nouveaux lentils and further adventures in flatbread

as much as i love my lentils (and my roommate does call me "lentil queen"), i've gotten sick of my usual curried-ish tomato-ish lentil recipe that i've relied on for most of the winter. so, i was understandably psyched when a friend sent me a lentil recipe that relies on winter greens and fresh herbs for a new take on this particular staple. i made some changes from the original to suit my taste, so it's still pretty spice heavy, but during a new england march, when you've pretty much run out of patience with winter, scenic snow-scapes or not, trust me, the this fresh-herb dependent recipe can make all the difference....

nouveaux lentils
chop one large onion, and sautee in a large saucepan with a couple tablespoons of olive oil.
when the onion gets soft, add two minced cloves of garlic and some powdered ginger and cumin, as well as about a cup and a quarter of lentils.
mix together and add enough vegetable stock to cover the lentils with room to spare.
cover and cook until the lentils are tender, adding more stock as necessary.
throw in a generous amount (1/4 lb? 1/3 lb?) of kale (or any winter green...the recipe called for spinach, i used kale, and chard would probably work as well, besides adding nice color) with a little extra stock or water, and wilt the greens.
add red pepper, black pepper, salt, and more ginger and cumin if necessary, to taste.
when everything else is satisfactory, mix in a double handful, equal parts chopped mint and cilantro. serve with a dollop of yogurt.

first attempt at naan
so i've already blogged my shot at foccacia, and the naan i made tonight is really similar, just with more fat, and different seasoning.
mix 1 packet yeast and 2 tsps honey.
add 3/4 cup warm (~110F) water to activate yeast, and leave covered for 5-10minutes, until frothy.
mix together 2tsps salt and 1 1/2 cups flour, and 2 cloves minced garlic.
add yeasty/honied water, along with 1/4 cup ghee and 3 generous tbsps greek yogurt.
mix, then knead, adding flour as needed to get to an elastic and not impossibly sticky dough.
oil a bowl and the dough, and cover. leave to rise to double its size (~1 hour).
punch down dough, remove from bowl.
preheat oven to 400F.
divide dough into 10 pieces, roll out, and place on oiled baking sheet.
cook until golden, flipping halfway through.
remove, glaze with more ghee, and serve.

just to go along with the theme, i decided to try a new beer:
otter creek brewery isn't my favorite (their copper ale tastes like a trip to the dentist), but, given the theme of my dinner, i couldn't resist trying their "world tour: sphinx" which is an "egyptian multigrain ale bewed with chamomile and honey". it very much tastes like if you were to make a beer out of a mug of chamomile tea with lemon and honey. it's actually not bad...unique, if likely to offend purists. on the other hand, it pairs pretty well with the spice/mint of the lentils and the buttery naan....and maybe more importantly, it's $2 for a 1pt 6oz bottle...so enjoy!

food for a rainy day

well, it absolutely could not be grosser outside. cold, windy, freezing rain, you name it...but i'm psyched because a meeting got canceled, so i slipped out a little bit early... and, after a miserable walk home and a ferociously hot shower, plan to spend the rest of my night finishing up work here and cooking.


my quaff and my makeshift rolling pin: our lady of rojo.

i love working from home. i've got an excel sheet open, but by 5:20, i've already pulled my ingredients and opened a bottle of questionable red. SO, first off...

focaccia
i'm not a baker. there's something about the recipe-dependent science of it that flies in the face of everything i love about cooking. however, i've been doing a little experimenting with pita lately (after you've had fresh baked pita, especially from the middle east, serving store-bought becomes something approaching a capital offense)...but i haven't managed to get it puffed properly yet. nonetheless, it's a pretty delicious flatbread, so i decided to come back to that problem later and adapt the better of the two recipes i've tried to something that doesn't require as much precision.

3 cups flour
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 Tablespoon honey
1 packet yeast
1 1/4 to 1 1/2 cups water
2 tablespoons olive oil
a mess 'o rosemary
--> caveat, i didn't really pay much attention to these...so we'll see. (see notes for next time below before making this)

activate the yeast in the water (just a touch above your wrist's temp), and once it's a little frothy, dissolve in the honey and salt, and add the olive oil.

add the rosemary to the flour(s). sadly, i didn't have fresh rosemary, so i had to use dried. yum factor minus four. pour in the liquids and hand mix until it's no longer sloppy and sticky, but just kinda tacky.

knead for 10 minutes (or approximately 2.5 tom petty songs, as i'm currently measuring), until it's smooth and elastic. oil the dough and and and a bowl, put the dough in the bowl, cover with a damp cloth, and set aside to rise until it's doubled in size (90 minutes? sure, why not.)

punch down the dough, take it out, and divide it up into 6 or so balls (or however many mini-focaccias you'd like). knead the balls (HATHAT'SWHATSHESAID), and let them rest under the damp cloth for 10 minutes or so. preheat your oven to 375F. take them out, roll them flat to about a 1/4 inch (maybe a little thicker for the focaccia). then put the rounds back under the towel for another 10 minutes.

pop them on a lightly oiled baking sheet, brush with more olive oil (maybe some kosher salt? some garlic? little more rosemary? a little thyme?) and bake until lightly browned.

notes for next time
i always use some wheat flour. gives the thing some flavor. (as soon as i can get to our local produce/natural, vegetarian foods joint, i'm going to pick up some barley and spelt flours and give those a whirl too.) however, you definitely need to add some extra water and olive oil (or whatever you're using for fat). also: dried rosemary- FUGGEDABOUDIT. mine was really lacking for the fresh stuff. it could also use a little more salt. i found that the 1 1/2 teaspoons wasn't really enough for focaccia, although it works fine, taste-wise, for pita.

vegetarian chili
i often cook massive amounts of food, with whatever is to hand. so what i call "vegetarian chili" is an only-semi constant constellation of bean and tomato-based ingredients, thrown together. it is, however, pretty delicious. i'm noting the amounts that i happened to use this time, but they're totally flexible. although i didn't this time, you can add pretty much any kind of veggie you want, to make it super nutritious (spinach might be good).



