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>I’m Goin’ C-c-c-Curry Crazay!

17 Mar

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Today I learned how to use a rice cooker. My life is now infinitely easier.

Today I made curry for 60 people without using a recipe, I just chopped, sauteed, poured, and stirred. Somehow everything turned out great.

I made it in a pot THIS big:


Now that the sun stays out later, I can take pretty pictures of my Tuesday night co-op dinners in nice daylight. I can enjoy a nice meal outside on the beautiful porch with beautiful people and the most amazing view of the Bay Area.


So back to curry. I have eaten many types of curry in my day, however I still feel pretty clueless about all the different kinds and what they each entail. There is Thai curry, Indian curry, red curry, yellow curry, green curry…and all have specific names that I have trouble remembering and pronouncing (maybe Mexican mole sauce falls into this “curry-like” category?).

From my experience, curries are usually stew-like, thick yet liquidy and eaten with rice or some form of bread. There is a variety of spices and flavors used.

The curry that I made today was spiced with fresh ginger and garlic, tumeric, cumin, coriander, cayenne, curry powder, and cinnamon sticks. All of these spices gave the curry a nice yellow/orange color.

I threw in a TON of vegetables: sweet potatoes, onions, bok choy, bell peppers, broccoli, cauliflower, roasted Kabocha squash, scallions…I also threw in garbanzo beans and fried up some tofu and tempeh to add to the mix. The liquid was a combination of coconut milk, tomato sauce, water, vegetable broth, and lemon juice.

Simmering, steamy, sumptuous:


With a little (or in my case, large) dab of yogurt sauce (plain yogurt, garlic, lemon juice, dill, scallions…), I am ready to dig in! Feast your eyes on this:


To wash it all down, my cooking assistant David made some freakin’ chai-licious chai tea drinks. Well done, David.

In my opinion, this curry felt really hearty but very “light” at the same time. I did not use cream or butter (ok fine I did still use some oil and coconut milk…), and the curry is mostly made of vegetables. I love all the different textures and colors, and I love that this can be made for just a few or for a bazillion people. It is also nice because once all of the vegetables are prepped, the curry just simmers and there is no need to exert a lot of physical energy to cook it. Carrying the HUGE pot to the table is the hardest part.


Here is a rough recipe for the curry (you can subsitute any vegetables/fruits that you like and you can also add meat if you choose). Honestly, I just threw in a pinch of this and a squeeze of that…after cooking such large batches of food for so many meals, I feel fairly confident when I do not use exact measurements. The palm of my hand is a sufficient measuring device.

C-c-c-Crazay Curry

adapted from my own recipe for impromptu curry

Ingredients:

Onion, sliced thinly

Spice mixture: tumeric, curry powder, cumin, coriander, cayenne, cinnamon sticks

Garlic, minced

Fresh Ginger, peeled and grated (use a microplane or hand-held grater)

Roughly chopped vegetable assortment: potatoes (yams and sweet potatoes are great, too!), bell peppers, bok choy, celery, cauliflower, eggplant…

Coconut milk

Tomato sauce or diced tomatoes in puree

Vegetable broth (or water)

Tempeh or tofu (or both), cut into cubes

Garbanzo beans

Lime zest and juice

Cilantro or other fresh herb of choice

Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Sautee the onions and spices in oil. Cover the onions and let them “sweat” aka until the onions start to soften and become fragrant (about 5-8 minutes). Add the garlic and ginger and cook for 1 minute more.

2. Stir and add the peppers and potatoes.

3. Add the coconut milk, tomato sauce, and veggie broth.

4. Add water if it gets too thick. Just eyeball it, no need for exact measurements.

5. Let everything simmer for a while until the potatoes are tender (may take about 20 minutes).

6. While the curry is simmering, heat pan with a thin layer of canola oil until super hot. Add the tempeh and tofu and fry on each side until golden. Add this to the simmering curry.

