Of Carrots and Oranges

I've had a long hiatus from blogging.  But I’m back, as a certified gastronome.

That just means I know a lot more about food than I did a year ago. My palate has adapted if not evolved, I've come to like and even appreciate flavours that I once despised.

Growing up, not having the desired 20/20 vision, my mother always insisted that I eat my carrots. I needed my extra dose of Vitamin A. Seldom would I eat them without complaining; pushing them to the furthest part of my dinner plate, secretly hoping they would they fall off, land on the floor and be deemed inedible. I found them to be bitter, apparently over cooked, bland.

I used to completely agree with Fran Lebowitz:

Large, naked, raw carrots are acceptable as food only to those who live in hutches eagerly awaiting Easter. -Metropolitan Life 1978

So you can imagine the slight surprise that my mother had when she found me happily munching away to raw carrot sticks. They weren't so bad considering that they were accompanied by a chickpea hummus.

Now I know that they are more flavourful when in season, and I've discovered more flavourful ways of getting my vitamin A and incorporating them into everything.  My newest discovery are these carrot-orange muffins.

I’m looking forward to making these beta-carotene filled treats this winter season.

Carrot-Orange Muffins

Yield: 12 large muffins

½ cup whole wheat flour

½ cup all-purpose flour

½ cup quick-cooking rolled oats

½  cup plus 2 Tablespoons brown sugar

1  teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon dried ground ginger 

1 teaspoon baking powder

½  teaspoon baking soda

¼  teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon zest of orange

¼ cup fresh orange juice

3 Tablespoons plain yogurt

½ cup milk, mixed with vinegar

1 teaspoon vinegar

¼  cup vegetable oil

1 ½  cups finely grated carrots (approximately 3 carrots)

Handful of pumpkin seeds

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 375F/ 180C . Lightly grease a 12-hole muffin tin and line with 12 squares of baking paper. Push the squares down into each hole so that the paper sticks up. .

2. Mix dry ingredients together in a bowl, leaving 2 Tablespoons of brown sugar. In a separate bowl mix together the wet ingredients.

3. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and fold the ingredients together, but be careful not to over-work the mixture.  If batter is too dry slowly add in a bit more milk

3. Spoon the batter into muffin tin. Sprinkle pumpkin seeds and remaining brown sugar over muffins.

4. Bake in the centre of the oven for 30-35 minutes, or until the muffins are well risen and a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean.

5. Cool a few minutes

Enjoy.

Seasonal Cooking

With no formal training, simply my mother’s kitchen, significantly more error than trial, I consider myself  an amateur cook on the road to becoming more of a professional. Insert housemates, family, friends, limited budget, scarce ingredients and the confidence levels oscillate between very low and high with being a cook.

I have been trying to cook remembering all the things that I have learned through the course of my year in Italy: the good, the clean and the fair. It is challenging at times. But I've been told that as a cook, the challenge is what you are after. You need all the creativity and the inspiration you can find to keep up the opinion polls of those eating what you prepare.

In Southern Africa our seasons are not as distinct as other parts of the world so we always have some sort of fresh seasonal produce. Right now we are at the beginning of summer or some would call the rainy season. My challenge comes in the form of our family garden and its fertility. On an average season, whatever is planted grows successfully and leaves us with an abundance of it. Over the years we have had( just to name some of the produce): tomatoes, pumpkins, cucumbers, cabbages, beetroots, carrots and a lot of other fresh produce. As a cook that would be great as produce with the most robust flavour is that which is found when in season, when it has had the opportunity to be sun-kissed and harvested when ripe. Insert problem. What do you do with an abundance of one particular crop even after sharing it with the community? How do you prevent monotony in cooking when you have an abundance of <insert name of produce>?

Sheer creativity and experimenting. Open up the old cook books and surf the internet. Find some willing guinea pigs- preferably those with strong stomachs, who enjoy experimental cooking. Start cooking and preserving the food.

