Glorious Mornings, Guaranteed

When I was in middle school, a restaurant called the Garden Cafe opened up across from my house.  The food was sort of upscale diner.  I don't really remember much about it except that they served breakfast all day and no matter what you ordered it came with your choice of muffin.  Chicken parmesan? Blueberry muffin.  Chop Salad? Bran muffin.  Pancakes? You must like carbs, why not have an apple muffin?

I always favored the Chicken Salad with a Morning Glory muffin.  I think it has been a decade since I had one, so when I was cleaning out the pantry and came across some desiccated raisins, soy flour, and wheat germ, I combined several recipes to create this one.  The soy flour adds protein and the wheat germ adds fiber - both of which help this muffin keep you full until lunchtime.  I used apple butter from last fall's canning, but feel free to substitute applesauce instead!

While the muffins, were cooking, I made a list of the remaining ingredients sitting purposeless in my pantry/refrigerator door/freezer. I'm usually good about only buying things I need that week at the grocery store, so I don't tend to accumulate much, but every six months or so, I try to do a clean out of all the half-empty containers. My happiness project goal was a good excuse, and now we have the next two weeks of dinners set:

Bulgur à loaded tabbouleh with cucumber, tomatoes, and black olives

Rye Flour à pizza with caramelized onion, ham, and swiss (increase proportion of rye)

Ginger Pickle, Chickpea Flour, and Fenugreek Powder à Indian spiced grilled chicken skewers, paranthas, yogurt, and ginger pickle

Chow Mein Noodles and Peanuts à Thai-ish cabbage salad

Rice Paper Wrappers and Sweet Chili Sauce à vegan summer rolls with peanut and sweet chili sauce (I like them with tofu better than seitan)

Homemade Pickles, Buttermilk Ranch Mix, and Panko Breadcrumbs à “fried”pickles with ranch dip

Quinoa and Chia Seeds à energy bars

Green Curry Paste à summer vegetable curry

Buffalo Wing Sauce à buffalo chicken pizza 

Pickled Pepper Rings àroasted cherry tomatoes, toss with basil, goat cheese, and pasta

Chinese Bean Sauce à Chinese beef and asparagus; Chinese black bean chicken wings

Tamarind Concentrate and Peanuts à simple vegetarian pad thai

Morning Glory Muffins
Makes 12

1 cup AP flour
2/3 cup whole wheat flour
1/3 cup soy flour (or more whole wheat flour)
1/4 cup wheat germ (optional)
1 tbsp. cinnamon
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 cup brown sugar
3 eggs
8oz can crushed pineapple in juice, do not drain
1/2 cup apple butter or applesauce
2 tbsp. vegetable oil
1 tbsp. vanilla

4 medium carrots, coarsly grated
1/2 cup raisins
1/2 cup sweetened coconut
1/4 cup chopped walnuts

1. Preheat over to 375 degrees.
2. Mix dry ingredients well.  In a separate bowl (or realistically, in a well in the middle of dry ingredients to avoid having to clean to bowls, mix the wet ingredients.  Stir to combine, the dough will be thick.
3. Fold in carrots, raisins, coconut, and walnuts.
4. Line 12 muffin tins with parchment liners (these are amazing - nothing will stick to them) and fill each liner with a full 1/4 cup of batter.
5. Bake for 18-20 minutes.

Moonpie Kingdom

Geoff's birthday was last week- happy birthday, honey!  We've both been swamped since the beginning of the year and so he wanted to spend his birthday relaxing at home, watching movies.  Quite a few people had recommended Moonrise Kingdom to us so that was up first.  Like most Wes Anderson films, Moonrise Kingdom is self-contained to the point of existing in an entirely different universe, unlike some of the others, it seems a bit like the characters know they are in a Wes Anderson film.  Regardless, it's worth checking out for the beautiful scenery and the charming young characters.

For Geoff's birthday treat, I decided to make "Moonpie Kingdom" peanut-butter moonpies.  For my birthday, I always want chocolate-filled chocolate cake with chocolate frosting, but Geoff likes his chocolate in moderation.  I never had a particular affection for prepackaged moonpies, but the idea - two cookies, filling, and chocolate can't go wrong. Geoff loves peanut butter so I decided to make cake mix peanut butter cookies like my grandfather used to make and fill them with a peanut butter and marshmallow filling.  I had thought of making my own marshmallows  but it was a weeknight and even I have my limits.  The sweetness of the filling needed some contrast so I used a 60% cacoa chip to coat everything.  I think these would be adorable in a mini-size as well.  And, if you are looking to make these even quicker Nilla wafers or mini Nilla wafers would be probably do nicely in place of the cookies.  Just give them some time to let the marshmallow soften then up.

Peanut Butter Moonpie Kingdoms
serves 8

16 New-Fashioned Peanut Butter Cookies
7 oz. Marshmallow Fluff
1/2 cup peanut butter
8 oz dark chocolate
1 tbsp. vegetable oil

1. Make up a half-batch of peanut butter cookies and cool completely.
2. Melt peanut butter in the microwave until flows easily.  Mix with marshmallow fluff.
3. Place a heaping spoonfuls of peanut butter fluff mixture on the bottoms of half of the cookies.  Top with a second cookie and refrigerate at least two hours to over night.
4. Melt dark chocolate with oil in a microwave-safe bowl.  Dip sandwiched cookies to coat.
5. Return moonpies to the refrigerator to allow the chocolate to set up.

