Peas Pilau, Cucumber Salad, and Naan

This is one of our favorite meals and from the feedback I think everyone else really enjoyed it too! My sister got me Cooking with my Indian mother-in-law for my birthday (yay!) so the library will finally get its copy back. Really one of the best cookbooks I've ever used. I feel like every meal I've made from it is really good restaurant quality. Plus it's been a bit of a cooking course with fun pastes and spice mixes.

Peas pilau

I tripled this recipe to make sure there would be leftovers too. I'm including the recipes with my modifications (e.g. brown rice, no chilies, potatoes with skins, etc...)

2 c. brown rice

5 cloves garlic

1 1/2 in ginger

2 1/2 tsp salt

1 1/2 tsp cumin seeds

4 in cinnamon stick, broken into 2 pieces

6 cardamoms

4 cloves

8 peppercorns

3 tbsp oil

1/2 onion, quartered and thinly sliced

4 sm potatoes, cut into 2 in dice

1/3 can of diced tomatoes

1/2 tsp turmeric

2 c frozen peas

4 eggs, boiled for 6 minutes and shelled

Wash the rice in several changes of water, then soak in warm water for at least an hour. Use a mortar and pestle to pound the garlic, ginger, and salt into a paste and set aside. Put the cumin seeds, cinnamon sticks, cardamom pods, cloves, and peppercorns in a glass filled with water and soak for 5 minutes.

Heat the oil in a large stock pot and fry the onion over medium heat, stirring frequently, until it begins to turn golden brown. This step takes longer than you think especially if you are using non-stick pans - so make sure and keep at it for at least 10 minutes. Drain the soaking spices (reserve the liquid and add to water you'll be using in a few steps) and add them to the onion. Cook for a few minutes and, when aromatic, add the garlic-ginger paste. Stir well, reduce the heat and cook gently for 1 minute. Add the potatoes, tomatoes, and turmeric and bring up to simmering point. Cook over medium heat until the oil pools around the sides of the pan. Add the 3 cups of water (including the reserved liquid) and the frozen peas, and bring to a boil.

Drain and add the rice, stir and bring back to simmering point. Cover and cook for 5 minutes before reducing the heat to low to cook the rice slowly, for at least 30 minutes, without stirring. Then gently tuck the eggs into the rice and continue cooking with the lid on until the rice is just cooked. Don't stir the rice yet, but watch the water level - take a spoon and gently part a little of the rice from the side of the pan to allow you to peek down at the bottom. If the water has been absorbed before the rice is cooked, add more boiling water (say half a cupful at a time) and continue cooking and checking the water until the rice is just cooked.

For Sunday before Thanksgiving

We are still working on Monday but we have a plan for Sunday...
Tofu a la Bourguigonne on a bed of quinoa and spinach (recipe from allrecipes.com)
Beet salad with almonds and chives (also from allrecipes.com)

Halloween Dinner

Deviled eggs
Eggs
Smoky paprika
smoky salt
mustard
water
bit of olive oil
bit of lemon


Brussel Sprouts with pecan and cranberry pesto

(written for four)

1.5 lbs brussel sprouts
3 T olive oil
3/4 t salt
.5 t pepper
1/4 c pesto (see below)

pesto:
1/2 c almonds, toasted
1/2 c dried cranberries
3 cloves roasted garlic
parsley
1/2 c olive oil
(and I add garlic chives)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Cut and trim brussel sprouts.
Toss with oil.
Roast in oven 25 min on baking sheet. Interior should be fork-tender and there is a bit of browning.

Make pesto, adding oil through the mayo spot in the processor slowly. Toss with brussel sprouts.




Lemony Quinoa
3/4 c pecans, toasted
1 c. quinoa
2 c water
salt
1/4 c lemon juice
2 stalks celery, chopped
1/4 sweet or red onion, chopped
bit of cayenne, cumin
parsley

Cook and cool quinoa water and salt. Add rest and serve.


Apple Betty
4 c. sliced apples
1/4 c orange juice
3/4 c flour
1 c sugar
1/2 t cinnamon
1/4 t nutmeg
pinch salt
1/2 c butter

Preheat to 375. Grease 9 inch pie plate. Mound apples in plate. Sprinkle with OJ. In bowl, mix dry ingredients. Cut in butter until it reaches "course crumbs." Scatter over apples. Bake 45 min.

Recipes! Vinaigrette and Lentil Soup

Basic Vinaigrette Dressing (stolen from Mark Bittman)

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
3 tablespoons or more good wine vinegar
salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 large shallot, cut into chunks

1. Combine all ingredients except the shallot in a blender and turn it on; a creamy emulsion will form within 30 seconds. Taste and add vinegar a teaspoon at a time until it tastes balanced to you. (I actually had to add more olive oil - I guess our white wine vinegar was too strong.)
2. Add the shallot and pulse the blender on and off a few times until the shallot is minced. Taste, adjust the seasonings if necessary, and serve.