After years of making jams, chutney, pickles, pies, soups and everything else in between I have a new challenge. Herbs. This season we planted a lot of them in the family garden, not thinking that they would grow well), but alas we have an abundance them. I know that they can be dried, but I need something more alive and tangible. With an abundance of herbs:  mint, basil, sage and cilantro and soon rosemary, lavender and tarragon I have to be innovative. Suggestions are welcome!

My biggest problem are the cilantro (fresh coriander)  and the basil, they have to be constantly pruned to ensure continued growth so that they are available all season before they flower. This week they have been a part of almost all our meals. But when the monotony of fresh herbs hits and the family has exhausted their weekly experimenting quota (this week it was spicy Thai and Italian pesto) it’s always convenient when a friend has a birthday and can further experiment in the guise that one needs to make a special cake.

So thanks to Miss E who let me try out some seasonal baking experiments. Much to her surprise her birthday cake this year was a Sweet Tomato Cake served with a Basil infused Cream Sauce.

Under the African sun

Hello November. Where did September and October go? They moved by swiftly especially under the African Sun.
I spent some time on the Atlantic Coast, watching the sunsets, eating seafood, attempting to learn Portuguese.

I went further south to Southern Africa.
Then I had my second spring this year. One filled with purple horizons, ripe mulberries and carpets of purple jacarandas, jacaranda honey, papayas, strawberries and more strawberry jam. Fresh herbs:sage, coriander,basil grown from basil seeds from Bra.


Farm fresh eggs.


Spring quickly became summer, with the sweltering heat of the sun painting the grass golden brown.
When it became unbearable, the heavens miraculously opened up with the much awaited rain. The  dry dusty air was replaced with fresh crisp air.



Crisp fresh air not only came from rain, but in the form of nephews and nieces bringing in new perspectives of life, giving you an extra laugh and smile.
My time under African sun brought about cooking and writing with an enthusiastic bunch of young ladies. Scrumptious chocolate cakes and flavoursome savoury dishes.

Of Fish and Other Sea Creatures

Food Rule Number 24:

“Eating what stands on one leg [mushrooms and plant food]is better than eating what stands on two legs [fowl], which is better than eating what stands on four legs [cows, pigs and other mammals]”

Michael Pollan, Food Rules: An Eater’s Manuel, 2009.

Michael Pollan adds to this rule and includes fish and other seafood which majority are legless creatures which contribute to a good diet.

Being from a landlocked country, I plead ignorance with regards to the ocean, marine biology and anything sea related. I use this excuse when convenient.

Then, I moved to Bra and met people who know their seafood. Unfortunately for us as students, Bra is a two hour drive from the coast. The seafood that is found  in Bra has travelled a long distance to get to you. This brings about questions of freshness, and this limits the choice that is available. Your cooking experiences reflect what you learn through the Slow Food philosophy. This means that you are willing to try out new things, and innovation becomes a reality more than a philosophy. For example on Fridays, my Thai friend wakes up early and heads to the fish market to get her free salmon heads from the vendors. I had no idea what she was going to do with them until one Friday afternoon I stopped over for an early dinner and before me was a platter of a slowly baked salmon fish head! Chopsticks in hand, spicy flavourful dipping sauce of chillies, garlic and other Thai seasonings, I from the landlocked country devoured that fleshy fish head.

Armed with added knowledge about fish heads, I thought this was the pinnacle of all fishy knowledge. But alas I attend UNISG. Contrary to popular belief it is not a cooking school. You do learn about cooking but not trained to be a chef you would think that your close family members would remember that. My dear mother knows very well that I enjoy cooking but I’m not a chef. Nonetheless I received a desperate email about two months ago that my mother had been given some “sea creatures”. She took them home, alive and they were wiggling their antlers and legs all over the kitchen sink. To bring them to their death, she mustered up courage, stuffed them in a plastic bag and threw them into the depths of her freezer.

