African Peanut Butter Stew

Growing up, I absolutely hated the taste of peanut butter. Crazy right? I blame school lunches for this. You see, my parents would not allow me to buy lunch from school (and with good reason). Instead, I had to bring a peanut butter sandwich everyday. Now, in the mind of an elementary student, bringing lunch from home was considered “uncool,” especially when it was the same thing day after day. The fact that the peanut butter stuck to the roof of my mouth did not help either. Eventually, I just refused to eat sandwiches. This started a brutal war with the class lunch aid who would watch over me and threaten to send me to the nurse if I did’t eat. In retaliation, I used to stick the sandwich in my friend’s empty potato chip bag and have her throw it away for me. I even looked up in the constitution if I had “the right” to not eat a sandwich.

Now, I very much regret the fact that I threw away those sandwiches because I hate it when people throw out their food. Unfortunately, my bad experience with peanut butter made me avoid it for years. The good part of this story is that I tried it again a few years ago and now I love it! I believe my tastes buds are now trying to make up for lost time 🙂

In the summer, I made Zimbabwe Greens. I was so in love with the idea of adding peanut butter to a main dish, that I tried it again in this stew:

African Peanut Butter Stew

Ingredients: 

1 cup arborio rice

1 tbsp olive oil

1 onion, chopped

4 garlic cloves, minced

1 green bell pepper, chopped

2 tbsp jalapeño pepper, chopped

1 tbsp pickled ginger

2 tbsp curry powder

2 cups chicken broth

1 28oz can whole plum tomatoes with juice

1/2 cup organic peanut butter

1 sweet potato, cooked

salt and pepper, to taste

Garnish: cilantro

Directions:

Cook rice according to box instructions. Meanwhile, in a large pot, heat olive oil. Add in onions and garlic cloves and sauté for 10 minutes. Add and mix in bell pepper, jalapeño pepper, ginger, and curry powder. Sauté for 2 minutes. Add in broth, tomatoes, and peanut butter. Bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and crush the tomatoes slightly with the side of a spoon. Cook for 10 minutes. Add in sweet potato and cook for 5 more minutes. Add in salt and pepper. In separate bowls, pour in rice and ladle peanut butter mixture on top. Top with cilantro.

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Indian Stew

Fall is here! My favorite season. Football parties, the return of TV series, scarecrows, and the start of the holidays. Not to mention, the leaves turn rich colors and everybody just seems to be in such a good mood. Regarding weather- warm days and brisk evenings. Which brings me to this hot “Indian” Stew. Perfect to eat on one of those said chilly nights while watching Supernatural 🙂 

Indian Stew 

Ingredients:

1 cup arborio rice

1 tbsp unrefined coconut oil

1 large onion, chopped

3 garlic cloves, minced

2 tbsp curry powder

1 tsp ground ginger

1 tsp cumin

1/2 tsp turmeric

1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes

1/4 tsp cinnamon

1/8 tsp cayenne

1 cup chicken broth

1 28oz can plum tomatoes with juice

1 15oz can cannelloni beans, rinsed and drained (Note: chickpeas would make it a more “Indian” dish. I, however, do not like the taste, so I always use cannelloni beans as a sub.)

1 cup frozen corn

1 tbsp lime juice

salt and pepper to taste

cilantro

Directions:

Cook rice according to box instructions. Meanwhile, in a large pot, heat oil. Add in onions and garlic cloves and sauté for 5 minutes. Add and mix in curry, ginger, cumin, turmeric, pepper flakes, cinnamon, and cayenne. Stir for 1 minute. Add in broth, tomatoes, cannelloni beans, and corn. Bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook for 15 minutes. Take off stove and stir in lime juice, salt and pepper. Serve stew over rice and garnish with cilantro.