Chana Masala

• ghee 
• mustard seed 
• cumin seed 
• coriander 
• turmeric 
• black pepper 
• fennel seed (just a little bit - really) 
• onion 
• garlic 
• ginger 
• chilis 
• tomatoes (2 or 3) 
• chickpeas (a large can, or similar amount of pre-prepared) 
• lemon 
• fresh cilantro 

Dice the onion/ginger/garlic/chilis, or blend in a food processor. 

Bring ghee to medium-high heat. 

Add mustard and cumin seeds and let them saute a minute or two, until they're fragrant. 

Reduce heat and add the rest of the spices and the onion/ginger/garlic/chili mix. 

Cook until soft (but on a low enough heat that they're not caramelized). 

Add chopped tomatoes and chickpeas, simmer until tomatoes are cooked down, and mixture thickens a little. Remove from heat. 

Mix in lots of lemon juice (maybe a half or whole squeezed). 

Serve topped with lots of fresh cilantro. 

Tips: 

+ Use a lot of the onion/garlic/ginger/chilis. Like maybe a whole onion, half a garlic head, a small handful of chopped ginger. This and the tomatoes are your base, so don't be shy. Same for the spices. 

+ I prefer to eat this with rice. Steve likes roti. Take your pick! (maybe both!) 

+ Avoid canned tomatoes. I did this once, and it was... weird. Italian-Indian (and not in a good way!) 

+ Careful not to burn the spices when you first saute them. I burnt the mustard/cumin combo once, and whooo boy. 

+ Don't use too much fennel. ;) You can probably go to town with pretty much everything else, but that fennel is mighty powerful.

Ginger-molasses bars

Mmmm, chewy and gingery! These came out even better than anticipated. Like a brownie, but spicy! 

Wet: 

• 1 1/4 cups brown sugar 
• 2/3 cup butter 
• 1/2 cup molasses 
• Lots of ground ginger 
• Some cinnamon and cloves 
• Dash salt 
• Vanilla 
• 2 eggs 

Dry: 

• 1/2 c whole wheat flour 
• 1/2 almond meal (or more whole wheat, but the almonds are sooo good, believe me!) 
• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour 
• 1 teaspoon baking powder 
• 1 teaspoon salt 
• a little lemon zest 

Mix wet, mix dry, mix together. 

Grease a 9x13 inch pan, pour, bake at 350F / 175C for 20 to 30 mins. 

I sprinkled the top with sugar before putting in the oven. 

Some ideas: 

+ Err on the side of undercooked, rather than over. 

+ It might be worth trying this at a higher temp for shorter time (say, 375F / 190C) to get a chewier edge. 

+ I bet fresh ginger in here would be tasty! Diced really fine, or pureed. Maybe candied ginger (tho that might be too sweet).

Brownies

Lovely chewy (not cakey) ones!

Chomp chomp chomp chomp chomp...

• 115 g (8 tbs) unsalted butter
• 100 g (4 oz) dark, dark, dark chocolate. Like 85%. Or just unsweetened.
• About 250 g (1 to 1.5 cups) sugar
• Tiny bit of salt
• Couple teaspoons vanilla
• 2 large eggs
• 120 g (1 cup) flour
• 2 tablespoons natural cocoa powder (not Dutch-processed)
• Bunch of crushed walnuts (if desired, of course!)

Heat oven to 175 C (350 F). Butter a square pan, 20x20 cm (8x8 in).

In a small pot suspended over a larger pot of simmering water (a.k.a. double boiler), melt butter and chocolate. 

Remove pan from heat; cool slightly. Stir in sugar, salt, & vanilla. Mix in eggs one at a time until blended. 

Add flour & cocoa; mix/beat until smooth. Stir in nuts.

Scrape batter into pan; lick bowl and spoon. (Or offer them to someone you love.) Lick fingers. 

Bake at 175 C (350 F) until the place starts smelling amazing, and the brownies more or less pass the toothpick test (the toothpick shouldn't come out dry -- a few moist crumbs still sticking to it are a good thing!); i.e., about 35 minutes, although you can even start checking after 20 minutes, depending on if your pan is glass or metal. Whatever you do, don't overcook them!

Remove from oven. If you're the patient type, you can let them cool & cut them into squares.

Or you just stick a fork into the pan and burn your mouth (but it's worth it).

Goat milk yogurt quiche

This looks pretty incredible: http://www.redwoodhill.com/goat-milk-yogurt-and-cheese-quiche I'll try it next weekend and let y'all know how it comes out!

Icelandic recipes!

Just found this marvelous-looking blog of Icelandic recipes:

http://icecook.blogspot.com/

I want to make everything on it! Stay tuned for how the fish-potato pancakes turn out, or pickled herring, or fish in white sauce...

Walnut bread

This was such an unusual, delicious, pleasant surprise! A hearty and savory quick bread stuffed with nuts. And like any good bread, it made the house smell incredible. 

