Just what is this blog anyway?

It's been over a month since I began this blog and I still don't know. I have yet to figure out what I'm blogging about. Which is, I suppose, in keeping with the alecha theme. So, how about a recipe?

The measurements are random guesses, sorry. And it really tastes a little different each time. That's the best part. One time, throw in some ginger for fun. A tiny, tiny pinch of berbere sometimes. Whatever you're feeling on a given day.

Mamazi's Alecha
ingredients:
olive oil, 2 tablespoons
garlic, 4 cloves
red onions, 2 medium
tomatoes, 8 Roma (or other kind, but they must be ripe, preferably from the garden)
potatoes, 4 medium
carrots, 6 large
red bell peppers, 2 (skip if they're too expensive)
green bell peppers,2
cabbage, 1 head
rosemary (fresh is best, but if you have to use dried use rosemary leaves)
salt, optional, to taste

Remove the seeds and slice the bell peppers. Peel and cut the potatoes, keep them fairly good sized. Actually if you've got one of those ripple cutters, use it to thickly slice both the potatoes and the carrots.

In a pan with the least amount of olive oil you can get away with, lightly fry the potatoes, carrots, and bell peppers. You can cook these separately (probably best for keeping flavors distinct) or together (probably best for time). Do NOT overcook the peppers, you want them just a tiny bit brown in places but still crisp. In fact, you could just not cook them at all and that would be fine. The potatoes don't need to be thoroughly cooked either, a little browning on all sides is perfect. Blot the grease off of these and set them aside.

Heat the rest of the olive oil in a pot over low heat. Add the garlic, which you have either chopped extremely finely or pushed through a garlic press. Stir, allowing the garlic to uniformly brown. Add the onions (they should be chopped finely). Stir every now and then allowing the onions to brown. If they start to stick to the bottom of the pot, you have two options: add more oil or add a little water (go for the water). While that's going on, chop the tomatoes. Maybe chop is not the right term, you should basically use your knife to turn them into tomato sauce. Though, honestly, if you're a little lazy, no one will be able to tell once it's done. After the onions are browned, you'll add in the tomato sauce. You can also add a little salt here. Stir and simmer this for...maybe 10 minutes...

...while you prepare the cabbage. I like to cut mine in half (or quarters if it's a really large head) and slice it. I eat a piece of the cabbage heart. If it has a bitter taste, I leave the heart out. But that's just me. (I find I have to cook the cabbage too long otherwise. If I want to use the heart anyway and don't want to cook it so long, throwing in about 1/2 teaspoon of sugar works for me).

At this point, I throw in the rosemary. Stir and then put in the cabbage. Cook this until cabbage is almost done. At that point, add the potatoes. The once the cabbage is ready, put the carrots and bell peppers in and stir a few times.

Enjoy!