The calendar introduces ther recipe by saying:

“Mafé, a traditional dish of the Wolof people of Senegal and Gambia, is one of the many variations of the African groundnut stew. This vegetarian/vegan version of the basic recipe uses beans, onion, palm nut oil, tomato paste, peanuts or peanut butter, some vegetables, chilies, bell pepper, salt, pepper and water. Chop and boil the vegetables first – then keep the stock to use in the dish.”

This recipe serves 6. It takes 20 minutes to prepare and 30 minutes to cook.
Ingredients:
1/2 lb. cooked black eyed or pinto beans (I cheated and used canned but it worked excellent! Make sure you rinse the beans before adding them to the stew)
2 onions, finely chopped (again, I cheated and used the freeze dried kind… worked like a charm)
1 cup peanuts or all natural peanut butter (means that the only ingredient in the jar should be peanuts! Nothing else!)
1 red or green bell pepper, chopped
6 tomatoes, chopped
2 tbsp. tomato paste
1-2 chilie, left whole (I used one, just in case it was too hot)
2 cups chopped vegetables, cooked, retaining stock. (use all or a combination of cabbage, carrot, potato, sweet potato, eggplant, squash or turnip)
1/2 cup palm nut or other oil (canola worked fine)
salt and pepper

Preparation:
1. Begin by heating the oil in a large cooking pot. Fry he onions over a high heat.
2. Next, add the pepper, tomatoes and chilies. Fry for a few minutes before adding the stock, peanuts or peanut butter and tomato paste. Stir to mix the ingredients and then simmer gently for a few minutes.
3. Add the beans and the cooked vegetables. Season and then leave to simmer, covered, for 30 minutes or until everything is cooked. Stir frequently and add more liquid if it becomes too dry. Serve with rice and sliced avocado and parsley.

Verdict and Notes:
First thing I did after tasting this was say “WOW!”, it is very, very good! Just my luck, it was the first time in months that I don’t have avocado in my fridge but it was fine just like that. I served over rice and enjoyed every spoonful of it! It was definitely a lot for just me so I shared with some friends but I’ve yet to hear back from them, I do trust them enough to be truthful in their review but I am confident that they will love it as well.
I used a bit of veggie low sodium buillon when I cooked the vegetables and that added that extra seasoning that I found completely delish. This is definitely a dish you can make for the week and freeze for later use as either lunches or a quick dinner. I am so sad for anyone who’s allergic to peanuts not being able to taste this gem of a stew. (That’s right, I said gem to describe it, that’s how good it is!).
Bon Appetit!

Quote today:
“For tomorrow belongs to the people who prepare for it today”
– African Proverb

Lentil Wat

Ingredients:
1 cup lentils
1 med. onion
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 tsp. bebere (Ethiopian spicy sauce available in specialty stores) or 1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp. fresh ginger, grated, o 1 tsp powdered ginger
3 cloves
1/2 tsp. nutmeg powder
juice of 1/2 lemon
1 tbsp parsley or fresh cilantro, chopped
salt and pepper
oil

Preparation:
Put the lentils in a pan wit enough water to cover, and bring to a boil.  Skim off any froth with a spoon, and tghen reduce the heat and simmer, covered, for 15-30 minutes until they are cooked and crumbly. They should have absorbed most of the moisture; if not, drain off the excess.
Now heat the oil in another pan and sauté the onions, adding the garlic after a few minutes when the onions are traslucent.
Next, add the berbere or chili powder, the ginger, cloves, nutmeg and lemon juice.  Stir well to combine the ingredients.  Pour a little water or oil if the mixture begins to catch.
Spoon the lentils ino the spice mix and season.  Cook over a gentle heat for 5-10 minutes to let the flavors expand, stirring frequently so that the mixture does not burn.  Again, add more liquid if necessr to keep it moist.  Garnish with parsley or cilantro and serve with breads or rice.

Lentil Wat... Yummy!

