Health(ier) Spinach & Artichoke Dip

Well, hellloooo there, long lost friends!

I think the last time I plopped down a food blog, was almost two years ago... I'm officially nestled into Seattle's rainy heartbeat, and absolutely love it. The weeks of "morning showers, afternoon drizzles, evening rains" we're in the middle of aren't my favorite, but they'll pass.

I could bloviate for a while about how since we moved here from Nairobi just over two years ago, it's been so much harder to cook healthy, wholesome meals for my family here in the good o'l US of A. About how I will only shop at Trader Joes because at least their label is GMO-free, and their store is small enough I don't cry from sheer overwhelmedness. I could discuss the odd food production in this country, and the crying shame of healthy food being almost unaffordably expensive. But I'll spare you the diatribe and instead commit from here forth to, more or less, just being another little corner of the vast inter-verse that hopefully helps you create food you LOVE. Love eating, love making, love feeding to your friends and family, and helps you love life a little bit more because of edible goodness.

A quick look through this blog will reveal I'm not a strong-finisher...my year of homemade meals made it through about 3 weeks...but what I lack in finishing, I make up in willingness to keep my failures out there and keep learning from them. Maybe I'll pick back up the year of homemade meals some day. For now, it sits as a reminder that...well, whatever you want it to. Just know my visible lack of completion doesn't bother me one bit :) I'm not at all a finished product, and neither is this blog...even as you cook, may you find this blog a place where you feel refreshed, capable, and enough just as you are. Cause you are.

To launch us off, Aunt Sue has requested I post my most recent twist on Spinach Artichoke Dip. Spinach Artichoke dip (the hot kind, mind ya) is one of my favorite appetizers (*cough, cough...meal??) but I was having a pretty hard time with the cream cheese, sour cream, mayonnaise, etc called for in every recipe. Read on for Health(ier) (though not recommended for every day) Dip

Spinach Artichoke Dip

Ingredients: 
1/2 c chopped red onion 
1/4 c unsalted butter 
1 medium size bag fresh baby spinach 
1 large log herbed goat cheese 
1 c non-fat, plain Greek yogurt 
1 jar artichoke hearts, quartered 
1/2-1c grated cheese (pepperjack will give you a spicier dip, pecorino-romano will produce a more sophisticated dip...pick your favorite cheese and put it on top!)
Crushed red pepper (optional to sprinkle on top) 

Pull the goat cheese out of the fridge so it can soften up a bit. Unless you want a singular huge bicep...then leave it in fridge until mixing time for a one-armed mixing work out.

Saute the onion and the butter until the onions are browned, headed to burnt. But don't let them burn. I recommend a low heat for a long time, but if you just can't wait, proceed with reckless abandon and searing heat. Just don't leave the room. There is no recovery for a charred onion...

Add the fresh spinach and cover with a lid. The spinach will wilt and cook down.

In a mixing bowl (preferably your favorite one, because you should always cook with your favorite things. And if you don't have a favorite mixing bowl, get one right now! Mine is an old crock styled, super heavy, deep cream-colored bowl from my grandmother. She has an identical one in her kitchen, and this one was found in their basement after a house fire that destroyed quite a bit. But this bowl lived on...and while it's full of hairline cracks, and heavy as sin on a Sunday, it's full of love, and memories, and the reminder that eating is a sacred, through-the-ages gift)

Ok, now in your favorite mixing bowl, combine the goat cheese, greek yogurt, and artichokes. Add the onions, butter, and spinach mixture - mix until all is combined.

Pour into a shallow baking dish - I usually use an 8x10 or small casserole dish, but you can use whatever you like. Top with your favorite cheese, and if you want a little more kick, a sprinkle of crushed red pepper

Pop in the oven at 350F until it's warmed through and cheese is melted on top.

Serve with blue corn tortilla chips. Or on toasted sour dough bread. Or with a spoon.

Side note - you can play around with the ratios on this...just like you can with most recipes! Following a recipe to the letter is like color with numbers - it's gonna more or less turn out, but you may not love it. But cooking is art, so explore and create!

I'll drop some pics in this post next time I make this, and until then - dine away!!

Bon appetit, lovelies!

xo
Sarah

Abbreviated recipe: 
1/2 c chopped red onion 
1/4 c unsalted butter 
1 medium size bag fresh baby spinach 
1 large log herbed goat cheese 
1 c non-fat, plain Greek yogurt 
1 jar artichoke hearts, quartered 
1/2-1c grated cheese (your favorite)
Crushed red pepper (optional to sprinkle on top) 

Saute onion & butter until onions are dark brown. Add spinach and cook down until soft. In a separate bowl, mix goat cheese, greek yogurt, and artichoke hearts. Add onion, spinach, butter mixture to goat cheese mixture. Combine thoroughly. Pour in baking dish, sprinkle with cheese, heat at 350F until cheese is melted. Serve. Repeat.

Thai Yellow Curry

I love yellow curry. It's my go to anytime I go out for Thai food. So I decided it was time to try making it. After several times, I've perfected it. Enjoy!

