West African Peanut Soup With Chicken

My mom made this soup one night and it was amazing. This soup is a great winter dinner for the family. This soup can be eaten during the whole year. Even summer. When you take a sip of the soup you will feel so good. One thing they do not list in the recipe is bread. Bread and soups are a great combination. If you dip the bread into the soup for about 15 seconds it will be come soft. You might want to use the bread like a sponge to soak up this delicious soup. One strange ingredient that is in this soup is peanut butter. You might not think of peanut butter being a good soup ingredient but it does add an incredible flavor.
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1/2 pound skinless, boneless chicken (about 2 thighs or breasts) cut into chunks
Pinch of cayenne
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
6 cups stock or water
2 sweet potatoes or yams (about 1 pound), peeled and cut into thick slices
8 plum tomatoes, cored and halved (canned are fine; drain and reserve liquid for another use)
1/2 pound collards or kale, washed and cut into wide ribbons
1/4 to 1/2 cup peanut butter, chunky or smooth.
1. Chop peanuts, or crush them with the side of a knife, or pulse them in a food processor to chop roughly.
2. Put oil in a deep skillet or medium saucepan over medium heat; a minute later, add onion, ginger and garlic and cook, stirring occasionally, until onion is soft, 3 to 5 minutes. Add chicken and continue cooking for another 3 or 4 minutes, until just coloring. Add 1/2 cup peanuts and the cayenne and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
3. Stir in the stock and the sweet potatoes, bring to a boil, and turn heat down to medium-low so the soup bubbles gently. Stir in tomatoes and collards, then cook, stirring occasionally, until chicken is cooked through, about 10 minutes.
4. Stir in 1/4 cup peanut butter. Taste, adjust seasoning (you may want to add more peanut butter at this point) and serve, garnished with remaining peanuts.

Simple Fried Rice

My mom made this fried rice and it was really good. It was also homemade which sometimes makes it better than take-out. I always love making fried rice. Our family bought a wok recently. Fried Rice can be made with any vegetables, meats, and whatever you think of putting in it.

Simple Fried Rice
1 medium onion, halved from pole to pole; each half cut into 6 wedges
4 to 6 ounces meat of choice, cooked or raw, cut into bite-size pieces
4 to 6 ounces vegetable of choice, cooked or raw, cut into bite-size pieces
1 large garlic clove, minced
2 large eggs, beaten
4 tablespoons soy sauce
4 tablespoons vegetable oil
4 cups cooked rice
4 scallions, white and green parts, minced

1. Set a heavy-bottomed 12-inch nonstick or cast iron skillet over low heat while preparing meat, vegetable, garlic, and eggs. Marinate the meat in 1 tablespoon of soy sauce. Three to four minutes from making the fried rice, increase the heat to high and turn on the exhaust fan.

2. Put 1 tablespoon of oil and the onion in the skillet; stir-fry until the onion is still crisp but starts to turn brown, about 1 minute. Add the raw meat or vegetable; stir-fry until crisp-tender for vegetables or lightly browned for meat, about 1 minute. Add the cooked meat or vegetable; stir-fry until lightly browned, about 1 minute longer. (If both meat and vegetables are raw or cooked, stir-fry the meat first, giving it a little head start.) Stir in the garlic, then transfer the mixture to a plate; set aside.

3. Put the remaining 3 tablespoons oil in the skillet; heat until shimmering. Add the rice; stir-fry, breaking up clumps, until heated through, about 2 minutes. Add the egg; stir until scrambled, about 1 minute. Return the meat/vegetable mixture, along with the remaining 3 tablespoons of soy sauce and the scallions, to the pan and stir to combine. Serve immediately.

Thanksgiving Meal 2011

This year my mom's family was in town from New Jersey to enjoy Thanksgiving with us. They arrived on Tuesday and left on Saturday. The turkey, which my dad made, was amazing. A lot of people were involved in making the Thanksgiving meal. My dad made the turkey, my mom made the corn pudding, my aunt made the roasted vegetables and salad, my brother and I made the stuffing, My cousin Nell chopped and pealed much of the produce that went into the meal, my uncle made the mashed potatoes, and my uncle made the pies with my mom. The house was full of flavors from the cooking of every dish. The turkey was so juicy. Having one bite of everything, made me feel like I was in heaven of food. The turkey was stuffed with handfuls of herbs. My dad didn't put any stuffing in the bird which made the bird incredibly good with just the herbs. In other blog posts I will post about all of the wonderful sides we had with the turkey. Everybody did something in the kitchen to make the Thanksgiving meal a great one.

The Best donuts Ever!

This donut shop in Grand Marais, Minnesota is the best. They have at least 15 kinds of donuts made at once. It is located right by the water of Lake Superior. This is a small shop but it is worth stopping by there if you are traveling the North Shore in Minnesota. The donut shop is called "The Worlds Best Donuts". They have glazed donuts, dipped donuts, and along with a few more varieties. I have been there twice and I have almost fainted each time when I had my first bite of my donut. The donut shop is right by the Angry Trout Cafe in Grand Marais MN, which I mentioned in one of my other posts. The link below will get you right to the website of the Worlds Best Donut Shop.

http://www.worldsbestdonutsmn.com/

The Angry Trout Cafe

This cafe is one of the best fish restaurants in Minnesota. The fish is caught right in Lake Superior which is about 25 feet away from the restaurant. There are about 4 docks that you can walk out on and see the boats that they use to catch your meal. This restaurant is in Grand Marais, Minnesota. It is about 110 miles away from Downtown Duluth. The restaurant also gets some of the fish they use to prepare the meals from The Dockside Fish Market next door. The Dockside smokes their own fish and has a little dinning area inside. We happened to try their Whitefish spread that was outstanding on a fresh baguette. The fish market gives some of the fish it catches to the Angry Trout next door. I will post both links one to the Angry Trout and one to The Dockside fish market next door.

http://www.angrytroutcafe.com/

http://www.docksidefishmarket.com/

The Scenic Cafe

One of the best cafe's I have been to is the New Scenic Cafe. This Cafe is very kid friendly. It is on Lake Superior which is always a great thing. Most of the ingredients are local or organic which makes a healthy living. The Scenic Cafe has outdoor seating when it is nice enough outside with a beautiful flower garden in the outdoor seating. If you are driving up north this is a wonderful place to stop and have a bite to eat. The Scenic Cafe is 15.4 miles out of the city of Duluth, MN. The restaurant has many windows on the inside which makes a lot of natural able to luminate the restaurant on any kind of day. The walls are made out of wood, which makes you nice and relaxed inside the restaurant with a lot of artwork hanging on the walls. The link below will take you to the site of the New Scenic Cafe.

http://www.sceniccafe.com/

Best Italian Restaurant

Do you wonder where the best Italian restaurant is? Well the answer to that question is Bellisio's Italian Restaurant in Duluth, Minnesota. This restaurant is right on the water of the Duluth Harbor. The good thing about this restaurant is it is kid friendly. I have been to this restaurant 2 times and the food was great there. If you live in the Minneapolis area it's about a 2 and 1/2 hours away. All of the pasta there is homemade. The sauces are homemade and many other items are as well. When you are done with your meal you might like to take a walk out on the pier and look out on the lake and see what you can find or you can go to one of the thousands of gift shops in downtown Duluth. The site below is the link right to the website of Bellsios's restaurant. People think that Bellisio's is the best italian restaurant in Minnesota. It may seem like an Olive Garden from the outside but once you walk in "Welcome To The Land of Italian Food".

http://www.grandmasrestaurants.com/bellisios/