Category: Events

Holy Mole

I haven’t been a good participant in the weekly challenges of
Chou over at Balance announced the final week 3 super food and it was Cocoa. Not necessarily meant to be used in a dessert. Check out all the nutrition facts on cocoa on her site, who would have guessed. No wonder people feel so good after having chocolate. I immediately thought of a mole sauce. I have never made mole but decided to do some research. None of my cookbooks had a recipe, so I improvised.And that’s the beauty of Mole, there are so many variations.I used a combination of chilies, spices,chicken broth,and cocoa powder . I read ground peanuts or almonds are also added but I passed on that.Hey its Coco’s Mole so I can do what I want.In shopping for my Chilies I noticed some Corn Husks, and decided to attempt some tamales too. A chicken poblano tamale drizzled with Coco’s Mole. Yummm. Certain Someone the other night asked what a tamale was when we were bowling. ‘The Tamale Man’ came into the place selling his wares from a cooler type device .Seems hes legend around Chicago at after hours spots. Me, I have never heard of him , but though it was a good business idea.

Just so you see I really made my own Tamales! This dough batter is Masa (tamale dough), a combo of shortening or lard,with Masa, baking powder,salt,and water. Seemed simple enough.
Here is my Chicken breast cooked down with some Mole, poblanos, and onions.A
And here is the star , the Mole. I cooked this for about a hour, but it could have simmered down even longer.
And here are my tamales steaming in my homemade contraption. I took a baking cooling rack and placed it a long roasting pan with water. I covered it too.
All in all a long labor that Certain Someone seemed to enjoy. He ate four. I explained how its not really a entree and felt bad after all that effort he didn’t have more to eat.But he liked it and the Mole of which he spooned more unto his tamales.

Coco’s Mole ( adjust spices to your taste)

3 tablespoons cocoa powder
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 tablespoon sugar
6 cups chicken broth
2 oz dried chilies( ancho, California chili pods,etc)
1 large onion
minced garlic
olive oil

Bring your dried chilies and broth to a boil. Reduce heat and let simmer until pods soften, take pods and slice open to remove seeds. Reserve liquid, but strain to remove any excess seeds. Saute the sliced onion , cumin,and garlic in olive oil until soft. Using your blender, in batches pulse chilies ,reserved broth, and onions.Once all has been processed put in heavy sauce pan and simmer . Add your cocoa powder and sugar and stir constantly until incorporated. Simmer stirring occasionally for at least 1 hour. Be sure to taste to adjust seasonings to your taste.

Tropic Kale Smoothie..Iron Man Meets Iron Chef

Chou over at balance ,

along with Julius and Lauren have come up with a great event. Iron Man Meets Iron Chef. Its a month long tests of physical and culinary feats. I’ll pass on the physical but will rise to the culinary part.


So when Chou announced on Sunday the super food my mind started racing (if only my legs and body would follow suite). Kale prepared for breakfast is this week’s theme. I love Kale, but for breakfast! I immediately thought of a Kale frittata, or poached egg whites with kale. All good but I wanted to push the envelope. Breakfast = quick in my house on weekdays. So whats better than juice or a smoothie! In fact Kale has so much protein, anti oxidants, health promoting benefits that don’t cook off as much as other veggies. But raw, its packs a lot of punch. People eat it in salads and juices. Kales not just for soup. In reading up I saw a lot people make smoothies with some kale leaves and fruit. I picked Vitamin C packing fat burning citrus fruits to balance of the bitter kale. I even came up with a cute name Tropic Kale. Get It! And you know what, it looks weird, but tastes pretty good! Not to fruity and a little bite. I’m buzzing right now as I type. So all you athletes or lazy bums like me drink up!

Tropic Kale Smoothie
3 tablespoons lite coconut milk 25 cal
½ cup diced Papaya 27 cal
½ cup diced Pineapple 38 cal
¼ cup fresh orange juice 112 cal
½ cup raw Kale 17 cal
¼ cup tofu 65 cal
Throw it all in the blender with some ice and let it rip.

284 calories (a meal in one)

* I approximated based on calorie guides and amounts used. This is not exact.

Koesisters…Time to Make Doughnuts Event

When Tartlette and Peabody announced their Time to Make Doughnuts event, I got excited. Then that little nagging voice said to me “Girl you don’t need to make any doughnuts….” Evidenced by last night when I couldn’t zip my skirt up to the waist( granted I hadn’t worn it some years).Nevertheless its Super bowl Sunday and I want some doughnuts to munch on. I had planned on making some Berliners for Certain Someone as he’s German and that what he wanted. I changed my mind and decided to do a less stressful but equally delicious recipe from Marcus Samuelsson’s Discovery of a Continent, Foods Flavors and Inspirations From Africa. This is an abridged version of Soul of a New Cuisine, Discovery of the Foods and Flavors of Africa, from Starbucks.
Koesiters are a Cape Town favorite on Sundays after church. There are a few variations that are braided or dipped in sugary syrups. This version is Marcus’ favorite that he learnt from Peter and Marilyn Carelon, a South African couple. They are highly spiced with cinnamon, cardamom, and ginger. I made some minor substitutions as I didn’t have brown sugar, so I used Demarra Sugar run through the coffee grinder. Also I used Evaporated milk instead because we only had skim milk in the house. I apologize for my not so perfect ball shapes. But the taste was simple, not too sweet, and full of spice. A treat you don’t feel too guilty about.

