Adi's Delicious Birthday Dinner Delight!

Earlier this week my poor hubby and I called in sick and stayed home due to a nasty cold.  In the early afternoon, when we had napped all we could, the TV was turned on and we watched Rachel Ray's talk show.  She made an interesting dinner dish of chicken, poblano peppers and crema.  Considering what we had in the fridge and being vegetarian, we decided to make our spin on it. Knowing it would be a rich and delicious meal, we saved it for Adi's birthday dinner.

1 onion, coarsely chopped
3 mild peppers (1 pablano, 1 red, 1 green)
1-2 green chili peppers
1 large clove garlic
Cilantro
Paneer
Butter
Milk
2 T flour
Mexican Crema (cream or crem freisch)
Salt
Parmesan Cheese

In a food processor puree the raw onion, garlic, peppers, chili's and cilantro.  In a large oven proof pan heat some butter and cook the puree mix over low heat.  Add salt and and simmer.
In another pan, melt a large pat of butter, brown the paneer. When the paneer is browned remove from the pan and use the remaining butter to create a roux.  Whisk in the flour to the heated butter and cook the flour. When the flour is cooked, whisk in some milk.. As the roux thickens, add in some crema.

When the roux is complete, mix it into the onion and pepper gravy.  Stir and add salt as necessary.  Add in the paneer and stir. If desired, top with a little cheese and roast in the oven.

This dish is excellent when paired with yellow jeera rice.

Rice
Jeera
Shallot
Peas
Turmeric
Salt
Butter

Melt the butter and saute the shallot and jeera. Add in the raw rice grains and some turmeric, roast until you can smell the rice. Transfer into a rice cooker.  Add in some peas and water.  Cook and enjoy!

Saturday Morning Cartoons

It really doesn't matter how old you are, Saturday morning cartoons are the best.  This is made even better, when the cartoons are the ones remembered from childhood.  Good morning Babaar, thanks for making my morning wonderful!

Running & Resolutions

Its New Year's time again and I seem to blog more now than in the rest of the year. Hopefully I can rectify that and actually (a little more) write consistently. In this time of year resolutions have been weighing heavy on my mind. What to resolve for? Why resolve? Is a resolution actual a medium for real change? Why do the things I resolve for seem to fizzle?

This year, no resolutions, just actions.

It all started in November. After coming home from India and feeling like a giant balloon I put on my work out gear challenged my nemesis...the treadmill.

I ran.
Comfortably.

It was a new feeling, odd and slightly uncomfortable, yet exciting and exhilarating at the same time. I ran!

The next day, full of excitement,I started looking at races in my area. I started talking to my runner friends. An avid runner told me about the First Run. It happens on New Years, at midnight.

5...
4...
3...
2...
1...
Happy New Year!
RUN!

I took the plunge. I did it. I jumped in with 2 feet. I signed up.

Feeling emboldened in early December I took on a new foe. The gym. Now, this was not my first time at the gym. I had been going on and off since the summer. Most of my classes were water aerobics. For some reason the water acted as a shield. It let me hide. But in this state of mind, it was not a time to hide. I walked in, walked to the treadmill and ran!

I ran!

In front of people.

At the gym a few days later I was early for an aerobics class, I was milling about at the brochures and the general manager asked me if I wanted to sign up for the Fitness Challenge. YES! Without hesitation or question.

The Fitness Challenge started a whole new ball rolling... how else could I challenge myself. I download ed a Couch to 5K app and found a 5K race that was far enough in the future that I had time to prepare and soon enough that I couldn't sit on my laurels.

Now, I had a goal.

I faced my foe the treadmill and was winning. I concurred the gym. Emblazoned with confidence, pride and motivation on a nice, clear, but ridiculously cold Saturday morning, I did the unthinkable.

I RAN OUTSIDE.

on the street.

With my head held high.

Panting and sweating I just kept running.

And then it happened... I saw my shadow. I barley recognized it as me. With all the changes to my body and in this new environment... I saw myself running.

I am a runner.

I AM A RUNNER!

I realized in that moment that I had become someone and something that I never thought was possible for me. It opened new opportunities in my mind and new feelings in my heart.

I am a runner, without resolution, but with action!

Whatever Soup - Crockpot Style

When I was a child my mother used to make "Whatever Casserole". It was one of those dished that nearly each ingredients could be changed and it would still be a delicious meal. There was only one core ingredient and it was curry powder.

Now, I know I am a curry snob. Marrying an Indian and learning the beautiful, subtle, powerful and delightful depth and color that turmeric, garam masala, chili powder, coriander and cumin can have on a dish. But, in whatever casserole, it was the quintessential curry powder that you get at the local mega mart. Its flavors are exotic enough to be foreign, but plain enough to be enjoyed by the un-adventurous American palate.

Now it is my turn to have a "Whatever Recipe".

On Thanksgiving, we had a pot luck dinner party. One friend brought her favorite soup. The heart and soul warming soup that her mother would make her when she was a child. In tasting, slurping, relishing and enjoying i asked her how it was made. She described how she makes without giving a formal recipe. The key ingredients, garam masala and no tamarind.