7. Add the garbanzo beans to the curry.

8. Taste and add some lime/lemon juice, zest, and cilantro or scallions.

9. Remove cinnamon sticks.

10. Enjoy over rice or with naan bread!

Yogurt Sauce

Ingredients

2 cups plain yogurt
2-3 garlic cloves, minced
1 Tablespoon lemon juice
Scallions, sliced thinly into coins
Fresh dill
if in season: cucumbers

Combine everything into a bowl and serve with curry and rice/naan.


>Yay for Vegemetables!

11 Mar

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Yay for Vegemetables! The spring season is almost upon us! This means peas and favas and fennel oh my! This means asparagus and rhubarb, strawberries and pineapple, and ma ma ma mango!


It’s almost spring. It’s time to lighten up. It’s time to soak up some sunshine and frolick in the park and wear hats and flowy dresses. Polka dots and flowers and bright colors and patterns. Frisbee and baseball and dachshund derbies!

It’s mating season–for the squirrels, for the birds, and well, for us humans.

All I want to do is sip on mimosas and dance in the streets and have someone whisper sweet nothings in my ear.

When I think of spring, I think light. I think fresh smells. I think of color. And this is exactly what I think about when I want a nice spring meal. Something not too heavy (simple simple simple), something fragrant and filled with fresh herbs and flavors (fresh basil, chives, rosemary…), and something bright green and red and orange and white.


And now I present you with two beautiful spring recipes highlighting the essence of simple, fresh, and, well…springy!

Barefoot Contessa’s Back to Basics has a great recipe for roasted vegetables–fennel, fingerling potatoes, thin French green beans, and asparagus. You just need a splash of oil, a sprinkle of salt and pepper, and a few dashes of Parmesan. Done. Perfect. Gorgeous. TASTY TOWN!

Next I have for you a lovely galette, a free-form tartlette. Filled with the last of the sweet winter squash and spiked with the fresh hint of green spring basil and purple shallots. I’m licking my lips. My tummy is thanking me.


So, let’s get cookin’:


Oven-Roasted Vegetables a la Barefoot Contessa

serves 6

2 small fennel bulbs, tops removed
1 pound fingerling or small potatoes
1/3 cup good olive oil
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 pound French string beans (haricot verts), trimmed
1 bunch thin asparagus, ends removed, cut diagonally into 3-inch pieces (I just left mine whole)
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese (omit if making this for vegans)

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Cut the fennel bulbs into 6 wedges each, cutting through the core to keep the wedges intact. Place on a sheet pan. Cut the potatoes in half lengthwise and place them on the pan with 2 teaspoons salt and 1 teaspoon pepper. Toss with your hands.

Roast the vegetables for 25-30 minutes, until potatoes are tender, tossing once while cooking. Toss the string beans and asparagus with the roasted vegetables and roast for another 10-15 minutes, until the green vegetables are tender. Sprinkle on the Parmesan cheese and roast for another minute or two until the cheese melts.

Sprinkle with salt and pepper and serve hot.

and now…

BUTTERNUT SQUASH GALETTE
Adapted From Doable and Delicious
Originally From Gourmet Magazine February 2009

For the dough:
1 1/4 cups all purpose flour

1 stick cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2 inch cubes (I used Earth Balance spread to make this vegan)

1 tbsp fresh basil leaves, cut into a chiffonade

1/2 tsp sea salt

4 tbsp ice cold water

Dough: Pulse flour, butter, basil, and sea salt in a food processor until mixture resembles coarse meal. Drizzle ice water evenly over mixture and pulse until it just forms a ball. Do not overwork dough or pastry will be tough. Gently press dough into a 5 inch disk and chill, wrapped in plastic warp, until firm, at least 1 hour.

For the filling:
2 lb butternut squash, peeled, seeded and cut into 2 x 1/4 inch slices

1/2 tsp sea salt

3 tbsp olive oil, divided

A few shallots, sliced thinly

6 ounces soft mild goat cheese, crumbled (omit if making this tart vegan)

extra:
1 egg, lightly beaten (omit if making this vegan)

more fresh basil, chiffonaded, for garnish

Preheat oven to 500 with rack in the middle.

