ktravula – a travelogue!

Food, For Clarissa.

My initial plan was to not only put up pictures of food, but to write a recipe of making them as well. Now, the temptation is just to give you the pictures, and send the recipes later. Or how about I just tell you their names first, and we deal with the making them later?

From the top, clockwise, we have:

1. Fried fish, with cooked (salted) spinach and locust beans, and a morsel of amala. This kind of amala is made from yam powder.

2. Eko (the white solid paste) made from corn, ponmo (from cow skin), and some more cooked spinach.

3. Catfish in peppersoup.

4. Pounded yam in the making. (You peel the yam, cook it without salt, and pound it until fine and doughy, then eat with any soup or vegetable of choice.)

5. Suya. This is a typically Nigerian delicacy. It is cow meat roasted on an open fire with plenty spices, and eaten with cabbages, onions and some more spices.

6. White amala (made from cassava flour) in black-eyed peas soup (also called gbegiri), pepper sauce, and some beef.

7. No comments. This is an almost empty plate of fried rice and moinmoin. Moinmoin is made from blending black-eyed peas (we actually call it beans) together with pepper, and other spices, and cooking it with crayfish or shrimps until solid.

8. More suya. This one is cooked slightly differently from the one in #5. This is stacked on sticks and placed on the fire with the spices. In this picture are three different kinds: chicken, beef and chicken gizzards, all on sticks.

Alright, I’m done here. Ikhide Ikheloa, let me now formally invite you back to Nigeria. 🙂

Food

Alright, I’ve searched the calendars of all major religions of the world and found that no one is supposed to be fasting right now, so here is one of the major food pictures I’ve taken in the last couple of days. Salivate, then go make your own dinner.

Happy Sunday, and don’t forget to remember those who haven’t eaten.

PS: This post was supposed to have pictures of plenty food, including the very soft pounded yam I had a few hours ago. But my internet is really really not cooperating. What can I do?

La Casa Mexicana

How could I not have known that the best and the most affordable restaurant in Edwardsville was going to be a Mexican one? I had never eaten at a Mexican restaurant until yesterday. It was a get-together to say bye bye to Ellen who was retiring from Foreign Language teaching after about 42 years. Present at the event were all members of staff of my department (except the Head, who inevitably had to be absent). I had my first intimation with plenty Mexican dishes and drinks, including the famous jarritos (which is actually pronounced as harritos). There was margaritas, tortillas and chorizos. If your mouth is now sufficiently watered by just the thought of spicy delicious Mexican food, you can give me credit for it. Just go out now, and buy yourself a nice meal. I promise that you will thank me later.

The dinner was wonderful. What’s more, it was my (sorta ;)) final get-together with that wonderful crew that run the department of foreign language department.

After that, there was another get-together with teachers and students of language in the house of a different professor. Then at night, a hang-out with some friends over bottles of beer. Well, the goodbyes are done. The last supper? Maybe not. Next stop, an all-night drinking binge with somebody, somebody and somebody.

When? When? When?

Onion-Sage Stuffed Goose Recipe

As culled (or stolen) from Clarissa’s blog, by Paul C. I wonder why I didn’t think of this since a long time ago. Better late than never, right?

Before

Ingredients:

3 lbs of onions.
½ cup of butter.
½ cup of celery, chopped with leaves.
6 cups of soft breadcrumbs.
1 tablespoon of salt.
½ tablespoon of freshly ground black pepper.
1 tablespoon of dried sage.
1 teaspoon of dried savory.
½ teaspoon of dried marjoram.
¼ teaspoon of ground nutmeg.
1 goose, about 11 lb.
1 tablespoon of fresh lemon juice.
Salt and pepper.
2 chicken bouillon cubes.
Boiling water.

Directions:

Peel and cut the onions into quarters, then put them in a large saucepan, and add just enough boiling water to cover, and simmer, covered, for about 15 minutes or until just tender.
Drain, cool, and coarsely chop the onions.
In a large heavy skillet, melt the butter.
Add the chopped celery and gently sauté for about 3 minutes, stirring frequently.
After
Add half the breadcrumbs and cook gently until lightly browned, stirring frequently to combine.
Place the remaining breadcrumbs in a large mixing bowl.
Add the salt, pepper, sage, savory, marjoram and nutmeg. Toss to combine the ingredients.
Add the prepared onions and the sautéed celery and breadcrumb mixture to the bowl and toss again to combine.
Allow to cool before stuffing the goose.
Preheat your oven to 400°F (205°C) degrees.
Rub the goose inside and out with lemon juice.
Generously sprinkle the inside of the goose with salt and pepper.
Stuff the neck cavity with some of the prepared stuffing and fasten the neck skin to the body of the goose with a skewer.
Stuff the body of the goose with the remaining stuffing, skewering and lacing the end closed.
Tie the legs and the wings to the body with butcher’s twine.
Prick the skin of the goose all over, to let the fat escape while roasting.
Place the goose, breast side, down on the rack of a large roasting pan.
Add the chicken bouillon cubes to the two cups boiling water and stir until dissolved, then pour the mixture over the goose.
Roast for 60 minutes, uncovered.
Pour off half the drippings and discard.
Turn the goose over and pour two cups of boiling water over the bird.
Continue roasting for another 60 minutes.
Pour off the drippings from the pan, again.
Prick the skin of the goose all over and continue roasting for about 90 minutes more, or until tender.
To serve, place the goose on a large platter; remove the twine and skewers to carve.