Monday Menu and an Ethiopian Recipe

Happy Monday!! Has it really been a week already since last Monday? Time really does fly when you're having fun. Yes, it is fun raising kids and all that it entails!

Speaking of "flying" that's what I'll be doing Friday. My husband and I are leaving for Ethiopia for a wonderful missions opportunity with our non-profit! Isn't that amazing? SO, since I'll be away from my kitchen for over a week and won't be here to deal with leftovers, I am only cooking for two nights this week. Then it's "YO YO" ("You're On Your Own") nights for two nights so we can eat all the food and clean out the fridge. The kids love YO YO nights. They can eat whatever - leftovers, sandwiches, breakfast for dinner... anything they want to make and clean up after. (Having a posted menu helps on nights like this, so everyone knows what leftovers are available.) I'm also planning on how brain-tired I'll be when we get home from a week in Africa, so I'm making extra enchiladas and putting them in the freezer. This serves a double purpose: it helps me when I get back and also satisfies our desire for Tex Mex which we always get when we travel to other parts of the world. Like, outside Texas, LOL.

Since we'll be apart for a few days, I decided to cook two of our family favorites this week, one from each continent.

Monday: Chicken Enchiladas, black beans, corn casserole
Tuesday: Y'Assa Wet (Spicy Ethiopian Fish Stew) <-- and="" below="" lentils="" recipe="" see="" span="" spicy="" style="font-weight: bold;">Wednesday: YO YO
Thursday:YO YO
Friday: Ciao! Off to Ethiopia! (Kids to their fun friends' and aunt's houses)

Here is the recipe for the Ethiopian dish I'm making this week. ALL of the Ethiopian food I make (which I try to do weekly, you can read more about why here) is with ingredients that can be purchased at Wal Mart or any grocery store. The only things that can't are the bere bere spice, and the injera bread with which you scoop up each bite. We don't even use utensils on Ethiopian food night. Isn't that fun? So, please be encouraged! If you can find an Ethiopian market somewhere to purchase the bere bere and injera, the rest you can do yourself. I know some who make their own injera, something I want to tackle someday! If you don't have access to bere bere spice, you can order some online at a site like this one.

So, here's my recipe, which is adapted from the book Exotic Ethiopian Cooking.

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Ye' Assa Wet (Spicy Fish Stew)

3-6 medium fish fillets (I typically use frozen tilapia)
2 cups chopped red onion
1 cup olive oil
1 1/2 cup water
3 TBSP bere bere spice (or 4 if you're feeling brave)
1/2 cup white wine
1/4 tsp. black pepper
sea salt to taste

Cut the fish into small pieces and place into grill pan. I use my kitchen scissors (like I do for everything!) and this is super easy! You can also use a small skillet. Brown the fish without oil.


While the fish is browning, brown the onions in the 1 cup of oil in another larger skillet.
Once onions begin to brown, add bere bere.
Once bere bere is stirred through, the onions begin to shrink up a little.
Then add the wine, a little at a time, continuing to stir so it does not burn. Alternate adding water a little at a time.
Once fish has cooked for awhile, it will become white and flaky.
Simmer the sauce for about 15-20 minutes to let the wine and spices blend.
Add cooked fish to the spicy stew mixture.
Once fish is added to to the spicy sauce, here is what it looks like. This has become one of our favorites, and it is very quick to put together. It is light, spicy and a wonderful taste of Ethiopia!

Serve with rolled up injera bread. An easy side dish with this is boiled lentils with a dash of bere bere spice in them and maybe a few red onions as well. I highly recommend the Ethiopian Cooking books in my sidebar for lots more recipes and side dishes that compliment this recipe.


For more menus and recipes, visit Laura at Orgjunkie.com. Have a yummy week!