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Communal oven in Morocco, plus recipes A Moroccan Oven That's Open to All (The New York Times; June 13, 2007), an article about communal ovens in Morocco, and a few Moroccan recipes: Quote: One morning, I happened upon a crowd of women, along with a few men and small boys, all balancing boards on their heads piled with rounds of dough. I followed them into a small stucco building where smoke poured from the chimney. Inside, a baker stood calmly underneath a portrait of the Moroccan king, Mohammed VI. He carefully placed the mounds of shaped dough on long wooden paddles and slid them into a brick oven fueled with eucalyptus branches. From 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. each day, customers arrive in a steady stream, pay a few dirhams — about 25 cents — and then leave. About 20 minutes later, they return to pick up their golden rounds of bread. In three other towns in northern Morocco I found similar ovens, all contributing to the heartbeat of the city. Communal ovens have been a part of Mediterranean life for thousands of years. People in the shtetls of Eastern Europe, in French country towns and in Middle Eastern medinas baked their bread in them, and later, when the ovens were cooler, cooked casseroles and other dishes. Today many people have gas stoves or propane cooktops at home, and the communal ovens are disappearing. In my travels I have found them only rarely: in Jerusalem’s old city; in Arab villages in Israel and the West Bank; on the Caribbean island of Montserrat. Quote: Chicken With Couscous 1 4-pound chicken, skinned and cut into chunks (thighs in half, breasts in thirds, drumsticks and wings left whole, and backbone discarded) Juice of 1 lemon Salt 2 tablespoons olive oil 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons vegetable oil 3 onions, diced 1 tablespoon ground ginger 1 tablespoon plus 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper 1/2 cup (lightly packed) parsley sprigs 1/2 cup (lightly packed) cilantro sprigs 1 pinch saffron threads 1 1/2 cups blanched whole almonds 1/2 cup sugar 1 tablespoon butter 1 pound couscous. 1. Rub chicken pieces with lemon juice, and season lightly with salt. Place a Dutch oven over high heat, and add olive oil and 2 tablespoons vegetable oil. When oil is hot add onions, and sauté until beginning to soften. Add chicken pieces, and sauté until seared on all sides. Pour off all oil in pan. 2. Add ginger, 1 tablespoon cinnamon, black pepper, parsley and cilantro. Mix saffron with 1 cup water, and add to pot; then add 2 cups more water. Bring to a boil, cover and simmer until chicken is cooked, about 30 minutes. 3. While chicken cooks place a skillet over medium-high heat, and add remaining 1 cup vegetable oil. When hot add almonds, and stir until golden brown. Remove immediately, and drain on paper towels. In a food processor combine almonds, sugar, butter and remaining 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon. Pulse until there is just a tiny crunch to almonds. 4. To serve, cook couscous according to package instructions. Add almond mixture, and toss to blend. Spread couscous across a large serving platter, and mound chicken on top. Serve hot. www.nytimes.com/2007/06/13/... Tagine of Fish 3 tablespoons olive oil 1 large red onion, thinly sliced into rounds 1 large potato, boiled until tender and thinly sliced into rounds 1 green bell pepper, roasted, peeled and thinly sliced 1/2 cup chopped cilantro 1/2 cup chopped parsley 1 tablespoon paprika 2 teaspoons salt, or to taste 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper 2 tablespoons ground cumin, or to taste 1 teaspoon dried thyme leaves 5 cloves garlic, minced 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice 2 1/2 pounds sardine, swordfish or red snapper fillets, cut into slices about 3 inches long 2 tomatoes, peeled and sliced into rounds 1 lemon, thinly sliced Harissa, for garnish (see note) Thinly sliced preserved lemon, for garnish (see note). 1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Smear bottom of a tagine, clay pot or Dutch oven with 1 tablespoon olive oil. Layer slices of onion, potato and roasted pepper in pan. In a small bowl, combine cilantro, parsley, paprika, salt, black pepper, cumin, thyme, garlic, lemon juice and 2 remaining tablespoons olive oil; mix well, and sprinkle about 2 tablespoons over vegetables in pan. 2. Rub all sides of fish with some spice mixture, and place on top of vegetables. If using red snapper fillets, sandwich two pieces of fillet together before arranging them. 3. Smear tomato slices with spice mixture, and place on fish. Top with lemon slices and any remaining spice mixture. Sprinkle with more salt, if desired, and drizzle with 1 to 2 tablespoons water. 4. Cover with a lid or foil, and bake until fish is cooked through (30 minutes to 1 hour, depending on type of fish and pan used). Garnish with harissa and preserved lemon, and serve. www.nytimes.com/2007/06/13/...

