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Step-by-Step Recipe: Spicy Ethiopian Stew

It’s fall in the Midwest, which means that temperatures are dropping. When a cold virus hit my household last weekend, the combination of chilly weather and illness meant one thing: stew. This couldn’t just be any ordinary stew. It also needed to have some spice. Not only that, but it had to be simple. I also wanted to try something new.


With just a little searching, I found the perfect solution: Spicy Ethiopian Stew. The recipe has been adapted from Connoiseurus Veg

This is a vegan, gluten free, nut free recipe with lentils as the protein, so it would work well if you happen to be entertaining—so long as your guests can handle a little bit of spice. And it is ready in about 30 minutes!

What’s really special about this recipe is the use of the berbere spice blend. It adds that North African flavor I was looking for (and really clears the sinuses!). While the potatoes in this recipe are not typical for this recipe, the starch is a nice addition to the stew to make it more filling.

Follow this recipe step-by-step to have a quick, delicious, and spicy stew for any occasion.

Spicy Ethiopian Stew Recipe

 

Spicy Ethiopian Stew
 
Spicy Ethiopian Stew. Vegetarian.
Author:
Recipe type: Entree
Ingredients
  • 1.5 C dried lentils
  • 3 C spinach leaves
  • . 75lb red potatoes
  • 1-14 oz can diced tomatoes
  • .5 red onion, diced
  • 1 T berbere spice blend (I purchased mine from Penzey’s)
  • 1 T cayenne pepper
  • 3 cloves of minced garlic
  • 2 tsp grated ginger
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • Turmeric to taste
  • 4 C vegetable broth
  • 3 T Extra Virgin Olive Oil
  • Basmati rice
Instructions
  1. Before turning on your stove: dice your onion, rinse and slice your red potatoes into bite-sized pieces, measure your spices, mince your garlic, grate your ginger, slice your spinach and set them all aside. Open the can of diced tomatoes.
  2. Add your oil to your pan and let it heat for a minute or two on medium heat. Add your onion and sauté until soft, about five minutes.
  3. Add the spices (berbere, cayenne pepper, garlic, ginger, salt, pepper) and let sauté for two minutes more.
  4. Add 4 C of vegetable broth, .75 lbs of diced red potatoes, 14 oz can of diced tomatoes, 1.5 C of lentils and bring to a simmer. Put the lid on your pan and let all of those flavors mingle for about 30 minutes.
  5. While stew is simmering, prep the rice. Add olive olive to sauce pan and then add 90-second basmati rice. Add turmeric to taste and color.
  6. After the 30 minutes of simmering are up, you have one thing left to do: add the spinach to the dish and put the lid back on the pan for two minutes. When the two minutes are up, stir the spinach into the dish.

Ingredients:

Protein:

1.5 C dried lentils

 

Veggies:
3 C spinach leaves

. 75lb red potatoes

1-14 oz can diced tomatoes

.5 red onion, diced

 

Spices:

1 T berbere spice blend (I purchased mine from Penzey’s)

1 T cayenne pepper

3 cloves of minced garlic

2 tsp grated ginger

Salt and pepper to taste

Turmeric to taste

 

Base:

4 C vegetable broth

 

Other:

3 T Extra Virgin Olive Oil

 

Side:

Basmati rice

Step-by-Step Directions for Spicy Ethiopian Stew

Before turning on your stove: dice your onion, rinse and slice your red potatoes into bite-sized pieces, measure your spices, mince your garlic, grate your ginger, slice your spinach and set them all aside. Open the can of diced tomatoes.

Now, you’re ready to get cooking!

 

First, add your oil to your pan and let it heat for a minute or two on medium heat. Add your onion and sauté until soft, about five minutes.

Next, add the spices (berbere, cayenne pepper, garlic, ginger, salt, pepper) and let sauté for two minutes more.

 

Now add 4 C of vegetable broth, .75 lbs of diced red potatoes, 14 oz can of diced tomatoes, 1.5 C of lentils and bring to a simmer. Put the lid on your pan and let all of those flavors mingle for about 30 minutes.

 

 

While your stew is simmering, you can prep your rice if you’d like a side. Since I was sick and running low on energy, I simply dumped a package of 90-second basmati rice into a second pan and added a splash of olive oil. I turned the stove on low and added turmeric until I got the yellow color I wanted. Turmeric is one of my favorite parts of this recipe, as it is a strong antioxidant and has anti-inflammatory effects, among other health benefits.

After the 30 minutes of simmering are up, you have one thing left to do: add the spinach to the dish and put the lid back on the pan for two minutes. When the two minutes are up, stir the spinach into the dish.

Next: plate your dish and enjoy!

 

Let us know how delicious the dish was in the comments.

