Dish 'o the Week

Cooking is one of those things that I do well, when I bother to get around to it. Since it's just Lanse and me, we eat very little, and my favorite things to cook feed a multitude, I rarely cook. But on the occasion I do, we agree to suffer days of leftovers, or we will actually have company. This week, we went for the 'leftovers' plan, which is good because we had a lot of stuff to eat up before we leave for the weekend.

I'll be posting recipes I make, partly to keep track of what we've eaten, and partly... well, just because I like to share.

Mom's African Curry
My mother ate some version of this while growing up in Nigeria, but it's morphed over the years and I don't think that even her sibling's families make it the way we do anymore. So here's what I do:

1 lb ground beef: brown it. If there's a lot of grease, drain it.
Add: 3T curry powder, some chili powder, all-spice, garlic salt, pepper, or paprika to taste
Add: 2/3 c. water; stir everything together; let simmer until sauce thickens.

While simmering, make 2 servings of Minute Rice. We've moved from white to wild, just for fun, but we've also made this with Couscous, which is much more traditional.

Dice up a multitude of fruit. This week we had cantaloupe, honeydew melon, tomato, red grapefruit, bananas, and peaches; other times we've done mandarin oranges, pineapple, guava, mango, papaya, kiwi... anything tropical is lovely. Also add chopped nuts and coconut. Note: if adding banana, wait until you're at the table to slice it, or it'll go brown on you.

You can layer everything neatly on the plate, or mix it all up. If you layer, it goes: Rice, Meat, Fruit, Nuts.

This one-pound version was enough food for both of us for two dinners, and lunch for me two days as well. It doesn't sound like much, but it fills you up fast.

Enjoy!