Thai Yellow Curry

1 13.5 oz can unsweetened coconut milk (I prefer light) 

1 c chicken stock

1 Tbs chopped fresh ginger

3 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes

3 tsp curry powder 

 

1 onion, slivered (red onion if you like more 'oniony', yellow if you like more sweet)

4 large carrots, unpeeled & sliced

2 large potatoes, unpeeled & chopped 

1 red pepper, cut into chunks

Any other veggies you want - keep in mind dry veggies (potatoes, carrots, etc) will absorb liquid, while wet veggies (leafy greens especially) will release liquid. 

In a blender, blend the coconut milk, chicken stock, ginger, garlic, red pepper flakes, and curry powder.

Pour into a large sauce pot. Add the other ingredients and bring to a boil, stirring frequently. Reduce to a simmer and let cook until vegetables are soft. Stir regularly. 

Serve over brown rice. 

Couple notes:
* If you want creamier Thai Yellow Curry, don't use light coconut milk. You could also reduce the amount of chicken stock, and increase the amount of carrots and potatoes as they will absorb the liquid. 

* You're going to have to season this to taste...you may want more curry powder, or less. If you don't like spicy things, you can leave out the crushed red pepper all together. If you like really spicy things, add another 1/2 tsp or more of the crushed red pepper.  You may also want to try 1/2 tsp of salt if you feel the recipe is too bland.

* If you want, feel free to add, well anything! Chicken, shrimp, pineapple, mushrooms, etc all make great additions. Just keep in mind how your various additions will affect your level of soupiness. 

What if it's not as thick as I like it?

Mix 2 tsps of cornstarch with 1/4 c liquid (water, coconut milk, chicken stock), then whisk the entire concoction into your curry - it should thicken up within a few moments. 

What if it's too thick? 

Add some more chicken stock or coconut milk. 

What if I'm a vegan?

Use veggie stock. But you already knew that, didn't you? 

I recommend serving this over brown rice, and with side dishes of chopped banana, raisins, and coconut (sweetened or unsweetened). 

One last thing - this will freeze beautifully, and if, when you pull it out of the freezer, it's not quite enough for serving the guests that spontaneously stopped by - just chop up some more veggies or potatoes, dice some garlic and ginger, pull out that jar of frozen chicken stock, and add it all the original curry. An extra teaspoon of curry powder will finish it off beautifully, and everyone will think you labored for hours!

Enjoy! 

ps - Trader Joes veggie spring rolls aren't half bad, and a quick combo of white wine vinegar, ketchup, and brown sugar boiled in a saucepan (along with a little cornstarch concoction like I listed above) will make a pretty legit tasting "cheap chinese restaurant" sweet n sour sauce. Makes a nice side or appetizer to the curry.

Roast Tomato & Red Pepper Risotto with Spicy Sausage

So, I did a terrible job posting this week - but we still ate. You can expect a flurry of retro-active posts in the next 24 hours.

I also decided to put up recipes right now, and add pictures when I make the recipe again. Anyone who has done a cooking blog knows the pictures are the most time-consuming part, and anyone who has read a cooking blog know the pictures are the most time-saving part. We'll meet in the middle - I'll give you pictures, but later. And going forward, I'll try and be better about taking pictures.

Here's one of my top favorite meals for the moment (and with a few changes, it can be a gluten-free vegan meal.):

Roast Tomato and Red Pepper Risotto with Spicy Sausage 

Ingredients:
2 c Risotto/Arborio Rice
2 Tbs butter
2-4 c Homemade Chicken Stock 
4 c Roast Tomato & Red Pepper Base
1/2 lb of your favorite sausage (spicy is recommended, though not required) (omit to make dish vegetarian. Omit butter, and instead use olive oil, to make the dish vegan)

In a skillet, cook the sausage. Set aside for later.

In a deep saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter. Add the risotto to the butter and stir continuously for 1-2 minutes.

Add 1 cup of the Tomato and Red Pepper Base. Stir continuously. When the sauce is absorbed by the rice, add 1 cup of the Chicken Stock. Again, stir continuously until all liquid is absorbed.

Repeat until the rice is done, alternating between 1 cup Tomato Base and 1 cup Chicken Stock. Add the sausage and let sit for 15 min before serving.


There you go - it really is that simple. A couple notes on Risotto:

* You may need more or less liquid than is called here, Risotto is a bit of an experiment in terms of exact ratios. The general principle is to add liquid 1 cup at a time until the Risotto is done. If you use less than what is called for here - no problem. If you need more than what is called for here, but have run out of Stock and Base, just use water or milk - still 1 cup at a time. Water will turn out a fairly similar product (unless you have to use 3cups or more) and milk will make a creamier, richer end product. 

* Yes, you do need to buy special rice to make risotto. Risotto grains are shorter and fatter, which makes for a fluffier and more moist finished produce. Regular rice cooked this way may turn out softer but will definitely not have the creamy texture risotto is known (and loved) for.  Look for Risotto Rice or Arborio. Most major grocery stores will have one or the other.

