Scurry

In West Texas, spring has sprung: the weather is doing that back and forth thing, but most days are lovely; the trees and bushes, including the red buds, are starting to peek out; and my stomach is yearning for something besides winter foods. But, there is still a chill in the air in the evenings, so I also want something warming. What to do?

Vegetable curry! There are a million curries in the naked city, but this one is simple, delicious and straddles the seasons well by combining root vegetables with those skinny little green beans that are so very yummy. And the gravy? It's tomato-based, simmered with ginger, garlic, pepper and spices and married to a healthy dose of (light) coconut milk for a creamy finish perfect with rice or sopped up with some naan. Leftovers? You'll have a few to see you through a couple of lunches for the week. Plus, this recipe is easily adapted to whatever veggies you like or have on hand. Enjoy.

Recipe: Delicious Vegetable Currrrrry

2 tablespoons canola oil
1 small onion, finely diced
2 tablespoons finely minced fresh ginger
1 jalapeno, seeded and cut into thin strips
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 1/2 teaspoon turmeric
1 1/2 tsp cumin
1 1/2 tsp coriander
1/2 tsp chili powder
1, 16 oz can petite diced tomatoes with juice
1, 16 oz can tomato purée
1, 16 oz can garbanzo bean, drained and well rinsed
One 14-ounce can light coconut milk
3 carrots, peeled, trimmed and cut into 1-inch pieces
1 pound sweet potatoes, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1/2 pound small green beans, cut into thirds
Salt and pepper to taste
Cilantro for garnish
Brown rice for serving


In a large, dutch oven, heat the oil. Add the onion and cook for five minutes, until it begins to soften. Add the ginger, jalapeno and garlic and cook over moderate heat until softened, about another five minutes. Add the spices cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant; about two minutes

Add the tomatoes and tomato puree and cook for five minutes, until the tomatoes begin to soften. Add the coconut milk, season with salt and pepper and bring to a simmer.

Add the carrots and sweet potatoes, cover loosely and simmer for about 20 minutes. Add the green beans and garbanzo beans, cover and simmer until all the vegetables are tender, about 10-15 minutes longer. Taste and adjust the season. Serve with brown rice and garnish with cilantro.

Six servings.

Curry Favor

Recipe: Coconut Curried Squash 
Vegetable oil 
1 small onion, finely diced
2 cloves garlic, finely minced 
1 tbsp fresh minced ginger 
2 tsp. curry powder 
1 1/3 cup of coconut milk 
2 small delicate squash, 
1 acorn squash or other medium squash; roasted or cooked and diced into bite-sized pieces 
1 16 oz can of garbanzo beans, drained and well rinsed 
1 cup frozen peas 
Salt and pepper to taste 

In a large saucepan, heat the oil and onion and cook until it turns translucent, about five to seven minutes. Add the garlic and ginger, stirring and cooking until it is fragrant, about one minute. Add the curry powder and cook for one minute longer. Stir in the coconut milk, squash and garbanzo beans and simmer over low until the sauce is thickened. Stir in the peas and continue to cook until they are warmed. Season with salt and pepper; taste and adjust seasoning. Serve warm with rice or other accompaniments. 

Serves four as a side dish; two as a main.

Recipe: Indian BBQ Tofu
Vegetable oil
1 medium onion, finely diced
3 garlic cloves, minced
3 tablespoons fresh ginger, minced
1 1/3 cup ketchup
1/3 cup distilled white vinegar
1/3 cup unsulphured molasses
Pinch of sugar
3 tablespoons whole-grain mustard
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground coriander
2 teaspoons garam masala
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 16 oz blocks of extra firm tofu

In a large saucepan, heat three tablespoons of oil. Add the onion and cook over moderate heat until translucent, 4 minutes. Add the garlic and ginger and cook until fragrant. Add the ketchup, vinegar, molasses, sugar, mustard, cinnamon, ground coriander and cayenne and simmer over low heat, stirring, until it's reduced and thickened; about five minutes. Stir in the garam masala and season with salt and black pepper.

Meanwhile, drain and pat dry the tofu. If you are not using an dry, extra firm variety, it may be necessary to press some of the moisture from each block. Slice each block width-wise into twelve pieces.

Place some of the sauce in a medium sized casserole. Dredge each piece of tofu in the sauce and layer into the casserole, topping each layer with a little more sauce. After all of the tofu is in the dish, add some additional sauce to the top and make sure it is all well covered. Cover and chill overnight.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. On a jelly roll pan coated in aluminum foil, layout the tofu. Use a pastry brush or spoon to make sure the pieces have a good coating of the sauce. Bake for twenty minutes, then flip the slices, apply additional sauce and bake for an additional twenty minutes. Serve warm with rice, naan or other Indian dishes and additional sauce reheated and spread over the top. 

