1. Any and all weight gain can be blamed on the growing baby, and
2. Elastic waistbands!!
The day after Christmas, Ted and I decided to cook an international meal for his mom and brothers. Cameroon was next on the list. My track record in Africa is not great, so I suggested that Ted pick out the recipes for this meal. I was not so subtly getting him as involved as possible, for fear of completely grossing out his family and being banned from Nan's kitchen for life. But as expected, Ted picked out two excellent recipes, and he executed his part of the meal flawlessly.
Beef Suya was the protein portion of the meal. Ted rubbed a flank steak with a mixture of spices and then rolled it in crushed peanuts. The steak was sliced and threaded onto wooden skewers and cooked on the grill. The meat was tender and moist, and had quite a kick due to the hot pepper that chef Ted added.
Blue-Coconut Jolofe Rice was the other recipe Ted chose, and the recipe that fell under my duty that evening. It was a very hearty rice dish, with loads of sauteed vegetables including mushrooms and carrots. What really gave the dish it's flavor, and what made it a nice compliment to the spicy steak - was the coconut milk that the rice and vegetables simmered in. As I have found with so many of these rice dishes, the amount of liquid the recipe called for was quickly absorbed well before the rice was cooked. So, I ended up adding about a half cup to a cup of water to this recipe as well.
Overall, the dinner won many compliments from the Keysor family! The rice was average, but the steak might make it's way into our repertoire of grilling recipes. We scored Cameroon a 3.5, and I'm pretty sure we'll be permitted to cook in Nan's kitchen again!
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