Notes:
I’ll be honest here, I really didn’t look for the berbere, I’m not sure if it would’ve made a difference, but instead of the chili powder I used Harissa spice from Epicure Selections.  Harissa is actually a north african spice and it is very powerful!  I took a whiff an had to cough for about a minute!  But it worked perfectly. Jus make sure to handle with care. (and do not, under any circumstances, whiff it! it was a rookie mistake on my part!). 
I didn’t use whole cloves but used a teaspoon of clove powder.  My idea really was to use what I already had on hand, whole cloves are on my list of items to add to my pantry but for now I can make do with clove powder. 
A note on this, I was told AFTER the fact that if you soak the lentils in very cold water over night it helps, somehow, get rid of the gassy-ness that they give an unsuspecting stomach.  I definitely will have to try that next time. 
Rice is a great accompaniment for this recipe, but if you can find (or make) Injera, the ethiopian sponge-like bread, you should absolutely try it!  It’ll make this a very authentic dish!

Verdict:
I can’t wait to try the rest of the recipes throughout the year.  This was a great recipe, spicy and lemony at the same time and very healthy!  I was pleasantly surprised.
Enjoy the taste of Ethiopia.

I had a difficult time deciding what to make for Morocco. All their food looked amazing! So I just made the decision based on what I had in my pantry. Chicken, limes, spices… check, all I had to go out an buy were the olives and really, you can’t go wrong with chicken (or prawns in my opinion!) . So here is the delicious Moroccan Chicken with Green Olives and Lemon by The Bon Appétit Test Kitchen…

First, more for my benefit than anything else, a little information about Morocco: Oficially the Kingdom of Morocco, is located in North Africa. It’s capital is Rabat and its largest city is Casablanca (yes, the classic movie by the same name is based in that city). It has a coast on the Atlantic Ocean and is bordered by Algeria, Spain and Western Sahara.

Interesting facts:
- On November 18, 2006, Morocco celebrated its 50th anniversary of independence from France.
- Morocco’s official language is Modern Standard Arabic however, about 2,000,000 Moroccans in the northern part of the country speak Spanish as a second language.
-Moroccan cuisine has long been considered as one of the most diversified cuisines in the world. This is a result of the centuries-long interaction of Morocco with the outside world. The cuisine of Morocco is a mix of Berber, Spanish, Corsican, Portuguese, Moorish, Middle Eastern, Mediterranean, and African cuisines.

Recipe: Moroccan Chicken with Green Olives and Lemon

Ingredients:
2 lemons or regular lemons (green lemons or limes work well)
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 large onion, halved, thinly sliced
2 garlic cloves, pressed
1 tablespoon paprika
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
2 cups low-salt chicken broth
1 4 1/2-pound chicken, cut into 8 pieces, skin removed (I used skinless chicken thighs)
1 tsp cornstarch (optional)
1/2 cup green olives

Cut 1 lemon into 8 wedges. Squeeze enough juice from second lemon to measure 2 tablespoons; set wedges and juice aside.
Heat oil in large skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion and sprinkle with salt and pepper; sauté until golden brown, about 8 minutes. Add next 5 ingredients; stir 1 minute.

Add broth; bring to boil. Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper; add to skillet. Add lemon wedges.

Cover, reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer until chicken is cooked through, turning occasionally, 25 to 30 minutes. Transfer chicken to platter. Add olives and 2 tablespoons lemon juice to skillet. Increase heat to high; boil uncovered to thicken slightly (you can add a tsp of cornstarch to help thicken the broth), about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Pour over chicken.

Hot Moroccan Chicken

Notes: Not much to say, I pretty much followed the recipe to the letter. All I added was the teaspoon of cornstarch to help thicken the “sauce”. I used sliced green olives since the recipe didn’t really specify, they worked very well! I also used “limes” instead of lemons, I use the quotation marks in limes because where I come from we called them lemons, limes are actually bittersweet (some call them sweet limes) and they originate from India y southeast Asia. Ladies and gentlemen, THIS is a lime:

Now that I have that off my chest, I can continue.