I added about a 1/4 cup of chopped parsley to the dressing. He also suggested adding basil, dill, rosemary, tarragon, or thyme.

This dressing will keep, refrigerated, for a few days. Just bring it to room temperature and whisk it before serving.

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Lentil Minestrone (from Deborah Madison's Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone)

2 tbsp olive oil, plus extra virgin oil to finish
2 cups finely chopped onion
2 tbsp tomato paste
1/4 cup chopped parsley
4 chopped garlic cloves
3 diced carrots
1 cup diced celery or celery root
salt and freshly milled pepper
1 cup French green lentils, sorted and rinsed
aromatics - 2 bay leaves, 8 parsley branches, 6 thyme sprigs
9 cups water or basic vegetable stock
mushroom soy sauce to taste
1 bunch greens - mustard, broccoli rabe, chard, or spinach
2 cups cooked small pasta, like shells or orecchiette
thin shavings of parmesan-reggiano

Heat the oil in a wide soup pot with the onion. Saute over high heat, stirring frequently, until lightly browned, about 10 minutes. Add the tomate paste, parsley, garlic, vegetables, and 2 teaspoons salt and cook 3 minutes more. Add the lentils, aromatics, and water and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer, partially covered, for 30 minutes. Taste for salt and season with pepper. If it needs more depth, add mushroom soy sauce to taste, staring with 1 tablespoon. Remove the aromatics.

Boil the greens in salted water until they're tender and bright green, then chop them coarsely. Just before serving, add the greens and pasta to the soup and heat through. Serve with EVOO drizzled into each bowl, a generous grind of pepper, and the parmesan.

I heart Deborah Madison. I've loved everything we've tried from her book - she's my hero!

Chickenless Dumplings, Salad, and Fruit

Chickenless Dumplings

This was a Martha Stewart recipe I've been looking at for years and finally decided to modify and try. I think it was one of my best co-op meals to date...hope you enjoyed. I made it again for Chris's birthday and now I'm finally posting because my sister has been asking for the recipe. I can't believe how much like chicken soup this tastes to me - especially the next day. I need to keep batches of this in the freezer since it's all I want when I'm sick...or cold.

1 package Quorn chik'n tenders

4 medium carrots

1 medium onion, thinly sliced into half moons

2 celery stalks, cut into 1/4 in pieces

1 garlic clove, minced

1 bay leaf

1 1/2 c. low-sodium stock

1 tsp coarsely chopped fresh thyme

1/4 c plus 2 tbsp yellow cornmeal

3/4 c all-purpose flour

1 tsp baking powder

2 tsp finely chopped shallot

1 tbsp freshly grated lemon zest

3/4 c finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

2 tbsp finely grated pecorino

1 1/2 tbsp cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

1/2 c. low-fat milk

Bring 2 quarts of water, carrots, onion, celery, garlic, bay leaf, stock and 1/8 tsp salt to boil in a medium pot. Reduce heat to medium-low; simmer 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, whisk together cornmeal, flour, baking powder, 1/2 tsp salt, shallot, zest, parsley, and cheese in a medium bowl. Add butter, and blend in with fingertips until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Add milk, and stir with a for, until a dough forms.

Roll dough into 1-inch balls; add all at once to simmering broth. Cover; simmer, undisturbed, until the dumplings are cooked through, about 20 minutes.

While dumplings are cooking, cook Quorn in a pan with a little olive oil over medium-high heat. Add salt and pepper. Once Quorn is lightly browned and heated through, add to the broth.

Okra Curry, Dal, Brown Rice

Here's another few recipes from the best Indian cookbook I've ever used - Cooking with my Indian mother-in-law. It was back at the library on my last trip and I was so excited to get to borrow it again. I feel like I'm taking a cooking course when I use this book - great descriptions and good pictures walk you through different steps.

Curry Okra

This was local organic okra from Greenling - so delicious!

12 oz okra

1/2 tsp mustard seeds

1/2 tsp cumin seeds

Large pinch of fenugreek seeds

1/2 tsp asafoetida

1 tsp dhana jiru (recipe below)

1/2 tsp chili powder

1/2 tsp turmeric

3 cloves garlic, crushed with 1/2 tsp salt

Wash the okra pods and dry. Top and tail and cut into 1/2 in thick rounds.

Heat the oil gently in a wide pan (one with a lid). Add mustard, cumin, and fenugreek seeds. After 20 sec, add the asafoetida and increase the heat slightly. When the seeds start to pop, add the okra pieces and toss them in the spiced oil until thoroughly coated.

Reduce the heat to low and add the dhana jiru, chili powder and turmeric, and stir gently. Cover with a lid and cook gently, stirring from time to time, taking care no to break up the pieces. The juices from the okra will run out - keep cooking until they evaporate and the okra is quite soft. The curry should be quite dry. Add the garlic paste and stir well. Cook for a couple of minutes, then serve.

