Tag: life

Tea Time: Black Jack Tea With Red Plum Jam Mini Pies

~ Sophie ~ 5 Comments

It’s the Christmas season and this means families getting together to spend some quality time. Spending quality time involves food, in fact, a lot of food. Speaking of food, ever since I was little(r), I always dreamed of having a tea party. Yes a tea party complete with fancy china and all sorts of sweets that I made for everyone attending. I think I am close to achieving  this dream now that I know how easy it is to make these pies.

I am sure most of you know what black jack is. A common weed  that has awns which get  stuck to your clothes if you happen to be near a bush of some sort. As irritating as this plant can be, it also has benefits like how it makes a super flavorful tea.  Seriously, my list of teas(is this a word?) is growing. All you  have to do is get some black jack leaves with their flowers too(preferably the tender ones), wash them and  boil them in enough water.  After it has boiled,strain out the awn, leaf and flower particles, add sugar and serve. It’s that simple really. So in honor of the holiday season, I thought this super easy black jack tea would really go well with these jam pies. Since the teas is easy to make, I am sharing the pie recipe below

What you will need:
Zesta Red Plum Jam
2C. Baking flour
½ C. Margarine (blue band)/ Butter
1/2 C. Cold water
1Tbsp. Sugar
½ Tsp. Salt

Method
Sift flour in a bowl. Add salt and sugar. Mix well.
Add margarine and using your hands mix it in the flour until the mixture becomes coarse.
Next add the water, a tablespoon at a time, while mixing. Keep adding little water until a firm dough is formed. It should not be very wet and should not stick to your hands so much (you may need more or less water).
After you have formed a firm dough, put it back in the bowl and keep it refrigerated for 15 minutes.
After 15 minutes, remove from the refrigerator and, on a floured surface, cut the dough into two equal parts.
Using a floured rolling pin or a glass bottle, roll the dough out till it is thin enough. Using a circular cookie cutter or glass, cut out as many circles as possible. The size of the cutter determines the size of the pies. If you want them large, use a larger cutter and vice versa. Using a rolling-pin, roll out the scraps and continue cutting out circles until the dough is over.
Spoon ½teaspoon of the Zesta red plum jam into the center of half of the pie circles. Make sure to leave enough of a border around the filling to seal them shut. Do not overfill!
Brush around the edges of the dough with a finger dipped in a whisked egg. This will be the “glue”.
Place a second dough circle on top each filled circle then use a fork to press the edges together.
Cut a hole on the top of each pie with a sharp knife and place on prepared sheet pan.
Refrigerate for 15 minutes.
Bake the pies for 15 minutes, or until they’re golden brown. Enjoy!
Makes 25+

I realize the method is lengthy but it’s just me trying to break down the whole process which is easy. So no worries. While making the tea, I grabbed the camera and went out in the back yard to shoot some weeds A.K.A Black Jack. That’s how easy it is to find black jack.

 

Happy Holidays

🙂

Sophie

Pie Crust Termite Mushroom Pizza

~ Sophie ~ 2 Comments

It’s the time of the year when the weather is very bipolar. It rains in the morning and the whole atmosphere becomes dark and gloomy and then in the afternoon, the sun is shining so bright it’s hard to believe it rained, except for the mud on the ground and vice versa. One moment you want to take a warm hearty soup and another moment you are yearning for a cold drink.

I am probably not the only one but have you ever thought of paring pie and pizza? It saves time, honestly. I was browsing the other day and I realized that to make a perfect pizza crust is close to impossible for me at the moment. On the other hand, pie dough is so easy to make, seriously! And so a radical idea came to me and I was thinking why not make a pie crust pizza?

I am digressing! Have you ever heard of termite mushrooms? They are these tiny mushrooms found on termite hills that are full of character and a distinct flavor. I remember when I was young, after it rained, I would be sent out to soggy termite hills to collect these little things. Usually, these termite hills also harbor snakes. So the collectors have to tread softly. The fun part of it was actually getting to eat them after laboring collecting them, removing the mud, thoroughly washing and cooking them.
I did not know they were called termite mushrooms until recently when I actually had to cook them. I, clearly, have a lot to learn!

