Wednesday, June 02, 2010

Wednesday-8am

What an odd rumpled sky this morning.
Appears to be a battle between dark and light--the light may win.
The birds are especially excited this morning. Geese, crows, sparrows, swallows...all singing their different songs--calling across the sky. I managed to sleep during the night last night, so I am pretty chipper this morning myself--hehe!
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Yesterday I chose to be a cooking day. Made a couple of things. I got this recipe from Sue in Alaska--thanks, Sue! It's a Martha Stewart goodie--Chickpea Nibbles.
A healthy substitute instead of chips, I guess.
Here's the recipe if anyone is interested:
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1 can (19 ounces) chickpeas
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
1 pinch freshly ground pepper
1/2 teaspoon garam masala, dried oregano
or ground cumin

Directions

1. Drain, rinse, and pat dry chickpeas. Toss chickpeas in a bowl with olive oil, salt, pepper, and garam masala.

2. Arrange them in a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet, and bake at 300 degrees, stirring occasionally, until browned and just beginning to crisp, about 50 minutes. Serve at room temperature.
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Sue recommended the garam masala spice, but Cashwise doesn't have it listed online, cumin is another alien spice for me to try (and I wasn't feeling up to it), and wasn't in the mood for oregano--hehe! So I tried my own version with basil and onion powder. Not bad! I have seen garam masala in some other vegetable recipes so I am going to try to find it.
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And--speaking of alien spices...
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I made this once a year or so ago and decided to try it again. I remember it was even better the next day and made great leftovers--to me, anyways. ;)
Vegetable-Lentil Curry
2 tbls. olive oil
1 medium onion, finely chopped (about 1 1/2 cups)
2 tbls. curry powder
2 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed (about 1 1/2 pounds)
1 head cauliflower, stemmed and separated into florets (about 2 1/2 pounds)
1 cup brown lentils, rinsed
2 14.5 oz. cans diced tomatoes with juice

1. Heat oil in large saucepan or Dutch Oven over medium heat. Add onion and cook 5 minutes or until soft, stirring often.
2. Stir in curry powder, cook 1 minute, stirring constantly. Add sweet potatoes, cauliflower, lentils, and tomatoes with juice and 1 1/2 cups water.
3. Bring mixture to a boil. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer 30 minutes or until lentils and sweet potatoes are tender. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
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Of course, I was afraid to put that much curry powder in there, so I used about half the amount. Maybe next time I'll add more--hehe! I actually put all the onion in this time! I am such a coward with spicy foods. I am hoping Dagan and Leah might at least try it tonight. Maybe too weird for them? We can always have boca burgers. ;)
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Karma and I have been enjoying the weather and the breezes from the open windows.
An annoyed backward glance...
...but then swallows swooped right by the window.
What a life,eh?
Birdwatching, people watching, car watching, dog-walking watching...endless fascination. The smells must be interesting, too. The pollen makes me sneeze and my eyes burn, but I love to have the windows open more. Definitely worth the occasional sneezing! ;)
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Dagan and Leah come over tonight. I am hoping they will work on the language translator for the blog. Right now--I need to wheel out a bag of trash and check my mail from yesterday. I never even made it down--just used myself up in the kitchen--hehe!
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Birds are chirping, a dog is barking, a child is fussing, a baby is crying, there's a faint hum of traffic from the freeway off in the distance, cars are starting, footsteps on the sidewalk, and the day is beginning. Have a good one! :):)

11 comments:

Intense Guy said...

I bet Karma would like to have a bag (or a big bowl) of munchies at her elbow (cats do have elbows don't they?) and maybe a nice cold can of this!

I like spicey foods - but I need to "build up" to them - and prefer to be able to still feel my tongue after eating.

:)

Good luck with the language translator! I was sorry to see Karmanese (or is it Karmaian?) isn't a translational choice.

Toriz said...

It sounds like your day got off to a great start. Hope it stays that way, and that you enjoy Dagan and Lee's visit.

Those recipes sound really tasty! I'm a bit of a whimp with spices myself, and would rather hardly taste them than have too many. I don't mind having them, but - as Iggy put it - I like to be able to feel my tongue afterwards.

