Aloo Gobi Masala

I may have already mentioned this, but I love Indian food. My love affair with Indian cuisine began when I was in college. I don't remember eating much of it growing up in the midwest, but I dove in once in New York. My dorm was right in the center of an Indian neighborhood. I had about 6 vegetarian Indian restaurants and several spice stores to choose from. I even had a sari store or two, but I am not brave enough to figure out how to wear one properly. They are beautiful though.

I do remember the first dish I tried. It was Aloo Mutter. Since then, I have sampled many dishes, and have also had the opportunity to cook many of my favorites and play around a bit in the kitchen.

I wasn't planning on Indian food tonight. In fact, I had nothing planned for dinner. The menu popped into my as I was headed home to pick up my car, which was perfectly parked right next door to the Indian grocery store. This wonderful little store has everything I need, and they are wonderful to me. They don't mind my questions when I ask them to identify things, and they are very helpful about figuring out what is kosher around the store. Sometimes I wonder if I am the only Jewish observant person that shops in the store.

On the menu tonight was Aloo Gobi Masala, which is a curry of cauliflower, potatoes, and peas. It was so good. Lucky for me, there are tasty leftovers for me to take for lunch tomorrow. Well...lucky me, but maybe not so lucky coworkers. They have to smell my yummy lunch. Should we thank the open office floor plan gods now? On to the recipe.

Aloo Gobi Masala

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon vegetable oil
2 medium onions, chopped
1 overflowing tablespoon garlic paste
1 heaping tablespoon ginger paste
2 tomatoes, chopped
1 small green chile, chopped
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon coriander powder
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon garam masala
1 head of cauliflower, cut up into florets
1/4 cup vegetable broth
1 potato, cubed and boiled
1/2 cup of peas
1/2 tablespoon chopped cilantro (optional)
1/4 cup half and half
Methi Leaves, for garnish

Saute the onions in oil - for around 7 minutes.

Add in the garlic and ginger paste. Saute a few more minutes. Add in the chopped tomatoes. Saute for 2 minutes. Add in the spices. Stir the mixture and cook a few minutes. Add in the cauliflower and the broth.
After 5 minutes, add in the potatoes and the peas. Cook for another 5-10 minutes. Stir in the half and half and the optional cilantro.

Serve over some rice. Garnish with the methi leaves.

Categories: curry, dinner, indian, vegetables, vegetarian

Call it Hummus or Call it Sauce

I regret not making more of this tasty dish. Today was another day where I came home later than expected. Rainy day, bad traffic, made for Late Mom. When I got home, I needed to come up with someone fast for dinner. Those dinner alarm bells were ringing in my kids heads, smoke pouring out their ears. I had to come up with something that would take mere minutes. I had to restrain myself from running to the nearest pizza store on the way home.

I put some water on to boil...I literally threw it on the stove, water puddling on the floor. I always have some type of pasta in the pantry. What to serve with the pasta to up the healthy factor. Chopped up salad veggies are fine on the side. What to put on the pasta though. I wanted some protein for them, and had no time to cook up some chicken.

As I was eyeing my mini cuisinart, I decided on a white bean puree. This puree would also be good turned into a Hummus. Just omit the vegetable broth if you want to serve it as a dip.


White Bean Puree or Hummus

1 can of white beans
2 tablespoons basil, chopped
5 cloves of garlic
salt
pepper
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/4 cup vegetable broth
1/4 cup shredded parmesean (optional)

Process the entire mixture in a food processor. Toss with warm pasta.

Enjoy!

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Parmesean Crusted Tilapia

When I am craving protein in the middle of the week, we usually turn to fish. We have been buying fish at some of the local Korean and Japanese markets. We find the fish to be freshest and pretty cheap. This week I had some tilapia that I wanted to use up. My only regret, was that since we bought it whole, it wasn't cut properly. I can't debone or fillet a fish for the life me. Our dinner was still tasty, but we had to eat around the bones. Next time I will buy the fillets. So much for saving a buck.

Parmesean Crusted Tilapia
Ingredients:

3/4 cup grated parmesean
1/2 cup bread crumbs
1 tablespoon Italian Seasoning
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 tablespoons butter - softened
Juice of one lemon
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
salt
pepper
One lemon, sliced thinly
4 tilapia fillets


Preheat the oven to 425.

Mix everything except for the fish and lemon slices in a small bowl. Grease a baking pan.

Lay the lemon slices on the pan. Lay the fish over the lemon. Spread the cheese mixture over the fish.

Bake 15 minutes, or until done.

Enjoy!

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Soyrizo, Chorizo, Soy Chorizo

While wandering a grocery store a couple months ago, I was delighted to come across some soy chorizo. I am always seeing some interesting recipes that call for the real thing, so I was intrigued and bought a package. Having never tried the real thing, I wasn't quite sure what to expect. I do know that it is supposed to be a crumbled, oily, and spicy sausage treat. I dove in and decided to test the waters. I didn't use a recipe, I just worked with what I had in the pantry. It came out excellent. It was one of those dishes that I actually fight with my husband over the leftovers to take to work the next day. I almost always let him take the leftovers. So you know it's good.


