Zucchini Bread

I have a giant zuchhini that a friend brought over and it has been patiently waiting to be made into something. This vegie is the size of a kiddie bat. That's not an exaggeration. I'm sure I'll have plenty to make hundreds of batches of bread.

Ingredients

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon salt1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 3 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 3 eggs
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 2 1/4 cups white sugar
• 3 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 cups grated zucchini
• 1 cup chopped walnuts

Directions

1. Grease and flour two 8 x 4 inch pans. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).
2. Sift flour, salt, baking powder, soda, and cinnamon together in a bowl.
3. Beat eggs, oil, vanilla, and sugar together in a large bowl. Add sifted ingredients to the creamed mixture, and beat well. Stir in zucchini and nuts until well combined. Pour batter into prepared pans.
4. Bake for 40 to 60 minutes, or until tester inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in pan on rack for 20 minutes. Remove bread from pan, and completely cool.

Recipe provided by Rutiz Family Farms, my local organic farm that's just around the corner.

Polenta and Oatmeal Cookie Recipes

I was reading through the San Luis Obispo Country Fall 2010 magazine and ran across the "In the Kitchen..." section. Featured was Italian Beef Stew and Polenta, as well as Banana Oatmeal Cookies (circa 1970). I wanted publish these recipes so I could come back to them later.

Polenta recipes from Darlene Rotta. Both recipes are simple and easy. I'm looking forward to using up my polenta with fish.

Cookie recipe from Mike Allen. I think this is a great way to use up those overripe bananas that seem to accumulate in my house. Dont' throw out! Just toss them in your freezer (or maybe it's better to gently place them.)

Italian-Style Polenta

4 cups water
1 cup polenta
1 teaspoon salt
2 Tablespoons butter (optional)
Monterey Jack cheese (optional)

Bring water to a boil and gradually add polenta and salt; stir constantly until thickened.

Reduce heat and stir frequently for about one hour. Add butter and cheese, if you wish, just before removing from pan.

American-Style Polenta (microwave)

3 cups water
3/4 cup polenta
1/4 teaspoon salt

Mix water, polenta and salt in a three-quart bowl. In microwave, cook six minutes on high. Stir well. Cook again for six minutes. Stir and cook for five more minutes. It is ready to serve.

You may add butter and cheese at the end, if you wish.

Banana Oatmeal Cookies

1 1/2 cups sifted flour
1 cup sugar
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
3/4 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. baking soda + 1/4 tsp. for bananas
3/4 cup shortening
1 egg, well beaten
1 cup mashed ripe bananas (mix in the 1/4 tsp. baking soda)
1 3/4 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup chopped nuts

Sift dry ingredients--flour, sugar, salt, nutmeg, cinnamon and 1/2 tsp. baking soda--into mixing bowl. Cut in shortening. Add egg, bananas, rolled oats and nuts. Beat until thoroughly blended.

Drop by teaspoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheet. Bake about 15 minutes, in a 350-degree oven, or until edges are browned. Remove from pan immediately and cool on rack.

Makes about 3 dozen. Recipe can be doubled if desired.

70% cocoa or bust!

I have become a fan of dark chocolate that has 60%+ cocoa.

In fact, I treated myself to Trader Joe's holiday Chocolate Palette offering of 8 bars of "distinctive origin" chocolate made with a minimum of 60% cocoa. (Ironically, the Venezuelan chocolate bar has been my favorite so far.)

I'm halfway through Ghana (70%), and loving it, too. Mmm...I just enjoyed a small piece of it now.

I still have Sao Thome and Papua New Guinea (both 70%).

But, what this post is really about is getting my hands on 336 minibars of Ritter Sport! My friend CanCan over at MomMostTraveled is having a giveaway! Check it out, or NOT and let me win them!

Ritter Sport has lots of new flavors, and even one that is Extra Fine Dark Chocolate (71% cocoa) made with Arriba cocoa from Ecuador. I can't wait to try that one!