Koesiters adapted from Marcus Samuelsson’s Discovery of a Continent, Foods Flavors and Inspirations From Africa.

6 tablespoons warm water
3 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 package or 2 ¼ teaspoons dry active yeast
2 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
3 extra large egg yolks
5 tablespoons unsalted butter
¼ cup packed brown sugar
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground cardamom
About 4 cups canola oil for deep frying.

Combine water, granulated sugar, and yeast in a large bowl. Set in a warm place and allow to sit until yeast bubbles. Approx 5-10 min.
Add flour and salt to the yeast mixture. Mix with electric mixer (I used my Stand Mixer) on low until well combined. Beat in egg yolks, one at time until all is well incorporated.
Combine milk and butter in a saucepan and heat until butter is melted. While mixer is running, add the milk mixture, beating until it’s incorporated. Cover with a damp towel or plastic wrap. Let sit in warm place until doubled in size. Approx 40 min.
Punch the dough down and turn out onto floured surface. Cut into 20 pieces, roll each one into a ball, and arrange in a single layer on baking sheet. Set in warm place and let rise for 20 min.
While dough is rising toss brown sugar, cinnamon, ginger, and cardamom in large bowl. Set aside
Heat 3 inches of canola oil in a deep pot to 350 degrees. Working in batches.Fry until golden brown.Turn to brown each side. Approx 3- 4 min.

Serve Warm.

Slow Cooked Apple Sauce …Comfort Food Cook Off

Apple sauce is one of my favorite comfort foods. Ever since I was a child I could eat up jars of it. My tastes outgrew the commercial made canned and jar products.A blogger I love, did a post recently on hot spiced apples with all sorts of tips. I had been toying with making a apple sauce and I had come across this crock pot recipe. The only change I made was adding a cinnamon stick in addition to the cinnamon as it cooks. I can’t describe the wonderful homey aroma that filled the air. The perfect aromatherapy for a lazy winter day. I plan to eat this alone or on top of Sunday pancakes or waffles.

This is also my entry for the Comfort Food Cook off. Now all I need is my spoon.

Get Well Mama R…Apples and Thyme

Mama R is my surrogate ‘work Mother’ who always reminded me of my real mother( in looks and attitude). She was a great support to me the past few years as I nursed two terminally ill divorced parents ( I was a only child). She’s the not only a a great colleague but a confidant and mentor. Mama R has been with our company since its inception and the stories she tells. You’ll never find anyone more loyal, working or dedicated than her. She’s the den mother I use as example to all these new young people entering the cosmetics world. In her early years she lead a glamorous life in the African American celebrity world as model. Her scrap books are filled with photos of her and her friends in New York City mingling with the likes of Sidney Poitier, and Harry Belafonte. She always told me ” She had fun, but she was one of the good girls!”. She took her time and found her man, a doctor, who she settled down with and had two great accomplished , professional kids. The past few years have been rocky for her health wise,but she was a trooper and worked hard . If Mama R took off, if was only because she had no choice. It seems our lives are always linked. When my father died on the hospice floor, she was just a few floors down below, in the hospital, recovering from her surgery.She immediately sent her daughter up to sit with me while we awaited my family to come. I was never alone. Mama R fretted and worried over me and my love life, career choices and work issues like my own mother and aunts would. She still does. She’s been out of work for some time, and I really don’t know if she will come back or retire for good. So much is going on. Mama R loves sweets and always was eager to try my food and share a recipe or so.I spoke to her on the phone yesterday and decided that she needs to fatten up.So I chose two types of cookies to give her. As I write this I realize this would be perfect for Apples and Thyme .I have always wanted to enter this event , but even 8 years after her death, its still to painful to write a full entry about my own mother.Mama R is alive and I pray she gets well soon.I hope she likes these cookies. Both came from Martha Stewart’s Baking Handbook with some slight variation one one. For the Oatmeal Raisin cookies,I used unsweetened coconut and Lyle’s golden syrup rather than the maple syrup called for. I love these cookies and will make them again. I stuck to the original recipe for the Black and White cookie. These cookies turned out like puffy cakes( which they are supposed to). I pressed them down and iced the browned backs. They taste really good the day after. These should get Mama R fattened up and energized.