Happy Trails

Inspired

 

It has been a while! Let me catch you up on what's been going on around here...mostly focusing on the weekends, as that is when we have the most fun.

The past few weekends have been really wonderful in a lot of ways. There has been some sleeping in, and coming downstairs to the fire going, with the smell of freshly brewed coffee in the air. (Salmaan always rises before I do).

Two weeks ago on a Saturday morning Salmaan was lounging on the couch with a pile of new cookbooks looking pleased as punch. He treated us to 7 new tomes full of inspiration, and after a nice fluffy omelette full of ham, cheese, and assorted veggies, we cuddled up on the couch and read for hours, taking notes and sharing things that excited us along the way. And you know where we're going from here, yeah?

 

First up, a wonderful new way to use up leftover roast chicken (which we always seem to have a lot of, week after week). These quesadillas quite frankly rocked. We dressed them up with a dollop of sour cream, some ribboned romaine dressed with lime juice, and a bit of salsa. Mmm.

That following Sunday morning I woke up at 4:30, and couldn't get back to sleep, thinking about how much stuff I wanted to make. By 5:30 I gave up, and Salmaan and I made a batch of Curtis Stone's homemade Granola (which was fantastic--just go a little less on the initial baking time).

Homemade chicken soup was finished up and packaged away in the freezer for a day either of us has a cold and needs some comfort, and then we made a delicious brunch, consisting of poached egg inside of a crisped proscuitto cup on top of sauteed spinach and a toasted whole wheat bagel (also from Curtis Stone's cookbook).

It was our first time poaching eggs, and it turned out nicely. If we ever open a B&B, this is going on the breakfast menu for sure. For dinner we made Jamie Oliver's Mushroom Risotto.

Yes, yes, I gave risotto another try! We made this on Halloween night, and the risotto itself was quite delicious. The specialty grilled mushrooms on the top? Surprisingly not delicious. Not sure if it was the total lack of fat (oh butter, how I missed you), or too much citrus (he advises to dress the grilled shrooms with lemon juice and herbs), but it wasn't workin' for me. The base recipe, however, I would definitely make again, and butter up some bellas or shiitakes for the big garnish.

This past weekend both of us were feeling under the weather. In fact, we've both been fighting off a cold for about a week now. Instead of taking the chicken soup out of the freezer, we tried a new recipe--Tyler Florence's chicken tortellini soup. SO GOOD, and just what we needed. 

I pulled this out of the freezer last night, and it hit the spot for a quick and soothing dinner.

We've had a couple of friends over on the weeknights lately, and that has lead us to some new recipes that we will try again. Ina's new book just came out, and I made her turkey meatballs.

Very good. Her new book is a bit repetitive--not a ton of new ideas, really. But I like Ina and her sensibility, so it's fun just to read through it.

The next to last weekend in October, my parents came to visit us. They stayed the weekend, and we had a fantastic time. Saturday we went to the Powhatan Festival of the Grape, and sampled some tasty Virginia Wine.

Despite my ageeb looking face in this photograph, I really was enjoying myself...especially when we visited our favorite virginia winery--Horton.

Love this shot of my parents.

They really helped us with a lot of stuff around the house that weekend, including a raised bed that I'm very excited about:

Dad and Salmaan busted this out in only a few hours. The garden really went to hell this past summer (partly the terribly hot weather/water restrictions, partly my waning interest, partly the fact that the squirrels and chipmunks stole most of my yield), so it was time to scale back. I'm going to be using this solely has an herb garden, and we're going to seed the rest of the garden area with grass seed. We also took out the blackberry bushes, as I think I was only able to get about 15 berries all season, and they honestly weren't very good. Come Christmas-time (and my "extra" paycheck), we're going to sign up for a local CSA. I mean, have you seen the Rooster's blog? I've been inspired, and want to give this a go. 

Dad and Salmaan fixed some of our gates, too.

We may have put them to work, but we fed them well. Salmaan grilled up a beautiful beef tenderloin.

The dogs had a fantastic time, too. They couldn't have enjoyed the extra attention more.

As you can see, JJ is getting bigger every day. It's so cool to see the changes. His fur has gotten longer and CURLY, which is adorable, and his personality is really starting to be apparent--he dotes on River constantly.

And that's pretty much what's been going on at Chez K. A fair amount of knitting has been accomplished as well, but that is for another post. I'm off from work today, hence the time to write--and hopefully posted about some FO's! 

 

Little Bit of This, Little Bit of That

I've been wanting to write for a while, but wasn't able to come up with a coherent theme for everything I wished to share. Finally figured no theme worked just fine, so here we go.

We've been cooking more. Cooking with Ina, mostly. We have *almost* every one of the Barefoot Contessa's cookbooks, and we enjoy going through them from time to time, picking out things we normally wouldn't try. Over the last few weeks, there have been epic wins, and epic fails.

Tomato Goat Cheese Tarts: Epic Win.

