Food and More:

The following recipes were graciously provided by the Chengdu International Women’s Club cookbook®. They were collected from many women’s recipe books from all around the world, and a few have been passed down thru the generations. I have denoted each recipe with its country of origin, however I tried to stay keen on what is and is not readily available in the U.S. so most of the recipes are from there. If there is a second issue, you can bet I will throw our Family’s “Oh, for goodness sake!” salad recipe into the mix, (although Jell-O might be a little hard to come by here in China.)Enjoy… and ”Hao chi!”

SOUPS(2):

PINK SOUP - USA: (a.k.a. Killer Soup)
¾ lb. turkey sausage
1 tbsp. olive oil
8 cloves garlic, chopped
1 can chopped tomatoes
2 tbsp. jalapeno peppers
1 tsp. cumin
1 tsp. chopped fresh rosemary
2-3 cans garbanzo beans, drained
2 cups chicken broth
2 tbsp. lemon juice

Heat oil in heavy dutch oven over medium high heat. Add sausage and garlic and heat until sausage is cooked through, breaking it with a fork.

Reduce heat to medium and add tomatoes, chilies, cumin, and rosemary. Simmer 10 minutes. Add garbanzo beans and broth and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer 15 minutes. Stir in lemon juice, salt, and pepper.

Serve with rice, cilantro and avocado.
Serves 4-6

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KUMERA - Australia: (Orange sweet potato & carrot soup.)
2 reasonably large kumera or sweet potatoes, peeled and diced (using both is fine too!)
2-3 large carrots, peeled and diced
1 large leek, sliced
1 medium onion, chopped
Chicken or vegetable stock
Butter
Salt & pepper

Sauté onions and leeks in butter until soft. Add potatoes and carrots, sauté a minute or two. Add stock to just cover, season. Cook until potatoes and carrots are soft. Check seasoning. Blend or process until smooth. You can add cream just before serving.

Serve with warm crusty bread.
Serves 4-6

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SALADS(1):

SWEET AND SPICY AUTUMN SALAD - Australia:
DRESSING:
2 tbsp. maple syrup
2 tbsp. Dijon mustard
2 tbsp. olive oil
2 tbsp. balsamic vinegar

WALNUTS:
1 cup walnuts
Splash of olive oil
1 tbsp honey
1 tbsp maple sugar (or sweetener of your choice)
½ tsp. salt
¼ tsp. ground black pepper
Generous pinch of cayenne pepper, to taste

SALAD:
10 cups loosely packed arugula
2 pears, peeled and thinly sliced
3oz gorgonzola

Combine dressing ingredients in a jar and shake until combined. Preheat oven to 325˚F. Wipe a baking sheet with olive oil. Combine walnuts and remaining walnut ingredients in a bowl and mix to coat. Spread nut mixture on prepared baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes, or until nuts are deep golden and bubbling, stirring occasionally. Add arugula, pears, gorgonzola and walnuts to large bowl and toss with some dressing. The dressing is strong, a little goes a long way.

Serves 4-6

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BREADS(2):

BEER BREAD - USA:
3 cups, un-sifted self rising flour
2 tbsp. sugar
1 12oz can of beer
1 egg, beaten with 1 tbsp. water
Melted butter (to taste)

Mix un-sifted flour, sugar, and beer in bowl. Stir 17 times; making sure dry ingredients are wet. Turn and spread dough in greased 9”X 5” pan. Brush with beaten egg mixture. Bake at 375˚ for 1 hour or until inserted toothpick comes out clean. While bread is still warm, brush top with butter.

Serves 4-6

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LIME BREAD WITH BLUEBERRIES - USA:
6 tbsp. butter, softened
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
½ cup milk
1 ½ cups flour
1tsp. baking powder
½ tsp salt
Grated zest of 1 lime
½ cup fresh blueberries (more if desired!)
Juice of 1 lime
½ cup sugar

Cream the butter and 1 cup of sugar in bowl until light. Beat in eggs. Add the milk and mix well. Sift the flour, baking powder and salt into a bowl. Add flour mixture to butter mixture and beat until smooth. Stir in the lime zest and blueberries.

Pour the batter into a greased 4”X 6” loaf pan. Bake at 350˚ for 1 hour until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Mix the lime juice and ½ cup sugar into a bowl until the sugar dissolves. Spoon mixture over the hot bread before removing from the pan.

Serves 4-6

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ENTREES(3):

PRAWN CURRY - England:
SAUCE: You can double the quantities if you like because, apparently, it’s THAT good!
1 tbsp. tomato puree
¾ tsp. salt
¼ tsp. sugar
1 tsp. garam masala ** (see below for details!)
½ tsp. ground roasted cumin seeds
1/8 – ¼ tsp. chili powder or to taste
3 tbsp. finely ground chopped green coriander
1 fresh hot green chili, finely chopped
1 tbsp. lemon juice
200 ml tinned coconut milk (6 to 7 ounces)

YOU ALSO NEED:
3tbsp. vegetable oil
1 tsp black mustard seeds (yellow is fine too because the black can be hard to find)
3 cloves garlic
10 -15 curry leaves
560g prawns (fresh or defrosted) (about 1 ¼ pounds)

Make the sauce: put tomato puree in bowl. Add salt, sugar, garam masala, ground cumin seeds, chili powder, green coriander, green chili, lemon juice, and 1 tbsp. water. Mix well then add coconut milk.

