Whitish Meal of Unexpected Goodness AKA Don't Judge a Book By Its Bland Looking Cover

OK, not exactly the prettiest thing ever slung from the kitchen, but, all the same, it is actually one of the most tasty and inventive. This, my friends, is a tomato cream curry with cauliflower, peppers, cabbage, tofu, onion and egg. I had no diced tomato on hand, so I used ketchup. Add curry spices, garam masala, cumin, turmeric, hing, garlic powder, black pepper, soy sauce and whipping cream. You've got yourself some sort of curry. I wished I had potatoes as well. A true Indian breakfast. After cracking the eggs in there, stirring them around and letting them cook under cover, out came a fluffy and certainly fattening curry. The ketchup worked amazingly well. These are things that can be done with little food in the fridge. But, it is truly all in the spices. If you have a good curry mix or masala mix, you can do wonders. The tomato-cream curry is essentially just the tomato (diced in a can, diced on your cutting board, processed into a bottle for hot dog use), some sort of cream, and spices. Then the vegetables and, if you must, meat are yours to pick and choose. If you can find a spice shop that makes their own spices, and possibly even one that mixes and sells them whole (which can be ground by way of mortar and pestle or a coffee grinder set aside for such a purpose, whenever it need be used in a recipe) then you can be led into a world of culinary possibilities. Wars were fought for these wonderful seeds, leaves, roots, twigs and fruits (see The Dutch East India Company or Frank Herbert's Dune).

Enjoy.

Also, Anne Petty, my girlfriend is now of age to drink six years ago. Cheers!

Dig it.

I thought that this was a really interesting video.

Milkman Revised

Gone are the days when a man would come by and put six reusable bottles white to the brim with milk onto your porch or into your milk door (a smallish cabinet outside your domicile with an inner door for retrieval) exchanging out those bottles you downed last week and very politely rinsed out for him. Yet, there are still beverages which a person might want to have delivered to their home. Something less viscous, less in need of refrigeration. So we traded the nectar of the bovine teat for that of the vintner and the brewer. Two days ago I received my first delivery of beer and wine, and despite the conjecture of many, it wasn't brought by winged cherubs, but by a simple man with a simple idea: Bring the people joy, bottled and various. My milk door is long ago sealed up (yes, we do have an old milk door, circa 1940's) so after buzzing this new age milkman in, we had to settle for human contact, a box of beer and wine for a Spongebob Squarepants check written out, simply, to "Milkman."
If you live in Seattle, I would suggest giving him some business. No delivery charge, no price hike, just a five dollar monthly fee. Some relics of the past can be revived.

Here is the site:
http://milkmanseattle.com/

You never have to leave home again!

Indian Feast!

  

I was given to throwing an Indian feast last night. Every conceivable stop was pulled. As one can see by the plate awash in a background of blackness, the results were favorable. The menu was as follows: 

• Brown Basmati Rice (cooked with onions, garlic, carrots, turmeric, cumin seed and cardamom)
• Saag Paneer (Spinach and fenugreek leaves, cubed paneer, with spices)
• Dahl (Not the Roald variety, but actually red lentils, tomato, onion, garlic, curryleaves, various toasted spices and possibly a splash of wine)
• Cauliflower Curry Stuff (Cauliflower and carrot in a tomato and cream curry sauce, with hot peppers from my window sill)
• Samosas (homemade semolina and wheat wrappers enveloping a mashed potato-pea spice explosion, also including hot peppers from my sill)
• Tamarind Chutney (spicy and sweet, for the samosas)
• Papadums (bought in a non-descript package at the Indian grocery store, toasted under the broiler until wavy and crunchy)
  

  Our faithful captain, Lucas, made the cauliflower dish, the tamarind chutney, the amazing samosas, and the Saag Paneer, with help from some purple lipped prep cooks and paneer fryers of course. I made the dahl and the rice. Every dish was astounding. We outdid ourselves, I said to Lucas. He smiled and drank wine. So did I.

 Today, I am eating leftovers. 

 Today, I am drinking pots of tea at the coffeeshop and reading and writing.

 Today, I don't yet know what I am doing.

 I can't exactly do a step-by-step on these dishes since 1) I didn't make all of it and 2) Indian cooking is more of an intuitive task than one enumerated. We had vegetables, butter, oil, rice, lentils, many varied spices and love, and also wine, for the cooks. The best way to learn is to try it. Once I see it done before me, I am validated to do it myself, fail or win.


This site is where we found out how to do samosas:
http://www.manjulaskitchen.com/ 

Check out this site for sure. There are so many good recipes.

The Completed Meal

    With my hunger in check now, and my head a little more firmly attached to the rest of me, I am able to celebrate a minor accomplishment. Shiro Wot. What it became though more resembles refried beans. Thus, the accoutrements are rather Mexican. Lettuce, tomato (heirloom I might add), avocado and cheese. All on corn and wheat tortillas.
      Now, this is a minor accomplishment, as I note. The texture was great. It was spicy (which is positive if it were only me I were cooking for). The berbere was missing something maybe. Or I should have used tomato paste like the nice Ethiopian lady told me. I don't know. I like it, not love it. 

My Shiro Wot

• Handful or so Shiro Flour Mix from Zuma Ethiopian Grocery (which includes their own berbere spice)
• Water
• Small spoonful or two Niter Kibbeh (spiced Ethiopian butter) or olive oil to saute
• Quarter of a medium onion, finely minced
• Three to seven cloves of garlic, minced
• 1/2-1 cup diced tomato
• Salt and pepper as needed 

Extraneous ingredient to add if wanted for texture or just if you like said ingredient:

• Tempeh or small cut potato or tofu or something else other than these things

     You want to mix the Shiro flour (chickpea flour) in a bowl with enough water to make it the consistency you want. You can mix berbere into the flour before this if you have berbere, or mix it in when it is cooking. If you don't have berbere, look it up and try to make something similar with the spices you have. Then you want to add the onion and garlic to a hot skillet with the oil or butter. Cook it down for a few minutes. Add tomatoes. Few more minutes. Add shiro mixture. Stir together, cover and cook for 15-20 minutes on low heat, checking on it occasionally. If it is too thick, add water. Too thin, add more flour. Salt and pepper to taste. Beyond this, if you taste it and it needs something, add a little of something. Maybe some honey. Or balsamic vinegar. Or soy sauce. I added some ginger powder and ground coriander among other things. Make it yours.

Upper Endoscopy

I remember nothing. Apparently, according to the pamphlet I was given days before, they inserted a small camera down my throat for investigation of my insides. Six hours later and I am still foggy. Mix this sedative with two cups of coffee and you are left with pages of abstract poesy and prose and the desire to visit the Ethiopian grocery to pick up Niter Kebbeh (that is, spiced butter) and Shiro flour. Which I did.
Still having not eaten, I am at once entirely unmotivated and ferociously hungry. My head swims a bit too.
Off to make Shiro Wot!

Def.: Shiro Wot - An Ethiopian stew consisting of garlic, onions, spiced butter, chickpea flour (shiro), berbere (ethiopian spice mix) and water.