I became a fan of Ritter Sport in 1992 as an exchange student in Denmark. There were much fewer varieties back then, but I loved savoring every last bite of my Ritter Sport bars. Every time I see one it brings back such wonderful memories. Thank you Ritter Sport!

CAMBODIA: Pepper Farmers Get Ready for their Champagne Moment

By Robert Carmichael

PHNOM PENH, Dec 8 (IPS) - Under a shady trellis of rice sacks in the province of Kampot in southern Cambodia, 42-year-old Nuon Yan tends his crop of pepper vines.

Small-scale farming is a tough occupation, with prices and weather unpredictable and the cost of inputs high. But Nuon Yan knows a good idea when he sees one. When he heard about an opportunity to double the money he was making from black pepper, he jumped at it.

That opportunity is to register the prized variety of pepper that he and neighbouring farmers grow – known as Kampot Pepper – for Geographical Indicator, or GI, status. Kampot pepper is highly regarded by some chefs in Europe and the United States as one of the world’s finest pepper varieties.

If the term GI sounds unfamiliar, the concept itself is much better understood, says Jean-Marie Brun, an advisor at GRET, a French non- governmental organisation involved in getting Kampot pepper its GI status.

The most famous GI product is champagne. In fact, says Brun, GI is what makes champagne champagne rather than sparkling wine. Unless bubbly is grown in a specific part of France to specific rules and meets a certain quality standard, it may not be marketed as champagne.

That, in a nutshell, is GI, and it will work exactly the same way with Kampot pepper. The added advantage is that Nuon Yan and the 130 other members of the newly formed Kampot Pepper Producers’ Association (KPPA) – most of whom are also farmers – decide on the rules and the quality standard.

Brun says any grower who meets the requirements can join the association, and once GI is registered it is protected under World Trade Organisation rules.

"The right to use the name Kampot pepper once it is registered belongs to anybody that complies with a certain number of requirements," says Brun. "The stakeholders decide on the delimitation of the area, how it should be produced and the quality criteria."

Brun explains that farmers like Nuon Yan, who currently earns 2.50 U.S. dollars per kilo for his crop, will likely double their income when GI status is confirmed.

Complying with GI does bring added costs, but Brun says these typically equate to five percent of the extra income. In the case of Kampot pepper, and because it is early days for the KPPA, the costs of compliance are higher than that – currently around 10 percent – but they will decline as more members join.

Farmers like Nuon Yan benefit as a direct result of providing a product that consumers can buy safe in the knowledge that it has attained a certain quality standard and is what it claims to be. But that assurance is worth nothing unless someone ensures the members abide by their own standards.

That policing role is performed by the KPPA itself and an independent auditor. The KPPA is based in a small room in a shady grove five kilometres outside the provincial town of Kampong Trach in Kampot province. KPPA deputy head, En Trou, explains that growers have had a tough time in the past.

"Because they were not able to market Kampot pepper and didn’t have much money, the farmers faced many problems trying to earn enough to support their families," he says. "We also found that other growers were using the name Kampot pepper on their products."

But the advent of GI status, which will be confirmed in a matter of weeks, should start to resolve that. En Trou is confident that the future will be brighter for the association’s members, who currently harvest 14 tons of pepper annually.

"I am hopeful that in another five years we will have increased the number of producers to 150, and be selling between 20 and 30 tons a year," he says.

The man in charge on the government side is Var Roth San, who heads the intellectual property department at the Ministry of Commerce. Among the powers wielded by his department is the power to revoke the GI registration for Kampot pepper should the independent auditor find the KPPA is shirking its role to maintain standards.

"The association must form control within themselves to keep the quality good," he points out. "Therefore the price of GI products increases. If [there is] no control within themselves or by an international organisation, who will believe [that their product is high quality]?"

Var Roth San says getting GI status for Kampot pepper links directly with the strategy of government and donors to reduce widespread rural poverty. Around 80 percent of the country’s people live in rural areas, and more than half the eight million-strong labour force is involved in agriculture, so boosting rural livelihoods is critical for Cambodia.

"We want to create jobs, and we want our poor to get more money from their work in the rural area," he says. "GI law is one thing that will help the poor in the rural areas."