Baby, It's Cold Outside

Actually, it's not.  It was 80 degrees in San Antonio today.  But imagine if you lived in say, Fargo, North Dakota. You'd be pretty cold right now and longing for a hearty braise like this one.  Minnesota and North Dakota are both home to a large number of German immigrants and this recipe is an ode to them and the easy meals you need if you are a pregnant chief of police with ruthless murderers to track down.  Bone in pork chops get a quick sear before being braised in hard apple cider with onions, cabbage, and apples.  The sweetness is cut with a heaping tablespoon of mustard and some fresh scallions.  I served it over spaetzel (which I highly recommend), but if you are in a hurry, or drank the other five hard ciders while the pork chops braised, it would be great with a hunk of bread or some roasted potatoes.

I've seen a number of Coen brothers' movies, but never Fargo which is widely regarded as their best film.  The plot is a bit bizarre but it is all of the details that make it great.  The pacing, the characters breaking through the crust of the snow as they try and traverse the landscape, the creepy Paul Bunyan statue, the juxtoposition of those who are content and those who are trying to live beyond their means.  I always enjoy William H. Macy and Steve Buscemi, but this movie reminded me how much I like Frances McDormand who is quietly brilliant in this movie.  I may go ahead and become a Coen brothers' completist.

Braised Pork Chops with Cabbage and Apples
serves 4

4 bone in pork chops (about 3/4 - 1 inch thick)
1 onion, sliced
1 large apple, sliced
1/2 head green cabbage
2 tablespoons canola oil, divided
12 oz. hard cider (I used Harpoon)
1 heaping tbsp. grainy mustard
1/4 c. scallions, sliced on the bias
1 tbsp cornstarch, optional
2 tbsp water, optional

1. Heat 1 tbsp. oil until shimmering, salt pork chops and sear until browned on both sides, but not cooked through.
2. Set pork chops aside and add another tablespoon of oil if needed (my pork chops were very lean) and reduce heat to medium.  Cook onions until medium brown.
3.  Add cabbage and apple and cook until slightly wilted.  A deep fond will have developed in the pan.
4. Turn heat up to high and add half the cider, stirring vigorously to deglaze the pan.  Add remaining cider.
5. Bring to a simmer and reduce heat to low.  Add pork chops back in, partially submerging.
6.  Cover and cook 60-90 minutes.
7.  When pork chops finish cooking, remove gently and stir in in mustard.  If the sauce is too thin, you can thicken with a slurry of cornstarch and water.
8.  Serve topped with scallions.

Bun with Pork Belly

Those of you who are Facebook friends of mine may have heard me mention the little boy who came to our house to trick-or-treat and asked if we were having hot dogs for dinner.  I said yes, rather than try and explain what pork belly is to a four year old.  The inspiration for me to make my own bun (the Vietnamese noodle "salad") came from a dinner we had in California. I mentioned at the time that "I had the bun with char-grilled pork and the pork was basically bacon" and I haven't been able to get it out of my head since.

I bought a 2 pound pork belly (it shrinks a lot when you cook it) from our local heritage pork purveyor.  Fair warning: it comes with the skin on.  Also, some hair.  But this, my friends, is the omnivore's dilemma.  I forged ahead with an overnight brine and braise with Ming Tsai's recipe. After it came out of the oven and it had cooled a bit, I cut off the skin and (are you still with me?) sliced the meat as thinly as possible.  To crisp up the meat and render the remaining fat, I tossed the strips into a hot skillet.

This is more of a salad than you usually get with lots of lettuce, cucumbers, and whatever else you might want.  Whatever you include, you should top it with vermicelli noodles and positively drench it in this fish sauce (nuoc mam cham).  I got this recipe from my brother and it is the perfect balance of sweet, sour, and pungent with a good bit of heat (the way I made it).  You can even use it to pickle some carrots and onions to add some color.  So the verdict?  The bun itself was pretty easy to make, but I'm going to leave pork belly to the pros.

Here's to You, Senora Robinson

Haha.  So that "whole week of Dinner and a Movie" plan didn't go so well.  But I'll get to them!  Next up is The Graduate and a very 1960s meal - fondue!  I've always been a fan of fondue and I had been wanting to try this extremely non-traditional Fondue with Tequila and Chipotles.  I made a few substitutions based on what I had on hand.  I've found that as long as there is cheese and booze, you can improvise however you want with fondue.  Instead of the chipotles, I used fresh roasted Hatch chiles which were at their peak a few weeks ago.  Using white wine seemed strange in this dish so I substituted Lone Star.  It's the national beer of Texas!  I also decided to add some turkey chorizo, but I think that may have been guilding the lily.  I only make fondue about once a year, so I usually go fairly traditional, but I'm glad I took the chance and branched out.  If you have a favorite fondue recipe, please share!