Makes four servings.

Lunches

You know you are making something good when your SO walks in the door and says, in an excited voice, "is that smell coming from my apartment?" I 'went to India' tonight and made both a chickpea masala and a saag tofu. The masala was spicy and delicious, but the saag needs a little work. I guess I would like it to be a little creamier, perhaps pureed just a bit? Anyways, plenty left over and packaged up for lunch this week.

Recipes forthcoming once I have them tweaked just a bit.

Are you at all curious about what taco I'll make this week?

Recipe: Barb's Chutney Dip

Monday, I had a little lunch for the Swope staff and it was quite a fun and relaxing afternoon. I prepared a meal of Indian flavors (not necessarily food), but a comforting and yummy lunch including my favorite curried cauliflower soup, a salad with lime-tamarind dressing and Barb-a-licious' famous chutney dip. I had to make Barb's dip because it's something she often serves for parties and I always enjoy. It's great on a cracker and perfect on a celery stick! Some olives, breadsticks and pickled okra; appetizers are done.

Recipe: Barb's Chutney Dip

Barb usually uses an apple chutney which is delicious. I used a mango chutney, but not a super spicy one. Whatever you usually enjoy will be perfect.

8 oz. cream cheese

½ cup chutney

1-2 tsp. fresh lemon juice

½ tsp each of curry, cumin & coriander (the three Cs!)

Combine all of the ingredients in a food processor and process until smooth and combined. Transfer to the serving dish of your choice; cover and chill for a couple of hours or overnight. Mangez!

Thanks Barb!

Recipe: Mango Lassi

I love to drink mango lassis when I go out for Indian food. They have a wonderful cooling affect after what is usually a spicy meal. Plus, its one of the only Indian sweets I like, most of which are usually too sweet or strange for my palate. But what is hard about making a lassi? It's basically the original smoothie and simple to make at home.

We have been eating a lot of vegetable curries at home lately. I made a lentil curry with sweet potatoes and cauliflower a couple of evenings ago and what could be a better accompaniment than a mango lassi?

A sweet treat that's pretty good for you: honey for you sinuses; yogurt for your tummy; and fruit full of vitamins. Enjoy!

Recipe: Mango Lassi
3 cups diced mango, fresh or frozen (1 12 oz bag)
3 cups plain low-fat yogurt
3/4 cup milk
3/4 cup water
6 tbsp honey

Combine all of the ingredients in a blender. You may have to do this is two portions depending on what will fit into carafe. Process until smooth and creamy.

Udupi Cafe

I went to Indy on Saturday to see the exhibition Radical Lace and Subversive Knitting and run some errands in the city--including lunch! After driving around and around an old shopping center, I finally got out of my car and found Udupi Cafe down a scary hall, tucked behind several stores. Luckily, the smell emanating from the restaurant was enticing, because the dirty hall was very discouraging.

Udupi Cafe serves south Indian vegetarian cuisine and at lunch has a pretty full buffet. I enjoyed the rasam and a pumpkin dal. The biryani was wonderful, slightly sweet but with a surprising and serious kick. They also do made-to-order dosas as part of the lunch service, served warm and crispy and filled with delicious potato masala studded with little seeds for a crunchy burst of flavor. Everything I sampled was very good and I'll definitely be back on subsequent visits to Indy.

Holiday 2007 Rehash

This year, we did the tour of the 'ahs' for the holidays--Wichit-ah, Omah-ah and Tuls-ah. Here are some dining highlights from the long, long....LONG (but fun) trip.

Wichit-ah
In Wichita, we saw lots of friends. It was a super-fast visit, but we squeezed every bit of friend-time in we could. Sorry if I missed you this visit, but you're top of the list next time I'm in town! Wednesday night we went to N&J Bakery which is one of the best Lebanese restaurants in the city--and there are many. I think they have the tastiest fattoush salads in Wichita, crisp and perfectly seasoned. Barb was planning on having a few people over on the following night and ordered their hummus, homemade pita and pistachio cookies. I love the pistachio cookies, but more on that later.

When we got back to Barb's, we kept her company as she began some of the prep for her Thursday night menu. One of the sweet treats was 'crispy crackers' which involves baking club crackers that have been topped with nuts and a buttery caramel. They are like crack, once you start you are hooked. Barb and I are carefully watching them in the over as they bake.

