Showing posts with label stewed tomatoes. Show all posts

Day 45: Palasami - luau- lupulu - call it what you will, I call it delish!

As a kid we had a Tongan version of this dish called Lupulu. You just mention that word at our house and people start to drool. We got the recipe from my Auntie Meleami. This is the same auntie that taught us to say "hello, how are you, go eat cockroaches" in Tongan un- beknownst to us. This recipe always helps us forgive her.
The samoan version - palasami or luau - is about the same, minus the tomato. I guess Tongans just like more veggies...or is it a fruit? Anyway - this is a great, authentic recipe that is so satisfying. We have it every sunday and if we don't I crave it the rest of the week. I don't know what we'll do when we leave samoa....I guess I'll have to make it in my coconut bra.

Lupulu
1 bunch red swiss chard
1 can stewed tomatoes
1 onion chopped
1 can coconut milk or fresh is best!
1 coconut per 2 people
cooked brown rice

Here is a quick tutorial on how to prep your coconut:



Notice that all this is done with the back of the knife with the blade towards you! BE CAREFUL! if it doesn't crack in one whack just keep hittin' it, it takes me a few hits. I guess I'm not as strong as this manly samoan. Once you've got your coconut cleaned out it should look like this


Which ones the nut? :)

Now, pour your tomatoes into a strainer and let sit for about an hour to drain. Cut the stems from the swiss chard and ruffly chop the greens. In a bowl mix the swiss chard, onion,salt,tomato and a can of coconut milk. Divide into your coconut bowls and cover with tin foil. Bake at 350 for about 1 hour to 1 hour and a half. If you want to make homemade coconut milk you can put the coconut meat through your juicer if it can handle it or check out this link.

Make your brown rice into rice balls by kneading it in your hands till in sticks together in balls the size of a tennis ball. Serve with the lupulu.

This dish really is best eaten with your hands. Take a pinch of rice between your thumb and first two fingers. Then take a pinch of the lupul with the rice and eat together. Great dish and easy clean-up!
coconut milk cooking in a coconut how to crack a coconut
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Day 35: Ratatouille

Matthew and I were living in Kirkland, Washington the summer I turned 25. After a delightful day, Matthew took me to see Ratatouille in the theater. Knowing that we would want healthy snacks that they would not have at the theater we stopped at the store to find some contraband. Since it was my birthday, Matthew decided to spring for some frozen shrimp cocktail (pre-vegan days) after all, this is a food show we're talking about!

Since it was frozen it took 1/2 an hour sitting on the hood of our car till it defrosted but we were still on time for the movie. Once inside the theater we opened our gastronomical feast, at which point shrimp smell filled the theater. I don't want to imagine what the people around us thought as that smelled wafted past. But, the shrimp were delicious, the cocktail sauce superb and the movie entertaining. It was a great birthday.

When we got home I called my grandmother and asked her what ratatouille was. Of course my grandmother knows EVERYTHING! She never ceases to amaze me! She told me what it was and gave me the history and the recipe right off the top of her head!

Now, have you ever looked at an eggplant and thought "what do ya do with this?" - Actually, I can think of plenty of things to do with an eggplant, but lets stick to the point at hand. I think ratatouille (now lovingly referred to as rat-patootie) is the best thing you can ever do with an eggplant!

Ratatouille
1 eggplant cubed
2-3 carrots shredded
1 can stewed tomatoes
any veggies on sale or leftover
1 onion chopped
spices
water

In your slow cooker add all these delicious veggies and enough water to cover. Let simmer on low for most of the day. Stir occasionally and add water as needed. It should be a thick stew when finished.
carrot eggplant left over veggies
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Day 31: Black Bean Soup

It's funny how once you leave home your tastes change. I'm totally convinced that as I drove that long stretch of road away from home to college my tastebuds actually mutated and started liking different things. Perhaps my liberal education liberated my tastebuds as well.....as if I could get more liberal in the kitchen than my mom and grandma....but that's beside the point.

As I said before, at our house we ate strange things like sweet spaghettie and tacos! But, we never had anything with cooked tomatoes. We weren't exactly prohibited, we just never had it. Even tomato soup was looked down upon. It actually wasn't until I was married that I had a tomato based soup. And I liked it. I'm such a rebel, I know.

After my first daring experience, which was this soup, I confronted my mother about what a deprived child I was. How could she do this to her children? Her reply, "ya, I don't like cooked tomatoes." That was it. I was a bit taken back by her brutal honesty. I can think of a lot of things that we didn't like as kids but were "invited" to quietly gunk down. We even had this rule in our house....the "no thank you" rule. This meant that we had to try everything at least once (twice if he was really cute) and if we didn't like it we could say "no thank you." I fully intend on torturing my children with this, and, as payback - Mother, I know your reading this, and I invite you to a no thank you helping! :)


Black Bean Soup

1 lb black beans cooked
2 carrots cubbed
2 potatoes cubbed
1 can corn
1 onion chopped
1 can stewed tomatoes
1 box spanish rice
lime
avacado
cilantro



Place everything but the corn, lime, avacado, and cilantro in your slow cooker and add enough water to fill it. Let simmer till carrots soften. Before serving add the corn, just to warm. Top with lime, avocado and cilantro. Enjoy mom!
black beans carrot corn
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