*  Risotto has such a nice texture because the liquid is added so gradually. I know it's tempting to dump all that liquid in at once and leave it. Don't. Stand there patiently at the stove, stirring almost constantly, and adding liquid 1 cup at a time. It is VERY worth the wait, and a cup of pre-dinner red wine makes it arguably enjoyable. Have toddlers? Now's the time for those precious 30 min of TV.

* Risotto is done when the rice is soft. If your sauce is opaque enough, you may be able to see the grains become more see-through instead of white. If your sauce is more thick, a simple taste should do the trick. In my opinion, the softer the better - no one likes a crunchy risotto.

* Risotto tastes better over time. It's great to let your Risotto sit for 15 min before serving to allow the flavors time to blend together. I use a stainless steel pot when making risotto, and put the covered pot in a pre-warmed over after the risotto is done (warmed, not hot). It's totally not necessary to let your risotto sit, but if you need to/can, it will taste even better. If it's a bit dried out, add a bit more liquid and stir - should do the trick.

* For a creamier version of this recipe, use milk in place of half the chicken stock.

* Yummy add-ons include fresh garlic, basil, or cream. 

* You can really add the cooked sausage to the risotto at any time, the earlier you add it, the stronger the sausage flavor will be. I think it's nice to let the spicy sausage be a complement to the Roast Tomato and Red Pepper flavor, not dominating the dish - but some of you sausage lovers may prefer more sausage flavor. Sausage away. 

Enjoy!

It's a flop!

A note to readers - this entry is meant to encourage those of you who think "I'm a terrible cook". Sometimes, so am I.

Sometimes great things happen in my kitchen. This weekend alone, the Greek Fruit and Nut Pastries were a hit, homemade bagels (using a new recipe) turned out stupendously, a homemade pizza night with friends solicited a "this is the best homemade pizza I've ever had" from a person who works at a pizza place, and my first attempt at homemade yogurt was gobbled up by the kids and hubby. All recipes of aforementioned yummies to follow.

However, dinner tonight was a flop. I mean, fat man in a Speedo from the high dive flop. 100% splat.

I'm including this recipe as a warning - don't ever make this. Ok, if you love blue cheese, then you might like this. But otherwise, don't do it.

The quote from the husband after dinner (when I offered him the salad I hadn't eaten - which was about half of it) "that's ok, I'm full. It was good though." me: "oh, ok, do you want it in your lunch tomorrow?" Hubs: "no, it wasn't that good. I mean, I wouldn't ever want to eat this salad again in this form. Maybe if you changed some of the ingredients." (in which case it wouldn't be the same salad). Point made. Not a repeat.

Here's the salad to make if you don't like your dinner guests and don't want them to ever ask to come over again:

Roast Pear and Blue Cheese Salad 

1 pear, sliced 

2 tsp honey

2 tsp olive oil 

1/2 tsp coriander (this should've been my warning sign - coriander and blue cheese?)

salt & pepper to taste

4 oz blue cheese, crumbled

3 oz assorted lettuce 

1/8 c walnut pieces

Preheat the oven to 450F. 

In a bowl, toss the sliced pear in the honey, olive oil, coriander, and salt and pepper. Pour on a baking sheet and bake until golden, approx 10 minutes.

While the pear is roasting, place the lettuce in salad bowls (or your serving mechanism of choice) and drizzle with 1 tsp olive oil and 1 tsp lime juice. Add the walnut pieces and toss lightly. 

Remove the roast pears from the oven, distribute evenly over the salad, sprinkle the salad with blue cheese and any remaining juices from the roast pear pan (terrible descriptor - too tired to change it). Serve immediately. 

I mean, march your arse to the table immediately - cause that lettuce is gonna wilt faster than you can take a bite. On second thought, don't waste time walking to the table. Eat immediately. 

There you have it, there you go - the worst salad I've ever made. And yes, I based it on a recipe in a great cookbook. I'm not taking full credit for this terrible idea, the blame is shared. 

A special thanks to my husband for finishing his salad, and for waiting a polite hour before telling me he was still hungry and would like a bagel...I hope all cooks have as gracious an eater around when their cooking flops.

Here's to hoping tomorrow nights soup is much, much better than tonight's salad.

Roast Tomato & Red Pepper Base

I first started doing this little recipe when I wanted to make a soup, and it was a massive success. Potentially the yummiest invented thing to come from my kitchen yet. After the soup was such a success, I thought I'd experiment with what else this recipe was good for - risotto was a massive hit.

Within the next couple weeks, I'm sure we'll make the Roast Red Pepper and Tomato Soup, but for right now I just wanted to give you the base recipe since I'm using it this week to make a risotto.

Roast Red Pepper and Tomato Base 

2 Red peppers, de-seeded and quartered
5 lbs tomatoes, halved
1 bulb garlic, head shaved off (in other words, just cut a bit off the top of the entire bulb so you can see into some of the individual cloves)
Olive oil

Preheat the oven to 450F.

Spread the red peppers and tomatoes closely on a 9x13 cookie sheet with sides (alternatively, you could use a roasting pan or 9x13 baking dish- really anything that is oven proof and will hold about 1/2' deep of liquid). Drizzle with olive oil.

