Kafe Fetuchini Verde

Fresh snow peas and pods,
parsley, black pepper, thyme, celery, onions
tossed together in an al dente cooked fetuchini.

Side dishes can be simply perfect...

Fresh snow peas, red peppers tossed
with a lot of onions,
fresh parsley, fresh thyme,
black pepper and oil
over medium fire...

For TiPrune... Fried okra!

Ingredients:

1 pound fresh okra

2 eggs beaten

hot sauce

1 cup corn meal

1/2 teaspoon salt

oil for frying

Preparation:

Wash okra and drain well
Cut off ends and cut okra crosswise into 1/2-inch slices
In a bowl, combine beaten eggs and hot sauce
Add okra and stir making sure to coat all pieces well

In a shallow dish, combine cornmeal, salt and cayenne
Dip okra pieces into cornmeal mixture to coat well
Heat oil and fry okra in batches until browned
Drain on paper towels and serve immediately

OKRA

Some dont's about-Okra...

Overcooking it
Buying large pods

Okra originally came from Africa brought in by slaves. Odd, some of you will find this fact hard to believe, okra is from the hibiscus and cotton family. Once you see the flower of the vegetables, your eyes will agree. It will grow in tropical climate and is not a fussy plant to grow. It can be frozen up to a year if harvested from home grown gardens. Allowing it to bleed for a bit in cold water with lemon juice will cut short the slime that so many don't like about the vegetable.
Okra can be combined as casserole with eggplant tomatoes and onions, corn and peppers. Some folks pickle them too.

For Foxy-Lady- Of great pots and pans...

Of great pots and pans-your best allies in the kitchen

Cooking is wonderful, a full pantry and a well laid out kitchen are ideals-yet, not having the right pots and pans will cut short the experience. To one cooking on the go-while in college or at home...if your budget and space do not allow you a complete set of good quality pots and pans THREE of the set are all you need.

1-An 8 inch skillet
2-A deep covered pan
3-A 2 quart sauce pan

With these three on your side, your experience in the kitchen cooking will be made better.

KAFE EASY CRAB CAKE

Cooking Time: 15 minutes

Ingredients

1 lb. Crab meat- (ask for back-fin when shopping)

1/4 cup. of Mayonnaise

A hand full of chopped parsley

1/2 teaspoons salt.

1/2 cup. soft bread crumbs

(I have a simple recipe to make your own)

2 eggs slightly beaten

5 drops or more of hot sauce depending on your comfort level

Cracker crumbs

1 stick Butter or half cup of oil

One whole chopped onion

A spring of thyme

Preparation:

Combine all the ingredients leaving out crumbs/butter

Form into patties let rest half hour

Powder the patties with bread crumbs

In a large skillet add oil and fry till golden

Drain on paper towels and serve immediately.

*** The same recipe can be used with a-CAN OF SALMON.

Enjoy!

The Alex breakfast special

Kafe's antipasta with sausages

Kafe's arroz con pollo

Rice and beans made simple

KAFE'S EASY 'BOUYON'

PREPARATION

Meat of your choice
Plantains-potatoes-frozen bags of spinach-string beans-carrots-corn etc...

Hope you like peeling and cutting...

COOKING

As you prepare the main components of your bouyon in a deep pot boil your well seasoned meat. It can be beef-pork-chicken or a mixture of either two.

When meat is tender...fill pot half way with warm water and re-season the broth with salt and pepper, parsley thyme and lots of cut onions...add your cut up: plantains-potatoes-etc.

A frozen pack of many vegetables is a great alternative if time of of the essence (and not a la campagne with your own garden's bounties...)

Let cook for half hour till everything is tender...


SERVE with a fresh bread...enjoy!

No time to cook at all, but- time to climb?

;-)

KAFE'S EASY MEAT WITH OKRA

PREPARATION

Season cubed beef pieces or pork whichever you prefer with salt and black pepper to taste, juice of a lemon, lots of parsley and thyme.

COOKING

In a pan add the pieces of meat in warm oil... let fry as the liquid reduces. Keep adding spoon full of water making sure to stir well often. Five minutes into cooking add a table spoon of browning sauce to the pan and cover for 1o minutes... till perfectly brown and tender.

Add-fresh or frozen okra to the pan with onions cubes and dash of hot sauce. Let simmer for two to three more minutes. Do not over cook the okra. You are not making a soup. Okra should remain whole and retain some of their beautiful green color...

White rice and beans sauce are good side dishes for meat and okra as well as a one combo of brown rice and beans. (duri kole)

Enjoy!

To my sister Klode I dedicate this recipe and not a day I see 'okra- kalalou' and do not think of her.

KAFE'S EASY CHICKEN - For lunch or dinner

PREPARATION

Wash 1 whole chicken cut up with vinegar and water and poke many holes in the flesh with a fork. At the market pick a non-frozen type...I prefer the fresh variety for a fast meal and more tender meat.

Season with a running of:
Lemon juice
Salt and pepper to taste
Little bit of hot sauce
Lots of thyme and parsley

COOKING

In a large pan heat some oil and place chicken pieces to cook. Making sure to rotate the pieces as they brown, add spoon full of water once in a while to loosen 'caramalization' at the bottom of the pan.

Once meat gets tender and brown add a teaspoon of browning sauce to pan and add onions wedges and cover to simmer.

Fifteen minutes later-your chicken should be ready. Enjoy with baked potato, fried plantains, tossed salad or rice...which ever your choice of side dish-this chicken will hit the spot with minimum labor before during and after.

Cooking needs not be an event--- all the time

Greetings,

In my family it seems that cooking is always an event.

However simple the dish or meal---laboring over the stove and sink become IT...

When in fact it does not need to be the case.

Over the years, I have had fondness for many activities and cooking was one of them.

Fixing family meals at big gatherings has been a pleasure, cooking a fast snack or meal at the drop of a hat is easy for me.

Members of my family make a total ceremony when in the kitchen and I wanted to not only show that cooking needs not be an event all the time but also share a few simple recipes to make eating fun and getting out of the kitchen faster then you thought-a probability!

So-here is to cooking the fun and easy way- The Kafe way!



Boulegra


Kafe