Upon hearing about the fate of the “sea creatures” who turned out to be either crayfish or crawfish I assured here that they were food, just in an alive state. I consulted a few of my classmates who knew a lot more about seafood  than I did. I also consulted Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking for a classic recipe. Her instructions on dealing with live lobster (or other crustaceans):

If you object to steaming or splitting a live lobster, it may be killed almost instantly just before cooking if you plunge the point of a knife into the head between the eyes, or sever the spinal cord by making a small incision in the back of the shell at the juncture of the chest and the tail.

It was too late for lobster wisdom from Julia Child, but nonetheless I sent the recipes and instructions. I expected to hear back from my mother saying that she had prepared the seafood and what she thought of them. Alas, she had not. They would  stay buried in the depths of the freezer until I came to visit, and then they would be cooked, by me.

That’s what I did. After a day or two of rest I asked about the “sea creatures”. I retrieved them, heated and salted some water and boiled them. You must know that I have never cooked such kind of food. We (I made Mother assist me in the cooking that she was supposed to have done) removed the fleshy meat from the tails. Rich in flavour only seasoned with salt it tasted like it had been doused in a buttery sauce.

An instant hit with my family. At the end of the meal, Mother considered that on her next ‘fishing’ trip she would come home with a lot more of these delicacies and try the other recipes.

Mission accomplished, crayfish or crawfish whatever they maybe, cooked, enjoyed; I think I am now more knowledgeable about crustaceans. I have considered eating more of them while I am here, nearby the ocean where they are in abundance, and this way I can get closer to eating wisely by following Michael Pollan’s Food Rules.

Ten Travelling Tips

Twenty-eight hours, one bus, three trains, two airlines and three flights, four train stations, four airports, three bags, a backpack a handbag, two airline dinners of fish and rice, two panini, blueberries, overpriced water and coffee, three time zones, two swollen ankles and one exhausted Coco, I made it to the other side of the world with all my bags and sanity intact- just about.

I said earlier that traveling is a good thing and everyone should do it. I still say travel but now I’m going to modify this statement. Traveling, like chocolate tasting is not for the faint hearted. Before you travel you should know a few things:

1.) Make sure you have time to get to where you are going. If you live in a place like Bra, you need say about six hours to get where you are going, especially if you are traveling by Train Italia on a Sunday headed to Milano Airport. That’s where you insert the Bus to Carmangola-train to Torino-then another one to Milano- and a final one to Milano Malpensa airport. It helps if you have friends on the way to help you get there and keep you company on the journey. Thanks L and S.

2.) Always smile and be friendly to the check in and immigration people. Most people have bad experiences with them, having been made to pay a lot of money for having excess weight, even as small as half a kilogram. I have had my fair share of paying for excess baggage seeing as the fact that I have tried to travel light all my life but have failed drastically at it. My excuse is that you have to pack things to be prepared for all the unexpected possibilities. I get away with my excess by traveling with others who are light travellers, we end up sharing the weight. This makes one of my brothers, K, an excellent travel companion, he carries literally nothing for a long trip but somehow it is always enough, even for the unexpected things.

Back to the smile- I was blessed this time round, I approached the check in counter, with my three bags (you are only allowed two and you pay for the third one) prepared to pay for the third one and the check in lady smiled and almost violently waved me away when I was talking about paying for my third bag. Three bags checked in headed off to the Western Part of Central Africa, I prayed that they all got there in tack and did not get redirected to another airport or anything funny like that.

3.) Don’t wear too may accessories that have metal. When going through the security clearance sometimes I get really irritated. You wait on a line for so long only to get there, you have to take out your computer, which is in a case, inside your stuffed backpack, then if its winter you remove your boots and boots can be difficult shoes to wear. Then you take off all your jewellery- don’t be silly and go wearing an armful of bangles to the airport. I did it once, that was silly. And then you have to take of you belt. Make sure that you are wearing something that can survive a few footsteps without a belt otherwise you are in for embarrassing moments! All that for a few seconds through the security. If you are unlucky enough to cause the machines to beep you might just be frisked- Not fun.

