Bosnia-Herzegovina Cuisine

This month's challenge has definitely been tasty - but also time consuming as each meal we cook a three-course meal using unfamiliar recipes (between planning, buying all the ingredients and cooking the food., etc.).  But the show must go on! Fortunately we have found several recipes that we will incorporate within our own everyday cooking.

We have persevered this week and (with some delays)  experimented with Bosnian cuisine.  We initially thought (naively) that this European cuisine would be less challenging than the African meals during the past two weeks but surprisingly we had some trouble finding Bosnian recipes. We had to "settle" for hummus as the appetizer (tasty but too familiar) but we made a vegetable and beef stew and "poached" apples for dessert. Here's the run-down:

Appetizer: Hummus with Pita Bread

difficulty: 3 out of 5 (would have been easier if we used the food processor, and canned beans)
taste: 4.5 out of 5 (yummmm)

We've made hummus before (tapping into Sarah's Egyptian roots), but this time we tried some new tricks to make it interesting and new.  The new tricks (namely, pressure-cooking the beans and adding some of the liquid from the pressure cooker to the final product to get desired texture) did improve the final product!  All in all this hummus ended up tasting very good and was really smooth....

Main Course: Bosnski Lonac (served with pita bread)

difficulty: 2.5 out of 5
taste: 3.5 out of 5

One thing we learned is that apparently Bosnian cuisine does not incorporate as many spices and herbs as American cuisine. In fact, this dish was only spiced with salt, pepper, and vinegar! Nonetheless the stewed meat and vegetables had a light and sweet taste, but next time we would spice it up.

Dessert: Tufahije

difficulty: 2 out of 5
taste: 2.5 out of 5

This dessert was made with cored apples poached in a simple syrup and filled with fresh whipped cream, walnuts and raisins.  While the pictures and the recipe seemed really promising, the end result was somewhat of a let-down.

Wrap-up:

Overall, the Bosnian meals we created were not particularly mouth-watering - but, we will definitely make the Bosnski Lonac again as it was a great way to incorporate vegetables into a meal. The apples we could live without- but it really could have been an issue with the recipe/preparation as opposed to the dessert itself. I guess we will not know until we visit Bosnia ourselves!

Recipes:


Bosnski Lonac
Ingredients:
1 lb stew beef
2 cups cabbage
2 carrots (sliced)
2 large potatoes (peeled and cut into wedges)
1 can of diced tomatoes (15 oz)
1 onion (diced)
1 garlic clove
1 green bell pepper
1/2 tablespoon vinegar
salt and pepper to taste
water

1) cut meat into 1 inch cubes and brown to seal in juices
2) cut up vegetables
3) layer meat and vegetables into large soup pot
4) add enough water to cover vegetables/meat
5) simmer for 3 hours
6) enjoy with some pita bread!

Tufahije
no link for this one - as we combined several recipes... perhaps that is what went wrong...

Ingredients
2 Fuji apples, peeled and decored
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup water
1/2 tablespoon lemon juice
1/4 cup walnuts
1/8 cup raisins
1/2 cup whipping cream and powdered sugar to taste

1) prepare apples and put in water/sugar/lemon juice mixture (enough to cover apples) in a baking dish
2)bake for 30 minutes on 350F, rotate apples half way
3) make whipped cream and mix with nuts and raisins
4) remove apples from liquid and allow to cool, keep some of the syrup to serve with dessert
5) once cool, stuff apples with whipped filling with extra whipped cream on top. drizzle with syrup.

Trader Joes vs Giant Eagle

Update: we have completed the Bosnian meal and plan to update later today - but until then I thought (Sarah that is) I would briefly write about an experiment Neil and I did. We have found ourselves shopping more at Trader Joe's (TJs) (love their prepared foods!) but wanted to know how the prices compared to Giant Eagle (our typical grocery store). Being systematic people, we completed our full shopping trip at TJs and took our receipt to Giant Eagle and "replicated" the shopping trip using their prices. And (of course) we took into account the different amounts/quantities in each package. Drum roll......

We saved $8.59 by shopping at TJ's (about 20%). While a few things were less expensive at Giant Eagle, a majority of items were 20-30 cents cheaper at Trader Joe's. Many sale items at Giant Eagle would be less expensive than regularly priced items at Trader Joe's, but most of the items on our list were not on sale. Given that we would prefer to do all our shopping in one place - we have decided to continue to go to Trader Joe's. Love to get other folk's opinions though!

