Curry Love

Posted on September 18, 2010 by admin

I guess I’ve been on a curry sort of kick. I love curries. In my early twenties I worked for a few months in an Indian restaurant in Wellington, NZ. Every Friday night, a night off, my friend and I would go out to dinner. I always wanted to eat curries. I guess it was being around them the rest of the week, smelling them, seeing them but often not tasting them that intensified my desire. Living in Wellington, the capital of NZ, allowed me to try curries from all over, not just India. I’d have Thai, Cambodian, Japanese, Malaysian, Vietnamese curries. Growing up on the East Coast of the US I didn’t even know there were other curries besides Indian or Thai until I lived in Wellington. I love the spices that are in Asian curries and thanks to the Silk Road also in many North African and Middle Eastern dishes.

I am passing on this love of curries to my kids. They might not be eating Vindaloo yet, but if I keep the heat down, they really like it.

I didn’t use a recipe for this lamb curry I made the other night, I figured out the ratios since I’d been using so many similar spices in other dishes. My mother came over for dinner and she also loves curries and lamb (she’s a Kiwi by birth), so it was a win-win all round!

Lamb and Chickpea Curry

1 med onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp turmeric
1 1/2 tsp ground cumin
1 1/2 tsp garam masala (Punjabi)
1/4 tsp cayenne (adjust for heat)
1 pound lamb shoulder or other stew cut, boned, trimmed of excess fat, cut into bite sized pieces
3 large tomatoes or skinned
10 small or 4 large potatoes, cubed (I used many tiny just harvested potatoes)
1 can chickpeas
1/2 cup stock
salt and pepper to taste
olive oil

Sauté onions then garlic in olive oil over med-high heat. Add spices and stir for a couple of minutes. Make a well in middle and add lamb. (I also threw in the bones that I couldn’t get all the meat off, as it eventually fell off in cooking.) Turn so all sides are browned and cook for an additional 2 minutes. Add tomatoes and stock, stir couple of times, cover cook for 20 minutes. Add potatoes, chickpeas, salt and pepper. Cover and cook for 20-25 minutes until potatoes are soft. Serve over basmati or jasmine rice. You could put lentils instead of chickpeas and add a green veggie— spinach would be nice.

We all loved it. Even my middle son. And believe it or not, he didn’t even complain when I put it on the table! My youngest wanted more meat, so I kept giving him some of mine.

It’s a great dish for ease of clean up since there’s only one pan and maybe another for rice.

Spiced Chickpeas and Potatoes

Posted on September 11, 2010 by admin

I had been to Costco a few days earlier and they were sampling sous-vide (vacuum packed) chickpeas with Middle Eastern/Indian spices. I looked at the ingredients and had decided I could cook something like it at a fraction of the price. That was what I had planned for the night I invited a good friend and her daughters over for an impromptu play date.

We could sit on the back deck enjoying some wine while the kids played on the swings and in the yard. They’ve known each other since my eldest was 8 months old; her eldest daughter is only 3 days older than him. They’re like family only without the bickering. They hadn’t intended on staying for dinner, but we were all having a wonderful time together that the time just flew and why put an end to a good thing? I had set out some nuts and snacks for everyone early on and I also had my friend try the amazing pork dish my husband made the night before (will try to blog about soon), which her youngest daughter ended up devouring. The evening had progressed and I realized my plans to cook dinner had been delayed enough to have to throw in a couple of Mystic pizzas because the kids were starving by this point. My original plan needed at least 35 minutes from start to finish and it was already past 6:30 but that didn’t stop me from proceeding to cook the chickpeas.

I found two recipes that I melded, adapted and tweaked for my dish. One was from Big Girls, Small Kitchen Moroccan Chickpeas and the other form Molly Watson on About.com Potatoes with Chickpeas.

Chickpeas with Potatoes

olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
1-2 cloves garlic, minced
3 med potatoes, diced into cm pieces
1 1/2 tsp ground cumin
1 1/2 tsp ground turmeric
1 tsp ground coriander
1/2 tsp ground ginger (1 tsp fresh is great too!)
1/4 tsp cayenne
2 cans chickpeas
1 cup chicken or vegetable stock
1 cup tomatoes, peeled, seeded and crushed
salt and pepper to taste
Approximately 1 cup water added as needed
juice 1/2 lemon

Since we were so tight on time, I tried a different method for the potatoes. First I sautéed in olive oil the onions and garlic then I added the potatoes. Every time they started to stick to the bottom of the pan I would add some water (just enough so they were no longer sticking) stirring the whole time; almost similar to cooking risotto. After 10 minutes or so the potatoes were soft enough, I made a well at the bottom of the pan and added the spices, stirring often. Then I added the chickpeas, tomatoes, stock, salt and pepper. I cooked for a few minutes then added the lemon juice and served over rice.