4.) Take a look through the shops in the airport but don’t buy anything, unless you really have to. Why you ask? Because you are going to have to carry that stuff with you till you get to your destination and if you decide to be silly and get things that are heavy and overpriced well, you might regret it later. And you might come across an airline that is super strict about hand luggage. You will have to stuff all your purchases into you already over stuffed bag. How did I get away with it with a backpack and a handbag? Somehow the purchases squeezed into the backpack and I decided/ convinced myself and the guy at the boarding gate that that my handbag was actually a part of me and I only had one piece of hand luggage.

5.) Eat and Drink. While travelling it is important to keep hydrated, I would stick to water since the airplane wine is-well for me (a budding wine guru/snob) the wine is subpar. The problem with water is that you can’t bring any with you from home. You can only buy it after the security checks. That means you will fork out about €2.00 for a 500ml bottle of water. I found that water was conveniently only sold in 500 ml bottles so that’s was a dent in my pocket because a on a four hour layover you need to drink water lest you get dehydrated. If you are like me I have to munch a bit when I travel, it passes time and I do not like being a hungry traveller. A hungry traveller can be an agitated traveller. Carry snacks from home (home-made chocolate chip cookies, blueberries, peaches) you will save money and if you are like me with allergies some airports do not cater very well for your allergies and you will be stuck with a limited overpriced selection of things you can eat. And don’t wait saying that you will have a meal in the plane. You will have one but it will probably be an hour into the flight and you probably won’t like what is being served (another airplane meal of rice and fish?) but you will eat because you are hungry.

6.) Sleep or Watch the in flight entertainment. The only way you will survive a long journey is taking a nap between the flights/ buses. You will feel better and it will pass time when you are crossing the time zones. I started watching The Godfather, it made much more sense now that I have been living in Italy for nine months. My brother T, will be very happy that I have finally watched some of the movie. But I will stay away from the underworld gangs and bosses.

7.) There is no need to push! Honestly, you will all get in to the plane and you will all get out of the plane! Relax and don’t shove people. When travelling know that the concept of personal space is something that many travellers do not understand or want to understand. On the  last flight, fully booked, no leg room, people, their ‘hand’ luggage and me.  As soon as we landed they removed their seatbelts and decided it was time to leave (contrary to the cabin crew’s warning) opened up the overhead cabins and then stood waiting. I knew that we had a long way to go so I stayed seated and enjoyed another 30 minutes of sleep while the animated and agitated passenger kept complaining that everything was taking too long.

8.) Have you story straight. Remember I said that you should smile and be friendly to the check in people. Different story when dealing with immigration. Smile, but be confident and know your story. The immigration people like to make you sweat and ask you unnecessary questions when all the information is right in front of them. Sometimes you find some kind ones who put you at ease. The immigration gentleman in Frankfurt decided to have a long conversation with me about food and cooking when he saw where I was studying. If anything he was intrigued, in a good way. Seems like being at UNISG pays off for a conversation starter. On the last leg it was more difficult to explain. I had to go through two immigration officials. One strictly to check the visa and the final one to check my vaccine certificates. He held me hostage for a while, looking at my documents and looking at me, somewhat confused, I think my ‘straight story’ appeared to be dubious. His puzzled statement was: “You were born in country A, you hold a passport of country B, you live in country C, and you are coming here to country D, and finally you do not have the one required vaccine to enter country D because you are allergic to it”. I gave him a frank, yes that is my story and he let me through.