	Trader Joe's	Giant Eagle
Cannelloni beans (2 cans)	1.78	2.10
Valencia oranges (4 lbs)	3.29	4.89
black beans (2 cans)	1.78	2.10
bananas (2 pounds)	0.95	1.08
lemons (5)	1.59	3.95
organic kidney beans (2 cans)	2.38	2.73
dozen eggs	1.49	1.48
jumbo red onion (per onion)	0.79	1.25
pita chips (per bag)	2.29	3.99
rice pudding (2 cups)	1.99	2.13
orange juice	1.99	3.39
bell peppers (per 12 oz)	2.29	1.49
boneless pork cutlet (per lb)	4.49	4.19
ground beef extra lean (per lb)	4.49	4.69
instant pudding (box)	0.99	1.59
unsalted butter (2 cups)	3.39	3.49

Ivory Coast

Neil being Neil...

Thursday night we traveled further up the horn of Africa and ate food from the Ivory Coast. When we searched for recipes, we also read about some unique mealtime customs (some reminded Sarah of the rules at her family etiquette meals growing up). Some of the notable ones were (although we do not know how authentic the customs are...)

1. elders eat first to detect contaminated food
2. you cannot reach across the table for food
3. coughing, sneezing, and TALKING is discouraged at the table

Course One: Cucumber-Zucchini Salad
Difficult: 1 out of 5 stars
Taste: 4 out of 5

We were surprised how refreshing and tasty this simple dish was. It is also gluten-free and low fat (no oil required). We will be sure to add this to our family recipe book.

Course Two: Kedjenou (Seasoned Meat and Vegetable Sauce) with rice
Difficulty: 2.5
Taste: 4

Using the pressure cooker made this recipe easy and quick to make. Definitely recommend it to families in a hurry to create a flavorful, inexpensive and healthy meal.
The rice was the Basmati Rice Medley from Trader Joe's. Only $3 for 8 servings and it includes wild rice, seasoning, and dehydrated veggies. It was a simple side dish - but be forewarned if you do not like mushrooms then this rice is not for you!

Course Three: Cornmeal Cookies
Difficulty: 3
Taste: 4

We wonder if these cookies are actually authentic...but they were tasty! They were like a sugar cookie with a gritty texture (but in a good way) and the corn flavor was a nice touch to a traditional sugar cookie.


Wrap-Up:

Yet again, we have benefited from this 'gastronomic gamble' by finding several recipes that we like and anticipate preparing again in the future for our friends and family. Preparing the 3-course meal was much easier this time, partially because the meals were less intensive but also we were able to divide the tasks more efficiently. So - we definitely recommend these recipes - all in all it took about 45 minutes (at most) to prepare and cook everything and the cost was less than $15.

Recipes Used:

Cucumber-Zucchini Salad

      Ingredients

1 medium zucchini

1 medium cucumber

1/4 cup white vinegar

2 Tbs. sugar

1/2 cup hot water

1/2 Tbs. salt

1 tsp. black pepper

1 tsp. crushed red pepper

Procedure

Thinly slice veggies and drain any water formed from cucumbers

Dissolve sugar and salt in hot water

Mix all ingredients together and allow to marinate for at least 1 hour

Kedjenou (Seasoned Meat and Vegetable Sauce)

Ingredients

1 pound of chicken breast, cut into pieces

1 large onions, chopped

1 15oz can diced tomatoes (keep the canning liquid)

1 tablespoon ground ginger (Neil said we could have used more)

1 clove of garlic, crushed

1 bay leaf

Salt, to taste

Hot red pepper, to taste

Procedure

Place all ingredients in pressure cooker and use as directed. We cooked it for about 20 minutes but it probably only needed 10 minutes.

Cornmeal Cookies 

Ingredients

¾ cup margarine

¾ cup sugar

1 egg

1¼ cups flour

½ cup cornmeal

1 teaspoon baking powder

¼ teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon vanilla

Procedure

Preheat oven to 350°F.

In a mixing bowl, beat margarine and sugar together until light and fluffy.

Add the egg and vanilla and beat well.

In a separate bowl, combine the flour, cornmeal, salt, and baking powder.

Slowly add the dry ingredients to the margarine mixture and mix well.

Drop dough in spoonfuls onto a greased cookie sheet and bake for 15 minutes.

Cameroonian Cuisine

After years hours of preparation, Thursday was our first stop of our "Tour de Palate." To reiterate the challenge, we randomly selected one country per week to serve as the basis for a three course meal--providing us with an opportunity to sample diverse foods from around the world over the span of a month.  While we initially thought that this challenge would break the bank, at least for this first week we were pleasantly surprised with how affordable (and tasty) Cameroonian cuisine can be.  As promised, each week we'll share our experience with the food, as well as the recipes we used and any general tips we learned in the process. We will rate the difficulty of preparing each dish and the taste - obviously we may not always agree so two scores (his and hers) and may be provided!