Toss squash with sea salt and 1 tbsp oil and arrange in 1 layer in a shallow baking pan or cookie sheet. Roast, stirring once halfway through roasting, until golden brown on edges and undersides, 20 to 25 minutes. Remove squash from oven and reduce oven temperature to 375.
Meanwhile, cook the shallots in remaining 2 tbsp oil with a pinch of salt in a skillet over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until tender, 6-10 minutes.

Roll out dough into a 13 inch round on a lightly floured surface. Transfer to a baking sheet (lined with parchment) or pizza stone. Arrange the squash, shallots, and goat cheese and fill the galette in an even layer in center of dough, leaving a 2 to 3 inch border. Fold dough in on itself to cover outer rim of filling, pleating dough if necessary.

Brush pastry with beaten egg (omit if making this vegan) and bake galette until crust is cooked through and golden on edges, 35 to 45 minutes. Cool on baking sheet on a rack 10 minutes before serving. Garnish with fresh basil.

Co-op Food + Lemon Ginger Molasses Pinwheel Cookies

1 Mar


I come home from a good sweaty yoga sesh only to find myself munching on a frosted chocolate cake. Oh, living in a co-op. Food is EVERYWHERE at every hour of the day. I come home to a huge hotel pan of chocolate cake, to the smell of homemade granola just out of the oven, to waffles wafting throughout the house, to cookies and flan and pie.

Aside from all of the sweet stuff, I come home to dinner every night at 7pm. Salads and roasted veggies and grains and beans and meats and cheese. To something new and exciting. To soups, stews, and casseroles. Comfort food, health food, vegan food, ethnic food.

Fresh baked bread. Fresh baked bread made with wheat gluten instead of flour: an accidental miracle. Snack shift. Oh, snack shift. Brownies, salsa, midnight madness.

Here is a photo of a typical co-op meal made by moi:


Mini grilled cheese bites (with a rosemary butter), balsamic roasted asparagus with sautéed chard, couscous salad with chickpeas, roasted bell peppers, olives, onion, and peas, and a spring mix salad with citrus (blood oranges, cara cara oranges, and grapefruit), cranberries, and feta cheese. Oh yes, and lemon ginger molasses pinwheel cookies as well as vegan sugar cookies for the vegans.
And here is a picture of a strawberry streusel coffee cake that I made last week (recipe from JoytheBaker):

Buttermilk Biscuit Bonanza:

A Whole Lotta Breaded n’ Baked Chicken:

With the gargantuan amount of food that a cook makes for the house (I live with 60 people, some other co-ops have only 20 people, and some 160 people), it can be difficult to take nice photos because everything is made in large, industrial pots and pans, and I am usually rushing to finish cooking so I do not have a moment to photograph in nice lighting before someone devours the food.

What a rewarding experience it is to cook here. I get everything delivered (no grocery shopping necessary) and I get to cook with a variety of ingredients that come in seasonally. I can experiment and people will eat my experiments and compliment me, yay!

We even bought and entire cow to be more “green” and to save money for the house. We also recently switched to having all-organic Straus milk and yogurt in the house. Our eggs are organic, too.

While cooking for and living with 60 college students can be tough at times, it is nice to have a “family” to eat dinner with every night.

Oh, and here is the recipe for the Lemon Ginger Molasses Pinwheel Cookies. These cookies require a bit of time just because the dough has to be refrigerated a few times and rolled out and rolled up and cut. Worth it. I taste real ingredients and I taste something sweet, satisfying, and soothing for my body.

Alice in Wonderland, the movie, is coming out next weekend, and these cookies would be great to make if you are hosting a “mad hatter” themed party in honor of Alice. They’ve got that Treshire Cat vibe going on.