Verdict: DELICIOUS! The spices in the sauce gave the chicken a very distinct taste, not overpowering at all but just hard to describe. Cinnamon and paprika go so well together that I think I will use the mix for other meats. There’s nothing more satisfying for a cook than to hear someone make “yummy noises” when they taste your food… and this recipe didn’t disappoint. It was quite citric but you can always add salt to it, although I found that serving it with… you guessed it… rice! Actually made the dish not so citrus-y. I completely and utterly recommend you make this! It’s something you absolutely gotta try!

P.S. I suggest ending the meal (or having during the meal) with Morocco’s most popular drink: green tea with mint, on its own or accompanied with hard sugar cones or lumps. Enjoy!

Interesting Facts:
- On February 18th, 1965 Gambia was granted independence from the U.K. and joined The Commonwealth.
-An agriculturally rich country, its economy is dominated by farming, fishing, and tourism. However about a third of the population lives below the international poverty line of US$1.25 a day.
-Although Gambia is not an island or a penninsula, approximately 1,300 km² of its area is covered by water.

RECIPE: Poulet Yassa (Chicken Yassa) *ATTENTION!  must be marinated overnight!*
This is a stew of fried chicken and vegetables with chilies typically served with rice.
8 tbsp lemon juice
8 tbsp malt or cider vinegar (apple cider vinegar works well)
2 bay leaves
2 tbsp Dijon mustard
1 small cabbage, cut into chunks
3 carrots, cut into chunks
4 cloves garlic, minced
5 medium onions, sliced
2 oz peanut oil (see my notes on this)
1 chicken, cut into serving pieces (you can use skinless chicken thighs)
1 sprig thyme (or 1tbsp dry thyme)
1 habanero chilli, finely chopped (or 1tbsp Epicure Louisiana Hot and Spicy dip mix)
12 oz or 350ml chicken stock
salt and pepper to taste

Directions: Make a marinade from the lemon juice, vinegar, mustard, onion and the spices. Place the chicken in a shallow dish and pour the marinade over it. Leave in the refrigerator over night. The following day remove the chicken from the marinade and fry for a few minutes on each side, until golden brown.

Add the marinated onions and the garlic to the chicken pieces and fry for about 3 minutes, then add the remaining marinade and chicken stock along with the cabbage, carrots and chilli. Cover the pan and simmer for about 35 minutes over medium heat.

Serve immediately with rice.

NOTES: The recipe was a bit confusing so while I went along I tweaked and made notes for your convenience. First things first, my fellow food enthusiast, reader and friend , Jessica, gave me an excellent tip… If you light some candles where you chop your onions, fire in close proximity to the onion being cut up will burn up the sulfuric fumes, now… it won’t completely stop your eyes from burning (especially when you’re cutting up 5 onions) but it really helped and it didn’t hurt me at all. The burning started when I transferred the cut onions to a separate dish because I moved them from the proximity of the candles so maybe just light a bunch of tea lights around the whole cooking area and cook by candlelight.

About the peanut oil, I’m in the process of packing up for a move and don’t really feel like buying bottles of new stuff just to pack it up and move it in 3 weeks so what I did is use the oil that separated from my peanut butter (of course I only use the natural just peanuts stuff, no preservatives or additives). I worked like a charm and it turned out perfect. 

VERDICT: A very good dish indeed. Served over brown rice it made a perfect dinner dish with the meat and veggies in the stew.  Make sure to brown the chicken before adding the vegetables, I had too much chicken in the pan and it didn’t really brown, it was still good but I imagine that browning it would’ve made it better. I only added some salt almost right before serving it and it was great that way. The recipe renders enough for 6 and I had all 6 people tell me that it was very good, I did have some leftovers for lunch the next day too!   All in all, Gambia was a great trip… taste wise.