Sambar (Indian vegetable and dal stew)

According to my husband, Sambar is one of his most favorite flavors on the planet. Considering my husband's culinary background, that is saying a lot. Sambar is truly a satisfying dal. Easy to digest and to prepare, be sure to make a big batch as it is better the second day once the flavors have had time to integrate. It is traditionally served with masala or atta dosa (think Indian savory pancake wrap) or with a large scoop of basmati rice atop the bowl.

This recipe has been adapted from The Hare Krishna Book of Vegetarian Cooking by Adiraja dasa.

6 cups water
3 tsp salt
1.25 cups mung dal, toor asl, green split peas, or whole lentils
1.5 lb assorted vegetables such as eggplant, zucchini, carrots, tomatoes, green beans, squash
2 oz tamarind paste (or you can use a lump of tamarind, place in boiling water, and extract the juice if you want to prepare more authentically)
3 tbsp ghee or sesame oil
3 tbsp prepared sambar powder (you can make yourself or buy a commercial powder) OR the following spice combo (1 tsp black mustard seeds, 1.5 tsp ground cumin, 2 tsp ground coriander, .5 tsp cayenne pepper or 2 fresh chillies, minced, 1 tsp tumeric)
4 tbsp grated coconut

 Put water and salt in large pot and bring water to boil. Sort, wash, and drain the dal. Add the dal to the boiling water. Cook uncovered for 10 minutes. Remove any froth or dal skins, then cover and cook on medium heat for 15 to 25 minutes, stirring occasionally. (The dal should be soft, not mushy.)
While the dal is cooking, wash and prep vegetables. Coarsely chop.

Heat the ghee or oil in a skillet. If using the sambar powder, fry for a few seconds and then add vegetables. If using the spice combo in the recipe, heat oil and fry the mustard seeds. After they finish popping, add the powdered spices, fry for a few seconds, then add the vegetables (holding back the tomatoes if using.) (If you are using eggplant, cook it first until it is butter-soft.) Stir fry for 10 to 15 minutes, until all vegetables are softened and somewhat browned. Add grated coconut and fry for 2 more minutes.

Empty the vegetables and tamarind into the dal and mix well. (If using tomatoes, add at this time. If using canned, no need to strain juice. If using fresh, be sure to remove the skins as the skins will not be a good texture in the soup.) Lower the heat and cook uncovered until the vegetables are soft. This is a thick stew, so it will lose a lot of water - feel free to add a bit back at the end to get the texture that suits you. I thought is was a bit salty at the end, so I added water to dilute the spices.
Enjoy!

The BEST Braised Green Recipe

I first tried these greens at a BBQ at Hilltop Farm. The owner of Food Simply Fresh, Kelly, prepared braised turnip greens that were delicious. She made the recipe available. Tonight was my first attempt and they were a huge success. The liquid was so good we couldn't bare to pour it down the drain, so we're reducing it for a glaze. I substituted collards for turnip greens. Kelly suggested any cooking green - or a mixture. I also substituted dried cherries for cranberries and skipped the garlic.

2 lbs greens, 1 large sweet onion chopped, 5 cloves garlic minced, 1 bottle white wine ( pinot grigio is best) , 16 ounces vegetable stock, 1 cup dried cranberries, 1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes, 1 tsp sea salt, 1 tsp black pepper, 1/4 cup brown sugar, 2 tbsp molasses.

Saute onion in olive oil for about 10 minutes or until soft. Add garlic and saute for about 30 seconds. Add greens, wine, stock, brown sugar, molasses, and spices. Cover pot an bring to a boil. Turn heat down to medium-low to an easy simmer for about 20 to 25 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes or so. Add dried cranberries. Enjoy!
Check out Kelly's web site at www.foodsimplyfresh.com .

Really? Kale Chips?

Last week I was confronted with the first of what will likely be bushels of kale from my CSA farm. Fourteen stems of dinosaur kale.