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5 of the Best Food Cities in the World

“Where do you want to eat?” is a common question for date night, but it can also help when determining where you take your next vacation. All over the world there are delicious dishes to be tasted and entirely new types of cuisine to explore. With all of the options, how does a world traveler decide? To help you find your next food adventure, we have listed 5 of the best food cities in the world.

5 of the Best Food Cities in the World

Bridgetown, Barbados

Find restaurants and street vendors with Bajan dishes comprised of fresh fish, grass-fed beef, plantains, rice, peas. The national dish is cou-cou and flying fish. Cou-cou is made of cornmeal and okra, and the flying fish is flavored with a special Bajan seasoning. For a great take on the dish, and other gourmet Caribbean fare, visit the Waterfront Cafe.

To experience a variety authentic Bajan cuisine, you can take a walking food tour. Lickrish Food Tours provides daily, 3-hour tours Monday through Friday. The tour is ranked #1 by TripAdvisor and boasts off-the-beaten-path experience with 8+ authentic tastings for only $59 USD. Not only will you learn about the food of Bridgetown, but you’ll also get a taste of the history and culture.

Rome, Italy

Some of the more obvious selections are the authentic pizza and pasta you’ll be able to find. However, the street food in Rome is some of the best in the world. Among the best foods to try include supplì classico, a ball of rice laced with ragù and stuffed with mozzarella, or get a trappizino, pizza dough stuffed with your choice of fillings, from Trappizino. Some of these delicious food items can be tasted if you opt to take a food tour. The Secret Food Tour offers daytime, evening, and Sunday tours and takes you on a journey of the history and culture of Rome while you eat your way through the city. On the tour, taste authentic Italian espresso, supplì, pizza, gelato and more.

Cape Town, South Africa

Cape Town has a wide variety of foods that include indigenous cuisine, and colonial and global influences. Find fish and chips from the country’s British influence, and bobotie, an Indonesian creation comprised of minced beef, custard spices, and dried fruit.

You can learn to make bobotie and other South African dishes like Cape Malay curry while you tour the Bo-Kaap through the Bo-Kaap Cooking Tour with Zainie Misbach. This tour allows you to learn South African cooking techniques, while also seeing historic and religious Islamic sites and exploring one of the oldest urban residential areas in Cape Town.  

Cabo San Lucas, Mexico

This Mexican destination is a treasure trove of gourmet cuisine and hole-in-the-wall taquerias. Try the octopus tacos at Los Claros, or los mejores tacos from Tacos Marissa. Beyond an abundance of excellent options for taquerias, visitors should try chocolate clams, an array of seafood and the traditional Tamales Fadados (chicken tamales).

For a more hands-on experience, take a traditional Mexican cooking class at Casa de Colores with Donna Somerlott in either a small group or private setting. To get a big bite of Cabo San Lucas, purchase your tickets to Sabor a Cabo and sample from 50 Cabo San Lucas restaurants at Los Cabos International Food & Wine.

Ocho Rios, Jamaica

Find authentic Jamaican cuisine in Ocho Rios, such as the typical breakfast and national dish of ackee and saltfish. The dish is salt fish, or salt cod, sauteed with onion and the local fruit, ackee. Other popular dishes include jerk chicken, corned beef and curry goat.

Boasting “a taste of history” visitors can take the Nyam An Guh Weh Tour (eat and leave) from Falmouth the Ocho Rios. The five and a half hour tour has five tastings from streetside eats to elegant cuisine and takes participants on a cultural, architectural, and historical journey.

4 Jobs That Require Travel and Pay Well

So you want a successful career, but you also don’t want to spend the rest of your life in a cubicle without seeing the big amazing world out there?

The good news is that there are many jobs out there that will enable you to travel throughout your career – and will also pay you well. You don’t have to hitchhike your way around and perform cheap labor in order to see the world – you can have your cake and eat it too!

Here are some ideas for careers that will take you around the world.

Jobs That Require Travel and Pay Well

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Copywriter

A copywriter crafts promotional content for brands – such as brochures, press releases, website pages, email marketing, newsletters, blogs and more. They are responsible for capturing the right tone of voice, appealing to the company’s target audience and using persuasion techniques to make customers eager to buy.

Being a freelance copywriter can be very lucrative and the best thing is – you can do it remotely from anywhere. So, why not set up your laptop in that cafe in Paris or in a beachside bungalow in Thailand?

What does it pay?

Wages vary considerably, but professional copywriters can make between $50-$120 USD per hour.

Athletic Recruiter

An athletic recruiter is often employed by a professional sports organization or a college and they are responsible for traveling around scouting out new and upcoming talent. You’ll need to know the game inside and out – as well as the specific skills that each athlete will need for their position on the team. Of course, if you are a passionate sports fan this will be easy for you.

What does it pay?

According to Glassdoor, the average base pay for an athletic recruiter is $55,860 yr.