9) Always mark your bags and know what they look like. On these fully booked flights from Europe to the Western part of Central Africa, there will be several stops. You hope and pray that you get your luggage and that in the journey it is not rerouted to some obscure airport or that it is not tampered with. That does not include acts of God such as a rain storm in East Africa. After being pushed around by the other overzealous passengers who kept grabbing pieces of luggage they thought was theirs then upon discovery that it was the wrong thing they would throw it back on the baggage claim. I got my luggage, although it did not look like mine. The rain storm in East Africa had changed soaked my bright red suitcase allowing it to be blotched by brown and black marks of the baggage handling. My grey suitcase has a few more battle scars added to its exterior casing, it lost one of its wheels but it is still usable. My third little bag, the one I feared for the most did well and came out a survivor- maybe because it was too heavy (it felt like I put some mercury in it) to be tampered with.

10) Rest. When you get to your destination, rest, breathe in your new environment and don’t have too many expectations, that only leaves room for disappointment. Have an open mind to new experiences, tastes, flavours, smells sights, sounds, and enjoy the adventure.

Bon Voyage.

Now an added disclaimer. After talking with my parents I found out I have nothing on them when it comes to travelling and adventures. If you really want to know about adventures talk to people older than you. They have seen many more sunrises and sunsets than you and possibly they are more adventurous than you give them credit to be. 

Don't be a Dinosaur...

“To travel is to discover that everyone is wrong about other countries.” – Aldous Huxley

Majestic Great Zimbabwe

One of the best things about living in Europe is the boarders, or lack of. In my humble opinion as a student in living in the European Union, I’m very happy with the creation of the Schengen area. There is a certain freedom you feel, time and money permitting you can travel and see the world- well at least Europe without the hassle of applying for a visa each time you cross a border. Other parts of the world make it slightly more difficult to cross into their borders.

In this way food travels allow us to engage with new ideas. Crossing the boundaries of food allows us to have a glimpse into cultural groups and their food ways. In the past year I have learned about sustainability of food systems and how communities and countries try to achieve the goals of social, environmental and economic sustainability.

My studies here in Italy have taught me to travel. One of our guest lecturers explicitly told us to get out of our bubbles and see the world. Exercise our palates and learn new flavours, rediscover the old ones at the back of our memories. Go places and engage. Try new food. Engage with people. Cross borders (the metaphorical ones, the tangible and physical ones) and have new experiences.

Travel is what I have done, and what I hope to continue to do. I'm so thankful for all the travel opportunities I've had in the past year and the ones that I hope to have in the future. The little that I have seen of the world has allowed me to debunk a few of the myths about other countries.

This means you can have weekend getaways in neighbouring countries. You can drive across the boarder, fly, walk, cycle. Do what you choose. While living in the western part of Switzerland, my family and I would drive the five or ten minutes across to do our shopping in France. It's surprising how just a few minutes away the road signs and street markings are different.

One of the many frontiers between France and Switzerland

In an effort to save some money while visiting Switzerland on a didactic trip our class spent the day in a border town in Switzerland. When our day was over we walked across a bridge that led us into Germany. Staying at a German hotel meant that each breakfast we had was a full on German breakfast: cured meats,fresh fruit juices, breads, yogurt, cheese, pickles- the complete opposite of the simple Italian breakfast of strong coffee and a sugary pastry.

Switzerland in the distance, across the river from Germany

I have been able to spontaneously fly across the border to visit a friend in Paris. It was great, just a short flight and there I was in a vibrant French city.

The Eiffel Tower, Paris at twilight

Living in Bra has its advantages, surprisingly. We are an hour away from the airport so we can get a quick escape (as long as the airport is open and not under some sort of renovations, as it happens once in a while, or if the trains are not on strike). Bra is also just a few hours drive down to the coast, the Italian and French Rivera. A quick spontaneous drive down for a dinner of mussels and French wine. Great things to do with housemates is go on spontaneous adventures.

Azure Skies and Ocean of the French Riviera

What about a business trip to a capital city. Its more interesting when the capital city of the country you live in happens to be Rome. A visit to Rome should be on everyone to do list, at least once in a life time. It’s a historic city waiting to be discovered. When you are there all those history lessons form years gone by about ancient Rome and the Roman Empire begin to make sense. There is something spectacular about seeing the grand structures and edifices for yourself. If you thought they were larger than life in the history books then you will have to prepare yourself  for the alluring grandeur of Rome.

