ta name="google-site-verification" content="LnUtT_d1nKFEi6qCVRa2VtURKXcUowdpcm2UMwFTZUk" /> hummus recipes: February 2008

Saturday, February 23, 2008

The Squirrel Whisperer


What is it with me and squirrels?

Yesterday I went to go see the Gilbert & George exhibit at the deYoung Museum, which was fabulous. Rainy skies had given way to patches of blue and clouds, so after leaving the museum, I decided to take a stroll through the Botanical Garden.

As I wound my way through the Australia section, I heard little rustlings and twitterings, and then these adorable squirrels appeared. After making sure that they weren't rabid (my method is to squint at them and say, "You're not rabid, are you?" followed by "Please don't bite me"), we engaged in a game of hide-and-seek. I can't believe how tame they were (rabid?) and how perfectly they posed for my pictures. If you click to enlarge the photos, I promise you will be overwhelmed with cuteness.

It was so cool - no matter where I went, my furry friends came out to play. At times, I felt like I had landed in a Beatrix Potter book.

You'll be glad to know, if you read my previous post about my crazy squirrel dream, that not one of them tried to steal my purse.




Freeze Tag

My friend Montana just sent me this video of an awesome prank - check it out!


Tuesday, February 19, 2008

The Raw & the Cooked


I'm pretty proud of this lunch because it is representative of the way I am eating now.

What you are looking at is a bowl of carrot soup, risotto-style barley with toasted walnuts, and a shaved asparagus salad, with a glass of pineapple juice.

The carrot soup and barley dish are both from "Super-Natural Cooking", and I have to thank Heidi Swanson for the thousanth time for writing it. The carrot soup is wonderfully rich and creamy, with no cream added. It uses whole organic carrots, skin-on, and lots of vegetable broth. The key is the extra-virgin olive oil drizzled on top - mine is from Stonehouse, and it adds a beautiful green flavor and velvety texture.

The barley dish is really interesting - the methodology in preparation is the same as for a classic risotto, but instead of arborio rice, the grain is barley. It's simmered and stirred for about 30-40 minutes, then you add in winter citrus (lemon & orange zest, and orange segments), chopped arugula, and equal parts sour cream & parmesean. It tastes a lot like risotto but isn't nearly as heavy, and the flavors are both bright and earthy. The barley has a certain chewy quality that I really like. The added touch of toasted walnuts adds great texture and crunch.

I made both of these dishes on Sunday so I would have them to eat during the week.

I LOVE this shaved asparagus salad, which I learned to make today from "the Ferry Plaza Farmer's Market Cookbook".


As a lot of people know, I love asparagus, and finding a new way to use this vegetable is exciting to me. This recipe is unique because the asparagus is raw, shaved thinly using a peeler or mandoline, dressed in a simple lemon vinaigrette, and topped with shaved Parmesan. The flavor of raw asparagus is much more delicate that when it is cooked, and it gives a very satisfying crunch. Hooray, yet another not-boring salad! This one would travel well for a picnic, so that is another plus.

Lastly, I am drinking pineapple juice because my aesthetician said that it's good for my skin.

Yeah, it's just lunch on a rainy Tuesday, but it's what it represents that is important to me. Change, growth, consciousness, and choice. Doing good things for my body and loving it.

Jeckyll and Hyde

I love my cats - until I have to give them medication.

I think that the horror of having to give a cat a pill must be God's way of saying that we should not domesticate animals. Well, cats at least. With dogs, you can stick the pill in a glob of peanut butter, and down it goes, with the pup begging for more.

When the appointed time comes around, I start steeling myself like King Leonidas in "300" facing Xerxes and his legions of thousands.

I approach.

"Nice kitty!"

Kitty, who 5 minutes ago was lounging peacefully in my lap, looks at me with suspicious eyes and is poised to either run or fight.

"Good kitty.." I say, hopefully.

I grab.

All at once every muscle in the cat's body is engaged and while limbs try to kick me, the torso twists and writhes in a backwards motion to try to get away. The suspicious eyes have now turned murderous.

Then there is me, at least 10 times bigger than my opponent, struggling desperately to control his body while simultaneously trying to pry his mouth open.

Pill is shoved in. Mouth is clamped shut. There is a moment of silence and stillness, and then all at once..."P-toooie!" the pill is projected out of the mouth and lands on the carpet. Furious squirming ensues. I swear loudly.

We go through this 3 or 4 times before the pill goes down, covered in pet saliva and carpet fibers.

I let the cat go. He moves to the opposite side of the room and glares at me. I glare back.

5 minutes later he is back on my lap, rubbing me with his chin. Peace returns to the land...at least for another 12 hours.

Sunday, February 17, 2008

Mango Cardamom Bread Pudding

There's something comforting about bread pudding. Maybe it's the soft silky texture. Maybe it's the creamy sweet taste. I desperately needed some comfort this long and cold weekend. So I decided to try this Mango Cardamom Bread Pudding recipe. I made a few substitution: wholewheat bread for white bread, soy milk for milk, and agave nectar for sugar.



Cardamom surprisingly compliments mangoes very well. The bread pudding came out not too sweet with mango in every bite. I liked it better the next day after it's refrigerated overnight. It felt oddly refreshing and warm at the same time.