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Ghanaian Food Ghanaian Food (part of the Navrongo and Lawra HomePage, a website devoted to two small communities in Northern Ghana): Quote: A favorite food in Navrongo and all of Ghana is fufu. In Navrongo and the rest of Northern Ghana fufu consists of yams. Fufu in Southern Ghana is made of cassava and plaintain. Both types of Fufu are pounded with a huge wooden mortar and pestle until the foodstuffs glutinize into a big ball of, well, fufu. On the left is our friend Agnes and her daughter stopping for a photo while they pound some dinner. Here you can see Agnes turning the ball of fufu while her daughter is pounding it. The fufu needs to be turned to ensure that all lumps have been pounded out. Rhythm is essential for both pounder and turner if stick and hand are not to meet! On the left is Ida feeding rice and stew to her younger brother Ema (short for Emmanual). Wilfred in the yellow shirt on probably thinking about what mischief he'll get into next (he's a cyclone of trouble!). The staple food for most people in Navrongo, Lawra, and the rest of Northern Ghana is TZ. It is a thickened porridge ball made from millet or corn flour. It is served with a stew. There are many different types of stews but my favorites are okra, bean leaf, and alayfu (a coarse green leafy vegetable). Recipes from Ghana and Western Africa

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Kofta Kofta are Middle Eastern meatballs. They have come into Africa, especially Northern and Eastern Africa, via trade and migration from the Middle East and India. Quote: Lamb Kofta with Yogurt Sauce Olive oil cooking spray 2 slices day-old crusty white bread, lightly toasted 1 medium yellow onion, quartered 1/2 cup loosely packed fresh flat-leaf parsley 1/4 cup loosely packed fresh mint 2 cloves garlic 1/2 tsp. cumin 1/2 tsp. cinnamon 1/2 tsp. chili powder 1/2 tsp. salt 1/4 tsp. freshly ground black pepper 1 Tbsp. grated fresh ginger 1/2 Tbsp. Thai red curry paste 1 large egg 1/2 pound ground lamb 1/2 pound ground turkey 4 large round pita breads 2 medium tomatoes, diced Place an oven rack in the center position of the oven. Preheat the oven to broil. Lightly coat a rimmed baking sheet with olive oil cooking spray. Place the bread in a food processor and pulse until it forms fine breadcrumbs. Add the onion, parsley, mint, garlic, cumin, cinnamon, chili powder, salt, black pepper, ginger and red curry paste, then continue pulsing until finely chopped. Transfer the mixture to a large bowl. Mix the egg into the onion and herb mixture. Add the lamb and turkey and use your hands to thoroughly mash everything together. Shape the mixture into 12 egg-size balls and arrange on the prepared baking sheet. Lightly spray the kofta with olive oil. Broil for 8 minutes, then use tongs to rotate each kofta and broil an additional 7 minutes. Rotate the kofta again and broil another 3 to 4 minutes. Remove from the oven and let stand 5 minutes. Wrap the pitas in foil and place in the oven for 1 to 2 minutes, or just long enough to heat. Arrange three kofta down the center of each pita, then top with diced tomato and yogurt sauce (recipe follows). Wrap the pita around the kofta. Yogurt Sauce 1 cup plain yogurt (Greek-style is good) 1 Tbsp. chopped fresh dill 1 small cucumber, peeled, seeded and finely diced 1 tsp. lemon juice Salt and freshly ground black pepper. In a small bowl mix together the yogurt, dill, cucumber and lemon juice. Refrigerate while preparing the kofta. When ready to serve, season to taste with salt and pepper. Makes about 1-1/2 cups from Kofta makes a great wrap (The Napa Valley Register; May 08, 2007)

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RE: Umbhida, Muriwo, Sukuma wiki, . . . Kale Also see: Sukuma Wiki Ugali Sadza