Dhana Jiru

I used a 2:3 ratio of cumin seeds to coriander seeds.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and bake seeds on a cookie sheet for 5 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool completely. I ground them with a mortar and pestle.

Dal

The recipe calls for yellow and red lentils. I had a bunch of bags with a just a few lentils - so my version had yellow, red, brown, and green lentils. Alas, the conversions in the recipe book were wrong on the amount of water so the spices ended up being diluted. I think it turned out pretty well...but it could have been even better! I've tried to correct the amounts in the recipe below.

1 cup moong dal (yellow split mung beans wtihout the skin)

4 tbsp masoor dal (red split lentils)

4 green chilis

1 fat garlic clove

1 inch ginger

1 1/2 tsp salt

2 tomatoes, skinned and chopped

1 tsp oil

1/2 tsp mustard seeds

1 small onion, diced

1/2 tbsp butter

1/2 tsp dhana jiru (see recipe above)

1/4 tsp turmeric

1/2 tbsp finely chopped cilantro stems

Lemon juice to taste

1/2 tbsp roughly chopped cilantro leaves

Wash dal in several changes of water until water is clear. Drain and put them in a pot with 5 cups of water. Bring to a boil without the lid. Skim off any scum that rises to the surface of the water. Reduce the heat to a simmer and cook the dal for 20 minutes or until it is soft and has broken down completely.

While the dal cooks, make the masala (spice mixture). Top and tail 2 of the green chilies, cut into short lengths and use a mortar and pestle to crush them with the garlic, ginger, and salt. Add the tomatoes and pound the mixture to combine.

Heat the oil in a separate pan, add the mustard seeds and onion and fry until pale gold (cook for at least 10 minutes - onions should start to break down). Add the butter and, when melted, add the dhana jiru and turmeric. Cook the spices for a few seconds, then add the tomato mixture and the coriander stems. Increase the heat and simmer the masala until the tomatoes break down and oil pools around the sides of the pan. Set aside.

When the dal is cooked, take a whisk (I used an immersion blender) and beat the mixture to make it as smooth as possible. then add it to the cooked masala with the remaining 2 chilies (left whole). Bring the mixture to a boil and simmer for 10 minutes. Add more water if necessary - it should have the consistency of thin soup.

Taste the mixture, adding more salt and some lemon juice to sharpen the flavor as you like. Scatter the cilantro and serve.

Baked brown rice

I am loving this recipe - best rice ever!

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/baked-brown-rice-recipe/index.html

Total cost = $26 for 4 families

Lentil Salad, Tabbouleh, and Saffron Rice

Warm Lentil Salad with Goat Cheese

This is a long time family favorite from Martha Stewart. It's so quick, flavorful, and low in fat. Usually it includes a bell pepper - but dang since they are on the dirty dozen I keep substituting celery for bell peppers. I can't afford $4-5/organic bell peppers for co-op meals.

3/4 c. green lentils

EVOO

2 shallots, thinly sliced

1 carrot, diced

1 stalk of celery, diced

1/2 bunch of flat-leaf parsley, diced

2 tbsp balsamic vinegar

6 oz spinach, coarsely chopped

4 oz goat cheese

Bring a medium saucepan of water to a boil. Add lentils, and simmer, stirring occasionally, until tender, about 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, heat small amount of EVOO in pan. Add shallots, and cook stirring occasionally until they begin to soften, about 2 minutes. Add carrot and celery, continue to cook, stirring occasionally until the veggies are tender, about 5 minutes more. Stir in parsley, vinegar, and a little EVOO. Transfer to a large bowl.

Drain lentils, and add to bowl with veggies. Stir in spinach, and season with S&P. Crumble goat cheese into bowl, and toss gently to combine.

Tabbouleh

Another low-fat family favorite from Martha Stewart.

1 c. bulghur wheat

4 plum tomatoes, finely chopped with juice

2 bunches parsely, finely chopped

4 scallions, finely chopped

1/4 c. fresh lemon juice

3/4 tsp coarse salt

EVOO

I buy the bulk organic whole wheat bulghur wheat from Central Market and follow the preparation instructions that print out on the label.

Add tomatoes with juice, parsley, and scallions to the prepared bulghur wheat. Add lemon juice, salt, a little EVOO, and S&P.

Saffron Rice

I lost the instructions to my rice cooker and haven't been able to cook brown rice properly since. Then I came across Alton Brown's baked brown rice recipe. I've never been a fan...but this is a great recipe that makes perfect rice every time. I added veggie bouillon cubes and pinches of ground saffron to the rice too.

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/baked-brown-rice-recipe/index.html

Total cost for 4 families = $36.00 (I did a food tree this week...finally. I've been in arrears.)