Another local food blogger, Scott from Fight the Fat Foodie (his post about the project), and I were asked by a reporter from the local paper, the News-Gazette, to contribute to a piece on a local Million Meals for Haiti meal packaging party, where more than 1,000,000 meals were put together to be sent to Haiti.  (If/when it goes on their website, I’ll be sure to link to it here.)  Edit: The reporter, Meg Thilmony’s, reflections are online. I was given one of these packages, designed to feed six people, and asked to make something with it and reflect on the notion that my ability to do so was far more than the people this food is intended for.

The bag came, filled with rice and other stuff inside.  According to the Numana fact sheet, “rice, soy protein, freeze-dried vegetables, and 21 vitamins and minerals targeted to help the immune system of malnourished people.”  The bag is just a functional means of conveyance to people who tend to understand how to prepare rice and beans.  That’s a good thing, because the information and instructions on the bag are riddled with typos and mistakes.  For example, the instructions call for too much water (6 cups for 2-3 cups of rice) and too little cooking time (5 minutes).  It does include a genuine request from the Numana organization that it is “Not to Be Sold” for “This food is to be given freely because Jesus loves little children.”

I prepared it according to the instructions and was underwhelmed.  The stuff is bland if prepared by the basic instructions.  Of course, it’s food, and as I remind everyone in my tagline, “we all need to eat.”  For using as a recipe component, I felt like it was just too starchy for me to use it as-is.  I browned some ground beef and mixed in some tangy tomatillo salsa to add a little kick.  As universal as stuffed peppers are, I wanted to bring something genuinely Haitian into the dish, so I made a traditional black bean sauce called sauce pois noir based on this shell of a recipe.  I’ve been wanting to give the odd tuber jicama another try, so I made a basic salad with it, which added in a great crunchy element on the plate.  The delicate purple chive flowers were a beautiful (and tasty) garnish, adding in a reminder of the fresh growth of Spring.

I’ll share recipes and a delicious photo further down, but I have to go back and reflect on how lucky I am to have those choices.  I can go to a grocery store and buy fresh produce from around the world all year.  I can choose organic and locally grown products, or visit the farmers’ market.  And I do do those things, because those things are important to me and I (usually) have the means to do so.  I’ve always grown up understanding that food should be a source of joy.  It doesn’t have to be great, it doesn’t have to be expensive, but sharing a homemade meal with people is one of the things that makes me happiest.  From the looks on the faces of family and friends who join us for meals, that joy tends to reach across the dining table.  Organizations like Numana, in partnership with the Salvation Army, are making that feeling happen for hungry people all over the world.

Numana is a Kansas-based non-profit international hunger relief organization formed in August, 2008.  They partner with organizations like the Salvation Army to deliver much-needed food to people all over the world.  From the literature available on their website and the bag they provide, they focus on feeding school children first.  Feeding children not only increases their chances for success in their scholastic endeavors, but they are at lower risk for being exploited by their families in order to get food.

Food insecurity, not knowing where your next meal will come from, isn’t just a problem in areas devastated by earthquakes or stricken with poverty.  According to Share Our Strength, food insecurity exists in 14.6% of US households, meaning that nearly 50 million Americans, including around 17 million children, are not able to regularly provide nutritious meals for themselves.  This is a global problem.  This is a local problem.

Sauce Pois Noir (Haitian Black Bean Sauce)

• 2 T oil or butter
• 1/2 medium onion, chopped
• 1/2 jalapeño, seeded and chopped
• 1 14-oz. can black beans
• 3 T cilantro, chopped
• 1/2 t. salt, to taste
• 1/4 – 1t powdered chipotle pepper (optional)

1. Heat oil in a saucepan over medium heat.
2. Add onion and jalapeño and cook about 5 minutes, or until softened.
3. Add beans and cilantro and cook for 5 minutes.
4. Blend in a blender, food processor, or with an immersion blender until smooth.  Consistency should be similar to a thick cream sauce, so add a little chicken stock or water to thin if necessary.
5. Add salt, to taste, and chipotle powder, if using.  Keep warm until serving.

