Moroccan Shrimp with Spices

I love the food of Morocco. I’d quite happily take a noshing tour of Morocco. In addition to finding the time and money to travel, however, I have a big problem. I seem to have a great knack for attracting trouble at airports outside of my home country. Considering fourteen rolls of film nearly got me shot or arrested once, and I got my own armed escort once because of a letter opener I’d pretty much forgotten I even had, I think that I’ll just have to avoid much travel. Or perhaps I’ll be okay as long as I stay away from Rome. Both of my run-ins took place at the Da Vinci airport there. If you’ve ever wondered what it’s like to have a submachine gun pointed at you, I’m here to tell you that it’s one very effective way to be suddenly very awake after not sleeping for 52 hours!

Meantime, I guess I’ll have to settle for cooking my own Moroccan meals, like this shrimp dish. It’s very simple to cook, possibly the simplest main course in my repertoire.  It works well with a simple couscous as an accompaniment.

Moroccan Shrimp with Spices

1 pound raw large shrimp
4 tablespoons olive oil
2 cloves of garlic, crushed
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon paprika
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
the juice of 1 lemon
the leaves from a bunch of cilantro, finely chopped
lemon wedges to serve

Remove the shells, legs, heads, and tails from the shrimp. Cut along the back with the point of a sharp knife and remove the dark thread.

Heat the olive oil in a frying pan, add the garlic, and cook until it becomes aromatic, about 30 seconds. Stir in the cumin, ginger, paprika, and cayenne pepper, heat for about 30 seconds, then add the shrimp and lemon juice. Fry quickly, stirring, until the shrimp turns pink. Stir in the cilantro, heat for about 30 seconds, then serve the shrimp with the cooking juices spooned over and accompanied by lemon wedges.

Stirfried Chicken and Peppers with Spiced Lemon Honey

Where have I been for all these months? Life, as it does sometimes, exploded all over the place, quite literally in a couple cases. I came home from a nice trip up to the Silicon Valley to discover that the plumbing had backed up, and everything that had been flushed away had exploded into my bathroom and bedroom. This was a major cleanup operation, while I camped out in someone else’s bedroom for the duration. Our handyman took forever to finish it up. I had only sporadic access to a connected computer during that time, since my computer was in my bedroom. By the time our handyman finally finished with the cleanup, repair, and remodeling, the true heat of summer hit. My wimpy little wall-mounted air conditioner could not cool the oven my room becomes during the summer. It’s made worse by the fact that my room is a converted garage and has no insulation. So I continued to camp out and live on the ten days’ worth of clothing I’d taken on my trip.

At long last, it began to cool off enough that I could start to think about moving back into my room. I was back in college, my classes were going well, and everything seemed to be going pretty well. Right up until I came home from class one day, anyway. In spite of the previous work done, the replacement of bathroom fixtures, the cleaning of the pipes, it happened again. A brand new explosion of raw sewage into my bedroom. I have continued camping out and living out of my suitcase. Come February, it will have been a year since the first incident drove me out.

I used to say every summer when the heat got to be too much that my room was really shitty. I didn’t expect to be taken quite so literally.

The process is under way to move me into a different room. My old one will have the plumbing capped off and become storage. Before I can move into it, though, the heater needs to be repaired. It’s down in the 20s at night currently, and hypothermia doesn’t sound like the best way to spend the winter break.

Meantime, cooking is a good way to take out frustrations, though I don’t think that it’s helping anyone’s opinion of my sanity. I start prepping something, my cat comes along to attack my right foot, and before long, there’s quite a scene developing. The cat lies on his side, swiping at my right foot, which I’m holding up just out of his reach while I balance on one foot. I’ve got a deadline, a time dinner has to be prepared by, so I just keep working like that. Once in a while he’ll make a more energetic lunge, and give me the cat claw equivalent of a paper cut. I yelp and holler for help, which no one hears or pays attention to. In between, “OW! Hey, HELP!” I slice and chop enthusiastically, still balanced on one foot, and accuse whatever I’m cutting as the source of my bedroom’s woes. “Take that! And that!” is periodically sprinkled through the accusations. (Hey, I need to take the frustration out on something other than the housemates!) If I’m not talking to the ingredients, I’m singing opera while prepping and balanced on one foot. Another cat hops up on a stool near the kitchen island and tries to steal scallions, and I start smacking her fat little paw away from the food. In response, the cat stands on her head on the stool. Eventually, she does a somersault and almost falls off. I start laughing so hard that I almost fall over, since I’m not at my most stable while balanced on one foot. This usually scares away all cats in the vicinity, and I think I can get some uninterrupted work done, but it’s at this point someone else in the household comes in to do something right where I need to be next. I wind up sitting and waiting for them to get done, by which time the cats have gotten over being spooked. The whole thing starts all over again, beginning with the cat with the foot fetish.

It’s a good thing that I normally thrive on chaos. There’s no other way to describe what attempts at cooking around here always degenerate into.

In spite of it all, good food still comes out of the kitchen chaos, such as this experiment.

Asian Fusion Soup with Chinese Medicinal Herbs

Originally inspired by an episode of Iron Chef, this soup has proved itself as an excellent soup for winter. Warming and filling, it made our entire household feel better any time I’ve made it. A friend in Singapore saw the first recipe I came up with, and decided to send me a small selection of Chinese medicinal herbs to add. The four herbs are meant to improve blood flow. In addition, the wolfberries are believed in Chinese medicine to help improve eyesight. I can’t vouch for their effectiveness, but they certainly add excellent flavor to the soup, and the sweet-tart taste of the wolfberries even makes them good for snacking.

Once I had the herbs, I completely reworked the soup to better use the Chinese herbs. The original soup was strongly Chinese, but the final version owes something to other Asian cuisines as well. Here is the final result, which far outshone the original recipe.

