Tag: food

Curried Red Lentils

Curried Red Lentils

Recipe by LisaCourse: MainCuisine: IndianDifficulty: Easy
Servings

6

servings
Prep time

15

minutes
Cooking time

40

minutes

Red lentils in a tomato and coconut milk curry sauce

Ingredients

  • Cooked Lentils

  • 1.5 cups split red lentils

  • 3 cups water

  • Curry Sauce

  • 1 medium onion, diced

  • 2 cloves garlic

  • 1 Tbsp butter

  • 1 tsp garam masala

  • 1/2 tsp ground ginger

  • 1 Tbsp hot curry powder

  • 1 tsp sweet curry powder

  • 28 oz diced tomatoes, puréed

  • 14 oz can coconut milk, solids

Method

  • Boil water. Add lentils and cook for 5 minutes. Drain and set aside.
  • Melt butter in pan over medium heat. Add onions and garlic. Sauté for a few minute, until onions become translucent.
  • Add spices and heat until fragrant.
  • Stir in tomato purée and simmer for 20 minutes to reduce.
  • Stir in coconut milk solids and simmer for 5 minutes
  • Add lentils and simmer for five minutes.
  • Serve over jasmine rice.

Air Popper

We got a air popper to make popcorn (we’d made some really good caramel corn a few night previously, and really want to make some more … plus it’s just easier to use an air popper than to pop the kernels on the stove). Picked Presto’s 04820 (which is cheaper and , evidently, the same as the 04821 but without the popcorn company’s logo on it) – a 1475 Watt air popper). It works well,  but there’s a strange design decision — no on/off switch. Obviously, we can unplug the thing and plug it in again when we’re ready to use it. I expect a majority of the use cases involve the popper being put into a cupboard somewhere when not in use anyway — so the machine is going to be unplugged after each use.

I expect this is a trend we’ll see in small appliances — it’s a component cost the company saved, reduced assembly time, and a point of failure is eliminated.

Maple Peanut Butter Eggs

Maple Peanut Butter Eggs
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Maple Peanut Butter Eggs

Recipe by LisaCourse: DessertDifficulty: Easy

Ingredients

  • Peanut Butter Filling

  • 1 cup chunky peanut butter (unsweetened)

  • 1/4 cup maple syrup

  • 1 tbsp vanilla extract

  • 1/4 cup all-purpose flour

  • Maple Chocolate

  • 4 oz 100% cocoa bakers chocolate

  • 2 tbsp coconut oil

  • 1/3 cup maple syrup

  • 1 tbsp maple sugar

Method

  • Line a plate with clingfilm or wax paper
  • Combine the peanut butter filling ingredients and mix to combine
  • In a double boiler, melt coconut oil
  • Add chocolate to coconut oil and melt
  • Stir in maple syrup and maple sugar
  • Take about a tablespoon of peanut butter mixture and roll into an egg shape
  • Roll peanut butter egg in chocolate to coat
  • Carefully remove coated egg from chocolate and place on lined plate
  • Once all eggs are coated, refrigerate for a few hours to solidify

Notes

  • Because coconut oil is used in this chocolate, it has a very low melting point — it’ll make a mess if you hold it in your hand as you eat it. Replacing the coconut oil with butter would raise the melting point.

Red Lentil Coconut Stew Recipe

Red Lentil Coconut Stew Recipe

Recipe by LisaCourse: DinnerDifficulty: Easy
Servings

4

servings
Prep time

10

minutes
Cooking time

25

minutes

Ingredients

  • 2 T oil

  • 1/2 tsp sea salt

  • 1/2 large onion, diced

  • 1 Tbsp chili garlic sauce (adjust to taste)

  • 1 1/2 cups red lentils

  • 1 cup carrots, sliced

  • 1 can coconut milk

  • 2 cups vegetable stock

Method

  • Heat a 6 qt sauté pan over medium heat and add oil. Sprinkle salt over oil.
  • Sauté onion for three minutes, then add 1 teaspoon of chili garlic sauce
  • Stir in lentils and stir to coat with oil
  • Add carrots. Stir in stock and coconut milk.
  • Simmer for 15-20 minutes until lentils are soft. Add salt and chili garlic sauce as desired.

Notes

  • Serve over jasmine rice.

Olive Tapenade

Olive Tapenade

Recipe by LisaCourse: SidesCuisine: ItalianDifficulty: Easy
Prep time

15

minutes
Cooking time

1

hour 

Ingredients

  • 1 cup black olives, diced

  • 1 cup green olives, diced

  • 2 cloves garlic, diced finely

  • 1 teaspoon lemon juice

  • 2 tablespoons olive oil

Method

  • Use a mortar and pestle to grind 1/4 of both black and green olives
  • Mix all ingredients together
  • Allow to sit for one hour

Focaccia Bread Recipe

Focaccia Bread Recipe

Difficulty: Easy
Prep time

25

hours 
Cooking time

30

minutes

Ingredients

  • 6¼ cups bread flour

  • ¼ teaspoon active dry yeast

  • 1 teaspoon sugar

  • 1 tablespoon sea salt

  • 3+3 tablespoons olive oil

  • ~2 cups water

Method

  • Combine yeast, sugar, and one cup of water. Wait until foamy on top.
  • Combine flour and sea salt, mix to combine.
  • Add yeast/water mixture and mix for a few minutes
  • Add 3 tablespoons olive oil and kneed until a shiny dough ball forms, adding water as needed
  • Let dough rise for 24 hours
  • Coat a half-sheet baking pan with 1 tablespoon of olive oil and sprinkle with sea salt
  • Spread dough over baking pan
  • Coat with 1 tablespoons olive oil
  • Allow to rise for 60 minutes
  • Preheat oven to 450
  • Coat with 1 tablespoon olive oil and sprinkle with sea salt
  • Bake for 25-35 minutes