Roma, Italia

In the words of our guest lecturer,Frank, a charismatic Italian-American restaurateur from New York City "Don't be a dinosaur". See the world, and talk to people. A trip to the other side of town or even to the neighbouring city is your start to breaking the boundaries and borders that separate us.

Travel makes you appreciate the place you call home. Yes, you can even appreciate Città di Bra and its 30,000 inhabitants.

“No one realizes how beautiful it is to travel until he comes home and rests his head on his old, familiar pillow.” – Lin Yutang

Olives for oil

Its funny how the idea of food is universal, but in essence what each individual will end up calling food is very subjective. Sometimes what we call food has a dual role as a medicinal or even used for cosmetic purposes. Take olives for instance. Depending on where you are situated in the world and what you are interested in olives are either an ingredient for food, or for cosmetics or both.

I found myself in this situation and realization a few weeks ago on my adventure in Tuscany. For our last study trip (where did all the time go) our class once again got on a bus and somehow survived a week long trip with each other and a terrible heatwave. Sweltering is the word I would use to define it. It was assumed a few times that since I'm from the beautiful continent of Africa I would be used to this heat. Well, NO! If anything I avoid the sun as much as I can. I had never been so glad to come back to Città di Bra.

Back to the subjectivity. Tuscany is viewed by many as Italy. The romanticized idea of Italy is rolling hills of wheat, vineyards, olive groves and everything in between, but you wouldn't expect geothermal plants. The part of Tuscany we visited had several geothermal plants scattered in the valleys, you would smell the sulfuric residue before you saw the greenish grey power plant. That being said it still was beautiful but not quite what I had imagined.

I was looking forward to our trip to  meet the olive oil producer. I had never been to an olive grove and coming from Southern Africa, olives are something that I had grown to appreciate and still find fascinating. As a fruit, the meaty flesh is bitter and peppery and yes oily. An acquired taste and sensation for many but one I have come to love. 


We met our producer and we were shown around the ancient olive groves. We met an old tree about 800 years old and stopped to converse under the shade of this ginormous olive tree. 

Moving into the production phase, it was a hypothetical demonstration since olives are extreeemly time sensitive and olives are pressed immeadiatly after harvest, literally they are taken straight from the tree to the press. If you take your time the quality of the oil changes due to the oxidation that occurs, changing the organoleptic charecteristics of the olive. In short the quicker you get your harvested olive to the mill the better the quality of your oil. 

After the hypothetical pressing we had a tasting of the olive oil. Always a memorable experience because you are sipping on thick, rich, bitter and pepper oil. While the oil is in your mouth you are supposed to inhale some air through the mouth (make sure you make a lot of noise while doing so) and allow the flavour to develop. Its easier than it sounds. Then you spit out the rather disgusting concoction of olive oil and your saliva.The brave ones swallow but its really thick going down your throat. If you start coughing or better yet chocking know that its a good sign.It means that the oil is thick and full of flavour. The more bitter the better!

So after our tasting I thought to myself that I have always considered olive oil as an ingredient. But not necessary one for cooking but more in the lines of cosmetics. In Southern Africa, if you as a young black girl about olive oil, let me clarify that this also includes me and my crazy mysterious friends the conversation might end up being about cosmetics and hair products. Olives and the residue are great for cosmetics, soaps and a lot of other things that I have no idea about. I'm more intested in the cosmetics and the hair, seeing as we have a lot of high quality brands for hair products that use a base of olives for their products. Not only is it wonderful for cooking with, and baking, but the quality of the oil is also very good for the hair and the skin. Hence me having a little pot of a olive oil for my hair and skin, (something that my brothers have laughed at me for doing). But you should try it. It works wonders!