Platter of Yum: with homemade 100% teff injera, spicy red lentil wot, mild yellow split peas in a creamy sauce, Ethiopian inspired Mac and Cheesie, Tangy lentil Salad and a tasty green salad with Italian Salad dressing.
Luckily for me, I’ve been stalking Kittee Berns of Cake Maker to the Stars for quite some time now. The infatuation/hero worship began when I first ran across her crazy awesome blog, and then found out she’s been vegan for 23+ years. Kittee is incredibly talented inside and outside the kitchen! She’s forever cooking/crafting/knitting/sewing all of the most fantastic things! A dear friendship has developed out of that stalkerhood and sometime in the last year I became an unofficial recipe tester for Kittee’s debut cookbook, Teff Love. During that time period, I’ve developed a serious hunk of burning love for all foods Ethiopian and sprinkled with berbere.
Ethiopian spiced hummus with toasted sunflower seed butter base, quick teff crepes and a bit of greens with Italian dressing on the side.
As you know, I LOVE food. So it’s no surprise that I adore pretty much every ethnic food I’ve ever tasted, and it turns out that despite never visiting an Ethiopian restaurant (0r Ethiopia, obviously), Ethiopian food is my new favorite cuisine. The recipes in Teff Love are straightforward, well explained and mouth-wateringly delicious. Most of the ingredients required to make these recipes are simple whole foods you can purchase at any grocery store and the book is almost entirely gluten-free. However, like any different genre of food, there are a few specialty ingredients/spices that you need in order to make the recipes in the book, these ingredients can be purchased at an Ethiopian Market/Grocer or easily online. Buyer beware: make sure to purchase imported berbere for these recipes! It packs some heat, but it’s a very delicious and complex spice mix, while berbere that’s produced stateside is mostly cayenne pepper and is EXTREMELY spicy.
Ethiopian spiced chickpea pancake.
Shehan Ful, these are some of the best beans I’ve ever eaten, and guess what?!? You eat them for breakfast! Though I’ve made them for lunch and dinner plenty of times too!
If you’re like me and just wading into Ethiopian food bliss for the first time, Kittee has plenty of fusion recipes for you to dabble with that are all ready familiar and comforting to your palate like: brownies, crispy potato wedges, tofu scramble, vegan mac and cheese, pancakes and more.
Outrageous Fudgy Mocha Teff Brownies! Look at the amazing crinkle top!
Crispy Garlicky JoJo Potatoes Deliciousness
Blueberry Sourdough Pancakes, plus some banana ones for good measure
Ethiopian spiced Mac and Cheesie and an Insanely good Tempeh Salad loaded with Apples.
Tofu Scramble tastiness
When you’re ready to take it to the next level and start making real Ethiopian food, Kittee holds your hand throughout the book and teaches you everything you need to know. The book includes menu plans, instructions for how to make your own 100% teff injera and even advice for putting together your own Ethiopian food shindig.
My favorite thing in the universe right now is Kittee’s injera. The injera is a fermented sourdough type crepe and serves as a base for all of the delicious recipes that top its surface. Its texture is slightly spongy and stretchy and it absorbs the flavors from the foods that sit on top of it and makes for a gorgeous flavor explosion. I cooked my injera on a well seasoned cast iron skillet and it turned out perfectly. You can watch a short video of Kittee making injera and get more injera skills info here.
I found out Kittee was going to be in my neck of the woods and I invited her over for lunch. I made her and her bubs (Dazee and Vee) an Ethiopian feast with some of the recipes in the book. I love that although this was the first time we’d “actually met” it just felt like old friends getting together. Our two hours weren’t nearly long enough!
SO MUCH GOOD FOOD!
We gobbled up our feast and I still had plenty of yummy leftovers to serve my family for dinner that night. I’ve all ready got another batch of injera fermenting!
Visit Kittee Berns at her blog: Cake Maker to the Stars.
Read more about Kittee’s love affair with Ethiopian food here.
Purchase your own copy of Teff Love: Adventures in Vegan Ethiopian Cooking
Or, for a chance to win a copy of Teff Love, simply leave a comment on this post below. The winner will be chosen at random on March 11th! U.S. Residents only please! Good luck! ❤
Vedged Out 
Oh my! I’ve never had the pleasure of trying Ethiopian food, and now I can’t wait. Everything looks delicious. I actually have teff flour in my pantry. Not sure why I bought it, but now I can put it to use. Thanks for sharing your experience and those great pics!
Sherry, oh boy are you in for a treat! I don’t know what else to compare it to, but it’s like a flavor explosion. Thanks for your comment!
