Savor the Flavor
It is usually Friday and Sunday when it is my turn to cook in the Bucataru household. So I thought of posting a weekly review of what I whipped together in the weekend Mushroom Stuffed Galantined Chicken Jacques Pepin shows a way of completely boning …
This whole organic food concept cracks me up sometimes. There is a multi-billion industry built on it. The modern American culture became so “fat hydrogenated” that produced a whole anti-movement (rightly so) to bring back the original food production standards of natural cooking.
One of the recipes I recall from early childhood in Romania was one that my Grandmother, Mom and virtually everyone would make on a warm summer afternoon – as an enchanting snack, the eggplant dip.
A remarkable eggplant recipe, this simple eggplant dip can be eaten with fresh bread, chips, pita bread.
Since 1991, there’s an annual festival in Chicago called Taste of Romania, on the vacant plot found at the intersection of California and Addison avenues (proximity of Lincoln Park), organized by a restaurant called “Little Bucharest“, with a Balkan cuisine (more than Romanian). This year’s …
Please, do not take cooking lightly (pun intended).
If kitchen business was enough to oust Thailand‘s Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej, over accusations of violating the constitution, because he appeared on a cooking show he used to host 7 months ago before becoming a PM, how much more ignoring cooking will come back and hunt you?
Poor guy. He just wanted to stick to his cooking passion, as he was ruling the country. I for one, would be very impressed – even inspired! – if our President (or future President) would appear on a cooking show! He would definitely have my vote! It makes people connect in a more personal way as cooking is such a every day part of our lives!
In fact isn’t cooking that brings us together? Were are you going tonight? Of course to dinner with your family or friends! What will you do after you read this post? Of course go in the kitchen and cook Mr. Samak’s Fried Rice recipe! See, there’s real power in the kitchen, my friends. Cooking is not only an everyday routine with the same old boring stuff.
Let’s try this experiment and see if someone will oust you. Here is Mr. Sumak’s Fried Rice Recipe:
Ingredients (serves 7-8):
1/2 Lbs chicken breast (1/2″ cubes)
1/2 Lbs ham (chopped)
5 medium sized tomatoes (chopped)
6 medium sized onions (chopped)
6 to 8 chilli peppers (preferably hot northern Thai type)
2 cups mushrooms
6 kale leaves
8 small cucumbers
15 spring onions
2 cups boiled rice
Sauce:
1 tbs Oil
3 tbs Butter
Fish (or soy) sauce to taste
Pepper to taste
Action:
Start with melting the butter with the oil in a large wok. Add the vegetables, except the cucumbers and the spring onions – these are only used for garnish. Once the vegetables are softened (do not over fry!), add the chicken, fish (or soy) sauce, and the boiled rice.
Use your imagination and inner artist to garnish the fried rice once it’s on the plate. Have fun!
Stuffed cabbage, also known as “Sarmale” in Romanian. is a social event. Grandmas, aunts, gather in the kitchen and all they do for that morning is talk and stuff cabbage leafs! Beside the fact that Sarmale is one of the dishes you MUST try, there …
This is how the true mamaliga is made! Really all you need is a fire, a pot, tripod and… romanian folk music to make delicious mamaliga! Enjoy! Duration : 0:0:52
As Wikipedia’s entry for mamaliga or Mămăligă (/mə.mə’li.gə/), states
“Mămăligă Romanian: Mămăligă, Russian: Мамалыга, Polish: Mamałyga, cornmeal mush is a dish made out of yellow maize traditional for Romania and Moldova. It is better known to the rest of the world in its Italian form – polenta.”
the dish is by no means something that Romanians can appropriate more than just being a traditional food to Romania as well as to the whole Balkanic Peninsula. In fact, even if I am a Romanian (living in Chicago), I can’t point out a dish that strictly belongs to Romania due to the cultural influence of continuous Balkan occupations that ruled the small country during the history.
But what IS (or WAS) Mamaliga after all?
Mamaliga was simply a convenient food that was used by farmers or peasants as a staple food, a substitute for bread. Then it became part of the contemporary Romanian cuisine, (or rather Balkanic cuisine), as well as a creative dish in restaurants.
As simple and innocent it sounds, Mamaliga represents a whole identity concept Romanians refer to, a subject that can slide in the philosophy realm that I’ll restrain getting into it for now. I’ll rather keep Mamaliga what it is: food!
This Mamaliga blog is dedicated to my latest passion – cooking – Romanian cuisine with tangential subjects like culture, Romanian diaspora, music, cooking videos, recipes and such. Hope you’ll find it interesting!