FeastforFamine

About FeastforFamine

Hi there and welcome to FeastforFamine!

Are you bored with going home to another bowl of pasta, sandwich or reheated lasagna? Going out for a pizza, burger or a steak? If you fancy trying some of the other wonderful stuff going on out there in the world, welcome to my blog, FeastforFamine.

Come on in and join me on my journey around the world, creating food inspired by countries from Zimbabwe to Peru!

FeastForFamine has four main goals, specifically to…

Promote flavours and ideas from corners of the world less well-travelled or promoted.
Put my own interpretation on some of those and share my ideas with you.
Draw attention to some of the issues currently going on in those countries, many of which are suffering greatly from war and/or famine.
Through my links with Save the Children, to raise some funds to support children suffering throughout those countries and the wider world.

The emphasis is on inexpensive, wholesome, widely available ingredients which we don’t always think of pairing. Exotic cooking need not cost the earth, but sometimes takes only a slightly more adventurous approach to give our taste buds something new to look forward to.

Sadly, closer to home, several hundred thousand people in the UK now regularly rely on foodbanks. So, I have deliberately chosen a charity whose scope includes the UK, and hope that the ethos behind my ideas and recipes will make most of them accessible to as many people as possible.

Every Monday throughout 2019 I will be posting a new recipe. if you try, and enjoy any of my recipes and you feel inspired to make a donation (of any amount) please feel free to click the link to the donations page. And if not, that’s fine too – I only hope that you enjoy the recipe! Please feel free to leave any comments or feedback, or suggestions for enhancing any of the recipes. The whole idea of this blog is promote experimentation, exchange of ideas and learning from experience!

Scroll down and be inspired x

Easter Time With Feastforfamine Friends

Asian Flavours, Baking, Brunch, chocolate, Food, Recipes, Sweets

Easter is a time of celebration. It’s celebrated across the World with many traditions spanning centuries. It is also a time to spend with family and friends and a fun time for children and some adults with the mass production of Easter eggs, Easter egg hunts, bonnet making and, of course, the Easter Bunny!

As part of Feastforfamines’ philosophy to celebrate food from all corners of the world, I’d like to share with you some of the lovely foodie traditions that have been passed on to me. There are new recipes to enjoy as well, such as an Afghan twist on one of my own traditions – roast lamb Inspired by Afghanistan: Spiced Slow Cooked Lamb, Carrot, Almond, Tumeric and Sultana Rice with Carrot Yogurt

So let’s start with Spain and a dessert that my friend Victoria tells me is synonymous with Easter – ‘Torrijas’. Torrijas are a cross between Eggy Bread and French Toast, which means you could also enjoy these as a lovely Easter Brunch too. Have a look at how to make these delicious treats here: https://youtu.be/iRaAEmyY6ig

My friend Angela has said that in Poland, Easter is bigger than Christmas when it comes to celebrating, and it sounds like they have a huge amount of fun. Easter greeting cards are sent, children turn their hands to egg painting , lambs made from sugar adorn family tables and there are no shortage of water fights!! Festive Easter dishes include Babka Bread and a wonderful Polish cheesecake which I have on good authority tastes even better if you add some booze soaked cherries on top. You can find Angela’s favourite cheesecake recipe here: http://allrecipes.co.uk/recipe/41676/polish-style-vanilla-cheesecake.aspx

Over to Russia where Sasha has told me that, like in many other parts of the World, fasting is a common practice at this time. Here, it culminates in much eating of the cake Paskha, a cheesecake made using traditional moulds. Have a look at one way of making it here: https://www.whats4eats.com/desserts/paskha-recipe There is also a creative tradition here too, with eggs dyed in vibrant colours and cookies decorated .

In Portugal, my friend Cesar tells me that some families cook ‘Cabrito’, a roasted goat dish, which brings to mind my own memories of Easter as a child. A variation of this recipe may use lamb instead of goat and can be stewed in red wine, rather than roasting. It’s also enjoyed at Christmas time. If you’d like to read more about it, have a look here: https://catavino.net/recipes/portuguese-recipe-cabrito-assado-roasted-goat/

Children still enjoy Easter Eggs in Portugal, but they also like to share sugared almonds and ‘torroes’, which are coloured sugar cubes. Cesar likes to prepare a crab mousse for him and his family at this time of year. It’s a simple dish but takes a lot of time, so a perfect treat when you have a long weekend to cook, he combines all the meat from the crab with boiled eggs and pickles and I was also luckily enough try it this weekend, it was delicious!