My girlfriend and I both loved it; nicely spiced and filling. My eldest was the only kid wanting to try it that night and he loved it. I served it again last night as a side dish to all three— my eldest kept having huge spoonfuls before I had gotten it on their plates! My middle son who said he “liked it but it was too spicy.” My youngest didn’t try it— yet. I am definitely adding this to my vegetarian (without the chicken stock) repertoire.

Chicken, Andouille and White Bean Stew

Posted on September 4, 2010 by admin

Wish I had more time— to write among other things! I tried writing this post last night near midnight after I had just finished filling out paperwork for my 6 year-old’s new school. One thing I loathe when they get back to school is all the papers that come home— flyers and notices. Last year all three were in the same school and I’d get everything in triplicate. Now a different school along with the original, different schedules (not even on the same holiday schedule which will be tricky!), different lunch programs (it’s tough navigating that without dealing with two different providers) and I’m sure more papers coming home. It takes up so much time— time to fill out, time to sort, time to throw away.

I was too tired to write last night and then today, when I finally got the chance, I got consumed by news of the earthquake in New Zealand where I have many loved ones. I am putting off laundry yet again to write… for those wondering how I find the time!

Last night I created a new recipe based upon a Southern or Creole-style dish. I would have loved to have made gumbo but didn’t have any okra or filé so it wouldn’t have been authentic. (Funny I got introduced to and fell in love with gumbo while working in Wellington, NZ) And I didn’t want to overdo it with spices for my kids by serving red rice… so I went with plain white rice.

I used organic free range boneless chicken thighs that I cut into smaller pieces. This is a great way to stretch out your budget and reduce your cooking time. I used chicken Andouille sausage which I like because it means less “meat” in our diet but you can use the more traditional made from pork. Most of my vegetables and herbs were from our CSA and the organic white beans were canned. It was a pleasant moment when I sat down to eat and watch the children dig in with such gusto. My middle son asked if it was “chili” I replied that it was “chicken and sausage chili”. They all loved it but my 6 year-old said it was a little spicy for him— that was mostly the Andouille. I think it took me about 20 minutes of prep and active cooking and another 10-15 of simmering. So, at least I found the time to do this.

Chicken, Andouille and White Bean Stew

3-4 chicken thighs, skinned and boned, cut into 2 inch pieces
2 Andouille sausage links, sliced into 1/2 inch pieces
1 can Cannellini (white kidney) beans
3-4 tomatoes, peeled (or one can) and crushed
1 med onion, diced
1 lg or 2 sm celery stalk, diced
1 sweet green pepper, diced
1 sweet red pepper, diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp chili powder
1 cup chicken stock
1 Tbsp basil, chopped
1 Tbsp parsley, chopped
1 Tbsp olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

Brown chicken and set aside. Heat olive oil in pan and sauté onions and celery until clear. Add garlic and peppers and cook until soft. Add paprika and chili powder stirring for one minute. Add tomatoes, chicken stock, chicken, sausage, beans and herbs. Cook for another 5 minutes stirring occasionally. Cover and reduce heat to low and simmer for 15-20 minutes. Serve over rice.

As I mentioned, it was delicious and the boys gave it thumbs up but with a bit of extra milk and water drinking to counter the heat. I ate some leftovers for lunch today— even better which is often the case with tomato-based foods.

Gallery

Posted on September 2, 2010 by admin

This gallery contains 3 photos.

One of my favorite summer salads. Heirloom Tomatoes with 25 year old balsamic vinegar, olive oil, sea salt, ground pepper, freshly picked basil. We have this so often but I never get tired of it. The kids will sometimes eat it, … Continue reading →

What to do with all these tomatoes!