Of course you can't have fondue without dippers!  While picking up a nice crusty loaf at the local baker is certainly an option, I opted to make the pain de campagne - a French country bread - from The Bread Baker's Apprentice.  It's a rustic loaf made mostly of white flour with a small amount of wheat flour for flavor and texture.  It comes together quickly and can be formed into boule for sandwiches or any number of other shapes.  With a bit of steam in the oven, I got a perfect ratio of crust to soft interior.  I formed half of the dough into an epi (wheat stalk) which not only looks fancy but also maximizes the exterior so that each piece has a crusty edge.  For some variety, I also roasted up a head's worth of cauliflower florets to dip in the fondue.

I enjoyed The Graduate mostly for the soundtrack (Simon and Garfunkel were a frequent presence in my childhood) and the casting of Mr. Feeney as the dad.  However, I had trouble keeping myself from seeing the movie other than through my own, modern lens.  I suspect that, in 1967, this was a tale of disaffected youth refusing to strive for their parents' suburban ideals and adults who aren't happy in the lives they built for themselves.  It's Rebel without a Cause, a toned-down Feminine Mystique, a bit of On the Road (like The Graduate's Benjamin, Sal Paradise just needs to get over himself, quit mooching off everyone around him, and find a job).  Perhaps because I've been a curmudgeon since age 18, none of this particularly resonated with me.  Dustin Hoffman, who was 30 playing 21 while looking 45, is funniest in his discomfort at being seduced by an older woman.  But I didn't much care for Benjamin and saw the movie through Elaine's eyes except for why she could possibly be attracted to him.  The moral of Elaine's story seemed to be "you are smart and driven young woman, here's a lazy, morose partner (who slept with your mom) to drag you down."  I would have been happier with the iconic final scene showing Elaine riding off in the back of the bus alone.

Summer's Bounty Salad

I love grilling vegetables in the summertime.  The intense heat of the grill intensifies the flavor and caramelizes the edges to bring out the sweetness.  This composed salad can be made with any combination of summer vegetables you may have on hand or find at the market that week.  I used slabs of eggplant and zucchini cut 1/2" thick, sweet onions, and red bell pepper.  Once grilled over medium heat until tender all the way through, the vegetables were tossed immediately in a red wine vinaigrette.
The warm vegetables are contrast with a cold salad of pear tomatoes, mozzarella pearls, and fresh basil plus salty kalamata olives and caperberries.  Any type of cheese would be nice, especially a fresh goat cheese, and you could substitute whatever types of olives, pickles, or maybe giardiniera you may have on hand.  I included caperberries after seeing them at the deli counter.  The only time I had tried them before was a few years ago at a small Italian restaurant and I remembered really enjoying them.  Caperberries are the fruit that results from the caper bud being allowed to develop; they are bright and briny with a nice crisp texture.  The ones available at Central Market were a little too salty, but a brief soak in water will reduce the saltiness.  If you are a fan of olives, capers, and other briny goodness, they are worth tracking down.

The variety of flavors and textures keeps the salad plenty interesting, but some bread finishes out the meal nicely.  Any type of bread would be good - in fact, this reminds me a lot of plate of assorted breads, cheeses, and marinated vegetables I frequently had for lunch at Wheatfield's bakery in Lawrence.  I made my standard pizza dough and rolled it out into approximately 8 inch rounds which I lightly oiled and grilled.  Once off the heat, I rubbed the flatbread with a cut garlic clove.  Leftover, veggies, and mozzarella make a great panini the next day.  

Red Wine Vinaigrette


2 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp red wine vinegar
2 teaspoon minced fresh oregano
salt and pepper to taste
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper
1/4 tsp garlic powder
salt and pepper to taste


Mix all ingredients together.  Great on salad, vegetables, or even as a marinade.

Rosebud was Her Biscuit

My quest to catch up on some of the most iconic movies of all time has already paid dividends. In the last week, I read an article about the Cold War referencing specific characters in Dr. Strangelove and listened to a episode of my new favorite podcast, NPR's Pop Culture Happy Hour, in which the machinations of Addison DeWitt from All About Eve were discussed. (Although the list is always getting longer, in the past 48 hours, Geoff has asked me "You haven't seen Clockwork Orange, have you?" and "Oh, I guess you haven't seen Demolition Man?" and "You don't recognize the theme from The Natural?").  

Citizen Kane is, according to the American Film Institute, the greatest movie of all time; however, all I knew about it going in was that (do I need to call spoiler alert for a 70 year old movie?) rosebud was his sled.  I had no idea why that mattered or really what the movie was about.  In truth, though the quest to understand the meaning of rosebud is the driving force of the plot, you can know the answer from the beginning without a losing much.  This is evidenced by the fact that that my version of the DVD features a sled with "Rosebud" on the menu screen you have to look at to play the movie.