Lemon Ginger Molasses Pinwheel Cookies
From CookingLightyield: 40 cookies, serving size: 1 cookie

Ingredients

  • Ginger dough:
  • 1/4 cup (1/2 a stick) unsalted butter, softened
  • 1/3 cup packed dark brown sugar
  • 1/4 cup molasses
  • 1 large egg yolk
  • 6 ounces all-purpose flour (about 1 1/3 cups)
  • 3/4 teaspoon ground ginger
  • 3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • Dash of ground allspice
  • Lemon dough:
  • 5 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
  • 2/3 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 large egg white
  • 2 teaspoons grated lemon rind
  • 3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 6 ounces all-purpose flour (about 1 1/3 cups)
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt

Preparation

1. To prepare ginger dough, place 1/4 cup butter and brown sugar in a medium bowl; beat with a mixer at medium speed until well combined (about 3 minutes). Add molasses and egg yolk; beat until well blended. Weigh or lightly spoon 6 ounces (about 1 1/3 cups) flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine 6 ounces flour, ginger, and next 4 ingredients (through allspice); stir with a whisk. Add flour mixture to butter mixture; beat at low speed just until combined. Wrap dough in plastic wrap; chill 30 minutes.

2. To prepare lemon dough, place 5 tablespoons butter and granulated sugar in a medium bowl; beat with a mixer at medium speed until blended (about 3 minutes). Add egg white; beat until blended. Beat in rind and vanilla. Weigh or lightly spoon 6 ounces (about 1 1/3 cups) flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine 6 ounces flour and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Add flour mixture to butter mixture; beat at low speed just until combined. Wrap dough in plastic wrap; chill 30 minutes.

3. Unwrap ginger dough. Roll ginger dough between sheets of plastic wrap into a 13 x 8 1/2–inch rectangle (3/16 inch thick); chill 10 minutes. Unwrap lemon dough. Roll lemon dough between sheets of plastic wrap into a 13 x 9–inch rectangle (3/16 inch thick); chill 10 minutes. Carefully stack ginger dough on top of lemon dough, leaving a 1/2-inch border along one long edge. Starting with the long side without a border, roll up dough, jelly-roll fashion. Seal edges (do not seal ends of roll). Cover with plastic wrap; freeze 30 minutes.

4. Preheat oven to 350°F.

5. Unwrap dough. Cut with a sharp knife into 40 slices (about 1/4 inch thick). Reshape rounds, if necessary. Arrange slices 1 inch apart on baking sheets lined with parchment paper. Bake, 1 batch at a time, at 350° for 8 to 9 minutes or until set and lightly browned. Cool on wire racks.

Nutritional Information

Calories: 81
Fat: 2.8g (sat 1.7g,mono 0.7g,poly 0.2g)
Protein: 1.1g
Carbohydrate: 13.1g
Fiber: 0.3g
Cholesterol: 12mg
Iron: 0.6mg
Sodium: 33mg
Calcium: 9mg

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Simple Savory Soft Polenta: The Bowl that Will Soothe Your Soul

11 Feb

I feel tiny. When I think about all of the people in this world who have to be fed, I feel tiny. After visiting UCSF medical center today and taking a tour of the kitchen, observing how all the food gets prepared and delivered to patients, students, faculty, and the general public, I feel tiny.

When I watch the movie Food, Inc. and see how the number of slaughterhouses in the US has dwindled from thousands to just thirteen and how the animals are squashed together knee deep in their own manure, I feel tiny. I feel tiny, I feel trapped, but I also feel empowered.

Every time I buy from a farmer’s market, every time I stop and take a moment to think about my food purchases, every time I think about what I am about to put in my mouth, I feel empowered. By simply purchasing from a local farmer, I am giving a vote for a hypothetically safer, healthier, greener world.

We are thrown such mixed messages about the food we eat, and we have become so detached from where are food comes from. We have skewed our food system to the “bad” calories. The chips and candies are less expensive than the broccoli and the carrots. Why oh why are we so addicted to refined carbohydrates and added sugars?! Because they are cheap, they are subsidized, they taste good, and that good taste is addicting.