Posted on August 21, 2010 by admin

When my left over uncooked tuna wasn’t smelling fresh I had to come up with another last minute dinner plan. I was going to cook an Indian Tomato Sauce recipe I saw in Mark Bittman’s, How to Cook Everything, but realized I didn’t have 2 key ingredients. Yikes, the dinner hour was fast approaching and I still was unsure of what to cook. I had so many ideas but too little time and not always all the ingredients. But what I did have was an overabundance of tomatoes (in different colors and sizes) so I knew I wanted to do something with them. Since I had so many, I thought I could prep some for cooking before they get bad, so I removed the skins and seeds then crushed them.

An easy way of removing tomato skins is to blanch them for a minute in boiling water. First slit the skin then pop into the water. Remove and place in ice bath. Once cool enough to handle, take a paring knife and peel the skin off… it’ll come right off. You’re not cooking the tomatoes, just softening the skin so it peels off like paper. After cutting out the center core around where the stem base meets the tomato, I put them in a sieve and removed the meat; letting the juices drip into a bowl beneath. I push remaining juice/pulp through the sieve with a spatula and put all the meat into the bowl with juices. Now you can finish with a potato masher or an immersion blender to crush or purée the tomatoes, I used a masher.

Finally after much contemplation I decided on a pasta with tomatoes, chickpeas and beet greens. I had steamed the beet greens a couple of days ahead because they were starting to wilt and I didn’t want to miss their peak freshness. I did this with kale and bok choy too. Just steam or boil and cool immediately when just done. Put in fridge and when you’re ready for dinner, this can come out of the fridge, plopped into a pan and reheated with desired seasoning. You can freeze vegetables this way too.

Pasta with Tomatoes, Chickpeas and Beet Greens

1 can chickpeas (or equivalent)
1 bunch of beet greens
3-4 tomatoes- peeled, seeded and chopped or crushed
1 shallot- chopped
2 garlic cloves- minced
Handful of fresh basil- chopped
Handful of fresh parsley- chopped
Olive oil

Prepare pasta according to directions. Prep beet greens— clean, remove stems, cut into 1 inch wide strips and either steam or keep raw. Sauté garlic and shallot in olive oil. Mix in crushed tomatoes, chickpeas and beet greens. If the beet greens are raw, cover and steam for a couple of minutes. Add herbs. Cook for 5 minutes. Mix together with pasta. Salt and Pepper to taste. Add parmesan cheese if you wish.

I used farfalle (bowtie pasta) that my youngest picked out at the supermarket. On the side I gave them corn on the cob. This can be taken off the cob and put into pasta as well.

I wasn’t sure how they’d like it. My 3 year old didn’t want to eat the chickpeas even though he loves hummus and I explained that’s what it’s made from. The middle son whined and said he wasn’t going to eat it but proceeded to eat it anyway. My 8 year old loved it.

If you notice that’s sort of the pattern with our family. It shows that persevering will give the intended results (not all of the time, but usually). Keep giving it to them even when they complain or say they won’t eat it. Have them try it and eventually the may eat it and love it too!

Braised Chicken with Tomatoes, Zucchini and Mushrooms

Posted on August 19, 2010 by admin

Thankfully I write this in Word first. Tumblr didn’t actually post my entire post with photos and all!

Continuing on a cheap dinner theme, I bought 4 Springer Mountain chicken thighs on sale for under $3. They aren’t perfect, but fairly good chickens- no antibiotics and humanely treated. I wish they were outside getting greens and bugs, like I said, they aren’t perfect.

Anyway, I decided on a dreary summer day that stewing or braising the chicken in a tomato based sauce would be perfect. My youngest had picked out wagon wheel-shaped pasta, so I thought this would go well with it. Since I still had some ratatouille left I knew it would go great with the chicken, but how to have it so all the kids would eat it… I added only about 1/2 cup full toward the end. It added a wonderful subtle smokiness to the dish. So, also using a CSA zucchini I’d forgotten that I had put in the fruit drawer since I had no more room elsewhere in my fridge and mushrooms I bought, I made a wonderful meal that everyone loved. And since all of this was made in one pot (besides boiling the pasta), it was an easy clean-up.

Chicken Zucchini and Mushrooms

4 Chicken thighs (I used with skin & bones on)

1 large (or 2 small) zucchini- sliced

1 cup shiitake and crimini mushrooms- destemmed and sliced

2 cloves garlic, chopped

1 shallot (or 1/2 white/yellow onion), minced

1/3 cup white wine

1 tsp chicken base (Knorr Roasted Chicken Base)

1/4 cup water

2 cups chopped tomatoes

2 Tbsp fresh thyme- chopped

1 Tbsp parsley- chopped

olive oil

salt and pepper

Optional: I added 1/2 cup of grilled vegetable ratatouille that I had left over.