Speaking of crab, but moving to a warmer climate, my friend Nathalie tells me there is a wonderful tradition in Martinique where a crab dish called Matoutou is made and taken to share on the beach. The recipe involves cooking a whole crab with rice, chives, onions, garlic, tomatoes, allspice leaves, chilli pepper, lemon, cloves and a spice called Colombo powder, all left to simmer until cooked. In Martinique crab is such a popular dish at this time of year they also hold a Crab Fair in Le Vauclin.

Now for my own memories of sweet Easter Treats. Did any of you ever make those little Easter nests at school? Or at home? I still make them now with my daughter. They’re easy to prepare, cute and delicious.

I also like to make biscuits and cookies around this time, and recently made Easter Bunnies with Hazelnut Noses. You can find the recipe here: https://wordpress.com/post/feastforfamine.blog/397

I think that most people would agree there is a lot of chocolate consumed at Easter time! But did you know that the Ivory Coast is one of the biggest producers of the cocoa bean in the World? I decided to have a go at making some sweet treats inspired by the Ivory Coast a recipe which I will share with you all soon!

So spring is here, the Easter egg hunt is on and whatever your traditions are at this time of year, I hope you have fun cooking some amazing treats this weekend.

Inspired by Afghanistan: Spiced Slow Cooked Lamb, Carrot, Almond, Tumeric and Sultana Rice with Carrot Yogurt

Asian Flavours, Food, Lunch, Main Course, Recipes

Afgan Lamb

Try something different with lamb this Spring…you won’t regret it!

Serves: 6

Prep: 30-40mins
Cook: 3 hours plus marinading time

Ingredients: For the Lamb; 2kg leg of lamb, 1 tsp of turmeric, 1 tsp cumin seeds, 1 tsp, salt, 2 garlic cloves, 1 tsp cinnamon, 1 carrot, 125g natural or greek yogurt, 200ml water

For the Carrot Yogurt Sauce: 250g greek or natural yogurt

For the Rice: Rice 1 large cup of dried basmati rice, 1 tsp. turmeric, 1 cinnamon stick, 2 carrots, 2 tbsps. sultanas, 1 – 2 tbsp. toasted almonds, 1 tbsp. olive oil, pinch of salt

Method

Make your marinade for the lamb, place the peeled garlic cloves in a pestle and mortar and add the turmeric, cumin seeds, cinnamon and salt and mix to a paste
Add the paste to the yogurt, mix well and cover the lamb in the mixture and set aside in the fridge for at least 2 hours or overnight
Preheat your oven to 150F
Peel and slice the carrot and place under the lamb leg
Add 200ml of water, cover with foil and cook in the oven for 3 hours
For the last 15min of cooking time take the foil off and then place back in the oven
Roughly 30mins before you want to serve the lamb make the rice
Cook 1 large cup of rice to two parts water, add to this 1 tsp. of turmeric and 1 cinnamon stick, (you can follow packet instructions or what I normally do is bring the rice to the boil and then simmer lid on for 10mins until all the water is absorbed)
Once cooked, leave the rice to cool slightly while you peel and grate two carrots, and toast the almonds
Add 1 tbsp. of olive oil to a pan and lightly cook the carrots and sultanas for a few minutes
Add to this the rice and a good pinch of salt and half of your toasted almonds, warm through and set aside until ready to serve
Once your lamb is cooked, take the sliced carrot from the bottom of the baking tray and add to a saucepan on a medium heat with 250g of yogurt and 4 tbsps. of juices from the lamb
Bring to the boil then turn the heat off and blitz all in a food processor
Plate up your lamb, by placing the rice underneath, lamb on top, with some more of the lamb juices if you wish and scatter over those almonds!
Serve the spiced carrot yogurt on the side
Enjoy on first sitting and on second sitting using up all those delicious spicy lamb leftovers!

In Afghanistan, Save The Children are working to support the rights of Children, especially girls, who have previously gone without basic education. Young girls are also at risk of exploitation, marriage at a young age and abuse. Boys are also often recruited to armed groups to support their families. In spite of the dangers, Save The Children are there on the ground working to improve health and education, working with communities and religious leaders to effect change. To find out more take a look at the following link:

https://www.savethechildren.org.uk/where-we-work/asia/afghanistan

And if you’d like to make a donation via this blog, please visit my Just Giving Page, by clicking here Just Giving

Thanks x

Easter Bunnies with Hazlenut Noses…

Baking, Cheap, chocolate, Easy, Food, Quick, Recipes, Snacks, Sweets

These not too sweet Easter Bunnies are so easy to make…and eat!

