16 minute read
Out of Africa
BY JOAN BAXTER
PHOTOS BY STEVE SMITH, VISIONFIRE STUDIOS
It began a decade ago with a call from a friend in West Africa asking me to get in touch with a young Malian woman, Oumou Nomoko, who had recently moved to Edmonton. It ended with her preparing a feast (or several) of thanksgiving for African food in my kitchen in northern Nova Scotia. We had much to be thankful for, not least that we had finally met each other and that we had both just written books celebrating African cuisines.
Hers, Les Gourmandises de Dilly: La Cuisine Africaine, a collection of traditional recipes from the West African countries of Mali and Burkina Faso, and mine, Seven Grains of Paradise: A Culinary Journey in Africa, which highlights some of the marvellous foods, farms, crops and food cultures on the continent. Thing is, until this year, I had never actually had the pleasure of meeting Oumou. Ours had been a tenuous and improbable connection. The friend who had initially put us in touch, a colleague from my time as a BBC correspondent in Mali, was a friend of her parents in the Malian capital, Bamako, and he had been concerned that Oumou needed a
Out of Africa
motherly ear in her new home in Canada. But she was in Alberta and I was in Nova Scotia, so we spoke only on the phone. Then we lost touch for a time because we both wound up back in West Africa, in different countries, working with different development agencies. Her work involved food security and she spent a lot of time within vulnerable communities with rural women, who inspired her with their spirit, energy and expertise when it came to cultivating and cooking traditional foods. My work involved research into foreign investment and influence in Africa, which led me to notice how the industrial food system was starting to threaten Africa’s traditional foods, which were at the heart of a book I was writing. The rest, as they say, is the confluence of history. Just as I was finishing up the edits on my book earlier this year, I received an email from Oumou, telling me she had just completed a cookbook showcasing the wealth of knowledge of West African women cooks. She invited me to her book launch in Montreal, where she was now living and working in the inner city on a project to help fight poverty and provide
Joan and Oumou create a Thanksgiving feast with recipes from Oumou’s new cookbook.
Bringing the best of West African cuisine to an east coast kitchen
food security for marginalized groups. I couldn’t make it to Montreal, but took the opportunity to invite her to the launch of my book, which Sheree Fitch had so kindly agreed to host at her thriving new Mabel Murple’s Book Shoppe & Dreamery in River John. Within minutes, Oumou replied that she would take a week’s holiday and hop on a bus, come to Nova Scotia for the launch. Further, she would bring lots of ingredients from West Africa, and we would spend a week trying out the recipes in her book. And so it was that we finally met and found ourselves together in my kitchen, listening to a playlist of both haunting and lively melodies from West Africa, while we talked, laughed, cooked, exchanged tales of Africa and how we were missing it, and savoured the aromas coming from the pots – the pungency of “soumbala” (a nutritious condiment made from the fermented seeds of the locust bean tree), the tang of shea butter as it melted (extremely nutritious oil from the nut of the shea or karité tree indigenous to Africa), the nuttiness of the “fonio” (one of the world’s oldest and most nutritious grains). The day that she served us Riz étuvé au gras au soumbala (West Africa’s famous “jollof rice” with soumbala with a medley of vegetables) was a visit to culinary heaven. On the day of the launch, Oumou was back at it in the kitchen, showing me how to prepare traditional beverages from fresh ginger, from “da” (red petals of the African hibiscus), donuts with sesame (indigenous to Africa), and chopping up watermelon (another African crop), all of which would grace the tables that evening. Oumou’s contribution and presence made the launch of the book on African culinary treasures at Mabel Murple’s Book Shoppe something very special indeed, another dream come true at Sheree Fitch’s Dreamery. It was a marvellous visit, a rare chance to celebrate foods from Africa, a continent that never seems to get the credit it deserves for its diverse, complex, nutritious and wonderful cuisines. That week is high on my list of things to be grateful for on Thanksgiving Day this year.
