Novel Food #3: Leftovers with Dendi Oil (Palm Oil)
March 23, 2008 | Filed Under Novel Food, Food Blogging Events | 10 Comments
Miranda withdrew from the fridge clutching a small bowl of day-old rice, a grilled chicken breast, half a Vidalia onion, a green net bag holding a few grape tomatoes and a tiny tin of sliced black olives. She set the items on the counterop next to the stove. "I could order in Chinese. There’s a place near here that stays open until three on the weekends, or I could throw something together. I think."
"Bernard said you didn’t cook," Lucas smiled.
"Chopping and re-heating is not cooking."
"What can I do to help?"
[…] He leaned in close to her to scrape his garlic into a skillet where Miranda had started the rice dancing in hot vegetable oil with a dash of dendi, the bright orange oil extracted from the African palm of northern Brazil.
"My Avó Marie Estrella used dendi the way Italian cooks use olive oil, " Miranda told Lucas, who had begun slicing the chicken breast into strips. "She was a very good cook. That gene bypassed me and went to my sister, Calista. I got my other grandmother’s cooking ability. Grandma Ilene’s food was just awful. She thought she was the best cook in the world, though."
[…] Lucas ate heartily. This was truly the best meal he’d ever had, and it was only leftovers.
This entry is for the literary/culinary blogging event, Novel Food, which is hosted by Simona of Briciole and Lisa of Champaign Taste. Participants are asked to post their literary-inspired culinary creations.
The above excerpt comes from one of my favorite stories, CRUSH by Crystal Hubbard. It’s about a rock star, Lucas, who rescues a girl, Miranda, from being crushed when she attends his concert. Since the book is a romance, you can imagine what happens afterwards — they fall in love, of course. ;-)
Miranda is half Brazilian and in the book, she mentions her Brazilian grandmother’s cooking skills and she attempts to cook Brazilian cuisine. A familiar ingredient she uses is palm oil, a vegetable cooking oil used in Brazil and many other tropical countries. High in beta-carotene, it gives off a reddish color. It is very tasty and can be used as a preservative. However it is high in cholesterol, so it’s a good idea to use it sparingly.
The heroine’s use of palm oil reminded me of when I grew up in Africa as a young girl. We had different trees in the back yard, mango trees, guava trees and a great big, tall palm tree. I remember palm oil being used a lot in the kitchen.
Like Miranda, I also had leftovers in my fridge — rice, eggs instead of chicken, mixed vegetables, tomato paste instead of fresh tomatoes and Spanish olives instead of black olives. I also had onions and garlic. And what do you know, I had palm oil, too. So, I decided to make my own leftovers concoction with the special ingredient — palm oil — to tie it all together. I heated everything together in a skillet, added salt and pepper and served immediately. Mmmm… Not bad at all. Now I’m going look for a hungry, hot, fine-looking rock star to feed. Let’s see, who can I find? 
Oh, and Happy Easter!
Paz
Ed Note: Interested rock stars may apply here.
Novel Food #2: Green Pea Soup
December 19, 2007 | Filed Under Novel Food, Soup/Chowder/Gumbo | 26 Comments
Lisa of Champaign Taste and Simona of Briciole are co-hosting their second literary/culinary event — Novel Food #2. I had fun participating in the first event and couldn’t resist the opportunity to participate again.
This time, I decided to try out one of the dishes prepared in the thriller, TOTE TANZEN NICHT (The Dead Don’t Dance) written by my friend, author Olivia Kroth. The story is about a mental patient who goes in search of vengeance against people she thinks are her enemies.
One of the characters in the story is 55 year old housekeeper, Hermine. She works for wealthy family in a villa in the Taunus mountains of Germany. Hermine has had a disturbing childhood but when she grows up one of the things that makes her happy is cooking. She loves to prepare meals for the family and uses recipes from a handwritten cookbook that she inherited from her deceased mother. One of the dishes she prepares is Green Pea Soup. The story (and recipe in the book) is in German. Olivia was kind enough to translate the recipe for me. Thanks, Olivia! You can check out her blog here.