Low Yeast, Long Rise Bread

There’s been a run on yeast. Well, there’s been a run on a lot of things. But most things have viable alternatives. No broccoli, get some carrots. No tomato sauce, get diced tomatoes and use a blender. While there are unleavened breads, and breads leavened with baking soda … it’s not yeast bread. I’ve found some recipes using brewing yeast for bread, but I wanted to see how little baking yeast would make bread. Last night’s pizza dough used a quarter teaspoon of yeast. I took a cup of warm water, added about a tablespoon of sugar, and a quarter teaspoon of yeast. That sat until there was activity. Mixed together three cups of whole wheat flour, one cup of white flour, a few tablespoons of vital wheat gluten, and a teaspoon of salt. Added the water/yeast, then added enough water to make a dough. The dough sat overnight to rise. I gently deflated it in the morning, then left it to raise again. Gently deflated it around lunch time, and left it alone until dinner time. Very good crust — great flavor, nice crunchy crust to it. And beautifully leavened.

No Durians

We stopped by CAM International Market on Saturday to see if they’ve got bat nuts, find fruit I don’t find at the local supermarket, and pick up a few expensive-elsewhere items (sesame oil!). Scott spotted a large, pokey looking fruit and asked if we should get one of those. Durian, the sign said … and I had to stop for a second because I don’t think I’ve had those before. And then I remembered where I’d heard the name …

The Singapore subway banned them because the odor was so offensive. And some people loved the things. We did not get the big durian fruit. Or the smaller vacuum sealed pack of durian flesh. He spotted durian-stuff a few more times and kept asking if we should try that. Finally, we happened across some mochi balls with durian ice cream. If you’re going to eat something with a stench awful enough that a subway system would bother banning it … a bit of it in ice cream is probably the way to go, so yeah … we’ll try it. There were four balls, just enough for each of us to have one.

I diced up a few persimmons — something that I knew was sweet and tasty — as a chaser. One ball out of the package in a bowl, and it smelled floral with a hint of not-so-good onions to me. But my nose doesn’t pick up a lot of chemicals and I figured, honestly, I’d be among those who don’t notice the smell. Scott tried a bite. He gave Anya a bite (and why didn’t we think to record this? She make an incredible YUCK face before and after trying it). I tried a bite. It was not good. The flavor was very onion-y with a sweetness like caramelized onions. But onion and ice cream isn’t really something that goes together in my mind. Maybe durian with roasted pork, but dessert? Nope. And then the half-a-ball sat in its dish. It got stinkier as it warmed up. Until it was voted off the island and into the city sewers (sorry gators!).

None of this prepared me for the horror of durian burps. A terrible combination of sewage and onions coming back to haunt me. Or sitting next to someone with a durian burp and thinking the stench has somehow lodged itself in my nasal passages. It was a good twelve hours before I wasn’t experiencing durian again.

Which makes me wonder … What in the world does a durian plantation smell like? I have fond memories of driving along the Nile at sunset and smelling sugar cane on the air. Even if the smell is significantly reduced in the whole fruit, a whole plantation of the things baking in the sun?!? And what does this stuff smell like if it’s gone bad? Does it rot and smell better? Or is it sewage and gym socks without the floral undertone?

But it was an entertaining experience. We’ve all had our lifetime supply of durian. And there are still three of these things in the freezer 🙂

Oat Nut Bread

Oat Nut Bread

Recipe by LisaCourse: BreadCuisine: BreadDifficulty: Easy
Prep time

6

hours 
Cooking time

35

minutes

Ingredients

  • 2 1/2 tsp active dry yeast

  • 1 1/4 c warm water

  • 2 c all-purpose flour

  • 2 c white whole wheat flour

  • 1/2 c rolled oats, chopped

  • 2 T honey

  • 1 t salt

  • 1/4 c walnuts, chopped

  • 1/4 c sunflower seeds, chopped

Method

  • In a large bowl, combine the yeast (about 1/4 oz.) and 1/4 cup warm water. Stir and let stand for 5 minutes, until foamy.
  • Stir in remaining water, 1 cup of flour, the oats, and honey. Mix well. Add in salt, nuts, and an additional 1 1/2 – 2 cups flour. Stir, adding remaining flour gradually, until the dough comes together into a ball a begins to pull away from the sides of the bowl (this can also be done in an electric mixer with the dough hook attached).
  • Turn dough out onto a lightly floured board and knead, adding flour a tablespoon at a time as necessary to prevent sticking, until dough is smooth and elastic, about 5-8 minutes.
  • Place dough in a lightly greased bowl, cover with plastic wrap and let rise until doubled in size, about 1 – 1 1/2 hours.
  • Lightly grease a 9×5-inch loaf pan.
  • After dough has risen, turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface again. Gently deflate dough into a rectangular shape. Fold up the two long sides of the rectangle and pinch the seam together. Place seam-side down into prepared loaf pan.
  • Again cover the bread with a piece of plastic wrap and let rise until almost doubled in size, about 45 minutes.
  • While the bread is going through its final rise, preheat oven to 375F.
  • Bake loaf for 35 minutes, until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the bottom reads about 200F.
  • Cool loaf outside of pan on a wire rack completely before slicing.