These were unbelievably delicious, and I was especially proud that they came out looking exactly like the photo in the book. It's somewhat of a finicky recipe in a way--there are a lot of steps, some of which either take a long time (properly caramelizing the onions) or make a mess (rolling out the puff pastry and cutting it), but in the end--SO worth it. While she suggests this could make a great (albeit heavy) appetizer, I disagree. If you're going to go through that much trouble, make it a meal. We had these for lunch last weekend with a nice big salad, and it was perfection.

Spring Risotto: Epic Fail.

Well, alright. Maybe not an EPIC fail, but a fail nonetheless. I don't really GET risotto. I mean, it doesn't fit into any sort of category that makes sense to me. Is it rice? Is it pasta? Neither. Do I like it? Hrm. Do I enjoy watching Chef Ramsey scream about it being improperly prepared on Hell's Kitchen? ("Where's my F*CKING RIS-OT-TOW????") Absolutely. That's pretty much why we decided to give this a go. And now we kind of get why risotto puts Ramsey in such a bad mood.

In the opening paragraph of the recipe, Ina says that after a bad day, she loves to make this meal. She turns the music up, pours a "nice" glass of wine, and starts stirring. Having made this ourselves on a weeknight, when each of us had busy days at the office, I can only conclude two things: either Ina is a sadist, or she is a drunk. That's the only way you can possibly "enjoy" or get through all that stirring.

Now, let me be fair. I probably didn't have the heat on high enough, and so it took about twenty minutes longer for the rice to get tender than it should have. MAYBE. The last time I made risotto was out of the Newlywed Cookbook (which, by the way, is probably the worst collection of recipes I've ever laid eyes on--I actually threw it away, not wanting to subject another to the perils of its pages by donating it), at our old apartment. It was a mushroom risotto, and we went to about 4 different stores to get all the different kinds of specialty mushrooms (fresh and dried) that the recipe called for. It was expensive, and was at a time when we really couldn't afford it. I stirred my flipping butt off with that dish, and when we sat down to eat, it was like we were eating shroomy sand. I may have cried. Hard. And then consoled myself with a "nice" glass of wine. Or four. Anyway, I probably didn't cook it long enough that first time. But two sub par risotto experiences in a row can't be coincidence. It just can't.

In the end, this was edible. There was a lot of citrus in it (lemon juice and lemon zest) and this was a good learning experience--I do not enjoy lemon flavor in savory dishes. For me, it's reminiscent of floor cleanser (like the papaya we had on our honeymoon--it was like Mr. Clean from a tree!), so, all in all, while we won't be making this again, we did learn a few things: Higher heat for risotto--be drunk, feel sadistic, or feel determination that making this meal WILL be an adequate substitute for going to the gym, and no more lemon, thank you very much.

I ended up using the leftover marscapone and about a zillion other cheeses that we had in the fridge for a bangin' mac n cheese this week, but alas, no photos. *sniff* It was good, though!

Last weekend we also pumped these out (a little homage to the Rooster).

We tried the recipe featured in the Feb/March 2010 Fine Cooking Magazine, and "Ahhhhhhhhh" (angels singing) they were fabulous. We did the pork/shrimp filling, and they did not disappoint. There are a ton of these left, sitting patiently in the fridge, and we'll be eating them again soon. While I pan-seared these, I think we'll just boil the others--cut down on the oil. 

Last weekend we also met up with my best friend from high school, Andrew, and his lovely wife Heather and their son, Sam.

We've come a long way, yeah?

 They're expecting a baby girl this fall, and we're so happy for them! Andrew is going into his internship for med school in August, and we were excited to get to see them before they went back to the midwest. Best of luck with Boards, Andrew!

There have been many requests lately for more pup pictures/updates, so here you are!

The little guy is doing great. We had his 9 week vet visit this past Monday, and everything is A-OK. He's even doing much better this week with the potty training, which is very exciting. Salmaan continues Puppy Kindergarten at home--almost every evening, and has an excellent teaching assistant in River.

Here's a video I took last week of them romping around--JJ is quite tough, and while we were a little worried about how rough and tumble they get, the vet said it was perfectly normal and a great sign.

There's also been some progress on the knitting and spinning front, but that's for another post. For now, it's back to the needles for me! Happy Saturday!

Back in the Kitchen

We're on Day #3 of three blissful days off, and I spent much of the last two back in the kitchen. The last few months I've not been cooking very much--and every week as I create the meal plan, I've regretted the absence of the excitement that comes with going out on a limb and cooking something different. These two meals weren't the most adventurous, but I had never made either before, and was completely floored by how delicious they turned out to be.

Saturday (and Sunday, as it were) lunch: Chicken Parmesan Subs:

Sounds simple, right? Sometimes the simplest things are the most difficult to make, and I was pretty intimidated to give this a go. Given that we're relatively health-conscious cooks, I knew I wouldn't be able to fry the chicken, but I thought baking it wouldn't give it the nice crispy crust that would make this sub delicious and authentic. So, I split the baby.

