Waina from Nigeria

An omelet recipe from the northern states of Nigeria. It is usually served with freshly baked bread or on toast. We ate it with fresh whole grain bread from the bakery at the grocery store.

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*4 eggs
*1 bell pepper, chopped
*1/2 onion, chopped
* butter
*salt & pepper to taste

1. Mix the eggs, peppers & onions in a mixing bowl.

2. Season & stir thoroughly, adding a drop of water if necessary.

3. Heat butter in a frying pan. When hot, pour a ladle full of egg mixture into the butter. Fry until golden & crisp. Remove from pan & drain on paper towels.

4. Continue to fry in this manner using up all the egg mixture. Serve hot on slices of bread or toast.

Malaysian Sweet and Sour Eggs

Servings: about 3
Time: about 30 minutes

* 4-5 eggs, cooked well done
* 1 onion, cut into rings and then cut into half
* 1/2 red chili, sliced thinly
* 1/2 stalk scallion, sliced diagonally
* 1/8 tsp salt
* 3 1/2 tbsp sugar (extra to taste)
* 3 tbsp cooking oil
* tamarind pulp, the size of a small ping pong ball
* 1 cup water

Note: We couldn't find any tamarind pulp, so we used nectar of tamarind instead and did NOT add the sugar to the recipe. It worked out just fine that way.


1. Fry the eggs well done and set aside.

2. In a small bowl, add one cup of water to the tamarind pulp and soak for 10 minutes. Squeeze the tamarind pulp to extract the juice. Use only the juice and discard the pulp.

3. Heat up your wok and add in the cooking oil. Sauté the onions for 2-3 minutes until they turn slighly brown or aromatic.

4. Add in the eggs and do a quick stir.

5. Lower the heat, add the tamarind juice and bring it to boil.

6. Add in sugar, salt, scallion & chili. Simmer for 1-2 minutes. Serve hot.

Pumpkin Stew with Chilies and Cheese from Peru

~This is a Peruvian recipe!~

Servings: about 6
Time: over 2.5 hours

* 1 medium onion, finely chopped
* 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
* 4 medium Serrano peppers, finely chopped
* 1 tbsp safflower oil
* 2 lbs pumpkin or winter squash, peeled and cubed
* 2 medium white potatoes, peeled and cubed
* 1/4 cup half-and-half
* 1 cup queso blanco or feta
* salt & pepper, to taste


1. Saute onion, garlic & chiles in oil.

2. Add pumpkin & potatoes, plus a little water if necessary. Cover & cook over low heat until the pumpkin & potatoes are tender.

3. Add the half-and-half & cheese. Heat through.

4. Add salt & pepper. Garnish with additional cheese if desired.

Heart of Palm Salad from Costa Rica

A Costa Rican recipe!

servings: about 4

* 1 14-oz can of hearts of palm
* leafy lettuce
* fresh squeezed juice from 1 lime
* salt
* fresh ground black pepper
* 1 chopped red bell pepper
* 1 chopped vine ripened tomato

1. Lay down some lettuce in the bowls. Arrange the bite-sized pieces of heart of palm over the lettuce. Add the tomato & bell pepper.

2. Pour some lime juice over the salad and sprinkle salt & pepper, to taste.

Complete Jollof Rice from Benin

This recipe is from the country of Benin.

Serves: 8 people

* 1 cup dry black-eyed peas
*2 medium-sized eggplants
*1 1/2 tbs oil
*3 tbs ginger root, grated or minced
*2 peppers of your choice (I used Anaheims), roasted with the seeds removed, chopped
*8 tomatoes
*2 tsp cayenne
*2 tps curry powder
*Tabasco sauce to taste
*12 cups of water
*1 tsp salt
*2 large onions, chopped
*2 cloves garlic, minced
*1 green bell pepper, chopped
*1 1/2 tbs tomato paste
*1 lb carrots
*1/2 lb green beans
* 1 1/2 cups uncooked rice

1. In a large pot, soak the black-eyed peas overnight in 4 cups of water.

2. Drain & replace with 8 cups of fresh water, & simmer peas for 5 minutes. Drain, reserving water for cooking.

3. Meanwhile, roast the peppers, as mentioned above. I cooked mine in the oven.

4. Slice the eggplant into rounds about 1/2 inch thick and place in a colander. Salt and let them drain for 5 minutes.

5. Heat oil in a large saucepan. Add eggplant, 1 tbs chopped onion, 1 tbs grated ginger, 1 chopped pepper, 1 clove garlic, & the bell pepper. Cook, stirring until the eggplant is browned, for about 5 minutes. Remove eggplant & set aside.

6. Add remaining onion, ginger, pepper, garlic, reserved water, tomatoes, tomato paste, cayenne, & curry, stirring them all together. Add hot sauce to taste. Simmer 10 minutes, uncovered.

7. Add black-eyed peas, carrots, & rice. Simmer another 5 minutes.

8. Add green beans & eggplant & simmer 15 minutes more, still uncovered.

9. Finally, cover & simmer another 20 minutes.

Ailazan from Armenia

This is a traditional Armenian dish. It is a thick vegetable stew.