Oil and Soumbala Steamed (Jollof) Rice
(with a medley of vegetables)
Preparation time: 2 hours Serves 4
INGREDIENTS 1 kg rice 500 g beef or mutton (optional) 250 ml peanut oil 2 medium onions (sliced) 2 fresh tomatoes (finely chopped) 1 medium cabbage (chopped into bite-sized chunks) 2 carrots (chopped) 2 small zucchini (chopped)* 4 cloves garlic (crushed or finely chopped) 4 Tbsp tomato paste 300 g soumbala (if available) 2 to 3 bay leaves 1 tsp salt, black pepper to taste
* other vegetables can be added or substituted, such as sugar peas, turnip
DIRECTIONS 1. Rinse and drain the rice; set aside 2. If using soumbala, cover with water; leave to soak 3. Cut the beef or mutton in cubes; rinse 4. In a large saucepan, heat the oil, add meat and onion slices. Let cook until golden brown stirring regularly 5. Add chopped tomatoes,tomato paste and soumbala (if using) 6. Stir and allow to simmer 5 minutes 7. Add 2.5 litres water, bay leaves, cabbage, carrots, zucchini, garlic and salt 8. Bring to a boil; cook for 1 hour 9. Once vegetables and meat are well-cooked, remove from liquid; set aside in a bowl 10. Check seasoning; add salt and pepper, if needed 11. Add rice to liquid in a saucepan; cook for 45 minutes
To serve, place rice on a large platter. Cover with vegetables and meat.
“Da” or Bissap (red hibiscus) Cordial
Preparation time: 25 minutes Makes approx. 1.5 litre
INGREDIENTS 1 cup dried (red) hibiscus flowers (sometimes known as “bissap”) 1 cup sugar 1 tsp vanilla extract (or banana or strawberry flavouring) handful fresh mint leaves 1.5 litres water
DIRECTIONS 1. Rinse the hibiscus petals; place in a pot with water. Bring to a boil, simmer for 25 minutes 2. Remove from heat; add mint leaves; allow to cool completely 3. Pour through a sieve to remove the hibiscus petals 4. Add sugar and flavouring of choice 5. Refrigerate for 3 hours. Serve chilled.
Garnish with a fresh mint leaf or two.
Preparation time: 1 hour Serves 4
INGREDIENTS 1 kg white flour (or unbleached white) 125 g salted butter (softened at room temperature) 3 eggs 1 tsp salt 1 tsp vanilla extract (or 1 envelope vanilla sugar) 1 tsp baking powder 150 g sugar 500 ml milk 500 g sesame tahini 1 litre peanut oil sesame seeds DIRECTIONS 1. In a large mixing bowl, stir together 1 kg flour with 500 g sesame tahini 2. Add the butter, eggs, salt, vanilla and baking powder. Mix well 3. In a separate bowl, mix together the sugar and milk; add 500 ml of water; add to the large mixing bowl 4. Knead well until dough becomes smooth and silky (the dough should be thick enough to work well). Let stand for 15 minutes 5. Spread the dough out smoothly on a smooth surface coated in flour 6. Heat peanut oil in a large saucepan 7. Cut into small pieces and form into balls.
Fry in oil until golden brown 8. Roll in sesame seeds; allow to cool INGREDIENTS 1 litre 100 g 300 g cup ½ to 1½ cup water fresh ginger, peeled pineapple, peeled lemon juice sugar fresh mint leaves
DIRECTIONS 1. Place the ginger, pineapple and the lemon juice in blender; add water and blend until smooth (the ginger and pineapple can also be placed in a large mortar and ground to a pulp and then mixed with the water and lemon juice) 2. Filter the liquid 3. Add sugar according to taste; mix well 4. Refrigerate. Serve chilled with fresh mint leaves
BY JENNIFER HATT PHOTOS BY STEVE SMITH, VISIONFIRE STUDIOS
at home with... thomas
Seventeen years ago, Thomas Steinhart was living in Halifax County and traveled to Antigonish for a family visit. After playing on the beach his relatives settled in for an afternoon of tanning and, always on the move, he took a drive along the coast. Heading west on the 245 he passed the Arisaig wharf and saw to his left a realtor sign partway in the ditch. Rising above it was an old farmhouse with a barn and some overgrown acreage.
He knew he had found home.