We pounded out the chicken so it was JUST a bit flatter than before. I coated them in flour, then an egg wash, then plain bread crumbs seasoned with italian seasonings, seasoned salt, and garlic powder. Into the frying pan they went with 1 Tbs I can't believe it's not butter, and 1 Tbs olive oil (to keep the butter from burning). Gave it about 2 minutes, each side, then popped all of the breasts into a 400 degree oven for 10 minutes. The result? A beautiful crisp breast of chicken that was incredibly juicy and flavorful. We topped them off with some Emeril's Marinara (my favorite--it's a little sweet), parmesan and mozarella cheese, made all brown and bubbly under the broiler. Like a little piece of heaven.

Next up was Giada's Vegetarian Lasagna from her cookbook, Everyday Italian. 

 We had planned to have our two favorite vegetarians over for dinner on Friday night, but Salmaan woke up with a terrible cold on Friday, so we had to cancel our plans and had soup instead. Saturday he was feeling better, and I had all the ingredients for this meal, so I still wanted to make it. 

Let me say this: I have a hard time cooking vegetarian food. It's a mental thing. For example, we cook and eat vegetarian all the time! We truly do, but it isn't until I go into the kitchen, piles of cookbooks in hand, LOOKING for what I can deem in my own mind to be a TRULY vegetarian meal, that I get stuck. Additionally, my attitude is always slated against the truly vegetarian meal working out, as it is destined to taste like mushrooms and squash. Always the same flavor profile! All I can seem to find to fit into this very narrow mental category are recipes that actually have the word "Vegetarian" in the title. It's terribly silly, really, and I realized this when I was meal planning this week--spinach/feta dinner spanakopitas, goat cheese tart, spring things risotto, summer bounty pasta....LAURA!?!??!?! ALL OF THIS IS VEGETARIAN! And I was actually EXCITED about all of those meals...

I experienced this mental block last week, hence settling on Giada's Vegetarian Lasagna, despite my numerous reservations about this recipe. First of all, it called for 20 oz. of FROZEN spinach. Blugh. I'm not a spinach girl, folks. Popeye may have it goin' on, but I'll pass on the putrid greens, thank you very much. It isn't that I don't LIKE spinach, per se. I truly adore the IDEA of spinach. I like knowing that it's in a meal...I like being able to see it....I just don't particularly enjoy tasting it. Certainly not 20 friggin' frozen oz. of it. So, I already had it in my mind to make some sort of mod there. 

The recipe also calls for a can of white beans. Really, I thought? White beans, with pasta? That's weird. But, whatever--I'm all for fiber across all spectrums of my life, so I let that one go. Lastly, asparagus. 

This one really threw me. Asparagus is one of my favorite veggies, for sure, but it's very...asparagus. It's got a big personality, and I didn't see it melding particularly well with the squash, zucchini, carrots, onions, and the aforementioned spinach and white beans. Hrm.

I rarely modify a recipe before I try it "by the book" at least once. But, given that this dish was going to require the better part of my precious Saturday afternoon, I wasn't in the mood to have attempt #1 be a flop, so I went to the internets. The reviews were pretty consistent in a couple of respects: 1) it's too dry 2) the spinach tastes horrible and 3) there's not enough cheese and sauce. It was already a given in my mind that I wasn't going to make this dish into six individual serving dishes as Giada instructs--can we say unnecessarily fussy?

So, here's what I did:

I made the Marinara recipe that Giada recommends in her own book. However, I didn't have two 32 oz cans of crushed tomatoes, so I used two 28 oz. cans, and one 14.5 oz. can of diced tomatoes. I think that turned out really well, as the large chunks of tomatoes lent a great texture to the sauce. I probably used 4 cups of sauce total, in comparison to the cup and a half called for.

I only used one 10 oz. package of frozen spinach. I drained the heck out of it after it thawed, and combined it with about 12 oz of part-skim ricotta that I had in the fridge. I mixed that up very well with some salt, pepper, and 1 egg. 

We couldn't find fresh lasagna noodles, and they didn't have any of the regular dry noodles in the pasta aisle when Salmaan went to the grocery store. He got the no cook ones, and I soaked them for about 5 minutes in a large casserole dish before layering them into the lasagna.

I diced an extra summer squash into the veggie mixture to make up for the lack of spinach.

One thing I would do differently next time: the recipe instructs you to saute the onions first, then the carrots, then the squash/zucchini and the asparagus last. I would switch up those last two ingredients. The asparagus definitely needs to go in before the squash/zucchini--it takes longer to cook.

 As it turned out, even though my asparagus was cut into small pieces, by the time it was as tender as I wanted, the squash/zucchini had begun to disintegrate a bit, which was a bummer. 

However, that was pretty much the only bummer of the dish--to my surprise, this tasted really, really delicious. I layered it like so: sauce, noodles, ricotta/spinach mixture, white beans, sauce, noodles, veggie mixture, cheese, sauce, noodles, ricotta/spinach mixture, sauce, cheese. There are more of these in the freezer, and I can't wait to pull them out on a night when all we want is a glass of wine and a good meal.