I sit here, frustrated and confused. When I think about all that I do related to food, I feel so proud and excited for the people I see cooking together, eating together, learning together. Yet, sometimes I still feel so tiny and so helpless.

I praise those who work in hospitals and schools and businesses and farms who feed thousands of people every day.

I need something that will soothe my soul today. A warm bowl of soft polenta–creamy and smooth with that slight bite of crunch from the corn. With a sprinkle of good cheese, I feel a little better. I feel a little bigger than tiny. I can sit here with my big warm bowl of soft polenta and be content. Content for the few minutes it takes to gobble this grain down.

Now go soothe your soul with a big warm bowl of the good stuff.

 

Simple Savory Polenta
from JoytheBaker

serves 4?

1 cup polenta

3 cups cold water

2 cups milk

1 teaspoon salt

1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Place 1 cup of dried polenta in a medium sized bowl. Top with one cup cold water. Set aside.

In a medium sized sauce pan bring 2 cups of whole milk and remaining 2 cups of water to a boil. Once boiling, add salt. Slowly whisk the polenta and water mixture into the boiling milk mixture. Turn flame down to medium low. The time the polenta takes to cook will depend on weather you’re using fine grain or course polenta. My polenta took just minutes to thicken. However long it takes, stir occasionally until you’re reached a desired thickness.

 

Turn of flame and add grated parmesan cheese. Stir to incorporate.

 

***NOTE: You can make a sweet version of this polenta, just omit the cheese and give the grain a splash of vanilla (or use a vanilla bean!), a sprinkle of cinnamon, and a bit o’ brown suga’

Celery Root and Apple Puree

27 Jan


There’s nothing better on a chilly winter day than some warm, soft, mushy comfort food. This celery root and apple puree is a nice alternative to the classic creamy mashed potato dish (although them creamy mashed potatoes are mighty good!).

The recipe comes from Ina Garten’s Back to Basics cookbook. Everything that I have made from this book has come out superb: brownie pudding amazingness, baked sweet potato fries, confetti corn salad, mustard roasted fish, spanikopita…and I’ve been eyeing and oogling over the all of the soups in this book.

I think I could eat bowls and bowls of this stuff! I love the zingyness of the apples, the fresh taste of the fennel and celery root, and the smoothness of the potato. The whole house will smell like a warm bowl of heaven.

Just before serving, garnish the dish with some fennel fronds and a sprinkle of sea salt to wow your fellow eaters.

Celery Root and Apple Puree
from Ina Garten’s Back to Basicsserves 6-8

1/4 pound (1 stick) unsalted butter
1 cup large-diced fennel bulb, tops and core removed
2 pounds celery root, peeled and 3/4 inch diced (I used 2 celery roots)
8 ounces Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and 3/4 inch diced
3 Golden Delicious apples (I used one Granny Smith in replace of 1 of the Golden Delicious), peeled, cored, and 3/4 inch diced
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup good apple cider
1/4 cup heavy cream (I just used low fat milk and was very satisfied)1. Melt the butter over medium heat in a shallow stock pot or large saute pan. Add the fennel, celery root, potatoes, apples, 1 1/2 teaspoons of salt, and 1/2 teaspoon of black pepper. Saute the vegetables, stirring occasionally, until they begin to soften, about 4 to 5 minutes (I had to use two pans because all of my veggies would not fit).

2. Add the cider and tightly cover the pot. Simmer over low heat for 30 to 40 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are very soft. If the vegetables begin to burn or seem dry, add another few tablespoons of apple cider or some water.

3. When the vegetables are cooked, add the cream (or milk) and cook for 1 more minute.

4. Transfer the mixture to a food mill fitted with the coarsest blade and process (or you can use a food processor for smoother texture). Taste for salt and pepper and return to the pot to keep warm.

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