PaddleMeals: Paddle the Rim to Win

December 1997 - January 1998

This is an article from WaveLength Magazine, available in print in North America and globally on the web.

by Deb Leach with Heidi Krogstad and Dugald Nasmith

Pacific Rim Paddling meals are legendary, so I was delighted to finally meet Dugald in a travel writing class. His partner Heidi shares some winning recipes from their Tonga tours which represent the different nationalities that have travelled those same waters.

'UMU PIT SQUASH

Tongan families spend their Sundays around underground pit ovens called 'umus. They dig deep pits and spend the morning building a fire to heat up large rocks, gathering coconuts to grate and make coconut cream to fill squash as well as breadfruit, manioc, sweet potatoes and papaya. Foods are placed on the hot rocks in the pit and covered with wet banana leaves. Palm fronds are piled on top to keep out the sand used to cover the pit. Popular are kambocha squash which are squat like pumpkins about 8-9 inches in diameter with green skins and orange flesh. Tops are cut off and seeds removed to fill with a mixture of cooked white fish and 5-7 chopped green onions. Coconut cream is poured in, the top replaced and the squash baked for about an hour.

CURRIED PEANUT AND SQUASH SOUP

3 small onions, chopped finely
3 cloves garlic, crushed
3 tbsp oil
Saute until onions are soft.

Whisk in:
6 cups (3 whole cooked) squash
1 1/4 cups (300 g) peanut butter
8 1/2 cups water + bouillon (or use 2-3 packages of onion soup mix)
3 tbsp curry powder (or more to taste)
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

Bring to a boil and simmer 20 minutes.

Just before serving add:
1 1/2 cups yogurt to the soup and simmer 5 minutes more.
Garnish with coarsely chopped peanuts.

THAI TOMATO SOUP

2 - 28 oz cans stewed tomatoes
250 g coconut powder + 6 cups water
(Buy packets of powdered coconut cream in Asian food aisles)
2 tbsp Thai red curry paste
4 tbsp fish soy sauce
2 tbsp lemon or lime juice

Mix all together, bring almost to a boil and simmer 10 minutes.
Garnish with chopped green onion and/or cilantro.

Savour the flavours!  

Deborah Leach and her kayak live in Victoria.