Who said vegetarian has to suck? Ummmm...you did, Laura. Ah. Yes. Consider yourself schooled.

 

Snow

 Lots, and LOTS of snow. So far I'd say we've gotten about 8-9 inches, which is a big deal for here. It took us almost two hours to shovel the monster driveway, (which, by the way, I'm REALLY feeling today) and therefore we felt totally justified in scarfing down this delicious soup and grilled cheese for lunch.

I love this soup. It's made an appearance here numerous times, and I've pretty much come up with my own version of it:

Tuscan Soup: (adapted from Food to Live By)

• 2 Tbs olive oil
• as many carrots as you like, peeled and diced (I normally do 4 large)
• about 3-4 ribs of celery, diced
• 1 large onion, diced
• 4 sliced of reduced fat bacon, diced
• about 2 Tbs garlic, minced
• 2 cups dried great northern beans, picked over and rinsed
• 6 cups reduced fat chicken stock
• about 6-8 roma tomatoes, diced
• 1 Tbs fresh diced rosemary
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 tsp good balsamic vinegar

heat up the olive oil, and throw in the onion, celery, and carrots. Allow the mirepoix to sautee until soft and slightly browned. Then, throw in the bacon for 2-4 minutes, until the fat begins to render and brown. Toss in the garlic for about two minutes, before adding the stock, beans, tomatoes, rosemary, and salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and cover for 2-3 hours (time depends on how long it takes the beans to soften up--older ones will take longer. You can reduce the time by soaking the beans in water overnight the night before). When it's done, season to taste and add the teaspoon of balsamic, and serve. 

YUM.

Today, like yesterday, will be spent clearing the driveway, knitting, and cooking. Perhaps I'll be able to work in some catch-up posts, as well. It's been too long, friends. Oh, and speaking of friends, check out this gorgeous gift from the barefoot rooster!

The chronicle of its creation (and better photos as well) can be found here and here. It is being turned into the Milkweed Shawl, so far I'm through Chart A, and hope to get even further today to share some pictures--it's gorgeous!

Ghoulishly Good

This was our first Halloween in the new neighborhood, and both of us were feeling pretty festive. I decided there were a few pumpkin recipes that I needed to try out, and I'm glad I did. First up? Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies. After checking this out over at Cosmicpluto, we had to give them a go.

I have not enjoyed something this tasty (dessert-wise) in a long, long time. They are light, fluffy, cakey, and delicious. Initially we were going to hand them out to parents as an adult treat, but after taste testing one of the smaller ones, Salmaan begged to keep them just for us. I didn't tell him at the time, but I felt the same way. You HAVE to make these. About five seconds after we tasted them, we each locked eyes and said, our mouths full, "We've GOT to make these for Thanksgiving."

Next up we baked these Pumpkin Muffins. They made the house smell amazing, and we gave away half a dozen to our neighbors who very kindly helped us dispatch the fallen tree. 

I'm waiting to try these tomorrow morning with a steaming cup of coffee. 

While I was inside baking, Salmaan decorated the outside with some lights we had leftover from our pumpkin carving party a few years ago.

We were the only house illuminated to the hilt, and I think it was fun for the kids to approach for candy. 

Dinner this evening was a fast affair, I basically wolfed it down in one gulp, only to discover afterwards that I'm not sure I even liked it that much. We made Black Bean Pumpkin Soup--a recipe that I got off of the Smitten Kitchen. 

A few notes on this soup--it wasn't at ALL orange (the photos on Deb's site are electric), and I didn't taste the pumpkin. Not even a little bit. Not even at all. Additionally, I found the overall flavor to be a bit sour, and I think that was due in large part to the sherry wine the recipe called for--I think it could have done without that entirely, and instead of finishing it off with sherry vinegar, I believe a bit of red wine vinegar would have done the trick. It did, however, introduce us to one of the most wonderful ingredients--pre-cooked ham. It came in this huge chunk, and was smokey and delicious. I plan to use it in a quiche tomorrow, and probably make a club salad later this week complete with beets and other numerous accoutrement. There might even be a ham salad sandwich in our future. (This is a big deal. I very rarely do any sort of meat salad. They tend to make me barf. But, this ham has non-barfing saladish potential. Very cool.)

All in all, the evening was a bit anticlimactic. We met a few neighbors that we hadn't seen before, so that was nice, but all in all, only SIX children darkened out door to trick or treat. One of them had so many food allergies that his parents went by to every house beforehand to drop off a gift to give him instead of candy. I threw in a glow stick for him as well. Not like the kid who is allergic to everything under the sun needs to glow in the dark, but hey, they're cool!

When Gluten Kid and his family were walking away, the kids asked the parents, "Hey, can we go trick or treat at that house over there?" [referencing our neighbors that live across the street] The mother promptly responded, "No, their porch light is out, see? That's the universal sign to stay away. That family never comes out. Not even for Christmas. That's why we call them the Vampire Family." I. Laughed. My. Ass. Off. And then I thought it was kind of inappropriate that they said that within earshot of us, which of course, theoretically meant they were in earshot of the Vampire Family. Suburbia? You are FASCINATING.