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Airline Pilot

Learn to fly a plane and you can spend your career jetting all over the globe. It’s an exciting job that requires a lot of training, but it’s worth it for the thrill you feel during every take-off. Plus, when you’re not working you’ll be able to use the airlines to travel for free – so there’s no limit to the amount of exploring you can do in your career.

What does it pay?

The salary will vary according to the type of aircraft you fly and your experience. However, the typical starting pay is $20,000 – $40,000 per year and the median annual salary for experienced pilots of large jets is $121,408.

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Diplomat

Being a foreign diplomat can be a dream job for you – it can offer you lots of prestige, a decent salary, invites to lots of swanky events and a posting overseas. A diplomat can be any officer posted to one of your country’s many consulates and embassies around the world. Your specific job duties can vary and can be anything from economic related to political or humanitarian.

What does it pay?

The average salary for a diplomat is $93,000 per year. Competition is stiff, but a degree in political science or international relations is a great place to start.

 

Do you have a job that requires travel and pays well?

Let us know about it in the comments below!

5 Coffee Shops Worth Instagramming

Coffee shops are no longer just for those with newspapers in hand looking to relax or to gossip with your friends on the couch like an episode of Friends. Shops today are not only trying to satisfy customers with their product but are looking for the total package appeal. From engaging interior design, beautiful gardens, and unique exterior appeal you can now find some of the most eye catching, photogenic, Instagram worthy spots to have a cup of joe. This article is going to name a few of the best coffee shops worth stopping at to capture unique photos that will have all your coffee enthusiast Instagram followers beaming with envy.

5 Coffee Shops Worth Instagramming

Truth Coffee, Cape Town, South Africa

Truth Coffee has been recognized as one of, if not the best coffee shop in Cape Town, South Africa. Its outdoor scenery might not be at the top of the list, but its indoor charm is one for the books, simply beautiful. It is so unique and detailed in its decor and not lacking one bit in its quality of food and coffee. It has a distinct modern industrial design with exposed piping, beams, and lighting, displayed typewriters and singer sewing machines, and a vintage cast iron drum for hand roasting coffee. The intention of its interior design matching the quality of their coffee is both unique and detailedly magnificent. Many simply state, Truth Coffee, is THE Truth!”.

Salvaged Ring Cafe, Nha Trang City, Vietnam

The Salvaged Ring Cafe was ranked in the top 20 of the world’s best architectures in 2014 at The World Architecture Festival. This economically friendly and all around beautiful cafe is located among the countryside of Nha Trang City in Vietnam. The cafe was eloquently designed by the architects of a21 studio and constructed primarily of scrap wood, coconut leaves, and locally sourced rocks. The circular flowing architecture blends into its natural surroundings and provides a feeling of being one with the outdoor scenery. Its open contoured design encourages refreshing air flow and natural light, and its curves provide a beautiful outpouring from the highway where you arrive down to a flowing river and lush courtyard. The natural allurement of this cafe will help you relax while you enjoy a cup of coffee in a tropical oasis.

Dreamy Camera Cafe, Yangpyeong, South Korea

The Dreamy Camera Cafe in South Korea is a dream Instagram post for the photograph enthusiast. A bold red Rolleiflex camera makes the shape for this unique cafe that sets among the grandiose South Korean landscape that is picturesque in all four seasons. Inside its camera exterior this cafe also provides a museum where you can interact and marvel at evolving photos and technology.

Take a few polaroids to leave behind and enjoy the view of the rolling hills outside of Seoul, South Korea. There’s good reason why this Cafe is ranked #10 by Buzzfeed’s “Coffee Shops Around the World You Have to See Before You Die.”

Fair Folks & Goat, New York City, United States 

An entrepreneur and coffee addict’s paradise, Fair Folks & Goat describes itself as a “membership cafe.” For $25 a month customers can enjoy unlimited coffee and tea including signature cold brew imported from New Orleans. The funky cafe is also a clothing and accessories shop that helps deliver inspiration to the artists, start-up staffers, writers, and other laptop warriors you’ll see in inside. The turquoise exterior is too cute for words. Oh, and the goat-themed items will be a hit on your Instagram feed.

Open Farm Community, Singapore

Among the open air and lush greenery this farm to table restaurant and cafe has so much beauty inside and out. This is not only a quaint spot for lunch or coffee but a total dining experience. If you’re into Instagramming your food — this is your place. Each plate is a work of art almost too beautiful to eat. You can also take a tour of the farm from its local farmers and immerse yourself in herbs and vegetables soon to be transferred to the table through the Open Farm culinary experience. A cafe, gift shops, and kid-friendly exterior houses activities for all ages.  Enjoy a hot mug in the cafe or sit out on the patio and observe the wonderful 35,000 square feet of charming terrain.