What a Dal

Tonight while Duck 1 was working on her wrist, (Coming along well by the way), I got to try making Dal for the first time.The recipe I followed is from the current (Feb) Eating Well. Indian Mango Dal. (Other blond girl will like this). Dal is quite easy to make and offers a very tasty addition to a meal. I served the Dal with Trader Joe's Harvest Grains blend and grilled ground turkey patties. We use ground turkey a lot in place of beef.One of the handy things about it is that the flavor reflects what is mixed with it so it is very versatile. For this Indian style meal, I added onion, garlic and curry powder as well as a bit of fresh ginger to the meat. A touch of soy sauce and voila, a taste in keeping with the rest of the plate. We followed up the main course with a composed salad of pears and pecan halves on a bed of lettuce with Balsamic Vinaigrette.
This meal had leftovers too they will become tomorrows lunch. If it's good once you know it will be good again.
I've got to start taking pictures the other food shots look great.

Leftovers...The Challenge!

Last night we made Inside out Lasagna from Eating Well it was delicious and Fresh Greens literally did not speak while eating he liked it so much! While preparing dinner I thought about the leftover ingredients I would have and made a plan for how to use them up. When I speak to my friends who do not feel as comfortable in the kitchen I often hear the complaint that cooking is expansive and you waste so much food. I always laugh when I hear this as it reminds me of my Yankee grandmother who would never let anything go to waste. In her honor I HATE to throw out food and will do anything to use it up. I love to update Fresh Greens on how many items I used up in the preparation of our dinner and get s serious high out of rinsing out a container of something I have creatively used up.

From our dinner last night I have the following leftover ingredients: ricotta cheese (about half a container), spinach (about 5 cups), mushrooms (about 6 oz). My plan for the leftovers is to make vegetarian reubens also from Eating Well using up the spinach, mushrooms, and some swiss cheese. The ricotta will most likely be used in an omelet OR I might even thaw some fresh pasta sheets that I saved from making fresh spaghetti and make ricotta and herb ravioli. That way I could also use up the half and half and make a simple cream sauce. I just love thinking up ways to use up leftovers!

Off to my refrigerator to come up with a plan for my rogue vegetables and half eaten jars of condiments!

Speaking of Time Life Cookbooks, we made several recipes out of the The Cooking of China this past Sunday. They were wonderful - stir-fried french beans and water-chestnuts, steamed sea bass with fermented black beans, and barbecued spareribs (and by the way, if you have ever wondered, you can use a coat hanger to fashion hooks to hang your ribs from the top rack of the oven). We used the wok that we received in the Baltimore potlatch and it worked wonderfully!

Pomegranates

In the 70's when we were collecting Time Life's Foods of the World series, the book on Middle East cooking arrived. An open pomegranate on a silver platter graced the cover. So exotic!!! There were no pomegranates in my grocery store back then. Now my WholeFoods market has pomegranates the size of softballs. EatingWell has a wonderful recipe using this fruit - a barley, wild rice pilaf with pomegranate seeds. In Diana Kennedy's book, The Cuisines of Mexico, there is a salad which consists of small poblano peppers stuffed with avocado and served on a bed of lettuce leaves decorated with pomegranate seeds. It is delicious!

Food for Cold Days

For lunch today Duck 1 and I had a ham soup made with leftovers from our Christmas party which had been in the freezer. Just the thing for a windy 17 degree day.

For supper tonight I made Chicken Thighs with Leeks and Shitakes from Eating Well. This is a real comfort food type meal and the comfort level was raised by the mashed potatoes we had with it. Sauteed Zucchini provided the veg. and we had a green salad to finish up. With all the cold, windy weather right now good hearty food (in moderation of course) is really pleasant.

What's for dinner? Salad!

Yesterday my husband asked "What's for dinner" "Salad" I replied. I could tell from his lack of excitement that he wished I had said anything besides the "S" word. Don't get me wrong he loves salad but sometimes it does not give you that satisfied feeling. That is unless you have tried the Eating Well Cobb Salad. I made this the first time a few years ago on a hot summer night and we literally licked the plate clean. The salad is simple in design but complex in flavor. I substituted sauteed shrimp for chicken and used fake bacon (basically soy the color of bacon). This has become a family favorite for us and after I use the dreaded "S" word to describe dinner the next question is "are we having the really good salad?" I like to serve it with some crusty bread and my fabulous dipping oil. The dipping oil is so simple but guests will think they are being served something very special. Take a shallow plate and crush a clove or two of garlic (depending on your love of garlic), cut up 4 or 5 slices of sun-dried tomatoes- I prefer the ones NOT packed in oil and add whatever green herb you have on hand (my favorites are basil, rosemary or oregano). Fresh herbs are better but in a pinch I have used dried. Pour in enough extra virgin olive oil to cover the bottom of the plate, add a few grinds of fresh black pepper and a pinch of seat salt and you are done! If you have time to let this sit for an hour or so the flavors will meld and will be even better! We also have a tradtion of enjoying the salad with some presecco (a sparkling wine form Italy) we highly recommend this pairing.

Tonight I made a simple but tasty supper featuring Lamb Patties, Shoestring veggies and Saffron rice.

Duck 1 and I were alone for supper. We sipped some wine (Merlot for me Vionger for her).
The ground lamb was mixed with sauteed onion,garlic and rosemary as well as toasted pine nuts and broiled. The Zucchini and carrots were cut on the finest mandoline blade and sauteed in olive oil and salt and pepper. Basmati rice with saffron and butter rounded out the main course. For the salad we had red leaf lettuce with grapefruit, dried cranberries and pomegranate seeds toped with the shaker mint vinigar mentioned in an earlier blog. A nice supper for a cold winter night in New Hampshire. Duck 1 is feeling a lot less pain from the wrist operation and will be able to be more active in the kitchen soon. Till then we have a cook to spare.