Heat olive oil in hot pan, brown the chicken (seasoned with salt and pepper) skin side down first for about 4-5 minutes each side. Set aside. Pour off excess fat. Sauté shallot, garlic and mushrooms (if necessary add a little more olive oil) over medium high heat and set aside when done (not brown). Keep stove on med-high and pour wine into pan and let boil off for a minute. Scrape sides of pan to get chicken bits and then add chicken base and water. Stir well. Add chopped tomatoes, herbs, shallots and garlic. Add chicken so that skin side is down, cover with sauce and salt and pepper to taste. Cover pan and reduce heat. Let simmer for 30 minutes, giving it an occasional stir. Add zucchini and mushrooms (and ratatouille if you have it) Cover. Simmer another 10-15 minutes. You can either take chicken off the bones or leave whole.

Serve with pasta or rice. We took ours off the bones (since there were 4 pieces but 5 people) and also added the pasta to the pan.

This can be done with various different vegetables and without mushrooms. It’s very delicious the next day too! My middle son whined so long that he didn’t want it. I even tried to record him… he loved it and finished it without fuss.

They all did!

Summer (Grilled) Ratatouille

Posted on August 14, 2010 by admin

One of my favorite movie scenes is from Ratatouille when the hardened hard-to-please food critic tastes Remy the rat’s ratatouille and the scene quickly shifts to him as a young boy coming home upset and his mama putting a plate of ratatouille in front of him. I love how it shows how a taste brought him back in time to a fond memory. Food smells and tastes can have a strong effect upon us and seemingly transport us in time.

I love ratatouille (the vegetable medley) and first learnt how to cook it from a James Beard cookbook my mother had owned. I used to add mushrooms though. Maybe that’s where my youngest gets his mushroom genes from. It was these thoughts running through my head as I attempted a different way of cooking ratatouille.

To me ratatouille is a fall dish. A cold evening warm-you-up dish. But, eggplant, zucchini, tomatoes, peppers are in season right now. Seemed like the perfect time to make it. Since it’s summer, I thought grilling the vegetables made better sense. I was planning to grill some chicken anyway. I found this recipe I liked by Emeril Lagasse and only changed it a little to accommodate what I had in the fridge or garden. This recipe is time consuming, so beware.

Grilled Vegetable Ratatouille

2 Eggplants- peeled and cut into lengthwise ½ inch pieces. Sprinkle with salt and let stand in bowl for 20 minutes.
2 Zucchinis- cut lengthwise into ½ inch thick strips
2-3 Squash- (don’t advise you to use crook neck like I had, unless you peel it as it’s skin was too tough) cut lengthwise into ½ inch thick strips
2 large ripe tomatoes- cubed
2 bell peppers (I used green and purple, but any color is good)
Red onion- peeled and cut onion into ½ inch rings (yellow onion would work too)
Basil- large handful, chopped
Parsley- handful, chopped
Hungarian hot peppers- cut top and take out seeds and white ribs
4 garlic cloves- peeled
Olive oil
1-2 Tbsp Balsamic vinegar
Sea salt & fresh ground pepper

Coat the garlic with olive oil and roast in foil boats on grill until soft. Coat each vegetable (not tomatoes) with olive oil, salt and pepper and grill, turning several times, until soft. Peel the bell peppers (if you put over flame to blister outside then pop it in a paper bag, the skin comes off easier). Once vegetables are cooked cut into ½ inch pieces. Crush garlic and toss with tomatoes and all the vegetables (except Hungarian hot peppers). Add herbs. Drizzle a little vinegar over vegetable mix and separate into two bowls. In one bowl add the chopped Hungarian hot pepper. This way you can control the heat factor for the kids. Mine like some hot things (wasabi, chili) but not all. The grilled pepper sweetens and loses some of its heat when it’s grilled, but not enough for all my little ones’ palates.

I served it with a grilled half chicken (coated in olive oil, s&p, chopped sage and rosemary). Since the bones were still on the chicken it took at least 30 minutes. I kind of lost track of time with refereeing kids’ squabbles and the ratatouille making. I also made some just-picked Swiss chard about which my 3 year old declared “I love it!”.

