Adventures in Cooking

In the beginning of this year, I injured my back at work. I slipped a disc which ended up exacerbating a pre existing condition which until that moment, I didn't even know that I had. MRI's led my doctor to diagnose degenerative disc disease affecting multiple discs in my lower back. With this new information, my employer has refused to allow me to come back to work until I am 100 percent better, leaving me on disability for months now as the condition only seems to be getting worse rather than better.

At first, I wasn't too upset. Thinking I would be healed and back at it in a few weeks I thought, "Okay, I could use a little vacation". Well five months have passed and I can tell you that that optimism faded rather quickly. With out much to do other than sit and watch my bills pile up while receiving a fraction of the income I was making at my job, depression had set in rather quickly.

One thing I HAVE been doing to fight feeling blue is cooking. I have always enjoyed cooking here and there, but now that I have extra time, and more of a reason to try to keep my mind occupied, I have been trying to tackle new dishes, as well as creating some of my own drawn from various inspirations and my imagination.

Recently I have been introduced to, and fallen in love with Ethiopian cuisine, thanks to an incredible Ethiopian restaurant called Zemeta here in Rochester. This has led me to learn what I can about the food and spices of this nation and try a number of attempts at various dishes. One thing I think I am getting good at is making berbere spice (and by good at, I mean for my level of knowledge with Ethiopian food), which is actually a blend of a number of spices and can vary a little depending on who is making it.

Today I made a meal using my variation of berbere spice mix to create a unique stew that was inspired by my favorite dish from the above stated restaurant, Yetibs Wet, as well as many curry dishes that I have had over the years, with a little touch of my own design. It actually turned out pretty tasty so I thought I would share it here. My pictures are not of the best quality but they go along with the recipe and get the point across.

First I made my version of the berbere spice mix. When I am cooking, unless it is baking, I generally do not use measurements.
For the berbere spice I mixed the following spices equally:

allspice
ground cardamon
fresh ground black pepper (much heavier on the black pepper. I love black pepper)
ground nutmeg
ground clove
ground cinnamon
ground ginger
fenugreek
onion powder
chili powder
smoked paprika (heavier with the chili powder and paprika)
adobe seasoning
cayenne pepper

Once these spices were mixed I put them in a pan and lightly toasted them on low heat, removing once they started to give off their fragrance.

Next came the vegetables which were sauteed in sesame oil until onions were translucent.
Chopped vegetables being:

carrots
celery stalk and leaves
jalapeno peppers
red onion
and tomato

At this point I added three cups of chicken broth and continued to allow vegetables to simmer, while deciding to try a little something different and adding chopped cantaloupe.

Once this simmered for about 10 minutes and the cantaloupe became almost indistinguishable, I added my berbere spice variation.

If you like things a little spicier you can add your own heat to it at this point. I tend to like things on the extra spicy side so I added a few drops of Dave's Insanity Sauce. Now I put the lid on and let this simmer for some time to soften up the spices, while I diced up some beef to go in to the stew. Really I guess any meat can do, but I have been on a beef chuck eye kick lately, as they are super affordable cuts of meat that are very tasty.

Along with the diced beef, I added a very generous helping of fresh parsley which I didn't bother cutting up but just pulled the leaflets off the stem.

Also I added two tablespoons of maple syrup (optional if you like a little sweet to your heat) put the lid back on and let it simmer for another ten minutes or so.

Once it was done, I dished up a bowl and tried mixing some plain yogurt, envisioning a sort of curry-esque essence...
This did not work too great in terms of presentation because the yogurt curdled when I tried to mix it, but this did not affect the taste.

I would have preferred fresh made injera (which is another recipe I have yet to try) but I settled for serving it with store bought naan and lentils.

Well that is it. It sounds kind of weird with the cantaloupe and syrup but I can tell you it was very tasty and a recipe I plan on keeping. Let me know what you think. If you try it and like it or don't like it. If you think it sounds awful and you don't plan on trying it. If you think I need nicer kitchen and dining ware, or if it inspires you in your own culinary creations.

I would love to hear your feed back, and as always, thank you for reading!