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.