Overall, I was surprised at how funny it was given that it is a critique of wealthy man (based on William Randolph Hurst) whose money can't buy him happiness.  I'm not much of a cinephile and I don't generally notice things like how a shot is framed, but there were several times where I was taken in by a particularly clever detail that would be innovative even today.  For example, the passage of time is shown not by the (now cliche) changing of the seasons out a window, but by the changing seasonal puzzles one of the characters puts together.  Geoff pointed out that there are a number of other elements that have become commonplace in modern films, but would have been completely novel in 1941.  (Google research indicates that Citizen Kane  was among the first movies to use flashbacks, particularly in conjunction with unreliable narrators and to put the entire depth of field in focus.)   Not to mention that Orson Welles was 25 years old when Citizen Kane came out and had never directed a movie before.  I'm no expert in film (thus the need for this 30 by 30 goal) so I'm not in a position to determine if it is or isn't the greatest film ever made; so all I can say is that I was as entertained by this 70 year old film as anything that came out in 2011.

So I've mentioned in the past the difficulty of picking a meal inspired by a film I've never seen.  However, some early searches suggested that there is a pivotal breakfast scene in the movie.  While a wealthy man in the 1940s would have servants to make his breakfast, busy working people today tend to stop for a breakfast sandwich from a drive-thru.  I decided to take my inspiration from this more modern morning meal - spicy pan-fried chicken on a biscuit.

For four servings, I cut two large breasts in half and brined them in pickle juice with two serrano chopped up, seeds and all.  I left them in the brine for about 8 hours before draining and coating them in flour. To cook, I added a small amount of butter and oil to a cast iron pan over high heat.  Once seared on both sides, I slid the pan into a 400 degree oven alongside a pan of biscuits (PSA: check the expiration date on your baking powder, my biscuits came out flat!).  Both were done in about 12 minutes and ready for a quick dinner.  Pepperjack cheese is a nice addition to kick up the heat even more and a bowl of sweet summer melon to cut the spice.  This was my first experiment using pickle juice as a brine and I wasn't sure what to expect.  The chicken was extremely moist and not particularly pickle-flavored.  It's nice to use up something you would otherwise dump down the drain, but I think a regular brine would work just as well.  Remember, money can't buy happiness, but it can buy breakfast!

Tex-Mex Brunch

Breakfast tacos are to Texas what bagels are to New York - a filling (and often delicious) on the go breakfast, available just about everywhere.  Migas are a lesser-known breakfast staple in these parts, and although they require a plate, are just as quick and delicious.  Ugly but satisfying, migas are a way to use up stale tortillas by scrambling them in salsa and eggs.  You really don't need a recipe to make migas, but here is my version which keeps some tortillas crisp.  You can, as many restaurants do, cover them in a heavy layer of cheese and serve them with refried beans and more tortillas, but you might have to go back to bed after brunch.

Migas

serves 2

1/2 onion, chopped

4 oz. turkey chorizo

4 corn tortillas

4 eggs

1 cup salsa ranchero (recipe here)

1/4 cup chopped cilantro

1/3 cup grated queso fresco (or Monterrey jack)

2 tsp. canola oil

pickled jalapenos, as desired

1. Cut tortillas in half and then into half-inch strips.  Bake at 300 until crisp.

2. Saute onion in oil until just translucent, then add chorizo and cook through.

3. Add 2/3 of the tortilla strips and the salsa to the pan and cook until the tortillas are softened.

4.  Add the eggs and remaining tortilla chips, folding occasionally.

5. Just before the eggs are set, stir in cilantro and cheese.

6. Serve topped with as many pickled jalapenos as desired.

Feeding Friendship: Tex-Mex Lentil Sloppy Joe's

As a child, I loved the taco burger at Taco Tico.  I'm not sure why since it was just lightly seasoned ground beef on a bun.  But love it I did.  That taco burger was certainly not what I was thinking about when I picked lentils as the ingredient for this round.  I think that thought process was something like "huh, I have four bags of different types of lentils in my pantry."

But back to taco burgers.  The taco burger, is really just a sauceless (and therefore sadder) version of the sloppy joe, so I was excited to see Homesick Texan's Tex-Mex Sloppy Joe which takes the oddly sweet sauce of a traditional joe and turns it into a spicy, smoky very adult meal.  I pretty much never buy ground beef, and, while I'm sure that ground bison or turkey would be great here, I decided to take a vegetarian route and replace the ground meat with a combo of brown and red lentils that I had on hand.  This is a brilliant substitution in my mind because it cuts meat out of a meal where really what you care about is the sauce so you don't miss the meat a bit and you get an extra boost of fiber.  These are fork and knife sandwiches, or even open-faced ones.  Don't try to pick these up unless you are looking to ruin your shirt.

Tex-Mex Lentil Sloppy Joe's
serves 4-6
Adapted, broadly from Homesick Texan


1 1/2 cups lentils, any type
1 T canola oil
1 small onion, diced
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 c sliced, pickled jalapenos
15 oz. tomato sauce

2 T ketchup
2 T BBQ sauce
1 T Worchestershire sauce

1 T cumin
1 T hot chili powder
2 tsp oregano
2 tsp salt
2 avocados
1 lime, juice of
1/4 cup cilantro, minced

Hamburger buns

1. Simmer lentils in 4 cups of water until al dente, about 20 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, saute onions in canola oil over medium heat until translucent, add garlic and jalapenos and cook for an additional 3 minutes.
3. Add tomato sauce, ketchup, BBQ sauce, Worcestershire sauce, cumin, chili powder, oregano, and salt.
4. Simmer 10 minutes to thicken.
5. Add lentils and simmer an additional 10 minutes until lentils are tender.
6. While the lentils are simmering in sauce, mash avocados with lime juice, cilantro, and salt to taste.
7. Smear the avocado on the split buns and top with big spoonfuls of the lentils.