The ratatouille was deemed “delicious” by my 8 year old. When I asked my 6 year old if he liked it he humorously responded “red” by which I eventually understood to mean “no”. My 3 year old refused to try it. Since he had seconds of Swiss chard, I didn’t make him taste it. It was still on his plate and one day, he might even say it was “delicious“ and remember the dish fondly as an adult. Until then he will get served a small amount and soon will be made to try just one bite. No dessert for any of them since they didn’t finish— it’s my way of ensuring the healthier foods get eaten: eventually.

BTW, I served a soft tortilla and some ate it whole but my eldest made the chicken, brown rice and Swiss chard into a burrito; which my middle son soon followed suit. It’s a great trick to make food fun.

Summer Pasta Salad

Posted on August 7, 2010 by admin

Corn, zucchini, basil, tomatoes, peppers… it’s August! The garden is bursting, the CSA bin is brimming, the stores and farmstands are overflowing —it’s the season ‘round here. What to cook/pack when you have parties or picnics, camp or beachside lunches? A pasta salad that is not only healthy, but tastes great.

Cook corn in oven, on grill or in boiling water as you would normally. Here we boiled it for 5 minutes then bathed in ice water to stop the cooking. Then cut corn off cob. Also cut the stem-end off the zucchini and boiled it with the corn. (It takes  the same amount of time amount of time, but with end cut off you can check its doneness by just looking at how done it appears.) Once it was done, also dunk into ice bath. Cut in half lengthwise then into smaller pieces.

Cut up orange bell pepper and tomatoes (without seeds). Both of these are raw.

I have noticed that (some of) my kids prefer certain vegetables raw and other veggies cooked. Peppers raw/mushrooms cooked; tomatoes raw/zucchini cooked; carrots raw/broccoli cooked… it can depend on the child(ren) so remember when you’re preparing something like this to try and get it to their preference so they’re more likely to eat it! By not overcooking you retain more nutrients and sometimes by adding fat can make it easier to convert those nutrients in the body. Don’t avoid all fats.

Mix veggies with cooked fusilli, penne or farfalle pasta (these are all great in pasta salad) and pesto sauce. If you don’t want to make your own, buy some fresh.

Make sure you season with sea salt and pepper if needed. Chill or serve just room temp.

Most all kids love pasta. My kids love this salad because of the pasta, crunchiness of the corn and peppers, the colors and the fresh flavors.

Best laid plans… or no plans

Posted on June 3, 2010 by admin

I wanted to go to bed but I also knew my sons want some toast in the morning. All three love a slice of toast or bagel before they have the rest of their breakfast (eggs, oatmeal, cereal). We ran out of bagels and toasting bread and I had picked up fresh eggs, rhubarb and milk from one farm and our shared harvest (CSA) from another but forgot about bread. I just searched online for the bread recipe (wish I’d had more time to do the no-knead one that Mark Bittman featured in the NY Times recently). Since I am not a huge baker, my yeast might be a little old because the dough didn’t rise. Ugh. So, I put the dough in a preheated to 100F convection oven for twenty minutes. That didn’t work. Next I took 2 different yeasts I had and tested them with some water and sugar. Both bubbled and rose. So I added more of it with some more flour. I want it to rise once, punch it then go to bed. Boy do I want to punch it. It’s rising now at least.

So not every dinner works out as planned. Or I mean not every dinner is enjoyed as much as I would wish. Tonight I made a pasta because with chaperoning a field trip, driving over 2 towns for pick-ups and drop-offs, and making it back after 5 pm I just didn’t have dinner planned. So I thought I’d use some of the spinach, parsley and garlic scapes in my CSA bin (the center of the young garlic shoot- great grilled). I sautéed a chopped scape in olive oil, added two chopped plum tomatoes, chopped parsley, sea salt and pepper. Tossed the pasta with them and added steamed spinach and some Trader Joe’s party meatballs. I thought it was great. The kids thought the spinach was too bitter and mostly just ate the pasta and meatballs. Oh well. Not every meal can be a success. At least we ate together, talked about the day and I tried to get them to eat all their veggies. In the end I warmed up some of last night’s peas just so they got some more greens without me having to spend more time in the kitchen…. before bedtime.

My Kids Really Eat This

getting kids to eat well in the real world

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