Drizzle the bulb of garlic with olive oil and wrap tightly in foil - make sure the garlic can't be seen, feel free to go a bit overboard on the foil wrapping here. Place the foil-wrapped bulb of garlic on the baking sheet with the peppers and tomatoes.

Place the baking sheet in the oven. Leave for 2hours approximately, or until tomatoes and red peppers have sufficiently roasted. You'll be able to tell because they'll be quite soft, shriveled, and maybe even a bit blackened on the edges (no problem!)

Remove from the oven and, if not using immediately, allow to cool.

Unwrap the garlic and squeeze the garlic from the shell into a deep bowl. The garlic should be a soft paste, and will have a very warm garlic smell without the bite often associated with fresh garlic.

Add the tomatoes, peppers, and any juice/oil remaining on the baking pan to the deep bowl. Use your immersion blender to blend the concoction to a smooth soup consistency. If you don't have an immersion blender - see my entry on Sweet Potato and Chili Soup if you're interested in my opinion on immersion blenders. In summary - worth a purchase.

Use immediately in any desired recipe or store in airtight containers in the freezer for up to 6 weeks.

Chicken Tikka and Homemade Pitas

I did it again - I changed the meal plan. A quick glance in the freezer revealed there wasn't as much leftover pasta and sauce I thought there was - so the hubby got it in his lunch for today and I came up with a quick plan B: Chicken Tikka and Homemade Pita Bread.

Part of being a great cook is knowing what ingredients you have on hand to make a last minute meal. Meal planning is ideal, and that's the goal of this whole Year of Cooking - but sometimes life happens and the plan goes out the window. On these nights, bad day back-ups are a good idea, as is take out. But if you're not up for either, being familiar with your kitchen and pantry will make all the difference in the world.

So, here's the skinny on tonight's dinner.

I was going to use a pita recipe from a cookbook, til I read it through and realized it was terrible - water to flour ratios were all wrong, the pitas were fried instead of baked - yuck, yuck, yuck. (I mean, maybe yum on some level, but not what I was looking for). Unfortunately, I read the recipe after I'd started the yeast. So, I decided it was time to do my first experimental baking project. The result? 25% absolute success - 2 out of the 8 pitas turned out perfectly, and the others are good. My conclusion - I have a great recipe and just need to tweak a couple details (which I include in the recipe below).

Homemade Pitas

1 1/2 c warm water (approx 110F)
1 Tbs active dry yeast
1 Tbs sugar
1 Tbs olive oil
3 cup flour (any combination of white and whole wheat - I did 2 white, 1 whole wheat. The more whole wheat you do, the heavier the pitas will be.)
1 Tbs salt


Combine the water, yeast, and sugar in a bowl. See my entry on Bagels if you have questions about how to active yeast. Let sit for 5-10 minutes, until the yeast activates.

Add the oil, flour, and salt - mix well. You'll probably want to use your hands, pita is a bread after all. Your result should be a soft, not-too-sticky dough. If your dough is too dry, add extra water (1tsp at a time). If your dough is too sticky, add flour - a little bit at a time. Once your dough has reached the described consistency, divide it into 8 equal pieces.

Set the pieces on a baking sheet covered in parchment paper. Cover with a tea towel and let sit for 1 hour in a warm place.

Preheat the oven to 450F. If you have a baking stone, now is the time to use it. If you don't - it's worth investing in if you want to do much bread or pizza making. Just as with stainless steel pots and pans, buy your baking stone from a restaurant depot store near you - much cheaper. Place the baking stone in the oven near the center of the oven. If you aren't using a baking stone, just use a cookie sheet.

On a well-floured surface, roll out each pita to approx 7" diameter. Do not stack, as they will rise a little bit more while you roll out the rest.

Once your oven is warmed, place the pitas in the oven 2-3 at a time (more or less depending on the size of your baking stone) for approx 3 minutes. The pitas should each get massive air bubbles inside of them - like turn into one giant air bubble. If it's been longer than 4 minutes, your pita probably isn't going to puff - congratulations, you have a mini pizza crust ready for another time. As soon as your pita puffs all the way up, it'll sigh (literally looks like it's sighing) and then it's ready to come out of the oven.

Remove the pita, place on a plate, and cover with a cloth. Repeat with your remaining pitas. Clarification for the clueless cook - you can stack all the pitas on top of each other on the same plate.

Viola - your pitas are finished! Serve warm or let cool to use at a later time.

Chicken Tikka

This is essentially the same recipe we did the other night when we made Chicken Tikka Masala - except I left out the lime (because I was out) and we aren't going to do the Masala part. So, follow the Chicken Tikka recipe only.

I'm using the left over chicken from the Roast Chicken on Sunday night, and mixed it up earlier this afternoon so the flavors could blend nicely.

I'll be serving it with lettuce and a yogurt sauce made from natural yogurt, chopped fresh tomatoes, and a pinch of cumin.

There you have it, there you! Quick fix dinner - and it should be delicious!