1 cup quinoa; 1/2 cup amaranth (or any whole grains)
this is for texture (since there's no ground meat), taste, and (depending on what grain you use) added protein. i like the quinoa and amaranth mixture: both are high-protein, gluten-free new world grains, with nice flavors (quinoa is kinda grassy, and amaranth kinda toasty/nutty). be sure to soak them for a couple hours and/or rinse them thoroughly in a fine strainer, as the quinoa, especially, has a high saponin level (bitter, bowel-irritating coatings on the seeds). cook like rice with 2 parts water to 1 part grain, until the water is absorbed and the quinoa's curly germ has separated from the main seed.

2 large onions
chop and sautee with olive oil and salt until yellowy and soft, but not quite transluscent. i tend to go onion heavy, because i like onions. you may not...and i may judge you for that. if you do this in the bottom of the pot, you can minimize dished (which i like...)

add a 14.5 oz can of diced, unseasoned organic tomatos along with their liquid and a 14.5 oz can of red kidney beans, rinsed, and some frozen corn to the pot with the onions. if you, like me, like to have tomatos on hand, but hate watching them go bad if not used, buy canned, but spring for the organic. it makes all the difference. as for beans, you can use any, and i often use a mix. word is, the dried, bagged ones are cheaper and better, but i'm often too lazy to soak them before i use them...your call. also, i'm sure it would be extra delicious if, instead of using old, freezerburned kernels, you roasted the corn on the cob with olive oil and salt, and then cut the kernels in at the last minute.

now, season with chili powder, flaked red pepper, more salt, pepper, and copious amounts of garlic. i also throw in a mess o' cumin powder (like i do with nearly everything), because, in this case, i think it makes a nice mellow note under the spicier chili power and red pepper. cook as long as you want, adding the quinoa about halfway through, so it gets flavor too.

top with cheese, sour cream, cilantro...whatever you want. keep leftovers in the fridge...it only gets better as it sits.

super awesome, experimental desert
this was a collosal fail, mostly because winging it didn't really work...in any of the approximately 7 billion components involved. normally, i'd have no problem blogging said fail, but i think this had to do with execution, not concept, so i'm going to post it when i get the chance to try it again and do it right. don't worry, i'll detail my own mistakes so you don't repeat them...if you would be silly enough to. until then, you'll just have to remain in suspense. [note: if you were present for this spectacularly terrible culinary experience, don't ruin it for others/embarrass me in the comments haha.]

tofu dumplings with brussel sprouts...and love.

so, i've never made dumplings before, i've never liked fried food, and i don't have a steamer...but hey! after a couple of very strong homebrewed beers (a yummy baltic porter, courtesy of a brewer friend), anything seems pretty do-able. plus, i've had a couple of blocks of tofu, wonton wrappers, and frozen brussel sprouts in my fridge for a while now, so i decided to hit up the korean grocery/fish market on the corner for ginger and scallions, and give it a shot. (note on small, ethnic grocery stores: they are the best. everything is always cheaper, and often in small, cooking-for-one friendly packaging. i go a lot to this fish market, although never to buy the fish, which always seems like a gamble. there's also a mexican grocery which i've yet to try, but plan on going to, to hunt down some masa for tamales. stay tuned.)

i've kind of taken the general thrust of technique for the dumplings from this blog, which also makes me want to try other japanese-inspired dishes. the brussel sprouts are inspired by this heidi swanson recipe. (if i could kill anyone for the purpose of stealing their life, mr.ripley style, it would be swanson: foodie, photographer, and general bad ass. wow i hope i don't get in trouble for putting that on the internet). since, like i said, i don't have a steamer, i decided to go with lightly frying the little suckers, but you could probably use the same ingredients, but sautée the filling first, and then steam them.

tofu dumplings with brussel sprouts...and love


wanton skins
a mess o' brussel sprouts (try to use fresh, but frozen will do)
2 blocks extra firm tofu, drained
2 eggs
1/2 cup edamame
a medium bundle of scallions, chopped
a large bulb of ginger, grated
lots of minced garlic
salt, sugar, red pepper flakes
sesame oil
canola oil
a lime or two

brussel sprouts:
shred the brussel sprouts and sautée in sesame oil with ginger, garlic, salt, and red pepper to taste. don't overcook them: you want them to be brightly colored, and kind of flexible, but not yellow or droopy. squirt some lime juice on in the last minute or so, if you want.


dumplings:
process the tofu and eggs to a creamy mixture, then blend in the edamame, scallions, ginger, garlic, salt and sugar.i put some lime juice in, but i'm not sure it actually came through in the end...
i'm a big believer in the phrase "to taste"...how much of everything is in there will depend on what you like. this is only partly because i am too lazy to measure things (so go ahead, taste it...no, i don't care that there are raw eggs. sack up, scooter).


take wanton skins and moisten the edges with your finger, dipped in water. put about a teaspoon of the tofu mush in, and fold it over, so that there is still a border of damp wanton visible. fold the border back over to close, and moisten the whole edge to seal (see below).



heat some canola oil in a frying pan. fry each dumpling until golden brown, flipping each half way through to cook on both sides. do not walk away from the stove to pour yourself another beer in the middle of your second batch.

let the fried dumplings cool/drain a bit, then serve on top of the brussel sprouts.