Taro and rou rou

If you are not sick of Fiji posts then read on. If you are sick of them here's a diversion...go to this website and read interesting stuff about career and personal coaching at my friend Daryl's site called Dynamic Life Creations.

So readers that have stayed on here is info about the food in the photo which was a typical dish served in Fiji.

I have never eaten taro (white triangular shape at centre of the plate) or rou rou which is the local spinach (green stuff on the plate) but we had plenty of it while in paradise (a.k.a Fiji).

Taro is like a harder potato with a starchy texture but tastes like a dry mixture of pumpkin and potato and the rou rou is the local spinach. It was so nice to eat as it was always served in a coconut milk sauce. I think I will try cooking our local spinach, which is leafy rather than the Fijian one which is ong and stringy, in coconut sauce as it was delicious.

Taro was served to us every day while we were on the Yasawa Islands and it seems that the vegetable has been a staple of the indigenous Fijian diet for centuries. Locals call it taro root but it is not really a root but a corm.

Corms are short, vertical, swollen underground plant stems that serves as a storage organ used by some plants to survive winter or other adverse conditions such as summer drought and heat. Interesting factoid, non?

In 1993 Samoa had a problem with their taro crops and Fiji stepped in to fill the gap. They then became the main supplier for New Zealand, Australia, and Los Angeles in the United States (there are a lot of Californian's in Fiji as it is an overnight 11hr flight to the islands).

Am not sure if you can buy it in Toronto but will have a look next time I am at the market and will try and make taro and rou rou for the Dolce's. Will need to call Grace of Pig 'N Pancake fame, in Oregon for a recipe.

taro corms

Pig 'N Pancake
It is the long weekend and will try and beat the exodus of traffic to cottage country so will write a short post before I set off . No doubt, the weekend will be filled with bbqs and big breakfasts, the usual cottage fare with lots of fresh local Ontario produce too. The last time I entered the beach supermarket, local strawberries were at the entrance and I was treated to a delightful smell of fresh non-gm strawberries. The Body Shop should bottle that smell!

Big breakfasts reminded me of a lovely couple we met in Fiji. Michael and Grace from Oregon (he is originally from Vancouver) were on holiday with their two children and had owned a franchise of the Pig 'N Pancake in Oregon for the last several years (how many Grace?)

During our long food discussions at Otto and Fanny's we had great breakfasts but the pancakes were not up to scratch. M & G said that they have the best pancakes at the Pig 'N Pancake and named off the eight or 9 varieties but said the plain buttermilk ones were the best. It is making me hungry looking at the website's menu.

It would've been nice if Grace and Michael got into the kitchen to make us some of the famous pancakes like they made at the restaurant but apparently the franchise has a secret recipe that even they do not have access too.

Here is a basic pancake recipe for your breakfast this weekend. Remember to put some Canadian maple syrup and fresh fruit on top!

* 2 cups all-purpose flour, stirred or sifted before measuring
* 2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* 1 egg, slightly beaten
* 1 1/2 cups milk
* 2 tablespoons melted butter


Sift together flour, baking powder, and salt. In a separate bowl, combine egg and milk; add to flour mixture, stirring only until smooth. Blend in melted butter. Cook on a hot, greased griddle, using about 1/4 cup of batter for each pancake. Cook until brown on one side and around edge; turn and brown the other side. Serves 4.

Or just buy a box of Aunt Jemima which is also a quick alternative to making your own. Aunt Jemima knows her stuff too!

To the Canadian readers - have a great long weekend.