Soy Chorizo Saute
Ingredients:

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion, chopped
5 cloves garlic, chopped
Soy Chorizo or the real stuff
1 can of white beans, drained and rinsed
1 can of diced tomatoes (I like the kind that has added flavor, jalapenos or otherwise)
salt
pepper
1 tsp cumin
2 tsp. red pepper flakes (optional)
1/4 cup veggie broth


In a large cast iron pan or skillet, saute the onions and garlic in olive oil for 7 minutes.

Remove the chorizo from the casing and crumble into the pan. Cook over medium heat for another 5 minutes.

Add in the white beans and tomatoes. Stir into the chorizo mixture.

Add in the spices. Stir and cook for a few minutes.

Stir in the veggie broth. Let the dish simmer for another 10 minutes.

Serve over steamed rice. Yum! I will not say, "Yum-O," because that would be lame. It is good though, and it is a super easy meal for a crazy weeknight.

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Potato Leek Soup

Last week I picked up my younger daughter from daycare and was informed that there were some issues with her food and eating. I got all nervous. I couldn't imagine what the problem could be. I prepare her lunches. I send it to daycare. She is fed. End of story, right? Well, I was wrong. Apparently, her well-meaning teacher is concerned. She doesn't like that my daughter gets the same rendition of food each week. There is some variety, but I do admit, it is pretty predictable. The teacher was concerned that we were depriving her and decided to take matters in to her own hands. She fed my daughter some of the non-kosher, sodium-filled, school served chicken soup. There was a meeting after school discussing the events of the day. I went home with some guilty-parent syndrome. Maybe I do need to start sending some new lunch options, but what will she eat? So I am on the road to becoming a super-duper lunch maker. For the younger daughter only. The older daughter still insists on peanut butter sandwiches, cream cheese sandwiches, or pasta in a thermos. Ah Well.

Potato Leek Soup is a wonderful hearty and warm soup. It is perfect for chilly winter nights along with a salad. This soup only works when you stick to the recipe. You should never skimp by substituting the butter, or anything else for that matter. It is a very simple soup and comes together in minutes.

Potato Leek Soup
Ingredients:


4 leeks, only the whites, halved, washed, and sliced (Leeks are very sandy - wash carefully)
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves of garlic, chopped
1/2 stick of butter
5 medium potatoes, diced
1 carton of veggie broth, or 4-5 cups
4 cups of water
salt
pepper
2 teaspoons of marjoram

In a large pot, saute the leeks, onions, and garlic in the butter. Cook on medium-low heat for 10 minutes.

Add in the diced potatoes. Stir to coat the potatoe in some of that yummy butter.

Add in the broth, water, and seasonings.

After the soup comes to a boil, turn it to medium-low. Let it simmer for 30 minutes.

After 30 minutes, mash the potatoes and stir, or blend with an immersion blender to your desired consistency. I prefer the blender method.

In crafty news, I knit my first hat!

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I want to apologize for neglecting the blog for a bit. I have been playing nurse to the rotating sick residents in this house. The bug circulated around the office and then took a detour to my house. Lucky us.

I love soups in the winter. Soups are an easy, filling, and flavorful meal. The added bonus is that they hide nutritious veggies from my older daughter. My older daughter is a bit of a picky eater, so I need to get crafty to keep her meals vitamin-packed.

I usually have a decent supply of soup in my freezer and some ideas for soup in my mind. I find it hard to mess up soup. During my lunchtime wanderings, I peek in to the local eateries to get new ideas.

Carrot Ginger Soup with Cumin

Ingredients:

1 onion, chopped
5 cloves of garlic, chopped

1 tablespoon garlic paste

2 tablespoons ginger paste
1 tablespoon of curry paste
1 pound of carrots, sliced
1 carton of veggie broth, approximately 4 cups

3 cups water

2 tsp. cumin

2 tsp. coriander

red pepper flakes (optional)

salt
pepper

In a soup pot, saute the chopped onions, garlic, and the garlic paste. Saute for around 5-7 minutes.

Add in the ginger paste. Saute for 2 more minutes.

Add in the spices and the curry paste.

Add in the sliced carrots. Stir everything up a bit. Let it saute for another 5 minutes.

Pour in the veggie broth and the water. Cook over a medium-high flame until it starts to boil.

When it starts to boil, cover the pot and let it simmer for 30-40 minutes.

Using an immersion blender, puree the soup to your desired consistency. I like it to be mostly smooth.

It is really tasty when served with a dollop of plain yogurt or sour cream for the sinful types.

Enjoy!

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