Meatloaf

Lately, I've been craving comfort foods.  I'm sure it's because I'm so far from home and everything familiar to me.  Fine.  Comfort foods it is!  And this meat loaf is awesome! The sauce is so yummy that I doubled it and put half on the meatloaf and heated the other half and added more to the finished product once it was on my plate.  Delicious!

meat loaf
1 1/2 lbs ground beef
1/3 c panko bread crumbs
1 egg
1 small onion, chopped
1 carrot, peeled and chopped
1 garlic cloved, minced
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
2 tablespoons ketchup
dash worcheshire sauce
1/3 cup whole milk

Sauce
4 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
2 tablespoons dark brown sugar, packed firm (to taste)
1/2 cup ketchup
1 teaspoon cumin
1 dash worcheshire
1 dash hot sauce

 Preheat oven to 350°F.  Saute onion, carrot, and garlic until soft.  Cool then combine with remaining meat loaf ingredients and place into a loaf baking dish. Combine sauce ingredients and pour on top of meatloaf. Bake at 350°F about 1 hour to 1 hour 15 minutes/ until done.

Benfica Market trip

I went to a great local arts/crafts market this weekend.  It is full of handmade items - paintings, sculptures, jewelry, animal skins, ivory, food and more.  

Some of the ivory products available for purchase which is illegal to buy or sell. (new article about it here)

masks

baskets

paintings

prepping the fish 

Grilled octopus, whole fish, and more available for purchase.  Sadly, I ran out of time and didn't  get to sample the food.  But I will be back!

Preparing funge, a local porridge-like side dish

Garlic Parmesan Biscuits

This is an easy, delicious drop biscuit recipe.  That means no rolling, no kneading, no worries.  These are way better than Red Lobster biscuits.  I promise.

Topping
2 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon oil
 1 clove garlic, minced
1-2 teaspoons fresh herbs (I used parsley and tarragon)

Biscuits
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
 1/2 teaspoon salt
 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
 5 tablespoons cold butter
 1 cup milk
 1 cup grated parmesan cheese
1 clove garlic, minced


Preheat oven to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C).
Heat 2 tablespoons butter and 1 tablespoon  oil over med high heat.  Once melted add the minced garlic and stir for about a minute.  Remove from heat and add the fresh herbs. Set aside.

In a large bowl, sift together flour, salt and baking powder. Cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Make a well in the center of flour mixture. Add the milk, garlic, and parmesan cheese and stir just until combined. Drop batter by spoonfuls onto an ungreased baking sheet. (Mine stuff a little so will probably use parchment paper next time)
Bake in preheated oven for 10 minutes then brush garlic/herb butter over tops.  Return to oven for 2-5 more minutes, until lightly browned.

Unbelievably good and super easy.  Enjoy!

Photos from Luanda (July)

Kind of a lazy post because it's mostly just pictures.  We are pretty much all set up now.  We have pictures hung and boxes are empty/gone. We have a favorite grocery store (although, we are still grocery store-hopping to make sure).  We also have several go-to restaurants near our house that we walk to on the weekends (Lebanese, Chinese, bakery, ice cream). We are hoping to get plates on the car soon so we can explore more soon.  Here are a few pictures I've taken recently (some are a little blurry because they were taken from a moving vehicle).  Enjoy!

Our church

Weeks worth of fruits/veggies after soaking in a bleach solution (very necessary)

Rooftop restaurant 

Amazing steakhouse

crazy banana I found 

roadside fútbol game

seafood at the grocery store

our favorite grocery store (so far).  It's as large as a Super Walmart.

Roadside fruits/veggies (you can find these everywhere here) 

Women here carry crazy amounts of stuff on their heads.  It is amazing to see!

Our home

Kookoo Kadoo (Persian Zucchini Frittata)

I'm a big fan of frittatas.  When I saw an email about a persian frittata, that got me googling recipes for a while.  After reading several that sounded really good and then figuring out what ingredients I had on hand, this is what I came up with.  It is really good.  The only thing I will change for next time is to use a smaller baking dish.  I used a 9x13 and it was a little too thin for me.  I would love to use more cayenne too but a certain little five year old I know would complain about it being too spicy.  Ah, such is life.

3 large zucchini, washed, peeled and grated
4 large eggs
1 medium onion, peeled and grated, discard juice
2 garlic cloves, minced
4 tablespoons flour
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
1/4 teaspoon cumin
cayenne pepper to taste
Salt and pepper to taste


Preheat oven to 375F.  Sprinkle the grated zucchini with salt and let sit in a colander for 15 minutes to get the moisture out and drain.
In a large mixing bowl combine all ingredients.  Mix thoroughly.

Pour the mixture in a greased oven-proof dish and bake for about 30-40 minutes till it starts to set and the edges turn brown.

Easy and delicious!