Feeding Friendship: Chard, Sweet Potato and Black Bean Pizza

I was so very excited to see that Veronica's pick for this round of Feeding Friendship was pizza.  We've always made homemade pizza fairly frequently (In fact, I made Pizza Bianca with Balsamic Caramelized Onions for a previous round of Feeding Friendship and have shared pictures of my Kale, Pancetta, and Grape Pizza and  Turkey Pepperoni and Black Olive Pizza as part of my Photo365 project) and over the past several months we have settled into a Friday night pizza and Netflix routine.  I am not a cook who has a go-to list of recipes that I make week in and week out.  In fact, the vast majority of recipes I make - even ones I like - never get made again.  Yet, Geoff and I are both happy to have pizza every week - with unlimited topping options, we never get board.

I've tried a number of different crust recipes, sticking with one until I find something better or easier.  I prefer a thinnish crust - not paper thin, mind you - but I still want it to have some flavor.  The best (in my opinion) way to get flavor into pizza dough is a nice long ferment.  You can get your dough to rise quickly with more yeast and a warm environment, but the flavor just isn't as good.  This long rising time seems like a drawback, but actually it means that you can make your dough in the morning before you leave for work, or even the night before.

This recipe is super quick because it is no-knead - just stir, cover, and leave it for 12 hours or so.  It's been my experience that the wetter the the dough, the more of those great bubbles you get in the crust, so I tend to make sure that this dough is on the wet side when mixed together because as the flour absorbs the water, it will tighten up a bit.  It is still pretty loose when I start to work with it, but I just put down a good amount of flour and it's fine.  I like to work directly on a sheet of parchment so that if the dough sticks, it's not a problem - the whole thing goes in the oven and the bottom browns nicely.

The inspiration for this pizza started with a pizza I liked from the local pizza place in State College.  It was a simple combination of just mashed spice black beans and mozzarella cheese that was served with salsa and sour cream on the side for dipping or smearing.  I decided to pile some more stuff on top, because I can.  I like black beans with sweet potatoes and chard as an enchilada filling and I came across a similar combo at Foodie Bride with the addition of goat cheese.  It was a winner!  The dough recipe makes enough for two pizzas and the extra crust can be rolled out, cooked for about 2 minutes and then frozen.  It should be thawed before being topped and cooked.

If you are in the mood for something different, Holly and I made this Easter Egg pizza last weekend featuring garlic oil, cheese, mushroom walls and eggs cooked right on the pizza for the last 3 minutes.  Let me hear your favorite pizza combos in the comments - I'm always looking for new toppings.

Kale, Sweet Potato, and Black Bean Pizza
Serves 4

For the Dough:
2 cups bread flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 tsp. active dry yeast
2 tsp. salt
1 1/2 cups water

For the Pizza:
1 sweet potato, cubed and roasted
1 bunch swiss chard, sliced
4 oz goat cheese
1/2 yellow onion, thinly sliced
1 can Goya black beans in sauce
1 tbsp. olive oil

1.  Ten to 12 hours before dinner, combine all bread dough ingredients in a large bowl.  The dough will be very loose, this is good. Cover with a tea towel and allow to rise at room temperature.
2. Preheat oven to 500 with pizza stone on lowest rack for about 30 minutes before cooking pizza.
3. Cook down and mash black beans until they form a thick paste.
4. Saute onion in olive oil until translucent, then add chard and cook just until slightly wilted.
5. Split the dough in two and roll out with plenty of flour.  Cook each crust about 2 minutes before topping one with the black beans (otherwise you can't spread them easily on the soft dough).
6. Top with chard, sweet potato, and goat cheese.  Bake an additional 8-10 minutes or until bottom crust is brown.  Enjoy!

Indian Grilled Chicken and Okra

Grilling season starts early in South Texas (or perhaps it would be more accurate to say grilling season never stops).  Heating up the oven or even the gas burners on the stove really heats up the entire house, so with temperatures in the upper 80s, it was time to start cooking al fresco.  I love the flavor of yogurt marinaded chicken, so we tried this recipe which yielded extremely juicy legs with nice crispy skin.  The spice flavor isn't very prominent, but I topped it with a quick mint and cilantro chutney I mixed up.

I love the flavor of vegetables charred on the grill, not to mention keeping the kitchen cool and a pan clean.  I had seen a recipe featuring grilled, skewered okra last summer but never had a chance to try it.  As luck would have it, there was some fresh at the market so I sent Geoff out to grill it while basting with a spiced butter.  The only part of the meal that I cooked inside was kheer for desert.  The cold ending to this meal was perfect and completely addictive.