Wet

• 1 3/4 cups whole wheat flour 
• 1 teaspoon baking powder 
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 
• dash salt 

Dry

• 4 eggs 
• 1/2 c buttermilk or plain yogurt (I used sheep yogurt -- mm!) 
• 3 tablespoons olive oil 
• 3 tablespoons walnut oil 
•  2 cups chopped walnuts 

Sift dry, mix wet, combine, fold in nuts. 

Scrape into buttered or oiled loaf pan. 

Bake 375F/175C for approx 50 minutes (but start checking on it after 30). 

Extra-super good as toast with butter.

Egg foo yong soup

This started as a variation on the Chicken Soup, but minus chicken, and plus eggs, soy sauce, and extra rice. Came out super tasty! 

• 1 part chopped garlic 
• 1 part chopped ginger 
• 1 part chopped green onions 
• 1 part minced chilis (to taste) any other veggies you care for: celery bean sprouts carrots bok choy mushrooms (bamboo shoots, water chestnuts, ...) 
• fresh thai basil 
• fresh cilantro 
• rice 
• chicken broth (or boullion) 
• dry white wine (or rice vinegar) 
• eggs 
• soy sauce 

Saute chopped veggies. Add herbs, rice, broth, wine/vinegar, and extra water. Boil until rice is tender, then reduce to a simmer. Scramble 2-3 eggs, then pour into simmering soup, stirring as you go. The eggs should cook immediately. Serve with soy sauce.

Shauna's chicken soup for colds

This has become our standard Chicken Soup For When You Have a Cold: 

• 1 part minced garlic 
• 1 part minced ginger 
• 1 part minced chilis (to taste) 
• 1 part chopped green onions any other veggies you care for: celery bean sprouts carrots bok choy bamboo shoots water chestnuts fresh thai basil fresh cilantro fresh lemon verbena (or lemon balm) 
• rice 
• chicken 
• chicken broth (or boullion) 
• dry white wine (or rice vinegar) 
• lemon 

Saute the chopped/minced veggies in some oily substrate (butter or coconut oil work great). 

Remove veggies, and saute chicken. 

Add back veggies, along with basil and cilantro, broth, rice, wine/vinegar, and some extra water, and bring to a boil. 

Cook until rice is tender. 

Squeeze half a lemon into your bowl before serving. (Keep tissues handy.) 

IDEA: I bet it would be really tasty to puree the garlic/ginger/chilis together first, and then simmer in the broth for a while. Allow more opportunity for the flavors to all blend.

Pasta and Shrimp

Thanks to Karen Murphy for this very easy pasta dish. 

1 T. olive oil
2-3 cloves finely chopped garlic
3 T. butter
1/2 C. heavy cream
1/4 C. whole milk
a shake of salt and pepper
raw de-veined shrimp and
pre-cooked angle hair pasta.

In a hot skillet add olive oil and garlic. Don't brown the garlic just soften.
Add butter until melted. Add heavy cream, milk, salt and pepper.
Simmer about 5 minutes on medium heat. Toss in the shrimp 2 minutes. Then
toss in the cooked pasta and continue to simmer until the shrimp is pink; about two more minutes.
Serve with a sprinkle of Parmesan.
It really is the easiest thing. Add and subtract to taste. Enjoy.

Butter Chicken

Use medium or medium-high heat. Fry until onion starts getting translucent (just starts to, not fully translucent - maybe 5 min):

1T butter or ghee (butter works fine because the dish as a whole shouldn't be cooked too hot)

1/2 lg or 1 sm onion

garlic to taste (whole head :))

Add:

1lb chicken, chopped into bite-sized pieces (I like thighs because they have more chicken-y flavor and are moister)

The dish is more or less done when the chicken is cooked, though if you let it simmer longer, you get a better blending of flavors. Add and mix in the following while the chicken is cooking:

1/2 can of tomato paste

2T lemon juice

1t grated ginger or 1/2t powdered ginger (add with onions to mellow more)

1/2t garam masala

1/2 curry or hot curry powder

cayenne and/or sriracha to taste

Optional but nice:

1/2t cardamom

1/4t cumin

1/2t turmeric (it's anti-inflammatory!)

1/2t tandoori masala

Cover and turn to low for about 10 min.

Now, this still doesn't have the "creamy" part of butter chicken. Depending on your tastes and dietary goals/constraints, pick one or more of the following:

heavy cream

greek yogurt

cream cheese

It's pretty harsh without at least one of these (especially if you put in a lot of spicy ingredients). If all your diners agree about what to add, you can add it to the pan as it's cooking - particularly with the cream, you can add it right before the simmering stage. If you're trying to keep probiotics alive, you'll need to add the yogurt directly to your plate to avoid getting the little fellas over 120F.

Goes well with rice, or just eat it by itself.