kadhai murghi

i really don't have the time to blog tonight. i like to get plenty of sleep and wake up quite early (before 5am), so i don't always have too much time after work for recreational activities. i had made up my mind to cook a really cool-sounding recipe that i had come across recently, so i cooked it and took photos and thought i would probably get around to the blog post this weekend.
the dinner was good. the dinner was really really tasty. really really interesting. in short, it was just wonderful.
so even though i used my recreational time to make the dinner, i am now going to postpone sleeping for a bit while i blog about the aforementioned meal.

i subscribe to too many cooking magazines. being that time is so obviously a limiting factor when it comes to many things in my life, it turns out that i can't get around to reading all of these cooking magazines as often or as in-depth as i'd like to. the other day, i picked up the february issue of eating well, which i have had for a while and i KNOW i looked through it before. but somehow i had missed the section on recipes from northern india! no clue how i bypassed it, because every single picture is gorgeous, every recipe delicious-sounding. i haven't had a lot of experience with indian food-- i have probably eaten it two times in my life and cooked it zero times. but i was intrigued. so tonight i made:


kadhai murghi (wok-seared chicken and vegetables)
adapted from eating well, february 2008

• 1.75 teaspoons ground coriander
• 3/4 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon fennel seeds, ground
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground tumeric
• 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breast, cup into 1-inch cubes
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 large carrots, cut into 1/4-inch-thick slices
• 1 large green bell pepper, cut into 1-inch pieces
• 1 small red onion, but into 1/2-inch cubes
• 4 large garlic cloves, thinly sliced
• 1 dried ancho chile, stemmed
• 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
• 1/2 cup packed fresh mint leaves, finely chopped

1) combine ground spices with cornstarch and salt in a bowl. add chicken and stir until coated
2) in a wok, heat 2 tablespoons oil over high heat. add carrot, bell pepper, onion, garlic, and chili. stir for about 6 minutes, until vegetables start to brown. transfer to a plate
3) reduce heat to medium-high. add remaining oil. add chicken to wok and cook about 7 minutes, until no longer pink in the center
4) add vegetables, lime juice, and mint to wok. stir for about 30 seconds, until heated through

a shot that is noticeably void of bell pepper . . .

bell pepper situation remedied!

wow! that's why i love to try such intriguing recipes. i never in a million years could have thought to combine coriander, tumeric, cumin, lime juice, fennel seed, and mint. never. and it was amazing. a combination my taste buds had never experienced and had definitely never expected. i am making dog ears all over this section of my magazine. i suggest you do the same, if you happen to have a copy.
the one main thing i changed about the recipe was the use of pre-ground spices. they suggest you ground the fennel, coriander, and cumin yourself. i already had ground cumin and ground coriander on hand, so i decided to use those instead of purchasing the whole seeds. if you make this yourself and want to ground the spices on your own, add 1/4 teaspoon (pre-grinding) to the coriander and the cumin.
the recipe also calls for THREE dried red chiles. spicier ones, too. since i was cooking for myself, i opted to go for a less spicy recipe. i'm working my way up to accepting the burn, but i'm not quite there yet.

so enjoy this! trust me-- if it's getting me to blog on a freezing work night, i must have enjoyed it immensely.

tag - i'm it!

the fabulous carla over at chocolate moosey has tagged me! so here is my first meme on this blog-- a way for all of you to get to know me a tiny bit better. enjoy. =)

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What were you doing 10 years ago?
i was a sophomore in high school. my life at that time consisted of studying (ALL the time. i was and still am a big ol' nerd), drama rehearsals, and cross country practices.

What were you doing 1 year ago?
working as a legal assistant in newport beach. that was about the time when i started to consider moving to colorado. it's quite likely that i was extremely stressed out exactly one year ago due to said decision.

Five snacks you enjoy
1. light havarti
2. olive tapenade
3. reese's peanut butter cups
4. purple grapes
5. ricotta and honey

Five songs that you know all the lyrics to
(i will refrain from listing show tunes here)
1. ' go places' by the new pornographers
2. 'revelation big sur' by red house painters
3. 'rocky raccoon' by the beatles
4. 'mary jane's last dance' by tom petty
5. 'like a rolling stone' by bob dylan

Five things you would do if you were a millionaire
1. two words: student loans . . .
2. move to scotland or some other fantastic country and work random jobs
3. start my own publishing house
4. hire a permanent chauffeur
5. join the peace corps

Five bad habits
1. i am incapable of hanging up my clothes
2. i drink too much coffee when i'm at work
3. i am constantly running to the computer to look things up. i view this as a great habit, but it tends to annoy people =)
4. i don't read other blogs as often as i'd like, nor do i comment as often as i'd like
5. i should keep refilling my nalgene bottle instead of going through so many 16.9-ounce plastic water bottles . . .