Put vegetable oil in wok and when it is hot put in the mustard seeds. When they start to pop, add the garlic and curry leaves and stir a few times, then add the prawns. When the prawns are cooked, add the sauce and heat through until simmering. This is delicious and very easy to make.

Serves… you guessed it, 4-6
** NOTE: There are many variants, the most traditional mixes use just cinnamon, roasted cumin, caraway seeds, cloves, nutmeg (and/or mace) and green cardamom seed or black cardamom pods. Many commercial mixtures may include more of other less expensive spices and may contain dried red chili peppers, dried garlic, ginger powder, sesame, mustard seeds, turmeric, coriander, bay leaves, star anise and fennel. While commercial garam masala preparations can be bought ready ground, it does not keep well, and soon loses its aroma. Whole spices, which keep fresh much longer, can be ground when needed using a mortar and pestle or electric coffee grinder.

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PEACHES FILLED WITH TUNA FISH - Belgium:
Tin of half peaches in syrup
Tina of tuna fish, in brine or in oil
Mayonnaise (to taste)
1 hardboiled egg, mashed
Pepper
Paprika and parsley for decoration

Mix the tuna fish with the mayonnaise, egg and season with pepper. Fill in the half peaches with the mixture. Decorate with some paprika and parsley. Put in fridge at least 1 hour before serving.

In Belgium, this is a recipe much loved by children and can also be part of a cold buffet.

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BEEF IN GUINNESS - USA:
1kg beef (about 2 and 1/8 lb.)
2 large onions
6 medium carrots
2 tbsp. seasoned flour
250 ml Guinness beer and water

Cut beef into chuncks and peel and slice the onions and carrots. Toss the beef in the flour and brown quickly in olive oil. Remove the beef and fry the onions gently until transparent. Return the beef and add the carrots and the liquid. Bring just to a boil, reduce the heat to a very gentle simmer, cover and cook for 1 ½ -2 hours. Check that the dish does not dry out, adding more liquid if necessary. Serve with boiled potatoes.

Serves 4

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DESSERTS(2):

KHEER - Pakistan:
500ml milk
250g rice
200g sugar
50g ghee
3 tbsp. chopped nuts

Pick and wash the rice. Soak in water for 30 minutes. Drain completely.

Melt the ghee in a pan then add the drained rice and sauté for 5-7 minutes on a medium flame.

Add the milk and cook on a low flame until the milk is reduced to ¾ its original quantity. Add the sugar and simmer further until the milk is reduced to ½ of its original quantity.

Garnish with nuts.

Serves 4

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CHOCOLATE CHERRY COOKIES - Australia:
2 cups unbleached or whole wheat pastry flour
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp sea salt
1 ½ cups organic sugar
½ cup maple syrup
½ nondairy trans-fat-free margarine or vegetable shortening
½ cup sunflower oil
½ canned coconut milk
2 tsp vanilla extract
3/4 cup pecan or walnuts pieces
¾ cup chocolate chips
½ cup dried sweet cherries (chopped if large)

Preheat oven to 300˚F. In a mixing bowl, combine flour, baking soda, and sea salt. In a separate bowl, cream sugar, maple syrup, margarine, oil, coconut milk, and vanilla together. Gradually mix in dry ingredients. Stir in pecans, chocolate chips, and dried cherries.

Drop spoonfuls onto cookie sheet and bake for 20 minutes.

Makes 3 dozen

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MORE(3):

ORIGINAL IRISH CREAM - USA: (… and, I’d like to add, my friend Kim’s recipe!)
1 cup heavy cream
1 (14oz) can sweetened condensed milk
1 2/3 cup Irish whiskey
1 tsp instant coffee granules
2 tbsp chocolate syrup
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp almond extract

In a blender, combine heavy cream, sweetened condensed milk, Irish whiskey, instant coffee, chocolate syrup, vanilla extract, and almond extract. Blend on high for 20 to 30 seconds. Store in a tightly sealed container in the refrigerator. Shake well before serving.

Serves 16

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BRAIN FREEZE POPS - USA:
2 cups berries, washed
2 cups vanilla or homemade yogurt
1 cup powdered sugar (this works just fine with ½ cup)

Combine the berries, yogurt and sugar in a blender and BLEND! Blend for a long time or you will get little pieces and chunks.

Pour the mixture into freezer molds or small yogurt containers. Leave some space (about 5cm) at the top. Put a stick or plastic spoon into the mixture. Cut a small hole in some plastic wrap, put the stick through the plastic wrap and secure the wrap to the container with a rubber band. (This is so your stick stands up straight!) Freeze for at least 2 hours or until solid. Tear the yogurt container away or dip in hot water for a second or two to remove.

Quantity depends on the amount used per container.
Usually serves 4

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ORANGE FREEZE POPS - USA:
Juice of 6 oranges
8oz of crushed pineapple
¼ honey

Squeeze the juice (get the seeds out)
Follow the steps for Freeze Pops (previous recipe)

Usually serves 4