Since then, I have made it several times and enjoy it more and more every time. If you are a meat eater this soup could easily have chicken, shrimp, beef, beef stock or chicken stock in it. As a vegetarian it is a conglomerate of whatever veggies I have and sound good.

And because I am a lazy woman, I just dump all the veggies, dry beans and rice in the crock pot, cover with water, add some salt, ground pepper or pepper corns, a spoon of garam masala and anything else that sounds exciting.

Delicious, hot, comforting, spicy, something you can never go wrong with.

With all this reminiscing about 'Whatever Casserole" I think I know what we will be having for dinner :)

Please enjoy!

A Pickel in History

It was the 1930's and my Fathers Uncle Paul and Aunt Madie were homesteaders in the West Hills of Portland. Paul build their family home by hand and Madie provided for the family by growing bountiful harvests in the summer, while preserving enough for the winter.

Their modest family home was off of what is now Skyline Road at the top of Portland's West Hills. A luxurious area of giant houses and panoramic views. Paul and Madie stayed in their home until the end of their lives.

In the summers, Madie would sit on her porch with her shot gun in hand waiting for, as she called them "Greydiggers", the fat, grey, bushy tailed squirrels that torment my vegetable patch and hers. As they would scanter along, legend has it, she would shoot them dead and call it fertilizer!

One of her recipes that has been passed down in the family is her Seven Day Choke Pickles. I have made it for the last two years in a row and cannot wait for this years cucumber crop.

Ingredients:
17 pickling cucumbers
Water
1 Quart Apple Cider vinegar
7 Cups sugar
4-5 teaspoons Pickling Spice
2 Tablespoons Salt

Day 1: Place the cucumbers in a large pot, cover the cucumbers with boiling water and let sit.
Days 2, 3, &4: Drain the water, boil fresh water, cover the cucumbers with the boiling water and let sit.
Day 5: Drain the water. Chop the cucumbers into 1/4 to 1/2 inch slices. Smaller if you want chips, larger if you want to grind to relish in the end. Make the syrup. Combine the vinegar, sugar, spice and salt in a pan, stir over medium heat until the sugar is dissolved. Bring to a boil and pour over the cucumbers.
Day 6: Drain the syrup back into a pan, bring back to a boil, and cover the cucumbers again.
Day 7: Drain the syrup back into a pan, bring back to a boil. Place the cucumber chips into a clean, sterilized, new, canning jar, or grind into relish and spoon into a jar. Ladle the boiling syrup over the cucumbers in the jars leaving 1/2 inch head room at the top of the jar. Wipe the rim with a towel to remove any spilt syrup. As soon as you can, seal the jars. As the jars cool on the counter, they should all cause their own suction vacuum and the lids will cave in. If not, make sure to store in the refrigerator.

When canning is it very important that you use fresh, clean, sterilized jars with fresh lids. No one wants to botulism from a pickle.

And that's my 2 cents of history, for both my family and my hometown.

Loose Leaf Tea

Hello readers,

I write to you today asking for your help. I am looking for some nice loose leaf tea that will be a good drink without adding sugar, milk or cream. I have always been a fan of mint (with sugar) and earl grey (with milk and sugar), but from there I am a bare canvas.

Please comment on any teas that you enjoy or would recommend.

I know what your thinking... why don't you just go down to the tea shop??! And I could, but that always seems so overwhelming, and frankly I like the personal advise much better.

Many thanks!

Vegetarian Stroganoff

After waking up from a long winter afternoon nap and with a little growling in my tummy, I longed for my moms stroganoff. She made hers with beef and I do not, but all the same, it has turned out great. It is the kind of food that warms the heart and the stomach :) Thanks Mom!

As I mentioned, this recipe usually uses beef or other meat products, as a vegetarian I have replaced the meat with Morning Star Farms Vegetarian Griller patties and have omitted any beef broth.

The ingredients:

1 T oil

2 cloves of garlic - chopped

1 small onion - sliced

3 Morning Star Farms Vegetarian Griller patties (or other meatless "meat" patties e.g. Boca, Morning Star Farms Crumbles) - chopped

1 cup green beans - chopped

1 T butter

3 cups sliced mushrooms - sliced

1 cup sour cream

Salt and pepper to taste

Noodles (traditionally egg, but I used whole wheat spiral pasta)

The How-To:

1. Put a pot of water on for the pasta.

2. Over medium, heat the oil in a large nonstick pan, put in garlic and onion. Saute for a minute or two and add the griller patties and green beans. Saute until the onions are translucent. Remove from the pan and set aside.

3. In the same pan used for the onion mixture; melt the butter over a medium-low heat and brown the mushrooms. Mushrooms don't like to brown if there are to many in the pan. If you need to cook the mushrooms in 2 batches it is worth it. As Julia Child said, "Don't crowd the mushrooms!"

4. Return everything to the pan, stir in the sour cream, salt and pepper. Cover and simmer for five minutes or until the beans are cooked.

5. Drain the pasta, serve and enjoy!

And if your family is anything like mine, after every bite you'll hear "MAN, this is awesome!!!"