Sweet Potato & Chilies Soup

Soup night of week #1. I chose Sweet Potato soup since I knew I would have extra sweet potatoes after Roast Root Veggie Salad night.

After eating it, I would rate it as a good soup - but not a great one. We'll make it again later this winter, but I think I may try it with roast walnuts and nutmeg instead of chilies. With that said, this is a good soup recipe, and definitely has a unique, sweet & spicy flavor. Definitely worth a try.

Sweet Potato & Chilies Soup 

1/2 yellow onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper (more or less depending on desired spiciness)
1 tsp paprika
5 cups sweet potatoes, diced
4 cups chicken stock
* alternatively, you could use vegetable stock to make this a vegetarian meal

In a soup pot, saute the onion, garlic, red pepper, and paprika until slowly browned. Add the diced sweet potato and saute until slightly browned. In my opinion, the longer you let the sweet potatoes saute, the nicer flavor you'll have. Think sweet potato fries turned into soup - um, yummy.

When the sweet potatoes are nicely browned (or whenever you want, really) add the 4 cups stock. Reduce heat to low and allow soup to simmer for approx 20 minutes, or until sweet potatoes are soft. Using an immersion blender, blend the soup to a creamy consistency.  Alternatively, if you don't have an immersion blender - turn off the soup, get in your car, and go buy one. Come home, turn the soup back on, use your new immersion blender. Stand in wonder at the fact you ever made homemade soup without an immersion blender.

Ok, in all seriousness - making creamy soups without an immersion blender is possible, but definitely more laborious and messy. However, if you don't have an immersion blender or don't want one, just transfer the soup to the blender in batches, blend, and then return to the stove once it's all blended.

Once your soup is blended, in whatever way you chose to blend - it is ready to serve. It's delicious with warm bread, sourdough would be amazing.

There you go - pretty easy. Also a great recipe for a quick meal at home.

Make ahead tips:
* do all your chopping anytime within 24 hours before you make the soup, put the sweet potatoes in water if you are chopping them more than an hour before use.

Let me know what you think, and I'll let you know when we do it again with roasted walnuts and nutmeg! I think it'll be like Christmas in a bowl...

Palak Paneer, Naan, & Chicken Tikka Masala

Here's why you should follow this a week behind me, and not try and do this on the same timeline - I changed the meal plan tonight.

I followed one piece of my own advice (cook to what you have in your kitchen) because I didn't follow all of my other advice, and didn't have all the ingredients on hand I needed :) Oops.

The result of the change was fantastic, though, and we'll do butter chicken another time.

Ok, here's the deal - this entry could take me hours. I mean, hours. But I'm not up for hours of writing, so here's what I'll do - I'm including the 5 recipes you need to make this meal, and a couple pics. If/when I make this again, I'll clean this entry up a bit, and add some more pictures.

These recipes are inspired by Shubhra Ramineni's Entice with Spice . If you're looking to get into Indian cooking - this is the cookbook to start with. My other sister-in-law got this cookbook for me that Christmas I was telling you about...it's a great book.

Do ahead prep specific for this meal
* all your chopping - garlic, onions, ginger. Chop it as much as a day before
* spice measuring - when making Indian food, I often get a little bowl and measure out all the spices needed for each dish. Label them - no, seriously - label them, and then when you're actually combining your ingredients, you can just pick up your bowl of spices and toss them in. This saves an immense amount of time when you're actually cooking, because you aren't messing with bottles and bottles of spice.
* The Naan dough needs 5 hours to sit - you can cook them ahead of time and rewarm them, so if you work/won't be home until just before dinner time, consider making them ahead of time.
* Indian food reheats incredibly well - don't be afraid to make any of these dishes in their entirety 24 hours before you need them. They'll just taste better.

With no further ado - your recipes (in order of most efficient cooking if making them all at once) - 

Naan 

{I doubled this entire recipe, as the actual rolling/baking part is short, and the other dishes produce leftovers.}

1 1/4 c flour
1/4 tsp dry active yeast
1/4 tsp salt
2 tsp plain yogurt
1 Tbs oil, plus extra for brushing
1/4 c- 1/2 c warm water

Combine dry ingredients in a bowl, then add the wet ingredients. Knead thoroughly until all ingredients are mixed well.

Form dough into a ball and put in a greased container. Cover and put in a warm place for 5 hours to allow to rise - dough should almost double in size.

Once the dough has risen, place a baking sheet (preferably a baking stone) on the top shelf of the oven, and preheat oven to 500F. If you are using a baking stone, I recommend covering with foil to help protect your baking stone.

Remove the dough from a bowl and separate into 4 equal pieces. Roll each piece out into an oval shape - approx 8 in by 4 in.

Remove the baking sheet from the oven (if you're using a baking stone - I recommend just pulling the rack part way out of the oven - you don't want to risk dropping a hot baking stone on the floor, or in my case - a 2yr old) and place the rolled out naans on the sheet. The naan will puff up about 2 inches, but won't spread out, so you can put them close together.

Turn the oven from bake to broil and close the oven. Bake for about 3 minutes, though it could be dramatically less depending on the closeness of your top rack to your broiler, heat of your oven, thickness of your naan, etc - watch carefully to avoid burning.