Cilantro-Mint Chutney
Makes about 1 cup


1 bunch cilantro
1 bunch mint
juice of 1 lime
1 clove garlic
2 inches ginger
1-2 tbsp. pickled jalepenos
salt

Blend until smooth with just enough water to keep things moving.

Grilled Okra with Indian Spices
Makes 1 lb


1 lb fresh okra
3 tbsp. butter, melted
1 tsp. cumin
1 tsp. corriander
1/2 tsp. ground ginger
1/2 tsp. salt
pepper, to taste

1. Thread okra onto two bamboo skewers, for stability.
2. Mix butter and all spices.
3. Grill 3-5 minutes on each side, basting with spice mixture.

Quick and Delicious Tortas

This yummy sandwich was inspired by this recipe I saw on Mexico Plate by Plate on PBS.  The recipe gives the option of making these with grilled zucchini (which I will definitely try this summer), but I've been trying to clean out my freezer and had some left-over pork mojo from when I went a little citrus crazy in January.  The tart pork, spicy beans, and creamy avocado make an awesome torta.  For the beans, I like to use Goya's black bean soup, mashed and cooked down with some extra hot sauce or chiles.  While that is cooking, mash up some avocados with lime and cilantro.  Pile whatever you want in between the black beans and avocado and you'll be pretty happy.  If you are looking for a quick side dish (and have some fresh corn on hand or some in the freezer), corn browned in a super hot skillet with butter and chili powder is done as quick as you can make the torta.

Tortas
serves 3-4


1 baguette
1-15 oz can Goya black bean soup
2 cups shredded pork in mojo sauce
1 avocado
juice of 1/2 a lime
1/3 cup chopped cilantro
Hot sauce, to taste

1. Lightly mash black beans and cook down until thick.  Add hot sauce to taste.
2. Mix avocado with lime juice and salt to taste.  Stir in cilantro.
3. Split baguette and dig most of the bread out.
4. Smear black beans along one side and avocado along the other.
5. Layer in the meat or grilled vegetables.
6. If you bread isn't fresh, you may want to press the sandwich in a cast iron skillet.

Feeding Friendship: Mussels Steamed in Beer

Sometimes when the feeding friendship ingredient is revealed, I spend a day or two thinking about what I want to make and researching options on the internet.  But more often than not, an idea comes to me right away and I just go with it, for better or for worse.  My local grocery store has been hawking their mussels for the past several weeks and each week I've stopped, admired, and then walked away.  This week, they came home with me.

This recipe is a riff on Moules à la Marinière, a classically French dish of mussels steamed in white wine with butter and shallots. I've substituted a wheat beer for the wine - I love the unfiltered wheat from Kansas City's Boulevard Brewery which is getting much broader distribution than it was a few years ago.  Mussels, like most shellfish, will get chewy when overcooked so I start pulling them as soon as they open, usually within three minutes on the heat.  Overcooked mussels are like checking on erasers.  So keep an eye on them and remove each as it is perfectly cooked.

Your mussels come with their own sauce which they will let loose into the pan to mingle with the beer you use to coax them open.  This is a pretty tasty mixture, but I couldn't leave well enough alone.  Once all the mussels were out of the pan, I added a few heaping tablespoons of stone-ground mustard and thyme.  When the sauce had reduced by about half, I stirred in some half-and-half and parsley.  Voila!

Along side the mussels, I served a spring mix salad with mustard vinaigrette and slices of pumpernickel bread which married nicely with the mustard-cream sauce.  Bread (or fries) are a must with mussels to soak up all the saucy goodness.  Geoff thinks this version is even better than it's wine-based cousin, and I think I have to agree.

Mussels Steamed in Beer with Mustard, Garlic and Thyme
serves 2, generously


2 lbs. mussels
6 oz. wheat beer, I like Boulevard Unfiltered Wheat
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tbsp. fresh thyme
3 tbsp. half and half
1 heaping tbsp. stone-ground mustard
2 tbsp. parsley, minced
1 tbsp. butter

1.  Clean mussels, remove beards, and discard any mussels that are open or cracked.
2.  In a very large pot, melt butter and cook garlic until just starting to color
3.  Add beer and bring to a simmer over medium.
4.  Add mussels, cover pot, and let the mussels.  Steam for about 3-5 minutes or until the mussels open.
5.  Remove mussels and split into two large bowls.  Discard any mussels that don't open.
6.  Add half and half (or heavy cream, use what you have on hand) to the liquid in the pot and simmer for 5 minutes to reduce.
7.  Stir in parsley and pour over mussels.

Bibimbap (or the best fried rice you'll ever have)

I had never heard of bibimbap until a friend mentioned it on Facebook.  A few days later, I came across a version in my Cooking Light magazine.  It seemed like the universe was telling me to make it.  My internet research revealed that bibimbap is literally "mixed rice" in Korean and the ingredients vary.  It's essentially a deconstructed fried rice.  What really set this apart was the last of my pickled carrots and daikon from when I made banh mi and the runny yolk of the sunny-side up eggs, otherwise, use whatever you have left over in your fridge.  