Although GI for Kampot pepper will benefit at most a couple of hundred farmers, the government plans to roll out the initiative for other products too, including palm sugar from Kampong Speu province and honey from the northeastern province of Ratanakkiri. But Kampot pepper will be the first.

Back on his one-fifth hectare pepper plot in Kampot province, Nuon Yan explains that his rice crop has to date generated more income than the pepper he harvests from his 300 pepper vines. Last year he made around 400 U.S dollars from selling 150 kilograms of pepper.

But he is clearly banking on Kampot pepper’s potential.

"If I can sell my pepper for a higher price, then it is possible that one day I could earn more from pepper than from rice," he says.

Nuon Yan has an eye on that future possibility. He will deposit some of the extra money he will earn in the bank and put the rest towards buying more pepper vines. He and the other members of the association are banking that Kampot pepper’s GI status will result in a more secure future for them and their families.

I love how Cambodian pepper is so aromatic. A little goes a long way! I grind it fresh in my mortar to add a spicy zing to many dishes.

Cinnamon Honey Sweet Potatoes

This was a well-liked side dish to go with Thanksgiving dinner, thanks in part to Pillsbury and their November 17, 2009 issue of Thanksgiving.

I love cinnamon and honey, so partnered together with butter and sweet potatoes made for a winning combination.

Ingredients
5 Tbsp butter or margarine, melted
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp grated fresh lemon peel
1/2 cup honey
4 lb medium sweet potatoes (about 8-10)

Instructions
1. Heat oven to 325 F. Brush 13x9-inch (3 quart) glass baking dish with melted butter. To remaining butter, stir in cinnamon, salt, lemon peel and honey; set aside.

2. Peel sweet potatoes; cut into 1-inch chunks. Place in baking dish. Drizzle with half of the honey mixture; stir to evenly coat potatoes.

3. Cover tightly with foil; bake 30 minutes. Remove foil; spoon remaining honey mixture on top. Recover; bake 20 t0 30 minutes longer or until potatoes are tender.

This is such an easy recipe, and the honey and cinnamon makes the sweet potatoes so yummy!

Plus it's great with any main dish, or just by itself.

Maybe next time I'll try agave nectar in place of the honey for a different approach. I might even try this with roasting some squash I've got.

Beef Lok Lak

MckLinky Blog Hop: Favorite Recipe


Lunch on Friday was Beef Lok Lak. I prefer to cook it myself, but this was tasty enough.

Making it is very simple. All you need is some beef that you slice into bite-sized pieces, steamed rice, freshly sliced cucumber, tomato and onion with some lettuce leaves, and finally a sauce made of freshly ground pepper, salt and lime juice squeezed over at the last minute.

Prepare a large platter layering the vegetables starting with lettuce leaves on the bottom, then followed by cucumbers, onions and tomatoes.

Heat a skillet over medium heat. Add some oil and minced garlic. Cook until slightly golden. Add the beef, stirring quickly to cook it, but not too long.

When the beef is mostly cooked, add a Tablespoon or two of sugar and soy sauce. Allow that to bubble up into a sauce. Turn off heat. Pour beef with sauce directly over the vegetables.

Squeeze the lime juice into the salt and pepper. Mix up. Serve with rice.

Eat Lok Lak by taking a piece of beef, vegetable, rice and add a little of the salt and pepper sauce onto a spoon.

Fried Ginger with Pork

Image originally uploaded on Flickr by drkigawa

This dish is another standard in my repertoire of Cambodian cooking. It's simple and tasty.

Here's what you'll need:

200 grams of pork cut into bite-sized pieces
1 ginger root, peeled and grated
4-6 cloves of garlic, minced
oil

Here's how you do it:

Add oil to a heated wok or frying pan. Add garlic and brown slightly. Add the ginger and stir fry til it is well cooked, then add the pork. Cook until no longer pink.

Transfer to a dish. Add some chopped green onions. Serve with steamed rice.

Grated ginger image from Anna Parabrahma