Remove the naan from the oven, spread with oil or butter (and a little garlic if you like), wrap in foil until dinner is ready to serve.

Don't worry if your naan are a bit crunchy when they come out of the oven, they'll soften with the added butter/oil and being wrapped in foil.

Enjoy!

Palak Paneer 

This recipe is fantastic, but requires some pre-work - making cheese. It's incredibly easy, here you go (again from Entice with Spice)

Paneer

4 c whole milk
2 tsp lime or lemon juice
{that's your ingredients list - still intimidated?}

Pour the milk into a large saucepan, making sure pan is not too full as milk will bubble up.

Bring the milk to a boil, watching carefully to make sure milk doesn't boil over out of the saucepan. Once the milk reaches a boil, add the lemon juice, reduce the heat, and stir until the milk separates. 
Remember hearing about 'curds and whey'? Here they are! The curds are the chunky bits, the whey is the watery bit left behind. The lemon/lime juice (vinegar is a good substitute, if necessary) cause the milk to curdle, separating the two - amazing!

**If you have toddlers, this is an excellent process for them to watch!

Once the curds and whey have separated, remove the saucepan from the stove. Line a strainer/colander with cheesecloth or a thin tea towel (flour sack tea towels work beautifully and are an amazing addition to a kitchen in general). Pour all of the contents of the saucepan into the lined colander/strainer - catching the curds as the whey goes through. Let the liquid continue to drain out for about a minute.

Gather the cloth around the cheese, and press against the side of the colander to press out any extra liquid. Unwrap the cheese and shape into a neat block - square or circle, doesn't matter, just tuck in all the loose bits. Rewrap with the cheese cloth and set on a plate, with some weight on top (a heavy bowl, perhaps?) to drain out any extra weigh - leave for 1-2 hours.

Remove cheese from the cloth and put in the fridge in an airtight container until you need it. For the recipe we're making, I recommend cutting the cheese into cubes, and pan-frying it in a skillet until browned.

Sauce for Palak Paneer 

1 large bag baby spinach
2 ripe tomatoes, diced
1/2 small sweet onion, diced
1/2 tsp turmeric
1/8 tsp cayenne epper
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
3Tbs butter
1 1/2 tsp grated giner
1/2 c plain yogurt (you can use heavy cream, but yogurt makes this recipe healthier)
1/2 tsp masala (you can omit this, if you like)

In a skillet, saute the spinach, onions, and tomatoes in 1Tbs oil. Stir until the tomatoes have cooked down and are quite soft. Remove from heat and put in a blender (or, if you have an immersion blender, transfer to a stainless steel sauce pan). Add ginger and all other spices. Blend until you have a thick paste/sauce. If needed, transfer to a sauce pan - return saucepan to the stove and place over medium heat. Add 3 Tbs butter and 1/2 c plain yogurt. Stir well in order to blend all the ingredients. Add cheese you made earlier and mix well - taking care not to break up the cheese. Serve immediately or remove from heat and store in the fridge for up to 2 days. Yummy!

Chicken Tikka Masala

Alright - this dish is amazing. I mean amazing. Wanna know what's even more amazing? We're using the chicken from earlier this week. That's right, I never told you what to do with the rest of that chicken did I? Well, I'll put in an entry tomorrow on Chicken Stock - but bottom line is this - remove all the meat from your leftover roast chicken and keep it in the fridge, we're using it tonight!

Sauce:
4 Tbs olive oil
2 clove garlic
2 tsp lime juice
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground coriander
3/4 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp cayenne
3/4 tsp salt
4 Tbs plain yogurt
2 cups chicken, cut into bite size

Combine all ingredients in a bowl, mix well and let marinate for 2-12 hours (depending on your schedule and availability - yeah for flexibility!). Remove and put on baking sheet lined with foil or baking rack. Heat oven to 400F, pour chicken onto baking sheet and spread out evenly - place in oven and cook for 15minutes, until slightly browned.

Masala Sauce 

Saute:
3Tbs vegetable oil
2 tsp fresh ginger, finely chopped
1 medium sweet onion, finely chopped
1 ripe tomato, chopped

Combine in a small bowl:
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp coriander
1 tsp parika
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
3/4 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp sugar
1 tsp cinnamon

Remove the sauteed onion, ginger, and tomato from the stove and blend - using a traditional blender or an immersion blender. Return sauce to saucepan, add spices.

Add to above sauce:
3Tbs butter
1/4 c plain yogurt
2 cups chicken mentioned above.

Mix thoroughly. Heat to simmering.

Serve immediately, or store in an airtight container in the fridge until you're ready to use it. It should keep for 3-5 days.

Enjoy!

So - there you go - Indian cooking at its finest. This really is a delicious meal, and makes great leftovers! I also served this with some plain rice, which is a nice addition to any sauce-based meals.