If you don't have pickled vegetables (and really, why would you), you can pickle them quickly while you cook the rest of the ingredients.  Cooking each ingredient separately is a bit tedious, but can easily be done in the time it takes for the rice to cook.  I've never had bibimbap in a restaurant, but evidently you can get it in a heated rock bowl that makes the bottom layer of rice crispy and the whole thing hot enough that the raw egg can simply be cooked right on top.  I don't have a bowl carved from the very earth itself, so I simulated the results by frying the rice in a bit of oil and cooking the eggs sunny-side up.  It was the best fried rice I've ever had!

Bibimbap
Serves 2


1 cup long grain rice
8 oz firm tofu
2 tbsp. ginger, minced
2 tbsp. garlic, minced
1/3 cup pickled vegetables
1/4 cup green onions
8 oz crimini mushrooms, sliced
6 cups kale, roughly chopped
4 eggs
3 tbsp. sesame oil
Sriracha, to taste 

1. Cook rice according to package directions.
2. Cook tofu, mushrooms, and kale individually with 2 tsp. of oil and 2 tsp each garlic and ginger. Season with soy sauce.
3. Fry cooked rice in 1 tbsp. of sesame oil and divide between serving dishes.  Assemble all toppings.
4. Cook four eggs sunny-side up until whites are just barely set and set on top of the rice.  Serve immediately.

Rogan Josh Chicken

I had never heard of Rogan Josh spice blends until I stumbled across it at Penzey's.  It smelled so good that I brought it home without much plan for what to do with it.  It has an intensely rich flavor with a subtle heat that would be great for those who enjoy the taste of Indian food but have no tolerance for heat.  (tangent - I'm not sure about this, but I think that northern Indian food tends to be milder and this is a spice blend from that region.)  Based on the label, it is a combination of paprika, garlic, ginger, cumin, coriander, black pepper, cayenne pepper, Korintje cassia cinnamon, cardamom, cloves and saffron.

I had planned to use this spice blend on goat, but I slept through the farmer's market so I substituted four chicken thighs.  After browning the chicken in a bit of oil, I sauteed an onion before adding 4 tablespoons of spice mix.  As soon as the spices smelled fragrant, I added 28 oz of crushed, roasted tomatoes (I wanted lots of sauce), 1/2 cup of yogurt, and a pinch more cayenne pepper.  I returned the chicken to the pan and let it simmer for about 20 minutes while I turned my attention to the roasted brussels sprouts.  I don't know that brussels sprouts are a particularly Indian vegetable, but I love them and they are going out of season,.  I just heated about a tablespoon of oil in a very hot cast iron skillet then tossed in some black mustard seeds and then seared the quartered brussels sprouts.

All that sauce from the chicken was soaked up with a variation on this naan with 1/3 whole what flour.  Instead of eggs and milk, I substituted a heaping 1/4 cup of yogurt and mixed in both minced fresh garlic and  cilantro.  I suppose I didn't really make that naan at all, did I?  Oh well, it was good and got nice and toasty baked on the pizza stone in a 500 degree oven.  Make lots.

Dosas and Sambar (after a six month wait)

This recipe has been a very long time coming.  About 6 months ago, my friend Geetha took me to Pavani Express and introduced me to dosas - crispy rice and lentil based crepes filled with various curries.  I was in love and we went back several times before Geetha mentioned that she could teach me to make them.  Yes, please!  It took many attempts to find a weekend that we were free to meet and then when we finally made the dosas, I forgot my camera.  No loss, though, it just meant that I "had" to make them again at home.

The biggest challenge with dosas are remembering to start the batter a day before to give it a chance to ferment (think of it like sourdough bread).  The end result has an oddly grassy smell that I found to be quite nice.  The dosa batter does require a somewhat unusual ingredient - urad gota - which seems to be a type of lentil, but it was cheap and easy to find at our local Indian market.  While there, you may want to pick up some dried or fresh curry leaves (Geetha shared some of her special stash with me!).  Everything else you will need should be available at a well-stocked grocery store.

Along with the dosas, it's nice to serve some sambar (lentil soup) which is quick to make - especially if you add in frozen, mixed veggies.  Start the lentils simmering while you make the filling for the dosas.  I had some sweet potatoes and cauliflower on hand so I substituted those in for the potatoes that are commonly found in the filling.  Lastly, you should make the peanut and spicy tomato chutnies.  I know this seems like a lot, but they are completely worth it and everything except cooking the dosas can be made the night before and reheated.  Once the filling and lentil soup are ready, it's time to make the dosas.  

It may take a few tries to get the dosas right, but we had lots of extra batter, so don't sweat it. My favorite tip from Geetha was to use the end of a potato to lightly oil the nonstick pan.  Get the pan over medium-high heat and pour on about 1/3 of a cup of batter.  Use the back of a measuring cup to make it as thin as possible without creating large holes.  You only cook the pancake on one side, so once it starts to get brown along the edges, smear on spicy tomato chutney.  Place a dollop of filling in the middle and fold over the edges.  Straight out of the pan, the dosas are amazingly crispy, but they start to get soft within minutes so go ahead and eat them right away as you are cooking more.  And you will want a lot of them.