Easy Tomatillo Salsa

• 1/2 pound tomatillos, about 7-10, husk removed and washed
• 1/2 medium onion, chopped
• 3 T cilantro, chopped
• 1/2 t salt, to taste
• 1 jalapeño, seeded
• flesh of 1 avocado, chopped

1. Put half of the tomatillos in a microwave-safe bowl, cover, and cook on high for 2 minutes.
2. Put all the ingredients into a blender or food processor and blend until mostly smooth.
3. Taste for salt, but be careful not to add too much.
4. Chill until ready to serve.

Stuffed Peppers

I really want to mention that this is not well-tested because I used the Numana meal, not rice and beans.  The Numana meal left plenty of leftovers after making the stuffed peppers, but it was still delicious.  Taste along the way and make sure you like how it’s going!

• 4-8 bell peppers, tops and core removed
• 2 c long grain rice, cooked (about 4 cups cooked rice)
• 1 14-oz. can beans (pinto or kidney), drained
• 1/2 cup of Easy Tomatillo Salsa (recipe above), or more, to taste
• 1.5 pounds ground beef
• shredded cheese, for topping

1. Preheat your oven to 375 degrees.
2. In a bowl, stir together the rice and beans with the salsa.
3. Brown the beef in a pan over high heat, and drain off the fat.  Stir into the rice mixture.
4. Spoon the rice mixture gently into the bell peppers, being careful not to pack it down too much.
5. Arrange peppers in a baking dish, standing up, and top each pepper with cheese.
6. Bake for 15-25 minutes, or until peppers are tender and cheese has melted and begun to brown.

Jicama Salad

• 1 jicama, peeled, sliced into matchsticks (julienne)
• juice of 1-2 limes
• 1/2 t salt
• 1/2 t cayenne pepper
• 2T cilantro, chopped finely
• chive flowers, to garnish (optional)

1. At least an hour before serving, combine all ingredients except the cilantro and toss to combine.
2. Just before serving, add cilantro and toss to combine.
3. Taste for salt, and adjust if needed.

pork mole taco, quesadilla, rice, beans

Today over on Chambanamoms, I’ve got some delicious Mexican side dishes for you to try.  Now, you have a favorite taco filling you can make, but different salsas are a great way for everyone at the table to customize their meal.  Sometimes I like something really fiery, and one of my favorite flamingly flavorful salsas is Zarela Martinez’s Salsa Macha.

In Zarela’s Veracruz, she playfully translates this recipe title as “she-man sauce”, and it really does pack a punch that could make any man suffer.  In more careful doses however, the fruitiness of the chiles and the nuttiness of the peanuts really come out and play nicely with a wide range of foods.

She encourages the reader to experiment with the recipe, as this is only a general formula for this type of salsa.  You could try adding different dried chiles, or adjust how long you process it, so it could be as smooth as peanut butter.  You could use different roasted nuts, or roast the garlic before blending it in.

Salsa Macha (She-Man Sauce) from Zarela Martinez

makes about 1 1/4 cups

• 1/3 – 1/2 cup árbol, dried serrano, or other small dried chiles
• 1-2 garlic cloves
• 1 t salt, or to taste
• 1/2 cup roasted peanuts
• 1/4 – 1/3 cup olive oil (we recommend extra-virgin)

1. Lightly toast the chiles in a heavy pan over very low heat for 15-20 minutes until they darken slightly, become more brittle, and make a higher pitched rustling sound on the pan.  DO NOT BURN THEM!
2. Let the chiles cool slightly, then pull off the stem and discard most of the seeds.
3. Puree the garlic and salt in a food processor, then add the chiles and grind coarsely.
4. Add the peanuts and pulse to crush into bits the size of broken rice grains.
5. With the motor running, add the oil in a thin stream.  It should be mostly absorbed, but leave a thin film on the surface of the sauce.  The amount will vary depending on the peanuts.
6. Taste for salt and adjust if necessary.
7. The salsa will keep, tightly wrapped in the refrigerator, for a month.