I will interject here that it was not until I was in my mid 20's that I willingly tried greens. My only exposure to greens as a child was of the frozen-spinach-boiled-for-about-a-half-an-hour-before-being-unceremoniously-plopped-into-a-serving-bowl variety. (Sorry to out you mom.) At a yoga center I was turned on to kale as an addition to miso and rice soup.

On the drive home I considered my options. I had a vision of my meat-and-cheese loving son relishing the kale. As I started to dismiss the thought a phrase came to the forefront of my conciousness.

"Kale chips."

I'd heard raves about them from several of my friends. The prior week our CSA farm manager sent out a recipe for them. I had never been able to decide if I thought they sounded appealing. Intriging. Weird. Considering they were baked with oil and salt, how bad could they be?

As it turns out, kale chips are illogically delicious. It defies my imagination how placing kale in the oven for ten minutes can transform an astringent yet pleasant tasting leaf into something that is so delectible I can't stop eating it until it is gone. Both my children devoured them. A greens success story!

Searching the internet, I found many recipes for them. Experimenting a bit, I have some recommendations. I worked from this basic kale chips recipe.

• I found that 375 degrees for 10 minutes was a good base to work from.
• Careful rinsing of the kale and spinning it completely dry in the salad spinner is essential.
• Make sure to rip the leaves into small, bite-sized pieces. The first batch I made didn't cook evenly because some of the peices were too big and folded over during the cooking, leaving a portion overcooked and a portion undercooked. By creating the small peices, you can ensure an even layer of leaves on the cooking sheet and thus even cooking.
• The second batch I made I used a spray can of olive oil rather than drizzeling the oil and then mixing the greens. The first batch I followed the drizzel method. I think I was a little heavy-handed with the oil. It left some of the leaves soggy and it took the a long time to cook as a result. The spray, however, allowed for a more even disribution of the oil. I also used much less oil overall. This made for crispy chips in less cooking time.
• Take care to carefully monitor the cooking. Thirty seconds can make the difference between beautiful brown chips crisped and concentrated to perfection and charcoal. I suggest doing a test run to guage the cooking time in your oven.

These chips are best right out of the oven but do keep decently in a sealed bag.

I'm so excited to have this recipe in my aresenal now. This is a great way to enjoy greens and a great alternative when you just want to much. Much healthier than my biggest downfall, potato chips. I won't go so far as to say they are equivalent. However, they are very satisfying. What is more exciting is that my kids love them. How wonderful that they are learning to enjoy whole real food snacks.

I hope you enjoy them as much as we are!

Cooking When No One is Hungry

I love to cook when no one is hungry and it can be a wonderful exercise in mindfulness meditation; being present with the herbs releasing their aromatic oils to the air as I am separating the individual leaves by hand, rinsing, and ripping, Cilantro. Mint. Basil. Kitchen aromatherapy.

Tonight I took a few hours preparing an Asian-inspired meal with a sweet dessert treat. Mark Bittman is fast becoming one of my favorite recipe authors. His recipes are simple, easy to follow, and most importantly - they WORK (unlike those of Martha Stewart, but I digress... .) Tonight I tried out Thai Beef Salad and paired it with Noodles with Mushrooms . Fantastic! Thankfully I had my husband around to cook the steak to medium rare. Having spent from ages 12 to 29 as a vegetarian, I never learned to cook meat. I can now cook chicken consistently, however beef is still in many ways a mystery to me. The meal was light, flavorful, and satisfying. This would be great with a beautiful chardonnay or a plum wine.

For dessert I prepared the Coconut Nut Chews. So delicious. I cut the nuts to 1 cup and added 1/2 cup of rice milk chocolate chips. I was surprised at how easy these were to make. Twenty five minutes to prepare and bake and 30 minutes to cool. I do recommend transferring the chews on the parchment paper onto the rack to cool rather than transferring them by spatula. The chews were kid approved!

Now, the real question, did the kid eat the dinner? I had low expectations going in that my son would embrace the meal. I reserved some of the pasta for him and topped it with marinara sauce from a jar. I also set aside some steak for him and he was quite happy to dip it in ketchup. He was quite happy with his adapted version.