These recipes are my adaptation of the notes that I took from Geetha.  I hope they work for you, but if they don't, it's totally my fault, not hers.  Her dosas are crazy-good.

Lentil Soup (Sambar)
Serves 4-6

1 c. dried lentils
14 oz. can diced tomatoes
1.5 c. mixed frozen vegetables
1/2 tsp turmeric
1 tsp salt
5 curry leaves
1 tsp. mustard seeds
1 tsp. cumin seeds
2 tbsp. sambar powder OR a combination of cayenne, coriander, and garam masala
1 tbsp. oil

1. Cook all spices in oil.
2. Add lentils, tomatoes, and 3 cups of water until lentils are tender (30-60 minutes).
3. Add veggies and salt, simmer until veggies are tender.

Peanut Chutney
Serves 4-6


1 cup peanuts
2-3 dried red chiles
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 bunch cilantro
juice of 1 lemon
2 tbsp coconut (optional)
heavy pinch of salt (if peanuts aren't salted)

1. Toast peanuts in a dry skillet until browned.
2. Combine all ingredients in a blender with enough water to form a thick paste.
3. I include a bit of coconut in my version because it tastes to me like that is how Pavani Express does it.  Geetha doesn't include it in her dip.


Spicy Chutney
Serves 4-6

1 tbsp oil
2 onions, chopped
1/2 tomato
2 cloves garlic
3 red chiles
cayenne pepper, to taste
salt, to taste

1. Cook onions, garlic, and chiles in oil until onions are translucent.
2. Blend all ingredients with just enough water to form a thin paste.  Add cayenne pepper until it is as hot as you can stand.  Remember that this is a condiment and will be distributed thinly on the dosa.

Dosas
Serves 10+


3 cups long grain rice
1 cup urad daal
1 tsp fenugreek seeds
1/2 cup cooked rice
1 tsp. salt

1. At least 24 hours before making dosas: Soak rice and urad daal for 12 hours in cold water.
2. That evening, grind soaked rice, daal, cooked rice, and fenugreek seeds with enough water to make a pancake-like batter.  Let sit 12 hours at room temperature before adding salt and making dosas.  If you aren't making them right away, the batter can sit in the refrigerator for a few days, but be aware it will become slightly more sour as it continues to (slowly) ferment.


Dosa Filling
Serves 8-10

1/2 head of cauliflower
2 small sweet potatoes
1 onion, diced
4 dried hot peppers, chopped
1 tsp mustard seeds
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tbsp. garlic, minced
2 tbsp. ginger, minced
5 curry leaves
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
2 tsp. cayenne
4 tsp. corriander
1 tbsp. garam masala
1/2 bunch cilantro, minced
salt, to taste

All of these amounts should be adjusted to your taste.  Geetha just eyeballs it, so I did too.

1. Steam cauliflower and sweet potatoes, cut into small bite-sized pieces.
2. Fry mustard and cumin seeds in about 2 tbsp. oil.  Add onion, garlic, and ginger.  Cook about 3 minutes or until onion is translucent.
3. Add curry leaves, cauliflower, and sweet potatoes.
4. .Add remaining spices and 1/2 cup of water.  Cook until water evaporates.
5. Remove from heat and stir in cilantro.


This was an epic post, but well worth it.  I'm so in love with dosas.  Discovering new foods makes me feel like a kid again!

Happy Pi(e) Day!

 Happy Pi Day, Everyone!  In honor of Pi Day (3.14), I baked Impossible Pie from my grandmother's cookbook.  Since I can't share a slice with you, here is a video of Lawrence's Alferd Packer String Band performing "Pi", which features my favorite line "I sent my son to college, they told him pi r squared.  I told him pie are round, those twits, cornbread are square."

Now, make no mistake, this isn't the pretty pie that should be the focal point of your Thanksgiving dessert spread.  However, if you are a fan of coconut and pecans, but not a fan of making pie crust, then this is the pie for you.  The whole pie comes together in about 10 minutes, then there is a long (50 minute) wait while it bakes.  The "impossible" part of the pie is that it forms it's own crust on the bottom  - although mine was more of a thick skin than a true crust.  The very high egg to flour ratio creates a coconut-custard layer topped by the toasty pecans.  Luckily, grandma was visiting this weekend to tell me that the very runny consistency of the batter and the slight wiggle of the center when it came out of the oven were to be expected and the pie ended up rich and creamy instead of overcooked.

It's very good the way it is, but I can't help but wonder what would happen if you added chocolate chips and more pecans to the mixture and baked it in a pie shell.  I suspect that the chocolate chips would sink to the bottom making yet another delicious layer to the pie.  If anyone gives it a try, let me know how it goes.

Impossible Pie
Makes 2 9" pies


4 eggs, beaten
1 3/4 c. sugar
1/4 tsp. salt
1 1/4 c. coconut
2 c. milk
4 tbsp. butter, melted
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1/2 c. flour
1 c. pecan pieces

1. Mix together all ingredients.
2. Pour in pie plate.
3. Bake 50 minutes at 350 degrees.