First I made some crusty bread.  This is a pretty standard Ratio (5:3) bread, formed into a baguette shape, baked with steam until very crusty.

The centerpiece of the sandwich are the delicious little meats, carnitas, made from a big hunk of pork shoulder.  I used the simpler-than-you’d-expect “Slow Roasted Pork Carnitas” recipe from Rick Bayless himself.  You get tender shreds (or chunks if you prefer) of pork with crunchy surfaces, and all that without the mess of stove-top frying.

I also made some black beans, a blended chipotle salsa, and some pickled onions.  Slice the bread, top with meat and all the fixings, then slide it all into the oven to melt the cheese a bit.  Here it is pre-bake.

So, I wasn’t 100% accurate, but the spirit was there.  My bread was a little too crusty, but the components come together in a symphony of rich, sweet, salty, tart, spicy Mexican flavor.  The pickled onions are vital to balancing the richness of the carnitas, so you should make plenty.  I usually go with a really simple preparation and wish I made twice as much.

Pickled Onions

These things are great on sandwiches, tacos, toss them in salads or eat with a fork–anywhere you want that acidic zing.  Keep them refrigerated and they will stay nice and crunchy.  I like to use cider vinegar, but feel free to use whatever you like or is most appropriate for your dish.  I like them to be crunchy and bold, still offering the heat of the onion.  If you’d like to tame them a little, combine all ingredients and cook anywhere from 30 seconds to a few minutes, depending on the texture you’d like.

• 1 medium onion, sliced thinly
• 1/2 t salt
• 1/4 c vinegar (cider vinegar, or whatever you like)
• sugar, to taste (optional)

1. Sprinkle sliced onions with salt, and toss to distribute.
2. Add vinegar and toss to coat the onions.
3. Allow to sit 10-30 minutes, tossing occasionally.
4. Taste and add sugar to balance the vinegar, if desired.

In blog business, the winner (chosen by random draw) of the contest was Stuart, who writes the excellent food blog kitchenhacker.net.  A couple disks of Mexican chocolate (and a little something extra) from Taza Chocolate will be its way to him very soon.  He used to live in the Champaign-Urbana area, and I was fortunate enough to meet him a few times.  When he was in his last-minute moving preparations, he offered me some of his frozen stash that he just couldn’t take with him.  It’s still in my freezer, but it will be featured soon.

Taza is supporting the efforts to aid people devastated by the earthquake in Haiti by donating half of each retail sale on their website through January 22nd.  You can read more about the organization they are donating to in their blog post.  Go buy some chocolate and help a good cause.  I get nothing for telling you this, but there are plenty of people whose lives will be changed.

Fall and winter are a great time to make warm side dishes with big roasty flavors.  Sweet potatoes (previously seen in pie form) are a delicious reason to fire up the oven.  I contributed a recipe for garlic sage roasted sweet potatoes to local mom parent-focused site, chambanamoms.com, for Thanksgiving.  This is a simple-to-prepare side dish that is sure to satisfy.  Make it for a holiday meal when you’re tired of mashed potatoes (as if that ever happens), or any weeknight meal that needs a little seasonal pick-me-up.

Find the recipe over on ChambanaMoms.com.  I made this with butternut squash just a couple days ago and it was delicious.  Just cut them up into cubes, since the squash takes a little longer to cook than most sweet potatoes.

As you may have seen, I’m trying out a gallery plugin to put together a bunch of photos on this post.  If you like it (or don’t), please let me know.

Reminder: if you haven’t already entered the giveaway for some tasty Taza chocolate, go read up on the details and enter!