“I called the realtor on the spot, then I called my family and told them I think I’ve bought a farm. They said I was crazy. Even the realtor said I should wait for a house inspection, but what I wanted was right there. I was buying the view.” He shares this story from his front deck, with a birds-eye view of the wharf and sweeping panoramas of the Northumberland Strait that on clear days extend to Prince Edward Island. His property has undergone an evolution since 2000, and more is to come. “If you think the view is great here, it’s nothing compared to up there.” He gestures behind him to a large hill rising through the trees, its top cleared and waiting. That is where his dream home will be built, when the time is right. His current home is a cottage, built slightly larger than the two vacation rentals next to it, and a reflection of the man and his world that transformed this once-idle farm into an internationally-honoured purveyor of unique vodka and gin. The design is compact yet expansive, comfortable for himself, partner Karen, three dogs - Chiquitita, a non-compact but loveable Burmese-St. Bernard mix plus the much-smaller Oreo and Ginger – and frequent guests. The living space and kitchen at the front embrace the view and the public with open arms. In back are the private bed and bath spaces. The cottages are built and finished in lumber milled from the lot on which they stand: ingenious design meets rustic form. That is Thomas, too: German heritage, leading-edge vision, and
no-nonsense intellect connecting the two with brilliant results. Steinhart Distillery turns organic and locally-sourced grains, fruits and spices (with a few imports such as citrus and coriander) into unique flavour blends like habanero vodka and blueberry gin that are now shipped direct all over the world and spreading into retail distributors across North America and overseas. Since releasing its first products in 2014, Steinhart Distillery has earned awards and honours for its quality spirits, the business and the individual behind it all. Following the 2017 Berlin International Spirits Competition where he was named Canadian Distiller of the Year, Thomas a few days later boarded a plane to London, where he would become the first Canadian member and first distiller in the Americas to be inducted into the British Gin Guild. Not bad for “you German,” as one unpleasant official retorted during the construction of his distillery. That disparaging comment, Thomas says, was an anomaly. From the time he closed the deal on his property, his neighbours and the communities along the shore and beyond have become great supporters in business and dear friends in life. It was near the Black Forest of Germany, on his grandparents’ farm, where Thomas first learned the rigors of hard work and the delicate gift of a refined palette. "With my grandfather it was feeding the pigs, picking fruit, whatever needed to be done." That included distilling. "It's part of working the farm. Here farmers cut lumber or fish, there they do distilling." In this fertile environment of knowledge and culture, Thomas was introduced to the science and art of tuning grain into fine spirits. Harvesting the grain, fetching wood for the fire and other manual labour eventually led to the privilege of being able to smell and taste
Thomas was introduced to the science and culture of distilling as a young boy on his Grandfathers farm in Germany.
STEINHART
– Thomas Steinhart
Thomas credits his grandmother for his appreciation of good food.
902•863•HOME
the products as nature and science worked its intricate charms. “Me, I wanted to be playing, riding my bike, but ‘Pay attention!’,” he frowns in dramatic seriousness, his voice mimicking a rough rendition of elderly tough love. Then his near-smile returns. “I heard ‘Pay attention!’ a lot.” Other times, he was in the kitchen with his grandmother, where amid her schnitzels and spaetzle – a German pasta – his tastebuds awakened. He leans forward with the lesson shared. “There are four taste centres on the tongue: salty, butter, sweet and sour. If you don’t activate them all, the flavours just don’t balance.” In tandem, he learned respect for fresh and local ingredients that combined with care would lead to a moment of heaven on the palette and in the room. Humans are sensory beings, he learned, embracing experiences that delight and challenge. As a young man, his search for challenge led him to credentials as a millwright and mechanical engineer. He built things and fixed things, often very large things requiring both courage for climbing as well as technical know-how. In the early 1990s his work brought him to Halifax for a meeting: the friendliness of strangers and gentler pace of life encouraged him to stay. In 2000, after that fateful drive, he made Arisaig his home. In his early days ‘on the farm,’ he travelled often for work, to the