Course One:  Plantain Chips

*Difficulty: 1.5 out of 5 stars
*Taste: 2.5 and 4 out of 5 stars

We thought we would start with something somewhat familiar but with a Cameroonian twist - despite our avoidance of fried foods. Outside of finding a place to buy plantains, slicing these up and frying them was straight-forward.

Course Two: N'Dole with Corn Fufu

*Difficulty: 3 out of 5 stars
*Taste: 3.5 out of 5 stars

N'Dole is considered by many to be one of the national dishes of Cameroon. While we had to make some ingredient substitutions due to the lack of  certain ingredients (e.g., 'bitterleaf'), we tried to stay true to the recipe. While the dish was slightly time consuming, it was surprising how good peanut butter tastes with steak! As for the Corn Fufu...well let's just say that did not taste much at all but when you see the recipe you will understand why.

Course Three: Sweet Potato "Cake"

*Difficulty: 2.5 (if you use a food processor and microwave!)
*Taste: 3.5 and 4.5 

After seeing that the recipe called for a stick of butter, we knew it would be good :) We were excited because it was the first flourless cake we have made, but we have to admit it turned out more like a really good sweet potato pie than a cake. Next time we makes this (and we definitely will), we will whip the eggs to stiff peaks so that the dessert will better hold its shape. Also - make sure not to peek as the dessert is souffle-like and will fall if you are too eager.

Wrap-Up

We did not realize this when designing the challenge, but it was really two challenges in one: correctly cooking and timing the preparation of a three course meal and cooking a new type of cuisine. So our top three
1) If it looks like corn meal, and smells like corn meal... it will taste like corn meal.
2) Food shared with company is always better than eating leftovers by yourself (thanks Cath and John!).
3) When preparing a multi-course meal, always look at the cook times required by each and plan accordingly.

Recipes Used

All the ingredients we used!
Estimated total cost: $15!

Plantain Chips

2 plantains
frying oil (vegetable oil)
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp salt

Preparation
1) heat pan and oil (enough oil for frying - we used about an inch of oil in the pan)
2) peel and wash plantains. Cut into thin chips.
3) put onion, pepper, and salt in Ziploc bag and mix. Add plantains and mix until covered by seasoning.
4) once oil is heated (test by adding single chip and seeing if it sizzles) add single layer of plantains. Cook until golden brown on both sides (about 15 minutes total and flip halfway through or when edges look golden brown).
5) Remove plantains to plate covered with paper towel to remove excess oil.

N'Dole

1/2 lb sirloin steak
1 bundle collard greens (or any bitter leafy greens)
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/2 onion finely chopped
1/2 tsp ginger powder
1 garlic clove finely chopped
1/2 tbsp celery seed
1/2 tbsp thyme
1/2 cube beef bouillon
black pepper to taste

Preparation
1) Boil large pot of salted water.
2) Chop collard greens into small pieces and blanch in boiling water for 2 minutes.
3) Slice steak into strips and pan fry (use some oil if needed).
4) Add cooked steak, beef bouillon, onion, salt, celery seed, thyme, 1 cup of water into pot and cook for 5 minutes.
5) Add peanut butter to pot and cook for 2 minutes or until thickened.
6) Add collard greens and allow to simmer for 2 minutes.

Corn Fufu

1/2 cup corn meal
2 cups water

Preparation
1) Microwave 2 cups of water until boiling (about 2 minutes).
2) Add half of water to pot and return to boiling. Add all of corn meal and stir to remove clumps.
3) Add 1/2 cup of water and allow mixture to boil for 30 seconds and then stir to mix.
4) Add remaining water and allow mixture to boil until consistency is like thick mashed potatoes.

Sweet Potato Cake

1 lb sweet potato (about 1 large sweet potato)
7 tbsp butter
2 eggs
7 tbsp brown sugar
1/2 tsp orange peel (recipe called for lime zest)
1 tbsp rum (yummmm)
1/2 tsp Cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
pinch of salt

Preparation
1) Preheat oven to 375 degrees
2)Peel and slice raw sweet potato (thick slices are good) and place in a large microwavable bowl filled with water.
3) Microwave potatoes until cooked and knife easily pierces potato (ours took about 12 minutes)
4) place potatoes into food processor and pulse until texture of mashed potatoes (do not over do it!)
5) add butter and pulse

7) Add egg mixture to food processor and pulse to mix.
8) Add to well-greased cake pan and bake for about 50 minutes or until toothpick through center comes out dry.