Tag: uganda

A Harvest Story + Fresh Bean Soup

~ Sophie ~ 3 Comments

I was somewhere around 9 years and we had a garden…gardens. If you are Ugandan, you know that almost all homes have two (…or more) gardens. The backyard garden which is mainly used to grow simple foods like vegetables, herbs, and some two or four maize plants thrown in. One or two overgrown pumpkin vines snaking their way around a handful of scattered bean plants. They are small but enough.

Then there is the large garden or farm or a shamba if you may. One that is used to grow plants at a larger scale where there is almost a half to an acre (or more) of beautiful maize plants basking in the sunshine and fully radiant. Under the shade of those maize plants will be different kinds of beans growing and thriving at that. A farm so large that either the whole family(from parents to toddlers) spends endless days weeding then harvesting when it is time or where extra hands in addition to the whole family are hired to help out.

It is times like these that are still vivid in my mind. The harvest. Where we woke early, took heavy breakfast and got down to harvesting beans among many other foods. It was (and still is) hard work, but what makes it all worth it is the final aroma of boiling fresh beans. After they have been uprooted, picked from their branches and shelled, we would put a large pot of these beans on fire. There is something magical about eating food straight from the garden and when my cousin shared her first harvest with us, we were so excited beyond words.

Although it is not officially harvest season, people have started harvesting and it is wonderful. One thing with fresh food is that it does not require a ton of condiments. By simply boiling fresh beans with onions, tomatoes and some salt, you will have the most fragrant, delicious and healthy soup in no time.

What you will need:

3 C. Fresh beans

1 Large tomato, chopped

3 Small red onions, chopped

½ Tbsp. Ginger grated

Salt and pepper to taste

½ Tbsp. Oil

Observations:

If you want your dish soupy, add more water. While the beans boil, the water may reduce. Keep replacing the water to retain the aromatic soup

Method

Wash fresh beans and place them in a saucepan. Add enough water to cover the beans by about 2-3 inches.  Place pan on high heat. Let the beans boil. When the beans start turning a grey color, add ginger, onions, tomatoes, salt, pepper, and oil. Cover the pan and let the beans continue cooking. Once the beans start releasing an aroma and have softened, reduce the fire and let the stew simmer on low heat for about 10 minutes. Remove from fire and serve hot.

🙂

Sophie

Creamy Dodo Pasta

~ Sophie ~ 24 Comments

Another dodo recipe. Here is why. When the rainy season started, dodo sprouted from everywhere and it was very green, healthy and luscious that we could not let it over grow. So we started incorporating it in most of our meals. This is another recipe that has made dodo very enjoyable. I have always loved creamy white pasta sauce and maybe someday I will get around to making it but this creamy dodo is flavorful in its own way and not to mention the dodo itself has a ton of nutrients. Another time you find yourself with more than needed dodo, you can try this.
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What you will need:

250 Grams of pasta

2 Small Irish potatoes, peeled and halved

Four handfuls of dodo, washed

2 C. Milk

2 Medium tomatoes, chopped

1 Tsp. Garlic, finely chopped

1 Tsp. Ginger, finely chopped

½ C. Green onions chopped

A handful of crushed groundnuts

Oil

Salt

Method

In a medium saucepan, add water and one cup of milk and bring to a boil. Break the pasta strands in half and once the water has reached boiling point, add the pasta. Keep stirring the pasta to avoid it from clamping together. Sprinkle a little salt and after 5-8 minutes, remove the pasta from the fire and drain it then set aside to cool.  Boil Irish potatoes till tender and remove from fire.  Steam the dodo until almost tender. Remove from fire and let it cool.

In a blender, combine the steamed dodo (leave a few strands for later), boiled potatoes and the remaining cup of milk and salt to taste and blend till pureed.

In a separate saucepan, pour oil. After a minute, add the garlic and ginger and salt and let them brown a little. Next add the onions and tomatoes and stir till the tomatoes are soft. Pour in the dodo puree and stir well. Let it simmer for 10 minutes and then remove from fire. Pour the sauce over the pasta and mix well adding in the reserved strands of steamed dodo. Garnish with crushed groundnuts and sprinkle with lemon or orange juice. Serve.

Let me know how it turns out when you try it.

🙂

Sophie

 

 

PS: if  a lemon is too strong for you, you can use a raw orange which is slightly sour.

 

 

Three Drinks To Make With Mangoes

~ Sophie ~ 3 Comments

As much as the rain is still upon us, the sun still shines almost every day. Some days can be mild and some days can be scorching. The good thing about weather like this is the blessings that come with it. The fresh produce (I’m sure I have mentioned it before), air and many more things that we take for granted. Fruits are in season. Especially the mangoes and it is a wonderful moment…almost bitter sweet. Being surrounded by all types and sizes of mangoes either from local markets, street vendors or mere mango trees. It brings out the beauty of fresh fruit.

The feeling of plucking(more of stoning really!) a fresh fruit from a tree and eating it as it is(after washing), juicing it or simply making something really good out of it is so satisfying. I hope you find this mango season a blessing…a satisfying blessing. There are a few drinks I have made on the blog here and I was thinking with all these abundant mangoes, why can’t we substitute them and get drinking or sipping. So here are three drinks to make with mangoes.

Papaya slushie

 

Lemongrass flavored passion fruit juice

 

DSC09347tAvocado shake

 

By simply substituting the fruit in the recipe for mangoes, you can have the goodness of mangoes. Hope you get juicing.

What other ways are you eating your mangoes? Also, what one thing do you love about this weather?

 

🙂

Sophie

 

PS: Currently I am trying to make ice cream…or something like it. Will let you know soon.