Ideas from an Ex-pat Kitchen: Banana or Mango Smoothie

Ladies. I must admit I've never been the biggest fan of bananas....ever since I had food poisoning-like sickness shortly after eating a banana, I couldn't bring myself to eat one for YEARS (thinking I was allergic)....BUT.....several years ago, I decided to give bananas another try and voila! I discovered that I am not allergic to bananas AND they actually taste good in just about everything....ok, not everything but certainly lots of baked goods and to my recent discovery: smoothies!
I do admit that the appeal of bananas increases when it is the cheapest and most readily available fruit in Chad.....but to be honest, I really, really, really like this recipe....and so do my kids. If you've written off bananas like I had....I encourage you to give them another try.....this recipe could be the thing that makes you fall in love with bananas all over again :)
As for mangoes, I never really ate them before living in Chad as they are considered an 'exotic' fruit in Canada and therefore outrageously expensive to buy so we just never bought them. BUT, since mangoes are a dime a dozen around here when they are in season, I discovered that freezing pieces of mango and adding them to my smoothie recipe (milk powder, water and vanilla), we could enjoy a creamy, naturally sweet fruit drink that is filling and healthy!

Banana

Deliciously cold & naturally sweet

or Mango Smoothie

1. Cover baking sheet or large plate with parchment or wax paper.

2. Slice 3 medium bananas or cut up several mangoes and place fruit pieces on baking sheet/plate in a single layer (do not layer them as you want to freeze them individually for easy blending).

3. Freeze for 3 hours minimum (can spend all day/night in freezer if need be). The fruit needs to be frozen in order to provide that creamy, thick texture.

4. Remove tray/plate from freezer and lift up the parchment paper on one side to unstick the fruit from the plate/tray. Continue to remove frozen banana or mango slices and place them in a medium ziplock freezer bag for storage. (This amount of sliced fruit will make enough for 3-4 Ikea kids-size cups).

5. Place 1/2 the bag of frozen bananas or mangoes into a blender.

6. Add 1/3 Cup milk powder. *

7. Add 1/3 Cup cold water.

8. Add 1 teaspoon vanilla extract.

9. Blend until mixture is smooth and thick.

10. Pour into cups and serve right away.

* If you live in a place that does not use milk powder but rather liquid milk, add the same amount of milk (1/3 Cup) but do not add any water otherwise it will be too liquidy.

**I freeze any leftovers into popsicle molds and serve banana or mango smoothie popsicles the next time my kids want something cold!

** I keep bags of frozen banana slices and mango pieces in the freezer at all times, so this smoothie process is a quick one! I just freeze the slices and store them in bags for quick removal and use.

Ideas from an Ex-pat Kitchen: Homemade Spaghetti Sauce

Before living in Chad, I had never made spaghetti sauce from scratch....I mean...why would I when there are so many choices of bottled sauces for a decent price? Well, now that those bottles of spaghetti sauce cost $5 for half the size.....I was thrown into the deep end of making my spaghetti sauce from scratch. It has been 2 years in the making, and I am happy to say that I think I have a winner! My family can attest to the fact that it has taken me a while, lots of tweaking, adding this and taking out that.....to get the flavor we all like. I have used several recipes, mixed them together and added some of my own extras too (the kids had no idea that there was so many vegetables mixed in!!!).....so for those out there who want to ditch the bottled sauce and go 'natural', or for those other ex-pats who haven't quite found the right combination of ingredients for their sauce.....try this one one.....I hope you like it as much as we do!

 Homemade Spaghetti Sauce

-2 large cans of diced or whole tomatoes
-1 teaspoon each of Oregano and Basil
-1 teaspoon of garlic powder (or 4 cloves crushed)
-1 teaspoon salt
-1 bay leaf
-3-4 Tablespoons sugar
-2 Beef oxo cubes
-1/4 teaspsoon of Pepper
-1 chopped onion (optional)
-1/2 Cup zucchini, peeled and chopped
-1 medium size carrot, peeled and chopped
-1/2 green pepper, chopped
-1/8 C fresh Spinach, chopped (I found if you put too much spinach in, you can taste it!)

1) Throw all ingredients into a medium size cooking pot, bring to a boil, then simmer for 45 minutes to an hour, stirring occasionally. The sauce is done when the veggies are soft and cooked through.