One tip for cooking this meal -
Prep the Palak Paneer and Chicken Tikka Masala as much as possible in advance; the naan take a lot of focus when they actually go in the oven, and frantically running around trying to finish all 4 dishes at once will be pretty stressful. Try and get the first two dishes done, and your rice started, before you start baking the naan. Then - when your naan is done, dinner can just be transferred to the table, hopefully reducing your stress.

I'd love to hear how this goes! Let me know if you give this a shot - I'm sure it'll be fabulous! If you're intimated by attempting the whole meal - find your favorite Indian place, order take-out (minus one of your regular dishes), and make just one of these dishes.

Roasted Root Vegetable Salad with Lemon-Dijon Vinaigrette

Whew! Last nights post exhausted me, I mean - exhausted me. So, tonight's will be much shorter.

Tonight is salad night, and I picked a new salad recipe from The Rodale Wholefood Cookbook and made a few changes. It's an amazing cookbook, given to me a few years ago when I asked for cookbooks for Christmas (warning, if you ask for cookbooks for Christmas, they will come - I think I got 12 cookbooks that year. All great cookbooks, but still - 12 cookbooks.) If you're looking for one cookbook to round out your whole kitchen, Rodale Wholefood Cookbook is for you.

Alright - here's the recipe:

Roasted Root Vegetable Salad 

6 baby carrots, cut into matchsticks (2 grown up carrots)
1 russet potato, cubed
2 sweet potatoes, cut into matchsticks
4 shallots, halved (1/4 yellow onion, sliced thinly & separated)
1 Tbs olive oil
3 cups arugula (mixed greens - no arugula at the store, sad)
Lemon-Dijon Vinaigrette
Salt & Pepper
1/2 c crumbled feta cheese

Preheat the oven to 475F

In a large bowl, combine the carrots, potatoes, parsnips, and shallots. Drizzle with the oil and toss well to coat. Transfer to a rimmed baking sheet and roast for 30 minutes, or until tender. Let cool to room temperature.

In a salad bowl, toss the arugula and root vegetables with the dressing. Seasons with salt and pepper to taste. Serve sprinkled with feta.


Ok - before you say "ok, that is totally not the same recipe - almost every major ingredient was substituted with something else" - let me say, You're right, it is. And here's my point - I substituted with what I had on hand, what was most accessible at my nearest market, and what was closest to the original recipe out of those options. Now, if I had used green beans and beets in this salad, it would absolutely not be the same (though I think roast beets would be a great addition...).

Tips for Cooking! Part of being a great cook is being comfortable substituting in your available/preferred ingredients in lieu of an ingredient listed in the original recipe. Cooking exactly to the recipe is a great way to spend lots of extra money making that one dish with those 6 random, absurdly expensive ingredients, or a lot of extra time hunting down arugula when you live in Tinyville. A happy cook, a financially stable cook, is a good cook (or at least a better one than their alternative).

Alright - back to the Salad Dressing, recipe based on Rodale.

Lemon-Dijon Vinaigrette

Makes generous 1/4 cup

2 Tbs lemon juice
1/2 Tbs apple cider vinegar
2 tsp Dijon mustard
1/4 tsp coarse salt
6 Tbs extra-virgin olive oil (I think my olive oil is less virgin than some...but, I'm not judging)

In a small bowl, whisk together the lemon juice, vinegar, mustard, salt, and pepper. Slowly whisk in the oil.

And there you have it, there you go. From the nibbles I've had (waiting for the kids to go to bed so the hubby and I can have an "in date night" after he put in a 12 hour work 'weekend' this past weekend) this salad is amazing! We'll probably repeat it later this year with some other roasted yummies on top (beets and walnuts, anyone?)

Alright, off to post this so I can tuck in my babies and be with the hubs. Enjoy!

Homemade Granola

Granola is delicious. Homemade granola is even better, and it costs next to nothing to make. For about $2, you can have 2-3 boxes worth of store bought granola. And, it's incredibly hard to mess up.

Here's your recipe:

Homemade Granola

Preheat the oven to 350F & butter/grease a 9x13 baking dish

In a large bowl combine:
10c outmeal 
1c wheat germ 
1/2c flax seed 
3 Tbs cinnamon
2 tsp nutmeg
2 tsp allspice

Mix thoroughly.

In a small saucepan combine: 
1 stick/c butter
1 1/2 c brown sugar (you could do less if you wanted less sweet granola) 
1/4 c honey 
2 tsp vanilla (the vanilla will cause the mixture to bubble a bit, so be sure you're using a big enough saucepan, or have a spoon ready to stir)

Heat, stirring often, until ingredients are melted into a thick syrup. Pour over dry ingredients. Stir thoroughly until the dry ingredients are equally coated with the sauce. 

Pour into a buttered 9x13 baking dish. Place in the oven, towards the middle of the oven, for 45 min - stirring every 15 min. If the granola starts to look too brown, or burn on the bottom, turn down the heat or remove the granola from the oven. 

Let the granola cool completely before transferring to an airtight container. 

Note: if you want chunkier granola, don't stir at all after removing from the oven after baking. Let cool completely, then break apart as you transfer to a container/ziploc bag. If you want un-chunky (smooth?) granola - stir thoroughly during the cooling process.

