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The travel mug relaxes to a little New Orleans jazz outside the famous Cafe Du Monde.
Beignet anyone? Don’t mind if I do. (Click on the link to learn to make beignets.)
Next up for the Mug, Ireland and Portugal, stay tuned to the Big Map!
Until next time, safe travels.
The Travel Mug is back from its Hong Kong adventure. The Mug enjoyed the culture, the food, and unlike San Diego, managed to get out on the street for a bit.
Here is the Mug in central Hong Kong on Stewart Road.
As the Mug wandered the streets it noticed there were many of these simple altars outside of homes and stores. The Internet says they are traditional shrines to the Chinese Groundskeeper God, the god is asked to protect them “to come and go safe.”
Keep sending in your mug photos, we’ll keep adding them to the Big Map.
Until next time, safe travels.
-Coyote East
Thanks to Ali L. the Travel Mug vacationed in style in Northern California. The Mug stopped to enjoy the Golden Gate in the distance.
And then, the Travel Mug went to relax on Stinson Beach in beautiful Marin County.
Too bad the Travel Mug didn’t head a little further up to Sonoma to Paula Wolfert’s place. Maybe next time.
For the full Travel Mug dossier check out the big map.
Drum roll please…
Congratulations Sue Doeden!
“Moroccan Chickpea and Sweet Potato Tagine” has been chosen by our 3 judges as the winner of our tagine contest. Sue is a food writer, columnist, recipe developer, food photographer, and culinary instructor from Bemidji. You can view other recipes she has created on her All About Food Blog. This is a favorite dish in her “Meatless Menu” cooking classes. Our judges described it as having a smooth, sweet, and tangy flavor with a spicy bite at the end.
2012 TAGINE CONTEST
For details on the 2012 Tagine Contest, please click here.
Moroccan Chickpea and Sweet Potato Tagine
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 medium onions, diced
2 carrots, chopped
1 teaspoon coriander seeds
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
1 teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
2 tablespoons peeled, minced ginger root
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 pounds sweet potatoes, peeled and chopped
1 (15-ounce) can chickpeas (garbanzo beans), rinsed and drained, or 1 1/2 cups cooked
1 28-ounce can crushed tomatoes
4 cups vegetable broth
1/2 cup cilantro leaves, minced, for serving
1/4 cup dried apricots, sliced thin, for serving
1/4 cup golden raisins, for serving
8 ounces whole wheat Israeli couscous, uncooked
2 cups vegetable broth or water
Preheat your tagine over medium high heat. Add oil, onions and carrots. Cook, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are tender and golden, about eight minutes. Meanwhile, toast coriander and cumin in a small pan over medium heat, stirring until fragrant. Remove from heat. Transfer toasted seeds to coffee grinder and grind into a powder. Transfer ground cumin and coriander to a small bowl, then stir together with turmeric, salt and cayenne pepper. Add ginger and garlic to the onions, then stir in the spices and cook another three to five minutes to let the spices color the onions, stirring to prevent garlic from burning.
Add sweet potatoes, chickpeas, and tomatoes and stir to blend. Add 2 cups vegetable broth and
simmer about 20 minutes or until sweet potatoes are fork-tender. Check stew and add more vegetable broth as needed.
Meanwhile, in another pot, bring 2 cups vegetable broth to a boil. Stir in whole wheat Israeli couscous, cover and reduce heat. Simmer for 8 to 10 minutes, or until liquid is almost gone. Stir and serve immediately with tagine. Offer cilantro, dried apricots and raisins at the table for diners to stir into the tagine. Serves six as a main course.
Visit the recipes of our other 2 finalists.
Moroccan Chicken with Tomatoes, Saffron, & Honey served with Spicy Couscous
Tagine aux Pruneaux
This is one of the 3 finalists for our Tagine Recipe Contest. Our judges described this dish as a unique combination of distinct flavors and textures.
Tagine aux Pruneaux
4 pounds lamb shoulder de-boned
1 pound prunes
1/2 pounds whole almonds
1 1/4 cups green olives cured in olive oil
1 1/4 cups large raisins (go to the food co-op)
4-5 Tablespoons olive oil
8 eggs
1 16 oz. can diced tomato or 3 fresh tomatoes in season
2 large white onions
2 cinnamon sticks
Moroccan spices: 1 tsp white pepper, 1 T ginger, 1/2 tsp. nutmeg, 3 whole cloves, 2 T cumin
1 T orange flower water (optional)
The lamb should be cut into large chunks of about 2″ square. In your tagine, sear the pieces of meat in a little oil. Remove and saute the onions lightly until translucent, then add meat, enough water to cover, the tomatoes, the spices, and a little salt to taste. Let this come to a boil, then simmer covered for about 1 1/2- 2 hours, or until the meat is tender. Check the seasoning. If it tastes bland, as spices as needed. Be careful not to add too much pepper.
Take a ladle or 2 of the meat juice and add it to the prunes in a sauce pan. Add a ladle to the raisins and olives mixed together in a different saucepan. Cook these each gently for about 15 minutes. While they are cooking, boil the eggs and toast the almonds in a frying pan.
Now it is time to build the dish, and particular architecture is demanded. Place the meat mixture in the bottom of the tagine, top with prunes, then the olive raisin mixture, and finally arrange the halved boiled eggs and sprinkle with almonds. Add some juice and gently boil in the tagine for about 15 minutes, so that all the elements have been cooked through but not cooked so long as to lose their individual flavors. 8 servings