I’d never had Green Pea Soup before and looked forward to trying it. The recipe calls for fresh green peas but I could only find the frozen kind. Also it calls for bacon cubes. I couldn’t find thick bacon, so I bought the bacon slices. I should have cut them but I didn’t feel like it. I cooked the long strips as is. I didn’t have a problem with that. ;-) There’s no mention of how much water to use, so I used about 4 cups. Oh! Also the recipe calls for four carrots. I like baby carrots and used that instead. Also, I like celery. As a result, I added a bit more than the recipes asks.
As you can see, I followed the recipe but with a "Paz touch." I’m not sure what Hermine’s Green Pea soup is supposed to look like but this is what mine looked like.
I enjoyed the Green Pea soup very much. I think it’s especially perfect for a cold day and it was definitely a cold day in New York City when I prepared. It warmed my body from head to toe. I loved the taste - the bacon, vegetables, marjoram, and potatoes. So hearty and filling. I loved my soup so much that I took the leftovers to work. I’d bought a new lunch jug and my soup stayed nice and warm from the time that I’d packed it till the time that I was ready to eat it. I came home and had some more for dinner.
If you’re interested in reading more about the Novel Food event and participating, go here.
Paz
Ed. Note: Ahhh! I understand that the soup is supposed to be blended? Hehehe! I didn’t know that and as you see, all the veggies in my soup are whole. No matter — next time I prepare this, I’ll make it blended. In the meantime, I liked it the way you see it in the photos. I liked biting into all the foods. But next time, I’ll do it differently. See, this is what I mean by cooking adventure. I learn something new, each time I cook.
Another Note: You can look at the round up of recipes and books on Champaign Taste (the first half) and Briciole (the second half).
Green Pea Soup
Tote Tanzen Nicht (The Dead Do Not Dance) by Olivia Kroth
Ingredients (for 4 portions):
500 g fresh green peas
200 g potatoes
1 stem of leek
2 small onions
1 small celery
4 fresh carots
2 l consommé (bouillon)
100 g bacon cubes
1 sward (bacon crust)
1 spoonful of melted fat
salt and pepper
marjoram
1 laurel leaf
Heat the melted fat in a pot, stew the bacon cubes in it, fill up with consommé. Place the sward and green peas into it and let them boil for a few minutes. Cut the carots, leek, celery and potatoes into small pieces, put them into the pot with salt,pepper, marjoram and the laurel leaf. Let the soup simmer for about 90 minutes on low heat.
Novel Food: Peaches in Red Wine
September 21, 2007 | Filed Under Novel Food, Food Blogging Events | 7 Comments
Simona of Briciole and Lisa of Champaign Taste are hosting the food blog event, Novel Food. That’s foods mentioned in a novel you’ve read. I didn’t get a chance to make anything new, so I’m reposting an old post about the food mentioned in one of my favorite novels, The Food of Love by Anthony Capella. Peaches in Red Wine. I also made Tiramisú, Coda alla Vaccinara (Oxtail soup), and Saltimbocca, which you can read about here, here, and here if you haven’t read them before (and are interested in reading them).
This was first posted August 20, 2005. In the story, the main character emails his girl friend suggestion of Peaches and Red Wine for dessert. It’s so simple to make that even the girlfriend, a non cook, can prepare it. And apparently, so can I.
Paz
* * * * * * * *
After my success with the tiramisù, I decide to try another dessert recipe from The Food of Love – Peaches in Red Wine. Fresh peaches, red wine, and sugar are all that the recipe calls for.
It was very simple and the only change that I made with the recipe is that I used Dole bottled peaches instead of fresh peaches.
I liked that it’s a light and simple dessert, not to mention nice to look at before eating.
Peaches in Red Wine
Just pour boiling water over the peaches to help you skin them, then slice them into bowls, sprinkle them with sugar, and pour red wine over them. They’re ready to eat after about 1 hour in the fridge.
Now, how easy is that!? If I can make this anyone, can! 
Paz