industrial areas of Cape Breton, Alberta, and points in between. For a time, he ran Lismore Variety. He maintained a small mixed farm, with assorted livestock and a mobile sawmill that could turn trees harvested from his expansive woodlot into lumber or logs. “I built a couple of log homes,” he adds. Really? How did he learn to do that? “I don’t know.” He pauses. “I don’t watch a lot of TV. I’m always reading something.” His work schedule was flexible by choice. “If I needed money, I would put out the word that I was available.” He sweeps his arms across the panoramic view. “Life is about this. It’s getting up on a Monday morning and saying, I don’t want to go to work today. Let’s go fishing, and a bunch of guys are willing to do that. It’s driving by someone’s house, seeing a few cars in the yard and stopping in to see what’s going on. ‘Yeah, it’s a bit of a party,’ you’re told, ‘come stay for supper.’ That’s what I love.” He was in Cape Breton’s industrial region atop a giant crane in 2007, when his phone rang. “Your house is on fire,” a neighbour told him. Thomas could barely hear him, and what he thought he heard was a joke. “There was a song called ‘Your House is on Fire,’ so I sang the rest of the verse and hung up.” His phone rang again. Another neighbour. No joke. Thomas raced home, literally, but by the time he arrived, his farmhouse had been reduced to ash. Even the antique kitchen stove was gone, melted in the blaze. There was little time to mourn. He took work out west, for the moment trading lifestyle for salary. Five years later, in 2012, he was ready to start the next incarnation of his vision. He built the three cabins, then the distillery, yet another reflection of its owner’s intricate blend of Old World knowledge, modern imagination and business acumen, or what Thomas simply calls “common sense.” Atop concrete floors, nested by steel walls and fronted by a glassed view of the Strait, the visitor area is where customer meets spirits, and industrial meets hometown kitchen party that is already a hit, while still getting warmed up. A vintage woodburning range, rescued from a barn and de-rusted with a bottle of Coca-cola, is perched to the left of the entrance, bearing a subtle display of dried flowers, a candle, and a wood carving cradling two bottles of choice Steinhart spirits. On the right is an electric fireplace, a wood-carved sign above the mantle urging: “You only get one life, so if you’re going to go for something, go all in. And if it’s not fun, don’t do it.” Thomas’s sense of humour and fun also abound. “Rappers won’t sing about us and that’s okay,” chirps a message on the chalkboard above the bar. “We’re about quality. Not ego.” After time at the bar enjoying samplers or a variety of cocktails, those seeking facilities will find not a washroom but a ‘vodka and gin relief centre.’ Above the neat rows of bottles for sale gleam a line of hammered miniature copper stills. Those are for the ‘ginstitutes’, where students spend a weekend brewing their own spirits. In the distillery room, the full-sized stills and state-of-theart equipment shine, in presence and in the spirits they produce, with the human touch ensuring quality at every step from distilling through shipping. Visitors dropping by any time of year can purchase a tour, a tasting, or a combination. Warmth and depth of conversation the owner offers free of charge, available whenever he isn’t on the road or taking a bit of time for himself. During those times, he may be in the woods behind the distillery, deep in a valley where cell service doesn’t reach, where he can hike, sit, or cook in the company of a nearby brook and the rustling leaves. Or, he may be on the water in the lobster boat he co-captains with Karen (she bought it, he maintains it), cruising the smooth waves of Arisaig Harbour. At home, he unwinds in the kitchen by making pasta from scratch, baking bread, and otherwise “making a mess,” but to family and friends enjoying his hospitality, the food is a gourmet delight. “I’m asked for the recipes but there are none. I just look in the fridge and put things together. I do want to write a cookbook some day,” he adds, with that serious half-smile. “I’d call it the F@#*-It Cookbook. Just say f@#* it and put some things together and have fun with it.”
Fall into Relaxation
• Inground, Onground and Above Ground Pools • Spas • Pool Closings • Water Testing • Pool and Spa Accessories • Gift Certificates • Financing Available
Your Pool And Spa Experts
suntime@eastlink.ca www.suntime.ca (902) 396-3387
Keeping your family warm in winter and cool in summer
4687 Highway #4, RR#1, Westville, Nova Scotia B0K 2A0