2) Remove from heat, pick out the Bay leaf, and then use an immersion blender to blend all ingredients together, or if you don't have one, you can use a regular blender to puree the sauce. Add already browned/cooked ground beef if you like or keep it the way it is and have a meatless sauce.

3) Serve or freeze for later. Serves 6-8 adults.

*This is a very easy recipe to play around with....change up the quantity of tomatoes for a larger family, and just add a bit more of each ingredient. The best part of this sauce is how many vegetables are in it, and your kids won't be able to pick them out!

Ideas from an Ex-pat Kitchen: Homemade Salsa

This recipe makes 2 of these size containers.

The search for a great Salsa recipe is OVER!! I have been on this quest for 2 long years now, ever since arriving in Chad and craving one of my favorite snacks of tortilla chips and salsa, and not being able to find salsa anywhere!! Eventually, I caved and bought a tiny jar for over $5 (a product that recently became available) but the taste was too sweet and it was ridiculously expensive....so.....I tried out a couple of different recipes that were all ok....but tasted too 'tomato-y' for my liking.....enter this new found salsa recipe! (Thank you Lisa!!!) You would be surprised at how little time this takes to make and how easy it is to make....AND....you can freeze it and save it for later (but you probably won't because it is so good you'll eat all of it before you get a chance to freeze it!) Now, enough talking about it....time to MAKE IT!

Salsa 

- 1 large can of diced tomatoes (750-800g)

- 2 Large onions (diced)

- 2 Large green peppers (remove seeds and dice)

- 1 Tablespoon Chili powder (for a medium heat)

- 1/2 Teaspoon Garlic powder (or fresh garlic, minced)
- 2 Teaspoons sugar
- 2 Tablespoons Vinegar
- 2 Teaspoons Salt

Combine all ingredients in a large pot, bring to a boil and simmer for 45 min to 1 hour (depending on how thick or runny you want your salsa to be).

Stir occasionally.

Enjoy!

We like our salsa thick and chunky! Mmmm.

Cooking from scratch....ideas from an Ex-pat Kitchen

Before I arrived in Chad, I used to think cooking from scratch meant something like putting together a lasagna: mixing together the bottled sauce with the cooked meat, mixing the ricotta cheese, egg, parmesan cheese, and parsley together, layering them between noodles and baking it.....BUT....I was wrong....apparently that is only partially cooking from scratch. :)

Since pasta sauce is a ridiculous price here in Chad, and you can't get ricotta/cottage cheese.....I had to change up the way I made lasagna....and quickly realized that this was not the same level of 'cooking from scratch' that I thought I was a part of....nope....here in Chad, you make the ingredients to then put into the recipe you are making.....get what I'm saying? For example....If I am making a lasagna....I must first make pasta sauce and then a cheese sauce (and make the milk to go into the cheese sauce), before cooking the meat and layering the lasagna.

Another example: if I want to make pumpkin muffins, I have to skin the pumpkin/remove seeds etc, roast the pumpkin, then puree it, and then I can use it in the pumpkin muffin recipe (whew!)....no can of ready-made puree to dump in! Ya....a whole new level!

Anyways, it got me thinking....I know I am not the only Ex-pat out there who was thrown into the deep end of 'cooking from scratch' and trying to find decent recipes that don't call for 'a can of this' or a 'jar of that' in my daily dinner adventures. After living overseas for 3 years (I know, I am still a novice....but....I have learned a thing or two in the kitchen since we first arrived), I now have a small but tasty repertoire of recipes that I am able to make with the ingredients found here in Chad and most likely found in other African cities (in fact, you probably have more of a selection of food items as Chad is fairly limited due to its landlocked location). I would love to share these with you, and if it makes even one night of cooking less of a struggle or challenge, then my goal would be met!

I'm titling this series "Ideas from an Ex-pat Kitchen" and hope to have regular recipes posted for you all to re-create wherever you are living! Hoping your families love them as much as mine do....Oh and I would LOVE to post YOUR tried and true recipes that you have found to be favorites of your family...made from scratch of course. You can email them to hendersonmer@gmail.com and I will share it with all of us 'overseas' mamas!

A Sneak Peak at some 'made from scratch' recipes to come:

Spaghetti Sauce (with 'hidden' veggies like zucchini, spinach, carrots etc)
Salsa
Banana Ice Cream/smoothie
The Gooiest Brownies ever
Lemon blondies
Icing Sugar
Chicken Pot Pie
Pressure Cooker Beef Stroganoff
BBQ Sauce

And lots more.....stay tuned!