So it all started when we had bought the dried version of the mushrooms and had eaten them repeatedly as soup three times (will share the recipe soon). I had cheese and pie dough (ha!) readily available and there was a handful of the dried mushrooms left and so termite mushroom pizza was made. While doing this, I justified my decision with saying “pizza always has mushrooms”. I know you are wondering what pizza has to do with the bipolar weather. The thing is, you can always whip up an easy pizza in those gloomy moments, before the sun comes out

What you will need:

Pie dough
2C. Baking flour
½ C. Margarine (blue band)/ Butter
1/2 C. Cold water
½ Tsp. Sugar
½ Tsp. Salt
Toppings
½ C./ a handful of dried termite mushrooms,
3 medium tomatoes, chopped
1 Medium onion, thinly sliced, lengthwise
1 Small green pepper, chopped
½ C. Cheese, grated
2 Garlic cloves, crushed and chopped
3 Tbsp. Cooking oil
Salt

Method

Soak the termite mushrooms for 30 minutes in slightly salty water.

Pie dough
Sift flour in a bowl. Add salt and sugar. Mix well. Add margarine and using your hands mix it in the flour until the mixture becomes coarse. Next add the water, a tablespoon at a time, while mixing. Keep adding little water until a firm dough is formed. It should not be very wet and should not stick to your hands so much (you may need more or less water). After you have formed the dough, put it back in the bowl and keep it refrigerated for 15 minutes. After 15 minutes, remove from the refrigerator and, on a floured surface, cut the dough into two equal parts. Using a floured rolling pin or a glass bottle, roll the dough out till it is large enough (think chapatti size). Roll the second part of the dough too. After rolling them, put them back in the refrigerator for 5 minutes.

Toppings
Heat the oil in a pan. Add the tomatoes and garlic and cover the pan. Check occasionally to see if they are soft. Once soft, remove from fire and let them cool.
Drain the mushrooms.
Remove one crust from the refrigerator and put it on a cookie sheet of your oven or a metallic tray.
Keep the other half of all the toppings for the second crust.
Using a spoon, spread half of the fried tomato mix on the crust. Next add the termite mushrooms. Next add the green pepper. Next add the onions and finally the grated cheese.
Bake in an oven until the crust starts to brown a little and the cheese had completely melted. This can take an approximation of 15 to 20 minutes depending on the oven you are using. I use an oven toaster.
Remove from the oven and let the pizza cool.
Serve on a gloomy day… or really any day you feel like having easy homemade pizza!
The result is a light crusted but flaky pizza.

 

Now that I’m thinking about it, does this make it a tart? Just wondering.

 

Have a great week

 

🙂

Sophie

PS: Use fully ripe tomatoes to avoid sourness.

Lets Talk: UG Street Food

~ Sophie ~ Leave a comment

There is something about street food that is so mind-blowing. I believe street food is where you get the most random flavors…all which stick to the back of your mind. The thing about street food is that you totally have no idea who is preparing it(you are probably not going to speak to or see that person ever again!) and where it comes from but just trusting your instincts and dropping the ‘clean-freak’ for once, you indulge. Often times the taste is way beyond what words can describe (true story). The other day I was talking to my sister and she said that the best way to taste a region/country’s food is by going to the streets and indulging in the street food. It doesn’t hurt if it is done once, right? One thing is for sure though, it is definitely addicting (is that the right word?).

So today, I dare you to try some street food… OK. Maybe not, but I want to know, what street foods do you like here in Uganda and why?
My favorite by the way is fried Cassava, pancakes, rolex, roast maize/corn and mandazi. Talk about carb overload!

Seriously though, comment below to share street foods you like here in Uganda and why.

🙂

Sophie