didionville

I feel the need to follow up on a couple of recent posts. The fabulousness coming out of our kitchen lately is only hinted at in Didion’s post regarding the steak dinner and Leslie’s Indian food post. Leslie has really risen to new heights of culinary power, and this is without relying on some of her staples — bacon, bacon grease, heavy cream, bacon, sticks of butter. Did i mention bacon? Something delicious every night. Impressive.

this is the first time i am sitting in my highchair. i kinda dig it. i’m not so sure about the taste of rice cereal, but i’m a team player and will humor mommy and daddy.

from vimeo.com posted with vodpod

mommy made a steak dinner a while ago. she and daddy splurged on filet, and mommy even found red carrots at the grocery store, which is quite exotic for these parts.

she roasted sweet peppers with the carrots, made a yummy salad, and cooked the filet on the rare side of medium-rare. while mommy and daddy ate, i hung out in my bouncy chair and izzie and the cat stood by, waiting to “turn on the beg” on a moment’s notice …

they didn’t get any food. mommy and daddy were too busy wolfing it down themselves.

but mommy likes to give izzie the plate to lick when she is done eating. this time she made izzie lie down and stay while she put the plate in front of him. he was so good at staying that mommy also made daddy go get the camera so they could document how awesomely good izzie is at obeying, even where there is a plate full of steak juice just waiting for him to attack.

here is izzie, being really, really, really patient:

and again:

and finally, when mommy lets him have his treat:

the last picture is blurry because it is a still photo of some very LIVE action.

so to conclude: the fact that no body parts were lost during this entire episode proves that izzie is the best, smartest, most patient, dog ever.

the end.

lately i have been tackling indian cuisine … yes, a somewhat frightening proposition … lots of exotic spices that can’t just be thrown in willy-nilly … measuring does have to take place … recipes do need to be followed … two things i don’t like doing in my cooking (which is why steven has to be in charge of all things pastry and bread).

but i have learned to love following directions and have been remarkably successful. so far i have made chicken saag, channa masala, punjabi fish, and broiled trout spiced with cilantro, ginger, garlic, and chilies. YUM!

here is the recipe i use for channa masala. (it makes a lot. we freeze what we don’t eat for extras later. this recipe makes enough for 6-8 very large side servings.)

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1 tablespoon vegetable oil

2 medium onions (peeled and minced)

1 clove garlic (peeled and minced)

1 tablespoon ground coriander

2 teaspoons ground cumin

1/2 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper

1 teaspoon ground turmeric

6 tablespoons chopped tomatoes

1 cup water

4 cups cooked chickpeas or two (15 ounce) cans chickpeas, rinsed and drained

2 teaspoons ground roasted cumin seeds*

1 tablespoon amchoor (mango) powder*

2 teaspoons paprika

1 teaspoon garam masala

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 lemon (juiced) … about a tbsp … try using some of the pulp, too: YUM!

1 fresh, hot green chili pepper (minced … seeded, too, for milder heat)

2 teaspoons grated fresh ginger

*substitutions … for amchoor powder try an equal amount of fresh lemon juice (so in this recipe, use the juice of a whole lemon) … for ground roasted cumin seeds try crushed cumin seeds without the trouble of roasting and then grinding them … these seem to work fine.

1. Heat oil in a large skillet.

2. Add onions and garlic and sauté over a medium heat until browned (3-5 minutes).

3. Turn heat to medium-low.

4. Add the coriander, cumin (not the roasted cumin), cayenne and turmeric.

5. Stir for a few seconds.

6. Add the tomatoes.

7. Cook the tomatoes until browned lightly.

8. Add chickpeas and a cup of water and stir.

9. Add the roasted cumin, amchoor, paprika, garam masala, salt and lemon juice.

10. Cook covered for 10 minutes.

11. Remove the cover add the minced chili and ginger.

12. Stir and cook uncovered for 30 seconds.

*** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** ***

again, this is super yummy and really healthful. in fact, we are defrosting some for tonight. (i am making chicken saag again. i’ll post the recipe for that soon.)

guess what?! i like bananas! huh, who knew?

this is my very first experience with solid food. up ’til now, i’ve just been getting tastes from mommy’s milk … do i need to remind everyone of the great jalapeno crisis ‘07 … hmmmm …

(this is my longest film to date: upwards of five minutes … consider yourself warned.)

from vimeo.com posted with vodpod