Thursday morning, Mitchell and I had breakfast at the Beacon Restaurant with an old friend from work and his new bride. The Beacon is the greasy spoon of all greasy spoons. It's located right next to the newspaper office (Which used to be the Eagle-Beacon back in the day) and is decorated with a lighthouse theme. Many of the very artistic items are for sale. If you eat meat and find yourself 'dining' at the Beacon, be sure and order the Beacon Traditional which is an open-face, lightly toasted English muffin topped with 2 eggs cooked to order, your choice of bacon or ham, and cheese melted over the top.

Thursday night at Barb's was fun and we got to hang out with many of our Wichita friends. I even got to have Molly sit in my lap, which is something I really miss being so far away from her. Barb made tons of delicious treats and served her wonderful mulled wine, but I think everyone enjoyed the pumpkin biscuits more than anything else. They're a classic and even better served with the maple pumpkin sauce which Barb had never tried before. Make them, but don't even think about serving them without the sauce!

Recipe: Barb's Pumpkin Biscuits with Pumpkin Maple Sauce
Biscuits 2 ½ cups all-purpose baking mix (like Bisquick) 1/3 cup instant non fat dry milk ¼ cup packed brown sugar 1 ¼ teaspoon pumpkin pie spice ¾ cup 100% pure pumpkin 1 tablespoon water

Sauce
1 cup maple syrup 1 cup 100% pure pumpkin ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon

• Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
• Combine baking mix, dry milk, sugar and pumpkin pie spice in medium bowl. Stir in pumpkin and water until just moistened.
• Knead 10 times on lightly floured surface.
• Roll dough to ½ inch thickness; cut into 12 biscuits.
• Place biscuits on ungreased baking sheet about 2 inches apart.
• Bake for 8-10 minutes or until golden brown.
• Heat syrup, pumpkin and cinnamon in a small saucepan until warm.
• Spoon sauce over warm biscuits.

Of course, no visit to Wichita would be complete without a trip to the Nifty Nut House. They have all of my favorites, so I stocked up. Plus, it's always fun to be there during the holidays because there is so much electricity in the air. People are crazy for nuts! I bought:

• Double-dipped chocolate covered peanuts (the size of gum balls)
  
• Dark-chocolate covered pistachios
• Bridge Mix (with fruits)
• Yogurt-covered pretzel Christmas trees. (I swear their's are the best!)
  

Omah-ah
Old Town Omaha is filled with lots of great shops and restaurants, and we were sure to hit several of our favorites. We stayed at the Magnolia Hotel (which is in a converted office building and very nice if you're looking for a place to stay in Omaha) and it was easy walking to breakfast or dinner. Plus, the Magnolia has a complimentary continental breakfast, cocktails in the evening and a milk and cookie bar at night. Not kidding. Milk and cookie bar.

Zio's pizza is always a special treat and by the slice. You can order whatever toppings you wish and they're happy to oblige with piping hot slices right to your table. We had broccoli and onion (I won't apologize. I love broccoli on pizza.) and tomato and spinach. They have so many topping choices it will boggle your mind.

Even though we live right smack dab in the epicenter of Indian culture in Austin, TX, that doesn't keep us from ordering it when we're out of town. The Indian Oven, also in Old Town, serves all of your favorite Indian treats and has a great wine list to boot. Cold night? Fresh curries and a glass of wine will warm you right up.

Reader, are you eating your lunch at your desk while you catch up on my blog? Are you using a plastic spoon? I thought so! Do you know how it's made? Well a visit to the Omaha Children's Museum will cure you of that ignorance. Push a single button and moments later, a fresh plastic spoon emerges from the injection machine. Like magic.

Sammy and Jakalee (two and three respectively) were more interested in the car and the balls and the millions of other things you can do at the Museum.

Of course, I had to stop and pay me respects to Quan Yin while I was in Omaha. Driving down the Sorrenson Parkway, you just kind of come across her, perched on a hill and surveying the white, snowy world. The gate was locked, but I hopped it easily and trudged up the snow-covered steps to the top. I guess there were rabbits nesting behind because when I reached the top they ran quickly away in that breathy, panicked rabbit sort of way. I left Quan Yin an offering of four pistachio cookies that Barb had sent us away with, piled at the base of her feet. I didn't stay long because I thought since the gate was locked, some angry Buddhists might come after me from the temple in the distance. I spent the rest of the day with the Smith's song Stop Me if You've Heard This One Before running through my head. "And the pain was enough to make a shy, bald Buddhist reflect and plan a mass murder."

Tuls-ah

In Tulsa we ate and gorged ourselves on Christmas fare at the parents, including our traditional dinner of fried chicken. It's a long story, but tasty nonetheless. We still found time to join Paula, Brennan and Loren for a little pizza at the Hideaway. Probably the best pizza in Oklahoma, the Hideaway is a Stillwater/OSU tradition, but we don't hold that against them. Good pizza is good pizza!