* 1 lb eggplant
* 1 lb potato (we used small red potatoes)
* 1 onion
* 100 g oil (I think that came to about 1/2 cup of oil when we used our kitchen scale)
* 3 vine ripened tomatoes
* 1 cup green beans
* 1 red bell pepper
* 1 cup of fresh spices (basil, thyme, cilantro, parsley)
* a bit of chopped garlic
* ground black pepper
* ground red pepper
* salt
* 1/2 cup water

1. Slice the eggplant finely, put a little bit of salt over each piece, then leave it to sit for 15 minutes. Squeeze out the extra juice. (We pressed them with paper towels.)
2. Slice the other vegetables finely & mince the spices.
3. Put the vegetables in a deep pot in layers, beginning with the eggplant on the bottom. Sprinkle every layer with spices including some salt.
4. Pour the oil & the water over top of the vegetables. Cover. Cook on low heat until done. (We cooked the stew on "2" for 1 hour & 45 minutes-- it turned out perfectly.)

Note: A lot of water will cook out of the vegetables, so dont worry that it doesn't seem like enough water at first.

Pseudo Thai Stir Fry

Servings: 4
Time: about 30 minutes

* 1/4 to 1/2 cup canola oil
* about 4 cups of chopped vegetables of your choice, for example: snow peas, broccoli, mushrooms, onion, bell pepper
* 1 can coconut milk
* fresh basil, coarsely chopped, no stems
* 1/4 tsp red or green Thai curry paste (we prefer green for this recipe)
* a few dashes of soy sauce
* cooked rice (about 4 cups)

1. Stir fry veggies in oil until partially cooked but still crisp.
2. Add coconut milk & basil.
3. Add curry paste & soy sauce.
4. Simmer for 5 to 10 minutes. Mixture should be soupy.
5. Serve over rice.

*Note: This is one of Elliot's favorite recipes to make!

Okra Creole

A recipe from Barbados!

Serves 8

Ingredients:

* 1 large onion, sliced
* 1 green bell pepper, chopped
* 3 tbsp peanut oil
* 20 okra pods, topped, tailed, sliced (or 1 bag frozen okra works fine, too!)
* 2 tomatoes, chopped
* 1 cup fresh corn kernels
* salt & pepper to taste

1. In a heavy skillet, saute the onion & bell pepper in the oil.

2. Add the okra & cook over medium heat for 5 minutes.

3. Add tomatoes & corn, lower the heat, & cook for 15 minutes (or until okra is done).

4. Season with salt & pepper.

Eggah from Tunisia

Makes about 6 servings

Ingredients :
* 1 tbsp olive oil
* 1 onion, thinly sliced
* 4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
* 1 green bell pepper, seeded & thinly sliced
* 1 red bell pepper, seeded & thinly sliced
* 2 zucchini, sliced about 1/4 inch thick
* 1 lb ripe tomatoes (4 to 5), peeled & cut into wedges
* 1/8 tsp to 1/4tsp cayenne pepper, to taste
* 3/4 tsp ground cumin
* 1/2 tsp ground coriander
* 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
* sea salt & freshly ground pepper
* 3 eggs
* 6 egg whites
* 4 tbsp chopped fresh parsley


1. Heat the olive oil in a large heavy-bottomed lidded frying pan or casserole & add the onion & garlic. Saute until the onion begins to soften.

2. Add the green & red peppers. Continue to saute 5 minutes, stirring.

3. Add the zucchini. Continue to saute 5 minutes.

4. Stir in the tomatoes, spices, sea salt & pepper to taste.

5. Stir together, cover, & reduce heat. Simmer gently for 20 minutes or until the vegetables are cooked through & fragrant. If they begin to stick to the bottom of the pan, add a little water. Correct seasonings and remove from the heat.

6. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350 degrees & oil a baking dish large enough to accommodate the vegetables and eggs.

7. Beat the eggs in a large bowl. Add the parsley.

8. Stir in the vegetable mixture, correct seasonings again, & turn into the prepared baking dish. Cover and bake 30 minutes.

9. Remove the cover and bake another 10 minutes or until the top is nicely browned & the eggs set. Serve at once, or allow it to cool and serve, cut into squares, as an appetizer. The eggah will keep a day or two in the refrigerator.

Stuffed Pepper Soup

Time: 30 mins
Servings: 4-6

* 32 oz vegetable broth
* 1 chopped green bell pepper
* 1 chopped red or yellow bell pepper
* 1 small onion, diced
* 1 clove garlic, minced
* 14. 5 oz can diced tomatoes, pureed in a blender
* about 10 oz meatless crumbles (or for you beef-eating carnivores, you could probably use cooked hamburger meat, but I'm not going to vouch for how the soup turns out)
* 3/4 cup brown minute rice
* a bit of oil for sauteing

1. Prepare all of the vegetables.

2. Saute the onion & garlic in the oil until they are soft.

3. Add the peppers & cook until they are tender.

4. Add pureed tomatoes, meatless crumbles, & broth. Bring to a slow boil.

5. Once boiling, add the rice. Cover & cook until rice is tender (about 10 minutes).