Serving suggestions:
With milk
With yogurt and fresh fruit (my kiddos favorite)

Variations:
Add dried fruits or nuts before or after the baking process
Add any dried flour/grain with the dry ingredients/in place of some of the dried ingredients- flaxseed, wheat germ, wheat bran, bran flakes, leftover cornflakes, crushed Weetabix. The beautiful thing about granola is you can switch out/add ingredients without much cause for alarm or fear of disaster. I often finish up all those annoying bits of leftover cereals (even raisin bran and rice crispies) in my granola - really the sauce is the most important bit. And with enough cinnamon, honey, and butter - who can go wrong?!

If you come up with a great variation, I'd love to hear about it!

Enjoy :)

Trying Out a Daily (almost) Food Blog

So...welcome back to my kitchen. It just relocated to Seattle, and has made a few upgrades:

* out with the non-stick, in with the stainless steel (If you're considering this, do it. And if you're going to do it, get your stainless steel at a restaurant supply store - much cheaper and still stainless steel. Sure beats mainstream store prices)
* out with the knife block, in with the Golden 3 (8in chef's knife, 5in paring knife, and 10in bread knife - after a month of this, I have yet to want another knife)
* immersion blender (I got this exact one at Cosco for $35) and mini-food processor - for the solid, and irreplaceable win. Your soup making will be revolutionized, and your chopping time cut by half.

Here are my food goals for the year:
* meal plan - every week. My lovely sister-in-law got me an amazing fridge-magnet meal planner and I am immensely enjoying it.
* salad night once a week
* vegetarian night once a week (salad night doesn't count, and won't always be vegetarian anyway)
* keep our grocery budget under $300 a month - I'd love to do $200 a month, but I think $300 is a little more realistic
* as much organic as possible
* as much from a humble "I live in a rental" garden as possible

So, here's my plan - every night I'll try and post a brief recipe (emphasis on brief, since this is an every night endeavor) and once a week I'll post our meal plan and shopping list. If you want to cook along with me, a day or week behind, feel free to. This won't be a blog with amazing pictures (though I'll try) and I'm quite sure I'll miss a few days, but I'm going to at least give it a shot.

Before we get started, and if you're new to my kitchen blog, let me give you a little bit of my 'chef' philosophy - I think everyone has potential to be a great cook, if you have a love for food. If food and eating fall in a sort of 'eh, I do it to survive' category - it will be much harder to be a great cook. To be a great cook, you must LOVE to eat.

Secondly - cooking, like any skill, sucks until you get good at it. But, if you stick with it, I promise you (yes you) can be a great cook. Just like any art, the right tools, supplies, and emergency back-up plans make success all the more attainable. With that in mind, my freezer usually holds some 'bad day back ups', and my pantry (currently a wire shelf from home depot) is always stocked with what I consider to be the essentials.

To spare you the bore of list of what's currently in my kitchen, I'll just make sure to include a list of "items already on hand" in whatever shopping list I put up at the beginning of the week - if I consider it an essential, I'll indicate it as such.

OK - enough details! To give you a glimpse at this past week - here was our meal plan

Sunday - Homemade tacos (which includes homemade tortillas, and usually includes homemade refried beans - but that didn't happen this week)
Monday - Lasagna with garlic bread and sauteed asparagus
Tuesday - Leftovers
Wednesday - Spinach Salad with hardboiled egg, walnuts, feta cheese, dried cranberries, and Trader Joe's Champagne Pear Vinaigrette salad dressing
Thursday - Roasted Tomato Soup/Bread
Friday - Crockpot Beans and Rice
Saturday - no plans

So, here's the scoop on tonight's dinner (I'll put up details/recipes on the above recipes whenever they are re-circulated in future weeks).

I wanted to try something with beans and rice, since so many cultures eat something along these lines as a staple.

Crockpot Black Beans and Rice 

2 cups homemade chicken stock (recipe to come at some point) 
1 cup dried black beans
1/2 large yellow onion, chopped
4 large cloves garlic, diced 
1 can corn, liquid included 

Combine the above in a crock pot and let cook on low for 2 hours. 

1 cup dry rice 
1 large can of whole cooked tomatoes
1 Tbs cumin 
1 tsp salt
2 cups water 

Add to the crock pot, stir thoroughly, and let cook for another 2 -3 hours. 

Viola - dinner. Done.

Be sure, if you're home, to check the amount of liquid periodically as beans and rice both absorb great amounts of water. If you're unsure, add an extra cup of water or chicken stock (my recommendation if possible) - the worst that will happen is you'll have a more soupy dish, as oppose to a dry one. If you add way too much - you've just made soup :)

Couple quick fix tips - though this recipe is pretty direct and chopping - free.
* use a mini food processor for the garlic and onions
* if you need to make this and leave home for 6 hours, toss everything in at the same time - being sure you leave plenty of liquid- stir thoroughly, and set your crock pot on it's lowest setting

I'll be serving mine tonight with Greek Natural Yogurt, homemade salsa, and possibly diced bananas. I'll let you know in the next post how it goes, and will retroactively add a pic to this post.