In any event, Happy Halloween, everyone! And if you find yourself with a sweet tooth this evening, come on by. We have about $30 left of unclaimed candy. 

An All-Out Cookathon

Being a state employee, I have today off from work, and decided it was time to take a break from the home improvement projects and concentrate on something that I truly love--cooking. Lately we've discovered that most nights during the week, it's hard to find the energy to cook a good, wholesome meal. Work has just been a bit too busy lately--I haven't even found time to knit! So, I have been on the hunt for healthy, flavorful recipes that can easily be frozen, defrosted the night before, and baked for dinner. Last night's dinner of sub-par chinese take-out renewed in me the desire to fill our freezer with tasty alternatives, and this morning, I got to it.

First up, a recipe I have been wanting to make for a long time--the Pioneer Woman's Best Lasagna Ever. Now, this isn't really a healthful alternative, per se...but I mean, it's lasagna for pete's sake, it's just supposed to be delicious! I did use ground sirloin (a leaner cut of beef), and I drained out most of the fat from the meat mixture. I also did not use the cardboard grated parmesan cheese. I couldn't bring myself to do it--so I used fresh shredded parm instead. Here it was before I wrapped it up super-tight for its sojourn in the freezer:

I won't know for a while whether or not this is, in fact, the best lasagna recipe ever, but I'll share my opinion when we do have it. I'm afraid I am a bit of a lasagna snob, and am somewhat scrutinizing, so we'll see how it fares.

Second up, another recipe I've been wanting to try for a while--Blueberry Banana Muffins. There are a few things I seem to always have in my kitchen, no matter what: bananas that are too ripe to eat on their own (mushy--ewww), and frozen wild blueberries. I am lucky to come from a tradition of mountain blueberry pickers (rattlesnakes, be damned!) and I never take it for granted when I can incorporate them into a delicious recipe such as this one. My Dad shared this recipe with me out of a cookbook he purchased when he and Mom vacationed in Montana. Here are the results:

Moist, delicious, and bursting with fruity flavor. I will be making these again....and again...and again...;-) I think they would make a great hostess gift, as well.

Next up was the delicious Three Cheese Macaroni out of one of my very favorite cookbooks--Food to Live By. This is probably the fifth time I've made this recipe, and I do it a bit differently every time. This go round I pushed the envelope with even more low-fat subs than normal. We'll see if I went too far later this week, when we enjoy it with some hotdogs off the grill.

On to Pork Burrito Casserole--this is my Dad's recipe, and another one that I play around with each time I make it. I don't cook with pork very often, but this is a super-easy way to incorporate "the other white meat" into your diet.  I made this for the week of our move, and it's a really great dish because it's so easy to divide up and freeze. Reduced fat sour cream tops this dish off perfectly, with some finely chopped scallions, and of course, a beer. Here's how it's done: You'll need:

• 1 large onion, or two small
• 1 jalapeno pepper (or serano, whatever)
• about 2 lbs of pork sirloin chops, or cheaper cut
• 2 cans of salsa verde, or one jar, whatever
• 1 can black beans
• 1 bunch of cilantro
• 1 Tbs cumin (I prefer a bit more)
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 Tbs olive oil
• 10 wheat or multigrain flour tortillas
• a little less than 1 lb grated monterey jack cheese
• 1 big jar of taco sauce, or a couple cans of enchilada sauce
• 1 can Rotel, or about 1.5 cups regular salsa

Okay, take your onions and jalapenos, and dice them up, then cube your pork into about 1 inch cubes.

 

Saute the onions and jalapeno first in the oil for a few minutes, then add the pork.

 

Saute all of these items in the oil until no pink shows in the meat and the onions are opaque. Here are your remaining cast of characters--go ahead and get them out. Just as an aside, it's always a little bit of an adventure when the Boy goes to the store and does the shopping by himself. This week's special surprise? A 35 oz. bottle of salsa verde. Makes me smile.

Now, add the cumin, salt and pepper to taste, and the salsa verde. (in this case, about half of the giant bottle).

 

Now, here's the easiest part--simmer, partially covered, for about 1-2 hours. I normally do about an hour and a half. It's necessary to tenderize the pork, which is pretty much super-tough otherwise. And it's absolutely necessary that you be around to stir this occassionally. I'll never forget that evening when we were in college and Salmaan and I left for two hours to come back to a very, very burnt pot of food. Ew. Now, after you've let it simmer nicely for a long while, add your can of black beans, that you have since expertly mashed into a nice thick paste.

 

Once that has been incorporated, add the bunch of cilantro, roughly chopped. God, I love cilantro...

 

And there you have your burrito filling!

 

Now, normally I would make this in a 13x9 corningware dish, but since the only one I have is entertaining the lasagna, I used two 2 quart dishes--5 burritos to each one. Spray each with Pam, and start filling and rolling!