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Norma Jean's Rice N Beans A rice-and-beans recipe from the Caymen Islands, Norma Jean's Rice N Beans, is featured in this article, Taste of fellowship in West Bay (Cayman Net News, April 20, 2007), which also includes a history of rice-and-beans in Africa. Quote: Norma Jean's Rice N Beans This is a good example of a "simple recipe," meaning simple ingredients, but this dish is anything but simple to make! You should set aside several hours and elbow grease to make authentic Caymanian Rice N Beans. Obviously this makes a crowd-size recipe, but you can divide the quantities in half or more for smaller portions. However, Norma Jean's technique offers important tips that are the secret to her perfect results. Norma Jean makes her Rice N Beans in a D-50 (50 quart) aluminum caldero. The caldero is ideal for this recipe because of its large flat bottom and tight fitting cover, which allow the rice to cook evenly – for a recipe this size, you will need to use a propane burner, not a regular kitchen stove top. She prefers the small Honduran red beans to kidney beans because of their flavor and the way they "make the Rice N Beans nice and pink" during cooking. They can also be cooked ahead of time and set aside and won't turn sour or "go off." But they are expensive and not always available. Her other secrets include cooking the beans first in a pressure cooker until tender and sautéing the rice until opaque before adding the rest of the ingredients. This cuts the cooking time down to about 30-45 minutes because it "opens up" the rice grains and makes them absorb the liquid faster (Norma Jean doesn't wash the rice first, however, as some Caribbean cooks recommend, because she feels it makes the rice too "clammy"). 10 cups small red beans (Honduran are best) 2-3 pegs (cloves) garlic, minced 8 cups vegetable oil 24 cups long grain white rice 1 bunch thyme (a dozen or so sprigs) 1 bunch scallions, chopped and crushed 3 medium or 2 large onions, chopped 3 stalks celery large green sweet pepper, chopped 2-3 whole Scotch bonnet peppers 1- 14-ounce can coconut milk cup salt 2 tablespoons ground black pepper Water as needed Cook the beans with plenty of water and the garlic until tender (I cut time by using a pressure cooker) until tender. Never add salt to the water when you are tendering the beans. When cooked, there should be enough liquid with the beans so they are almost covered. Set aside and cover. Heat the oil over medium high heat in a large caldero or pot with flat bottom. Add the rice and stir well, and keep stirring frequently until rice is turning translucent, but do not allow it to brown. When you think the rice is just about fried lightly throughout, add the thyme sprigs and stir well, cook about a minute longer, then add the scallion, onion, celery and green pepper and Scotch bonnets and stir again. Whenever you stir from now on, do it gently and be careful not to break the peppers or the dish will be too hot. Add the coconut milk, salt and black pepper to the beans and stir well. Now pour bean mixture all at once into the rice and stir well. Be careful: rice will pop so watch out and don’t get burned by any splattering liquid. Add enough water until the beans and rice are just covered slightly with about a half inch of liquid and stir again. Stir gently until mixture is very well mixed, then reduce heat to medium and cover tightly. You will need to check the rice every five minutes or so, stirring so the cooked rice from the bottom comes to the top, and covering again, allowing the rest to cook evenly. When the rice is fluffy and dry, and liquid underneath surface is absorbed, the dish is ready. Also see Beans and Rice