Makes 6 – 10 biscuits depending on the size of your cutter.

Prep: 10mins

Cook: 15mins

Ingredients: 300g self raising flour plus a little more for rolling and dusting, 150g caster sugar, 150g low fat spread (I used flora), 50g of coco powder, 1 egg, 6 Hazelnuts (or more if making more biscuits).

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 150F

2. In a bowl add all your dry ingredients and mix well

3. Now add the low fat spread and use your hands to turn into a breadcrumb like consistency

4. Add the egg and mix well, add a little more flour if too wet and bring to a dough

5. Dust a clean surface with some flour and roll out the dough to about the thickness of a £1 coin

6. Line a baking tray with baking parchment

7. Cut out your bunny shapes and place onto the baking tray

8. Cook in the oven for 15mins, remove and before you leave to cool place a hazelnut in the centre of each face to make a nose…

9. Leave to cool and enjoy with a cuppa or a glass of milk

If you’d like to support a great cause, then have a look at the amazing work Save The Children UK are currently doing in 68 countries: www.savethechildren.org.uk

And if you’d like to make a donation via my Just Giving page, please visit: Just Giving

Indian Inspired – Chickpea Dahl with Eggs and Homemade Raiti

Brunch, Easy, Food, Gluten Free, Recipes, Spicy

Indian Eggs

This is a great brunch dish!

Serves: 2

Prep: 10mins

Cook: 50 -55mins

Ingredients; Tin of chickpeas, 2 eggs, 8 small cherry tomatoes, 1 chilli, 1 clove of garlic, thumb sized piece of ginger, 1 tbsp coconut oil, 1 tsp mustard seeds, 1 tsp of cumin, 1 tsp ground turmeric, 1/2 tsp coriander seeds, 200ml of water

If making Raiti, see link below.

Method:

Deseed and thinly slice the chilli, setting aside 1/2 for the end
Peel and finely slice the garlic, ginger and onion
Heat the coconut oil in a frying pan add the spices, cook until you hear them start to pop
Add the onion, garlic and chilli, fry for 2-3mins until they begin to soften
Chop the cherry tomatoes in half and add to the pan, along with the chick peas and 200ml of cold water
Bring to boil and then leave to simmer for 45mins, occasionally using a potato masher or spoon to slightly break down some of the chickpeas
Make two small wells in your chickpea mixture, add your eggs and cook until set
Serve with chapatis (sorry I cheated and used shop bought!), homemade raita, which you can find the recipe for here; Inspired by Bangladesh: Carrot Bhajis with Raita (also included extra recipes for homemade Lime Pickle and Spicy Tomato Chutney) and add a small scattering of the chilli
Dig in!

Child exploitation, child labour and trafficking are just a few of the problems facing the children of India, they are also at risk of contracting childhood diseases, causing the deaths of one in twenty children before they reach their fifth birthday. Many children are also deprived of an education. Save The Children are working with local authorities to safe guard children and with local communities to help provide education to those already marginalised. To find out more please visit their website: https://www.savethechildren.org.uk/where-we-work/asia/india

And if you’d like to make a donation via this blog, please visit my Just Giving Page, by clicking here Just Giving

Thanks x

Need Some Heat This Weekend? Then Try This Green Sauce…

Easy, Food, Gluten Free, Peru/Recipes, Quick, Recipes, Spicy, Vegan

I already shared this recipe as part of the Inspired by Peru – Chicken, Black Rice, Green Sauce and Avocado Salad on Monday, but this sauce is sooooo good, I thought it deserved a post in its own right! It goes well with so many things; steak, chicken, fish, sweet potato, topping off jacket potatoes with yogurt or sour cream, or basically anything that you want to add some heat too, so here’s the recipe again…

Serves: 2
Prep: 5mins/no cook

Ingredients: 2 tbsp. olive oil, 1 garlic clove, 1/2 green chilli, tsp oregano (fresh or dried), tsp. of jalepeano (jarred) peppers, juice of 1 lime, pinch of salt.

Method

Chop, peel and thinly slice the garlic clove add to this the jalapeno peppers, oil, chilli, oregano, the lime juice and pinch of salt and stir well
Add to everything!

