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

The version that we made was with wasabi mayo (word to the wise, use a very little bit of wasabi powder if you’re making your own wasabi mayonaise) and Nori Komi Furikake (which is sesame seeds and seaweed). Just well cooked veggie weiners and fried onions made this a very good idea indeed. A great way to spend a saturday afternoon:

I have the bestest friend in the world don’t I? Thanks Jess for a delicious treat!

This recipe is for Bei gu su or Tofu with vegetables. It’s a super easy stir fry! Literally, took about 20 minutes to prep and then about 10 minutes to cook, I think if you prep ahead of time you can have dinner ready in 10 minutes. And who doesn’t love that?

Bei Gu Su

1lb firm tofu, cubed
1/2 lb. snow peas
1 carrot, julienne cut
1/2 lb. mushrooms, finely sliced
4 scallions, chopped
1-inch piece of ginger, grated
1 tbsp. rice wine or ginger (optional)
2 tbsp. stock or water
1 tsp. cornstarch
oil
salt and pepper

1. Heat some oil in a wok and fry the tofu until it is golden.
2. Carefully pour off any excess oil and then add the snowpeas, carrot, musrooms, 3 scallions and the ginger.  Stir-fry briskly for a couple of minutes, and then sprinkle on the sauce and rice wine.  Add salt and pepper to taste.
3. Pour on the stock or water and continue to cook.  Mix the cornstarch with a little cold water to make a paste and then pour this into the pan, stirring to distribute it.  Garnish with the remaining scallion. Serve with omelet and rice or noodles.

Verdict and Notes:
To be completely honest I didn’t really try to make any substitutions and I really didn’t have to. All of the ingredients were very easy to find, even in Winnipeg. It was such a simple recipe that I think I will make it a staple meal.  The only thing I did use different was the oyster sauce, I used the real thing instead of the vegetarian kind but that’s only because I’m not a vegetarian.   I had the stir fry with some rice (but of course) and sprinkled some furikake on it. Yes, I know furikake is japanese but it really seemed to go with this. So go ahead, try it, and take your taste buds to China.

Quote to share: “Do not fear going forward slowly; fear only to stand still.”
- Chinese 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.