dish detergent... you get the idea.

4) I fix each meal to have left-overs. I aim for 6-8 servings from each meal. This means I typically cook 10-12 times a month! Lunchs are usually leftovers or sandwiches. If you have a husband who won't each leftovers, I have no help for you. Maybe he wants to do half the cooking? All I can say is leftovers are everyones friend, at least the second time. By the fourth time, maybe not. But, make things that freeze well and when you're sick of them, freeze tham and bring them out in a few weeks!