Enjoy x

Inspired by Peru – Chicken, Black Rice, Green Sauce and Avocado Salad

Easy, Food, Main Course, Peru/Recipes, Recipes, Spicy

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The Green Sauce used here is so tasty you’ll want to add it to everything!

Serves 2 Main Course

Prep: 20mins
Cook: 30mins (plus marinating time)

Ingredients: For the chicken; 2 chicken breasts (skin removed), 1/2 tsp. of cumin seeds, 1/2 green chilli, 1 garlic clove (peeled and chopped), 1/2 tsp. paprika, 1 tbsp of olive oil

For the Black Rice; 1 cup of black rice, 1 chicken stock cube, handful of spring onions

For the Salad; 1 Avocado, 2 tbsps. of sweetcorn, 1 large tomato, squeeze of lime juice

For the Green Sauce; 2 tbsp. olive oil, 1 garlic clove, 1/2 green chilli, tsp oregano (fresh or dried), tsp. of jalepeano (jarred) peppers, juice of 1 lime, pinch of salt.

Method

Mix all the ingredients for the chicken marinade, cut the chickens into strips and marinate in the mixture overnight or for as long as possible
Meanwhile cooked the black rice as per instructions (these may vary by brand), and substitute one cup of the water for one cup of chicken stock. Once the rice is cooked, add the chopped spring onions and set aside
Grill the chicken under a pre-heated grill for 20mins turning half way through
Prepare your salad by peeling the skin of the tomato, (honestly this works and makes its own juice for the rest of the salad!), chop and mix with chopped avocado and sweetcorn adding in the lime juice before stirring
Now for the sauce… chop, peel and thinly slice the garlic clove add to this the jalapeno peppers, oil, chilli, oregano, the lime juice and pinch of salt and stir well
Assemble all ingredients and drizzle the chicken with the green sauce*

*You can make the green sauce first and set aside until you are ready to serve.

In Peru, children living in poor rural areas are dying, in part due to poor information and healthcare provisions, Save the Children are working with government to share better information about childcare to save lives, to find out more please visit their website: https://www.savethechildren.org.uk/where-we-work/south-central-america/peru

If you would like to make a monetary donation please visit the link: https://justgiving.com/fundraising/Feastforfamine

Thanks x

March Recipe Review: From Syria to Brazil…

Breakfast, Brunch, Cheap, Comforting, Easy, Food, Gluten Free, Lunch, Main Course, Quick, Recipes, Snacks, Spicy, Syria, Vegan

Hi All!

So has Spring finally sprung?

As the nights started to hint at being a bit longer and the days a bit brighter, I decided to share with you some lighter, more colourful recipes.

I often cook a roast chicken at home as it’s not only delicious on first sitting, but great for left overs too, however I do get a bit bored sometimes, so decided to spice things up a bit with our first stop to the Lebanon, for the Inspired by the Lebanon – Whole Roast Lebanese Chicken with A Cauliflower, Bulgar Wheat Tabbouleh

Next stop, still wanting to add a bit more zing to my dinner table, we made a visit to Brazil, known for its love of ‘Piri Piri’, for the Inspired by Brazil Piri Piri Style Turkey Breast, Black Beans, Orange and Tomato Rice, Smashed Avocado and a Simple Salsa

From Brazil we went to Syria, a lot, first off Inspired by Syria – Garlicky Roasted Courgette and Carrot, Honey, Cumin and Pine Nut Dips, which I dipped into many times!! Then something to brighten up the breakfast table Syrian Inspired Fruit Salad and finally Syrian Inspired Aubergine Dip with Honey and Pistachios to complete the trio of Mezes!

March, marked the eighth year of the war in Syria, millions are now living as refugees, resorting to eating leaves and animal feed to survive. Thousands of children have been killed and many of those surviving are separated from their families and are living with severe injuries as a result of this brutal conflict. Save The Children are working tirelessly to help those still in Syria, to find out more please visit the link:

http://www.savethechildren.org.uk/where-we-work/middle-east/syria

And if you would like to make a donation via my just giving page please click Just Giving for more information.

Last stop and thinking of those longer nights to come, we went to Greece and the humble jacket potato for the Inspired by Greece – Oregano and Garlic Roasted Tomatoes with Lemon, Feta and Olive Topped Jacket Potatoes

So where will April take us? Come back next week to find out…and in the meantime I would love to have your feedback on the recipes created by Feastforfamine so far, and please feel free to share your recipes too!

Thanks

Rosalyn x