 

Stuff them in there--they'll fit!

 

Now combine the Rotel and taco sauce, or enchilada sauce, whatever, in a bowl. This delicious sauce is going to be spread over top of the burritos, making a moist, gooey casserole.

 

And last, but most certainly not least, my favorite part: add the cheese.

 

And there you have it! If you want to eat it now, bake in a 350 degree oven for about 25 minutes, until the cheese is browned and bubbly. If not, wrap it tightly (I like one lay of plastic wrap, and another of foil to keep out freezer burn) and place it in the freezer for that night when you need a mexican feast. Enjoy.

 

I was going to cook a nice big pot of potato soup, too, but I just don't have it in me after doing all those dishes. Time for a shower, glass of wine, and maybe I'll actually be able to sit down and get some knitting done!  Happy Martin Luther King Day!

Super Fabulous Chana Saag

Okay, I know what you're thinking...Saag (pronounced "sog"......as in, soggy....boggy...ewwww) doesn't sound like the most appetizing thing in the world. And in point of fact, it doesn't even LOOK like the most appetizing thing in the world (the name really doesn't help), but seriously? It's absolutely incredible. It is my most favorite Indian dish, and until now, I never thought that we would ever be able to make it at home.

Last month when we visited my parents, my Dad sent us home with some mustard greens from his garden. Now, I've never been a big "greens" fan. I don't like spinach unless it's a small part of some other dish, and I've never been a fan of greens on their own. Dad used to make huge batches of collared greens in the summers--he'd pick them wild--and my GOD it would stink up the house to high HEAVEN. My sister and I would stuff towels under our doors to try to block out the smell--but nothing worked. That putrid essence permeated EVERYTHING, and it still makes me nauseous to this day when I even think about it ...*gag*.

So, it's kind of surprising that one of my very favorite dishes in the world is an indian version of greens. But this is so delicious and buttery tasting, it's more like...like...well, heaven! The Chana in the title means chickpeas--but you can use potatoes too, or even chicken or lamb. All credit must be given to Salmaan on this one, as he created his own special version of this dish from many different internet recipes. This is Salmaan's Super Fabulous Chana Saag, and you'll be hard pressed to find a better version out there.

Note: Recipe Serves 4-6

Cubed potatoes or chicken can be used as substitutes for the chickpeas.  The potatoes would need to be peeled, boiled, and cubed prior to adding them (add them where/when the chickpeas would go).  The chicken would have to be pre-cooked, or you could cube chicken breasts in a bit of oil with onion, garlic, and ginger, then add them in this recipe when the chickpeas would be added.

Ingredients

2 Tablespoons vegetable oil or ghee

2 Chopped Yellow Onions (Medium sized)

6-8 Cloves Of Garlic, Minced

1½ -2 Tablespoons Of Minced Ginger root

2 Teaspoons Ground Coriander

½ Teaspoon Ground Turmeric

¾-1 Teaspoon Garam Masala (Or make your own spice mix)

1 Pound Mustard Greens Or Spinach – Coursely Chopped (we used Dad's mustard greens, I think a mixture of both mustard greens and spinach would be great)

1 Cup Water

1 ¾ Teaspoon Salt

1 Cup Fat Free Plain Yogurt

¼ Cup Heavy Cream (Optional)

1 Can Chickpeas, or equal amount of Chicken, or Potatoes, as mentioned above

Method

1. Heat the oil or ghee in a very large saucepan or pot over medium heat.  Add the onions and sauté until translucent, about 5 minutes, stirring often.  Add the garlic, ginger, and spices (except salt) and sauté for another 2-3 minutes, stirring often so as to not burn the garlic.
2. Stir in the mustard greens/spinach, water, and salt and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat to low and simmer, partially covered, for 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
3. Remove from heat and allow to cool a bit.  Then, using a blender or food processor, puree the mixture in batches.  I would NOT recommend using a hand blender. One of the batches we made we used our hand blender instead of the food processor, and it came out chunky and stringy--not good. You want the whole thing to be chopped up and smooth.
4. Return the puree to the pot.  Add the chickpeas (rinsed and drained), or potatoes or chicken.  Stir well, heat to a boil and then immediately reduce heat and simmer for 10-15 minutes, covered, stirring occasionally.  Boil off as much water as you want, to make it as soupy or like salan (sauce) as you want.
5. Stir in yogurt and return to a brief simmer and then immediately remove pan from heat (be quick so as to not cause the sauce to curdle).  Stir in the optional cream, adjust seasonings and serve, over basmati and with naan.

You'll marvel at how good something this simple can be. and definitely eat it with naan! Enjoy!

 

 

Culinary Triumphs

This is one of the best damn things I've ever eaten--and that's saying something. That's saying something HUGE. This is a lamb and potato curry (or, to be perfectly accurate, a gosht aloo curry). The recipe came from an organic cookbook I have, and don't worry, I'm going to share it with you. We have never made Indian food this good at home before--it totally eclipses the chicken curry that we've made previously (although that is still a perfectly good curry--this one is just better).