Five things you like doing
1. drinking coffee (hence its being listed as a bad habit. but it's oh-so-good)
2. baking
3. playing pc rpgs (not multiplayer)
4. six bravo-ing
5. doing sudoku puzzles in bed right before i fall asleep

Five things you would never wear again
1. bodysuits (!)
2. dangling earrings that go all the way to my shoulders
3. belly chains
4. scrunchies (yes, carrie bradshaw partly influenced this decision)
5. neon green and pink nail polish (both colors represented at the same time, alternating fingers)

Five favorite toys
1. digital camera
2. clue fx - the board game that talks
3. the transformers my boyfriend keeps on his desk at work-- except i break them every time i play with them
4. tivo (tivo's totally a toy)
5. my new pc that's so fast and awesome that i will be able to play elder scrolls iv: oblivion soon. yay

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and now i'm not sure who to tag . . . however, i think it'd be great to get to know my readers a little better, as well. so by all means, if you are a blog owner and you are reading this, please fill it out and post a link in the comments of this post! and if you DON'T have a blog of your own, fill this out and post it all in the comments!

pasta - tomatoes, spinach, goat cheese

it's january 19 and i still seem to be in the christmas spirit. by that, i mean that i can't seem to cook in any other color scheme than red and green. it could be the cold weather and the snow. or maybe it's something to do with my generally spirited mood these days. or maybe it's just an extreme lack of food blog planning on my part. (goodness, rebecca, can you PLEASE introduce an eggplant or a carrot into a meal soon? hmm?)

however monotonously-colored this dish might seem, it was delicious and full of great, simple ingredients. as i type, i'm not sure if i am going to apply my 'healthy' label to this post, but i may change my mind. i decided to finally make a main-course dinner out of the soybean pasta that i adore so much. i used a modest amount of olive oil (which is good for you, anyway). and there's quite a bit of spinach, plenty of tomatoes.
i think i might be sold on the 'healthy' label! my only advice would be to watch the cheese . . .

pasta with spinach, tomatoes, and goat cheese
adapted from food & wine, february 2008

• 6 ounces soybean pasta
• olive oil
• 1 clove garlic
• tiny pinch of crushed red pepper
• 1/2 cup grape tomatoes, halved
• kosher salt
• freshly ground black pepper
• 4 cups fresh spinach
• 1/8 cup freshly grated manchego cheese (plus more for serving)
  
• 2 ounces fresh goat cheese, crumbled

1) cook pasta according to package directions. reserve 1/4 cup of the cooking water
2) in a large skillet, heat olive oil over moderately high heat. add garlic and crushed red pepper and cook until garlic is soft, maybe about two minutes
3) add tomatoes and sprinkle with salt and pepper, to taste. cook until they start to release their juices, about two minutes
4) add spinach and cook until wilted, about two minutes
5) add pasta, reserved cooking water, and 1/8 cup manchego. toss over low heat until pasta is covered with sauce
6) add goat cheese and gently toss
7) serve in shallow bowls and top with a bit more shredded manchego


before delving into a recipe like this with soybean pasta, i would suggest trying the pasta on its own first. maybe with a plain, jarred marinara sauce. something simple and not so time consuming, just in case you find that you don't enjoy the taste so much. it's very close to normal pasta ( so much more nutritious), but different enough to want to be a little cautious with.
i mentioned that this was time consuming, but in the grand scheme of things, it really isn't. it's listed in the category of quick meals in the magazine, and it lives up to it. i figured i'd spend a lot of time prepping and then cooking pasta and then putting it all together in the end. it took 30 minutes, start to finish. i was impressed.
one thing i did change was the sheep's milk cheese used. the recipe calls specifically for pecorino. i used manchego. the store i went to was out of pecorino. i am not as educated with cheese as i'd like, but i figured sheep's milk was sheep's milk was sheep's milk, especially since i was only going to grate a little bit into the meal and goat cheese was going to be the real star of the show anyway.
one thing i would change in the future is very small. i'd throw in another clove of garlic. maybe a small amount of minced shallots, also. but even without those additions, this pasta was very tasty. pretty quick and pretty good for you (go soy!).

so enjoy. and have a lovely weekend!
(p.s. i have been tagged in another food blog to fill out a little meme thing. i predict that i will get around to that before the weekend is over, so expect it to come soon)
=)

roasted tilapia with tomatoes and olives

well, i suppose i thought i was being all cool and original and cute and fun by turning date night into a cooking venture.
turns out it's only just cool and cute and fun. i ran across this link and it seems EVERYone on the internet is doing it. or, more accurately, at least 11% of them are. but that doesn't mean that it wasn't a lovely and very enjoyable evening. we picked the perfect meal-- delicious, simple, healthy, easy to work together. i happened to have the new issue of cooking light on hand, so we flipped through it and found this gem of a recipe:

roasted tilapia with tomatoes and olives
adapted from cooking light, february 2008

• 2 tilapia fillets
• salt to taste
• pepper to taste
• cooking spray
• 1/2 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
• about 1/8 cup sun dried tomatoes, slivered
  
• 1/8 cup pitted green olives, coarsely chopped
• 1.5 tablespoons fresh flat-leaf parsley, chopped
  