We go to a local Ethiopian restaurant here in Austin for all of our special occasions. I would love to go more often, but we have a tendency to overindulge because we just can’t help ourselves. (Half an hour later, it feels like all that injera is expanding in my belly!) Maybe if I learned to make these flavors in my own kitchen, we wouldn’t be so inclined to gorge!
Ha! I don’t know if that would solve the problem, because when you make it at home, there’s a lot of food! But, LEFTOVERS! YUM!
I have heard nothing but rave reviews about this cookbook and everything you made looks phenomenal! Thanks for offering the chance to win!
Shannon, it really is as fantastic as everyone is saying! Good luck!
Such a colorful cookbook! Would LOVE to own it!
Dee, all the colors and flavors! Good luck!
I have never had Ethiopian food but it all looks fabulous. It’s so much fun to actually meet our internet friends in real life!
Tami, such a wonderful experience! I hope to meet you someday too! ❤ XO
WOOWW Ethiopian is the best! Thanks so much for sharing!
Kasey! It really is! Thanks for commenting!
Never tried Ethiopian food – the colors are amazing! I would love to have thus cookbook as an introduction , thank you!
Eve-Marie, the colors are only second to the flavors! Good luck and thanks for commenting!
Thanks for hosting this giveaway! The food all looks delicious- even if I don’t win I’ll definitely be giving Ethiopian food a try soon!
Sarah, you won’t be disappointed! Good luck!
The first thing I would make: those JoJo Potatoes! Oh, my goodness!
Eve, they are in my top 10 recipes in the book! SO GOOD! XO
This looks like such an awesome cookbook! I’ve not venture into Ethiopian cuisine much beyond a peanut curry and injera at a local restaurant so this book will be much welcomed to my library!
Mason, yes so many more flavors to explore! Thanks for commenting and good luck!
I have never tried Ethiopian food before,but I am always open to try new cuisine,especially from other countries.
Natalie, I’d never had it before testing for Kittee either! I didn’t know what I was missing! Incredible!
When I first saw this cookbook going around the internet recently I thought, “Wow, I bet that stuff’s super complicated!” I’ve never even had Ethiopian cuisine, but after reading this it doesn’t seem nearly as intimidating. And it looks SO delicious. I’m sold! 🙂
Amber, it’s not complicated! I promise, if you can follow a recipe, you can make any of this food. Kittee explains everything so well! Plus tons of easy and familiar type foods as well.
Beautiful photography as always, Somer, and look at that impressive spread! This makes me want to run to the kitchen and start another batch of injera batter!
Aw! Thank you! I have another batch fermenting now! So good!
What a fun visit!! I’m so glad you were able to meet up and share some Ethiopian treats together. Everything you’ve made so far looks phenomenal.
Cadry! It was so lovely! I hope you get to connect with Kittee as well! Thanks for inspiring me with your love of Ethiopian food too! ❤
Many thanks for putting together such a mezcla of beautiful recipes! Ethiopian food is simple, delicious and nourishing and I am grateful for a potential chance to win a copy of this brilliant cookbook. Keep creating and inspiring! Cheers! Liz
Liz, you are so welcome! It was a pleasure to test all these recipes! Good luck!
I’m not sure if my previous comment posted so I will restate it. It is such a pleasure to have come across such a mezcla of ethiopian creations. Ethiopian food is so nourishing, simple and delicious. I look forward to having a potential chance at winning a copy of this cookbook. Keep creating and inspiring. Many thanks! Cheers. Liz
Yum, everything looks delicious. Would love to own a copy of this book!!!
Thanks Jenny! Good luck!
I would love to try to make homead injera!
It’s so delicious!
I already have a copy. But I just want to say, Somer, I love love this post!!!
You are the best! Love your guts!
Those recipes look amazingly delicious! 🙂
Thanks Stacy! They really are incredible!
Wow Somer, everything you made looks amazing! I’ve only had Ethiopian food once but I loved it. Thanks for the giveaway!
Terri I was so impressed with this food! I’m determined to seek out my local Ethiopian restaurant now. Big fat hugs!
Yumyumyumyumyum! I have tons of options for Ethiopian food here in DC. I can stop by a shop on my way home and pick up ingredients like berbere, lentils, yellow peas, etc. So far, though, my own attempts at making Ethiopian food at home have been just okay. This cookbook will teach me how to make my own vegan stews that taste like the restaurants’! I’ll probably keep buying my injera, though. (…mouth watering now…)
Ha! These recipes are anything but mediocre! Purchasing store bought injera is fine and would save time as you create your own feast! Good luck!
Yay! I’ve been following your instagram and wanting this book!
Lisa thank you! Best of luck!