Asian Fusion Soup with Chinese Medicinal Herbs

2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 cups Chinese rice wine or dry sherry
1 recipe infused broth
1 small handful ginseng whiskers
1 small handful woody angelica
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 large carrot, sliced diagonally into coins
2 large scallions, white and pale green parts minced, dark green part sliced into rings
1 large handful lily buds, soaked in warm water for 30 minutes and drained
juice of half a lemon
3 tablespoons red miso
1 small handful dried Chinese red dates
1 small handful wolfberries
1/2 pound fresh shrimp, peeled and deveined
1/3 Napa cabbage, sliced into bands
2 tablespoons black sesame oil
9 pork potstickers, boiled until done

In a heavy, non-aluminum stockpot with a large capacity, heat the oil over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking. Add the sherry all at once. This is called “exploding” the wine, and greatly intensifies the flavor. Boil the sherry, stirring, until it is reduced by half.

Add the infused broth, soy sauce, ginseng, and angelica to the reduced sherry. Heat over moderately high heat until the broth reaches a boil. Boil the mixture for 5 minutes. Remove and discard the ginseng and angelica. Reduce heat to maintain a simmer and add the carrot coins. Cook for 2 minutes. Add the minced white and pale green scallion and the lily buds, and simmer for 1 minute. Add the lemon juice and red miso and then simmer for 1 minute. Next, add the dried Chinese red dates and the wolfberries, and then simmer for 1 additional minute.

Turn off the heat, add the shrimp and stir, letting the the residual heat of the broth cook the shrimp. This should not take long, about 2 to 4 minutes for shrimp just cooked through but not overcooked. When the shrimp are pink, add the Napa cabbage and the scallion rings, and then stir until the cabbage is wilted. Stir in the cooked potstickers and the sesame oil. Serve immediately.

Kefta Tagine (Moroccan Meatball Stew)

Kefta Tagine was my introduction to tagines. It became a family favorite from the very first. The spiced meatballs and their sauce of onions, tomatoes, and bell peppers has never failed to impress guests, either. Even those few people I know who dislike cilantro don’t have a problem with it here. There are so many layers of flavor that the cilantro just becomes part of the supporting background of the dish. Serve with a side of couscous, however you prefer to prepare it. Even a simple store-bought couscous matches wonderfully with the tagine.

For the Kefta (meatballs)

1 pound ground lamb or beef
2 tablespoons chopped parsley
1 tablespoon chopped fresh coriander
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 cup onion, peeled and finely chopped
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
Salt to taste
2 tablespoons olive oil for pan-frying

For the sauce

2 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
2 medium onions, peeled and finely chopped
1 green bell pepper, cored, seeded, and chopped
1 small bunch parsley, chopped
2 pounds tomatoes, chopped
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 1/2 teaspoons salt or to taste

Optional garnish
6 eggs

Combine the ingredients for the meatballs. Wet your hands and shape the meat mixture into 1-inch balls, re-wetting your hands if the meat begins to stick to them.

Heat a six- to eight-quart stove-top casserole and add then add the olive oil. Brown the meatballs well in the oil, in batches if necessary, then remove. Leave the oil in the pot. Cover the meatballs and set aside.

To the reserved oil, add the garlic, onion, and bell pepper. Saute the vegetables until the onion turns translucent. Add all the remaining ingredients for the sauce and simmer, covered, 30 minutes, or until the sauce cooks down to a thick gravy.

Return the meatballs to the sauce. Simmer, uncovered, for 10 minutes. If you are using the eggs, carefully break them into the sauce and poach them for a few minutes. Be careful not to overcook the eggs. Serve at once directly from the pot. Serves 6.

Alyce’s Cincinnati Chili

Chili was never a great love of mine. The chilis I tried were all Texas-style chili, and they failed to catch my interest. One day my friend Alyce decided that it was time to destroy my anti-chili prejudice, and cooked her grandmother’s Cincinnati Chili for me. I have been an addict ever since, and have been getting other people hooked on it.

Cincinnati chili is not the consistency of the thick, Texas-style chilis. It is more like a good Bolognese, perfect to put over a bed of al dente noodles. It works equally well in chili dogs, making the best Coneys I’ve ever had.

Cincinnati Chili

4 cups water
2 lbs. ground beef, crumbled
2 medium yellow onions, chopped
2 8-oz. cans tomato sauce
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
2 tbsp. distilled white vinegar
1/2 oz. bittersweet chocolate
5 whole allspice
1/2 tsp. Cayenne pepper
1 tsp. ground cumin
4 tbsp. chili powder
1 large bay leaf
5 whole cloves
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. cinnamon

Accompaniments for traditional Five-Way

spaghetti noodles, cooked al dente
red kidney beans
finely shredded cheddar cheese
chopped red onion
oyster crackers (optional)
Tabasco (optional)

Accompaniments for Coneys

hot dog buns
mustard
chopped red onion
hot dogs
finely shredded cheddar cheese
Tabasco (optional)

In a large pot, combine the water and ground beef. Bring to a boil, and boil for thirty minutes.

While the meat is boiling, measure out the spices onto a plate. Combine the tomato sauce, vinegar, and Worcestershire sauce in a bowl.

When the meat is done boiling, add the rest of the ingredients and return to a boil. Simmer, uncovered, for 2 hours. Cover and simmer for one additional hour.

To serve traditional Five-Way

In a bowl, start with a bed of spaghetti. Top with a layer of chili, a layer of beans, Tabasco to taste if using, a layer of cheese, a layer of red onion, and a layer of oyster crackers if using. Serve immediately.

To serve as Coneys

Heat hot dog buns. Put mustard and red onion on bun, and add a cooked hot dog. Top with chili, Tabasco if using, cheddar cheese, and more red onion.