 

You'll need:

• 1 lbs. boneless lamb stew meat, such as shoulder or siloin, cut into 1-inch cubes
• salt and pepper
• 1/4 cup of canola or olive oil
• medium onion, diced
• 1/2 tsp turmeric
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp ground cardamom
• 1/2 tsp ground cumin
• 1/2 tsp ground coriander
• 1/4 tsp ground cloves
• 1/2 tsp ground cayenne pepper
• 1 Tbs minced peeled fresh ginger
• 1 Tbs minced garlic
• 1 15 oz. diced tomatoes with their juice
• 1 lbs. Yukon Gold or waxy potatoes peeled and cut into 1/2 inch dice
• 1 cup fresh or frozen green peas
• basmati rice
• 2 cups reduced fat or fat free yogurt
• cucumber--grated
• salt to taste
• 3/4 tsp ground cumin
• dash of cayenne pepper

Season the lamb with the salt and pepper. Heat the oil in a large, heavy pot over medium-high heat. Add the lamb and brown well on all sides. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the lamb to a bowl by itself and set aside. Reduce the heat to medium-low and add the onion and turmeric--stir well. Add the rest of the spices (through cayenne) along with 1 tsp salt to the pot. Cook for about 5 minutes, until the onion softens. Add the ginger and garlic and cook, stirring frequently for about 2 minutes. Return the lamb to the pot. Add 2 cups of water (or chicken stock for more flavor), and the can of tomatoes. Increase the heat and bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to low, cover, and let simmer for 30 minutes. Add the potatoes and cook, covered, until the lamb and taters are tender, (this can take anywhere from 30-50 minutes). Add the peas last and cook unti lthey are heated through, about 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, cook up a batch of basmatic rice, using Salmaan's super-secret method, and whip up some tasty raita by incorporating the last 5 ingredients listed above (we like the cucumber with the skin on--gives the raita a good texture and splash of color). Serve the curry over basmati rice, with a side of naan bread that has been warmed in the toaster oven. Ladle some raita over the top of the curry and enjoy one of the best meals you've had in a long time.

 

BTW, I apologize for the sub-par photos--I promise this meal tastes ten times more fantastic that it looks. As Salmaan says, Indian food is virtually "unphotographababble". ;-)

Pesto & A Very Pleasant Surprise

A couple of weekends ago I went home. A  good college friend was having her baby shower in the Roanoke area, and I hadn't seen her for at least two years. It was also the first weekend that Salmaan and I have been apart since we got married--it was a little weird, but good for both of us, I think. I had a wonderful time. Seeing Julia again was pretty fantastic--it's so nice when you realize you have friends that love you no matter what, and who are easy to be around. She's a cute pregnant mommy--it just looks like she has a basketball stuffed under her shirt--other than that she looks exactly the same! After the shower we were sitting around her parents' dinner table, just talking and visiting, and she kept grabbing my hand to feel the baby move. It was incredible.

Another nice part about the weekend was the garden bounty I brought home from Mom and Dad's garden. They're always so generous. Along with a ton of tomatoes and other herbs, there was this incredible bouquet of fresh, fragrant basil.

Now, my man LOVES pesto. He had it for the first time at my parents' house after we started dating, and ever since then it's been one of his favorite meals. I, on the other hand, have never been a huge fan, so we don't have it very much. However, when I brought this basil home I knew we had to whip up a batch. He was so excited, and dove right into making it with me.

 

We had about 1 Tbs of pine nuts in the pantry--not enough to make a batch without going to the store first. Pine nuts are EXPENSIVE, so I looked to see what else we had on hand. Last time we were in Chicagovisiting Salmaan's family, his friend Fareed Ali gave us a TON of nuts from his Middle Eastern Market--among those were a large bag of almonds which I had been storing in the freezer. We used them as a substitute.

 

They worked WONDERFULLY, and made a gorgeously thick, fragrant pesto paste.

 

We used it twice that week--once with farfalle pasta and shredded rotisserie chicken (SO YUM, although the photo I took of it wasn't great, and thus, is not included here). We also used it as a base for a pesto and goat cheese pizza that we whipped up when our friend Amanda came over one night. Note the beautiful yellow and red heirloom tomatoes. I have to say that I LOVED this pesto, and I think it's because we subbed the almonds for the pine nuts. I'll never make it with pine nuts again. You could also sub walnuts, but I haven't tried that, yet.

 

There is only one more meal left out of the batch we made that weekend *sad face*. However, yesterday when I was spending some time in the yard, I realized that my basil had survived the enormously long dry spell and water restrictions, and had in fact seeded all over its corner of the flower bed. There was a mess of it--just enough to make one more large batch of homemade pesto. Salmaan and I whipped it up this morning, and it has settled into the freezer, expectantly waiting to reemerge on some cold winter day when the taste of summer will be a welcome repast.

