Hi Everyone,
I know you are never, ever, ever guilty of this, putting off something you kept meaning to do until it is too late to actually do it? A few months ago my good friend BS here began asking staffers and MENC members for recipes to include in cookbook to commemorate MENC’s April Centennial.
I immediately thought of a recipe to submit—"African Chicken Peanut Stew," a recipe I found a couple of years ago. My 13-year-old son Matt and my husband Steve are always happy when this dish shows up on the dinner table. The Africa Guide
I love to cook and on Sundays I often put together dishes that take a bit more time. The stew is great the day you eat it, but is even better the next day if you have leftovers. It is quite yummy, especially if you like peanut butter.
Any who, I never got around to submitting my recipe and you guessed it, the cookbook came out this week MENC Centennial. (Thanks for converting the book cover to a JPEG, MB.)
It is great fun to read and the recipes cover lots of different cooking styles. It is item #1000, $12.50/$10.00 for MENC members. You can also call MENC at 800-336-3768 for more information. KR did a great job of design and layout and the tasty recipes are accompanied by mouth watering photos from the aforementioned BS but alas, no recipe from yours truly.
The cooks who actually responded to call for recipes include Nancy K. Olson, a 12-year-member from Bottineau, North Dakota, who offers a recipe for Butter Horns or Scones that she says, “ are always big hit a bake sales,” and Karl Glenn, a 33-year member from Ann Arbor, Michigan, who submitted a recipe for “Perfect Restaurant Steak.”
And save some room for dessert. Candace Cook’s Raspberry
Chocolate Cake looks yummy, for instance. She is a retired member from Mesa, Arizona.
There are lots of great recipes in appetizer, bread and rolls, breakfast foods, cookies and candies, desserts, main dishes and other categories. Many of the recipes are accompanied by little stories and suggestions for music to listen to when you dine.
So, to make myself feel better for (sigh) missing the deadline, I present my little story, music suggestions from my son and the recipe itself.
My Story: A couple of years ago when my son was getting picky about food, I searched for recipes based on ingredients he liked. Peanut butter and chicken topped his list at the time and when I found a recipe for African Chicken Peanut Stew, I thought I had winner. I knew I was right when he asked for seconds, as did my husband and it has become one of my go-to recipes when I plan menus for the week.
Recipe for Success in the Classroom: Last year when Matt took Teen Living in seventh grade, he had to cook a meal at home and it was the first thing he thought of cooking for his project. We took pictures of him chopping and stirring various ingredients. His teacher was impressed that he had chosen a recipe that required a lot of chopping, but it’s really not a hard recipe to make. He got an A on his project!
Suggested Music: Matt believes anything by Bob Marley would be great, as would “Big Rock Candy Mountain” from the O Brother Where Art Thou soundtrack. Of course the latter is just because he likes that song and the soundtrack. He also suggested "Crazy" by Gnarls Barkley .
Try the stew and let me know what you think. You can now post comments by clicking on Reply below. What is your favorite recipe? What kind of music do you like to listen to during dinner?
African Chicken Peanut Stew
One and a half hours cooking time, including 30 minutes of prep
8-10 servings, 12 cups
1 tablespoon peanut oil
2 lbs boneless chicken, cubed
1 onion, chopped
1/4 cup chopped carrots
1/4 cup chopped celery
1 sweet potato or yam, cubed
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 teaspoon curry powder
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1 bay leaf
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups chicken broth
1 tablespoon tomato paste
2/3 cup peanut butter (crunchy or creamy, your choice)
3 tablespoons lemon juice
2 Roma tomatoes, seeded and chopped
1 bell pepper, any color, cut into 1-inch pieces
1/4 cup cilantro, chopped
1. In a large, heavy pot, heat the oil on med-high. When hot, add the onions and sweet potatoes, stir and cook until onions are soft and translucent.
2. Add chicken, cook til opaque.
3. Stir in the garlic, curry powder, coriander, cumin, and crushed red chiles. Cook 1 minute.
4. Add the carrots, celery, ginger, cinnamon, bay leaf, salt, chicken broth, and tomato paste.
5. Bring the liquid to a boil, then cover and simmer on low for 45 minutes.
6. When the stew has cooked for 45 minutes, stir in the peanut butter. Cook another 3 minutes, uncovered for the flavors to blend.
7. Stir in the chopped tomato and bell pepper. Simmer until the tomatoes and pepper are softened but still retain their shape, 3 to 5 minutes.
8. Stir in lemon juice. Serve with the chopped cilantro on the top, and additional red pepper flakes on the side, if you like.
Around the MENC Water Cooler: Or should I say, in the third floor kitchen. I have kitchen duty this week. Every two months or so we each are assigned to take responsibility for the kitchen for a week, loading a dishwasher, restocking supplies, swiping down surfaces, etc.) It just takes a few minutes to keep the yuck to a minimum.
One day this week while on chaos control in the kitchen, I ran into TH, our intrepid tech guru here at MENC. “How is your family?” I asked, and he shared the great news that his wife is
expecting their third child in October.He has a pre-teen daughter and a younger son and said he isn't concerned about gender, just wants a healthy baby. Given the fact that he urges everyone here at MENC to “have babies,” I was happy to know he is following his own advice.
He suggested I put his news in “that thing you do,” so here it is. Congratulations TH and more importantly, Mrs. H!
One quick note about American Idol, last night. So relieved that Jordin was spared, despite her screeching performance on Tuesday. Hey, she's allowed one misstep, ok. She is 17, for Pete's sake. She has been so fab all season, and I still think she can win. Phil and Chris. Eh. For those of you who are fans, see them on tour this summer. As for me, I was happy with the way things went.
See you next Thursday
RF