Everything looks great, Somer! Looks like I’ll be cooking some more this weekend 😉
Abby, I cannot get enough! Give 89 a kiss from me! ❤
I have her last zine, and I haven’t used it nearly enough, beyond my attempt at making the Injera fake outs! I just discovered a little hole-in-the-wall Ethiopian market by my office, so I’d love to get more into exploring Ethiopian flavors!
Lauren, so lucky! The injera in Teff Love is the real deal! So good! Good luck!
I seriously hanker for that book after reading your post!
Lucy, I cannot blame you! Hope you are well my dear!
I love Ethiopian food, and hope to be able to make my own injera one day!
Doris, the method takes a few days because of fermenting the batter, but the results are oh so worth it!
Yum! Injera!!!! It all looks amazing. I love Ethiopian food and have wanted to make it at home for a long time, but wasn’t sure I could get it right.
This book takes all the mystery and guess work out of it! So perfect!
It wasn’t until I went vegan that I even tried Ethiopian food, and now…I’m a true convert! Everything you ate looks awesome–what a cool cookbook!!
It is the coolest! I can’t wait to try more things! Love and guts!
When Nick and I lived in LA, we lived about 1/2 a mile from Little Ethiopia. It became an obsession of mine to try all the food. It was amazing! And the smells, oh the smells….. I would use the s@&t out of this cookbook. 😉
Now I’m crying my eyes out. Love you babe! ❤️
We had Ethiopian food for Christmas this year (before the book came out but AFTER I had pre-ordered it), and it was excellent. This is perfect celebration food. Now I have the book, and every recipe I have made so far has been splendid. If I win the book, I know JUST WHO I will give it to as a gift! And, I would also love to meet Kittee. She has helped me in the kitchen for many years now.
I can’t say enough good things about Kittee, her book and her site! Ethiopian food for Christmas sounds divine! Good luck!
Love that you have introduced me to different foods . . . been wanting to try Ethiopian but just didn’t know where to start. My berbere spice is soooooo hot – will get the imported you recommended. Now, if only I had this cookbook 🙂
Jackie! I made the same mistake when I first started testing the recipes! My mouth was on fire! Haha! Imported Berbere is so much more delicious! Good luck on the win!
I love ethnic food, but I haven’t been very adventurous in trying new cuisines in my kitchen. It would be great to learn how to cook Ethiopian food for some interesting new flavor at dinner!
It’s so fun to prepare it at home! It gives you a huge sense of accomplishment!
Gush fest indeed! I fell in love with Ethiopian food all over again with the book. Cant wait to make another big feast!
:))))
Richa, I love it so much! Looking forward to your book like crazy girl! ❤
Oh my goshh! This is just what I have been looking for! I *try* to make lentil wot and Ethiopian style yellow peas all the time but am mostly just guessing on the spices. What a perfect booK!
Anna! No more guessing! Teff Love is where it’s at! ❤
I looooove ethiopian food, will definitely check this book out, thanks for the review!
Jenny, I’ve all ready bought copies of this for several friends! If you love Ethiopian food, you will adore Teff Love!
Curious about this book, especially seeing that it’s not just Ethiopian, but rather inspired by the cuisine
Omer, it’s actually a lot of both. Fusion recipes and then tons of fully legitimate Ethiopian cuisine. It’s incredible.
This would be a lovely addition to my cookbook collection and would be well used!!!
Thanks for your comment! Good luck!
Would love to try something new. Never had anything with Teff.:)
Margarete, while there is teff flour used in the book, it’s only in a handful of recipes. All of it is delicious though!
I would love to win! I haven’t tried injera and I am so excited to 🙂
This cookbook looks amazing! It makes me want to try everything and feel good about eating it. Thank you for such a wonderful giveaway 🙂 Even if I don’t get selected will definitely purchase this jewel.
So glad you two finally got to meet! This looks like a super great cookbook to own!
My mouth is watering. The food is so beautifully presented. I have never had Ethiopian food and I can’t wait to try it. 🙂
Love Teff! One of the greatest little gluten-free grains!
Ordered a copy of the book just wanted to say your injera looks awesome, I have tried before but didn’t come out as nice as yours. can’t wait to find out (from the book) what we did wrong.
I would love to learn how to make these dishes! they look fantastic.
Those pictures are beautiful, my mouth is watering. I would love to win this book and be able to cook this delicious food for friends.
Seeing all these recipes really makes me want to try some Ethiopian food!
There used to be an Ethiopian restaurant in our area but it’s been at least a couple of decades since it closed. I’d love to try these recipes here at home.
Oh wow, I love
Ethiopian food and would love to make it myself. Thanks for this post