• 2 garlic cloves, minced

1) preheat oven to 375°
2) sprinkle fish with salt and pepper. place on a foil-lined baking sheet sprayed with cooking spray
3) combine remaining ingredients in a bowl. toss gently
4) arrange tomato/olive mixture around fish on baking sheet
5) place in oven and cook for about 20 minutes, until fish is flaky
6) place fish fillets on plate and top with vegetables

(it takes a very special person to put up with my food photo sessions)

not only tasty, but actually kind of pretty.

we served it with roasted asparagus, which we cooked at the same time and on the same baking sheet as the fish. we also made spinach couscous. it's nice to have a repertoire of hassle-free and tasty sides to pair up with just about anything. and the verdict was quite positive. we both loved this meal. AND we had a fabulous time cooking it together.

mint cookies and cream cupcakes

happy christmas eve, everyone!

i was hoping for another holiday-related recipe to post here today. but sometimes, when baking for others, it makes more sense to make something you know your audience will love as opposed to something seasonal.
at least my cupcake wrappers were spirited (those are penguins and snowmen in the photos below).
what i made:

mint cookies and cream cupcakes with mint cookies and cream buttercream
adapted from 125 best cupcake recipes, copyright 2005

for the cupcakes:

• 1.5 cups all-purpose flour
• 1.5 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup milk
• 10 mint oreo cookies, crushed

1) preheat oven to 350°
2) whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt
3) in a separate bowl, beat together sugar, butter, and eggs
4) add dry ingredients and milk to sugar mixture-- three additions for flour mix and two for milk
5) stir in crushed cookies
6) divide batter evenly into 12 paper-lined muffin cups
7) bake for 20-25 minutes, until tops spring back lightly when touched
8) allow to cool completely on a rack


for the buttercream:

• 1.33 cups powdered sugar
• 1/2 cup butter, room temperature
• pinch salt
• 1/3 cup whipping cream
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• 4 crushed mint oreos

1) slowly beat together sugar, butter, and salt. when combined, beat at a higher speed until smooth (CAREFUL. powdered sugar is wont to fly all over the place)
2) add cream and vanilla. beat until fluffy
3) stir in cookies until combined
4) spread on top of cooled cucpakes

i could have stopped with the batter. i am very much a fan of cupcake batter, and this stuff was GOOD. it all baked up fairly nicely. the only thing i'd say was a con as far as this recipe goes is the appearance of the cupcakes. they're not the prettiest things in the world. but if you don't care so much about that aspect, these cupcakes will impress you immensely. since i knew all 12 would not be consumed on the day they were baked, i refrigerated some. i tried one straight from the fridge, and the taste plus the temperature made them very reminiscent of mint chocolate chip ice cream. if you adore that flavor of ice cream as much as i do, you will love this recipe.

and, as a closing note-- a happy holiday to all and to all a good night!

my top ten list - december 11

jonathan over at country caravan has issued a challenge to his friends and readers: to develop a top ten list of favorite beatles songs.

i have accepted the challenge. and here is my list (that took much longer to create than i had anticipated. this is difficult work!):

10. savoy truffle - the beatles song for foodies. and i really do love this song-- i'm not leading with it just to appease my readers who are probably miffed that this blog post does not contain a recipe. this is also one of the only two songs from the white album that made it on the list. this would be a top 25 list if i could have included every single white album song that i can't get enough of. but i restrained myself.

9. she said she said - a depressing song if you're really thinking about it. but a great one. this is in my top five most played on my ipod (because it also happens to be a great song for jogging).

8. drive my car - i have always maintained that one day i will be the girl this song was written about. basically, i am in a continuous search for a chauffeur.

7. for no one - ladies, when going through a breakup, i suggest you listen to two songs: since u been gone by kelly clarkson and for no one by the beatles.

6. day tripper - that riff, those lyrics. love it love it love it.

5. a day in the life - i went to see 'the fab four' years ago. they played this song and when they got to the loud, crescendo, envelop-you-with-sound part, it was like no musical sensation i had ever experienced. if a beatles impersonation band could have that effect on me, i can only imagine how amazing this would have been when the beatles played the song themselves. i have cherished this one ever since.

4. something - gorgeous in its simplicity.

3. i've just seen a face - something about the rhythm of this song makes me feel paul's urgency to tell people 'this girl is amazing!' plus, i have never met a cover of i've just seen a face that i didn't love.

2. here comes the sun - i didn't realize just how great this song was until i heard it on the recent 'love' album. there's not much to say about it except it's lovely. just an absolutely lovely song.

1. rocky raccoon - just . . . wonderful childhood memories with this song. the other nine songs may change positions, may change entirely, soon, far in the future . . . but rocky raccoon will always be number one.


to any of my readers - if you are a beatles fan, i will extend to you the same top ten challenge. feel free to post your list in your own blog or in the comments section of this post!

and for my readers who are not beatles fans . . . i have just now discovered a recipe for the 'savoy truffle' online. click here to read all about it!