Here's our recipe (note, we doubled this each time):

Combine in a food processor and process to a rough paste the following:

• 2 cups loosely packed fresh basil leaves
• 1/2 cup grated parmesan (I can't emphasize enough what a difference FRESHLY grated parmesan makes tothe store-bought grated parmesan...)
• 1/3 cup almonds
• 2 medium garlic cloves, peeled

With the machine running. slowly add 1/2 cup of olive oil, or as needed. If the pesto seems dry (it should be a thick paste), add a little more olive oil. Season to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper. If you aren't using it immediately, you can cover it with a thin film of olive oil, and refrigerate it for up to a week. Or, you can freeze it for up to 3 months. If you're using it for a pasta meal, reserve some of the pasta water (1/2 cup) to thin it out when you mix it up with the pasta. You've got to try this recipe. As Salmaan says, "Pesto is one of the sexiest meals there is..."

Another incredible surprise from that weekend was my Mom. I taught her to knit a couple of summers ago, but it didn't really take. She made a couple of scarves, but not knowing what I was doing (I taught her the same day I taught myself), I started her off on long, clicky aluminum needles, and some pretty nasty acrylic bumpy yarn. When we went to the Orchardside Yarn Shop recently, I think she was surprised at how passionate I am about my knitting, and started to see the craft in a different light.

We sat down at the table together on Friday night, and I brought out the different projects I had with me to show her. She touched my Malabrigo tenderly, and asked again, "Do you think I can do this?" At that point I got serious, and started in on how I think that everyone (especially women) need to be self-reliant enough to teach themselves how to do things (I feel very strongly about this), and that while I would help her, I wouldn't be able to teach her step-by-step given that I don't live in town. As I gave this speech, she kept laughing, harder and harder, until the tears came. Which of course, absolutely incensed me, given that I feel so intensely about the subject (both knitting, and self-reliance). Finally, she couldn't take it any longer. She ran downstairs and came back up with these:

 

Two sets of the most uniform beginner dishcloths I've ever seen.

 

She had gone back to Orchardside by herself, and got a quick tutorial (as well as some nice, 10" bamboo needles), and had been making these for me as a surprise for Christmas. I couldn't have been more thrilled. She HAD taught herself, and not only that, she's got the bug. She takes her knitting with her everywhere, she does it before bed instead of reading, and she's starting to search for new patterns to expand her skill-set. I am so PROUD of her, and not only that, I'm also selfishly quite thrilled for me. Knitting has become such a passionate aspect of my identity, and now I have that in common with my Mother: I get to share that with her. We're really different people, so for me? This is huge. Not only that, but she's GOOD at it--these were her first tries, on her OWN, and look how uniform those stitches are!

You won't be surprised that I took her right to the computer and ordered some chunky Malabrigo for her first real scarf. She's received it in the mail, and loves it. Like daughter like mother....;-) I'm proud of you, Mom.

Rustic Bruschetta

The appetizer/snack/light lunch/dinner of champions. I love me some bruschetta! After visiting my parents this weekend, I was lucky enough to come home with some veggies out of their garden, including a lot of tomatoes and basil. Naturally I made some pesto (post to follow), and this evening I made the first of many batches of this versatile italian treat.

The summer after we got married I grew my own tomatoes in our tiny backyard flower bed. While the other veggies I attempted didn't do so well, the tomatoes thrived in the sandy city soil, and we had a ton of them. Over a few weeks I developed (and I think, perfected) a really wonderful, rustic bruschetta recipe that I am happy to share with you here. You'll need:

• 1 large, homegrown heirloom tomato
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced up finely
• about 1 Tbs olive oil
• about 7 large fresh basil leaves
• around a 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
• salt and pepper to taste
• freshly grated parmesean cheese
• ciabatta bread

This recipe serves 2.

Take some ciabatta bread, slice it, and lightly brush it with olive oil or spray lightly with olive oil spray.

Dice the tomato into bite sized pieces. If the tomato is really seedy, then just give it a gentle squeeze over the sink to get rid of most of the seeds and membranes. Placed the diced tomato into a large bowl. Add to that the two cloves of minced garlic. Take your basil leaves and roll them into a log, and make a chiffonade (this is just a fancy word for cutting them into long, thin strips). Add this to the tomato mixture. Next, add your balsamic vinegar. You don't have to use 1/4 cup, that's just an estimate. You want to make sure there's enough vinegar for the tomatoes to marinate. Add the olive oil, and salt and pepper to taste. Mix together, and then allow the mixture to marinate in the fridge for 20 minutes or up to an hour.

Right before you're ready to eat, toast the bread in a toaster oven or under the broiler until golden brown. Spoon the tomato mixture onto the bread with a slotted spoon, allowing the majority of the vinegar/oil mixture to drain back into the bowl. Top with freshly grated parmesean cheese, and serve with your favorite red wine.

This bruschetta is sweet, salty, tart, and savory, all at the same time, which I find really enjoyable. Note: Sometimes if I have some shallots on hand, I'll take one, dice it very finely, and incorporiate it into the mixture. You could do the same with red onions, too. Enjoy!