Jenifleur-de-lis said...

Yum! I will have to try the Chickpea recipe...that looks tasty and I'm trying to cut chips out of my diet. It's so hard...I must be addicted to the texture and crunch of potato chips. Just have to find some healthier substitutes!

And that Vegetable Lentil Curry is delicious! You made it once when I was over visiting and I got to eat with you. I even copied that recipe and recently found it in my box. I want to make it again! :)

Rita said...

Oh Iggy--You crack me up! Yes--a mouse beverage--hehe! Yes, cats do have elbows, I guess, high up like a dog does. ;) I am very leery of spicy food, too. :):) I like Karmanese!

Toriz--Was a great day! Dagan and Leah took a taste of the vegetable curry and said it was okay, but bland! ROFL! I'm very cautious with spices--hehe!

Rita said...

Jennifer--the chickpeas are kind of crunchy, nutty, crispy--and salty as you want them. Leah thought they were horrible, but Dagan said he liked them okay. I'm wondering how to store them. In an airtight container they kind of get soggy again (baked them again for a few minutes). Or maybe I didn't cook them till they were hard enough? Martha Stewart would know--ROFL!

I forgot that you had the vegie-lentil curry! That's right! I know it doesn't "look" all that appealing to a lot of people, but it tastes really good to me, too, Jennifer. I'll be eating it for some time here, so good thing I like it. I made a double batch because I had veggies that needed to be used up. Might try freezing some of it. :):)

Serena Lewis said...

Rita, I'm so glad that you have moved to the Pop-up comment option now...it makes it so much easier to be able to see your post and comment at the same time.

Your vegetable-lentil curry looks yummy! I had a giggle when you said you used only half the amount of curry suggested because even two tablespoons of curry is way too mild for us. We like our curries hot and I usually use a whole jar of curry paste/powder....that's in a family sized pot.

Garam masala is a popular spice used in a lot of Indian style dishes. I always keep a jar of it in my pantry. If you have probs getting hold of it, let me know and I'll pop a jar of it in the mail to you. I'm not sure I could eat chickpeas seasoned like that...generally I'm a plain potato chip gal and I probably would feel the same about chickpeas.

Rita said...

Serena,
I don't know that much about the blog, either. Didn't even know about switching to the pop-up box, etc. I learned something snooping around trying to find the translator--hehe!

My mouth would probably burn if I put just the 2 tablespoons of curry in here--ROFL!!

I'm sure I will find the gram masala somewhere in town. We have the cutest little natural foods place (Tochi's) that carries all kinds of odd things--hehe! But thanks for the offer, Lady. That means a lot to me. :)

AliceKay said...

Interesting food. I can't handle spicy...in any shape or form, or else I end up with problems I don't want to get into here. :\

I bet it's nice to be able to have windows open after the harsh winters you have up there in Fargo. It's another hot one here today. (Saturday)

LOL @ Iggy. (he comes up with the strangest stuff, doesn't he?)

Rita said...

AliceKay--I have to be really careful with spicy foods, too--for a variety of reasons--hehe! Thats why I use way less than they say and try with caution. ;)

We have the windows closed so much of the year. Long winters and hot and humid for a good part of the summer. So I love any time I can have a windows-wide-open day!! Karma does, too, obviously. ;)

Hehe! Yup! Karma and Mickey Mouse can of pop! :):):)

Celticspirit said...

The chick pea recipe looks interesting. I eat lots of those and just finished up eating (well Russell and I) a big pasta salad where I threw in chick peas for extra protein.
Now that lentil curry looks like my kind of recipe. I'd have to make it extra spicy of course, that's just the way I like things.
Oh yeah....I don't think I've ever seen that garam masala in the store. I'll have to look for it.

Rita said...

Hi Barb--I've seen recipes where they toss some chickpeas on a lettuce salad, too. I love the veggie-lentil curry--and you can make it as spicy as you want to. ;) I'm going to look for the garam masala, too. I think it might me a mix--kind of like italian seasoning?