Saturday, February 16, 2008

DIY + YouTube = VideoJug

I was looking on the internet for information on how to load pictures from my iPhoto onto a CD. Typing in the very literal "how to load pictures on a CD from a mac", I was led to this site called VideoJug, and there it was, a video of only a few minutes in length, showing me step-by-step instructions on how to do this. Brilliant!

Of course, I had to spend the next hour seeing what else VideoJug could help me do. I learned all about organic produce, how to dress my pets for holidays, how to measure my bra size, and how to make a simple, but delicious, apple crumble.

Easily navigated with tabs entiled "Beauty & Style", "Food & Drink", "Love & Sex", etc., this is a very useful, and addictive site. Perfect if you have ADD as the videos are short and simple.

Well, I've got to go - I just discovered the "Art & Craft" section, and I really feel the need to learn how to draw a cartoon pirate.

Friday, February 15, 2008

Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing, and Fudge

When I was in the 4th Grade, we took a trip to Washington, DC to visit my mom's friend Sherry. Sherry was very cool, not mom-like at all - she just knew things. She seemed to know my heart and see into my soul, and I remember nothing of the trip except for two things that changed my view of decadence forever. She introduced me to 1/ Shirley Temples and 2/ The Most Chocolate-y Brownies EVER. In other words, it was like the kid version of a double martini and porn. I was smitten.

The secret to Sherry's brownies was that she would pour half of the batter into the pan, layer in a supersize Hershey's chocolate bar, and then add the rest of the batter. The result was the wonderful cakey-fudgy brownie with an extra shot of gooey chocolate in the middle. Hell, those brownies were good. Washed down with my grenadine-infused drink, I was in heaven. Damn! (That was also the year that the "Bad News Bears" came out and I was enamored by profanity - yes, it was a eye-opening year).

I found a recipe for a grown-up Chocolate Pudding Pie on the cover of Bon Appetit magazine (hailed as "Dessert of the Year"), and I made it for the first time for a dinner party in January, and then for Valentine's Day yesterday. It's a little bit labor-intensive, but totally worth it. Not since Sherry's brownies have I enjoyed a chocolate fix like this. It even has a secret melted chocolate layer between the crust and the filling. You can get the entire recipe here, and below is a step-by-step pictoral journey into this rich and creamy delight. Washed down with a glass of champagne, my 4th grade self emerges to say once again, "Damn!" (or, even better, my favorite: cocksuckermotherfuckertwoballsonofabitch).

Cheers, Sherry, wherever you are!

Bittersweet Chocolate Pudding Pie with Creme Fraiche Topping:






Thursday, February 14, 2008

Love Conquers All


"Love conquers all things; let us too surrender to Love."
- Vergil

Wednesday, February 13, 2008

Yo-Yo Yoga

I have decided that I am a Yo-Yo Yogi. I get all determined, attend classes regularly, get a momentum going in my practice...and then I stop. And then I feel guilty, and the guilt keeps me from returning.

Usually after a couple of months, I return (a little sheepishly), and I say to myself, "Ahhhhh, I remember why I loved yoga so much. Why did I stay away?" Then begins the task of trying to get into yoga shape, at least enough so that I am not crippled with soreness after every class.

I am about mid-cycle at the moment. I have been going back for a week, and my body is starting to do what I want it to again. I am feeling the calming benefits and focus that comes from physical awareness. The next step, the one that I always strive for, is when it becomes a need in my life, rather than something I have to motivate myself to do.

My goal this year is to break this stop/start cycle. In order to do that, I have to:

1/ Commit to going to classes regularly
2/ Be open to new teachers and more challenging levels
3/ Not be so hard on myself if I miss a class - and make time to go to the next one
4/ Change my mind-set to look at my practice as a gift rather than a chore

These steps could be applied to anything, really. But starting with yoga feels like a good place to put this action plan to the test. I'm ready.

Yo.

Monday, February 11, 2008

Another Not-Boring Salad

Kumquats are one of those items that I would see in the produce section, but never buy because I didn't know what to do with them. My grandmother had 2 big kumquat trees in her dining room and I always thought that they were really cool - like citrus fruit sized for your stuffed animals. I never ate them, though. Well, that's a lie, I probably snuck one or two. Anyway, this salad is an easy way to use this cute fruit.

I wanted a healthy but filling, and of course non-boring, salad for lunch today, as well as something to bring on the field trip tomorrow. This recipe fit the bill nicely. I added diced, cooked chicken for extra protein. I skipped a few labor-intensive instructions and it turned out fine.


From "Super Natural Cooking" by Heidi Swanson (with a little interpretation from me).

Clemenquat Salad

  • 6 or 7 clementines (my note: I used Satsumas)
  • 7 stalks celery, stripped of strings (my note: I left in the strings. Who has time to strip celery strings?)
  • 10 kumquats
  • 3 big handfuls walnut halves, toasted & cooled
  • juice of 1/2 lemon
  • 2-3 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
  • Sea salt & pepper
  • block of Parmesan cheese (my note: I used leftover aged Provelone)
- Peel clementines and separate segments. (my note: you can peel the individual segments, but I don't mind the membrane). Place in a large bowl.
- Slice the celery 1/8 in thin on a slight diagonal. Add to the bowl.
- Using a serrated knife, slice the kumquats into 1/8 in. rounds. Remove seeds with the tip of your knife. Add to the bowl.
- Add the walnuts to the bowl.
- In a small bowl, whick together the lemon juice, olive oil, a few pinches of salt, and a few grinds of pepper. Drizzle the dressing over the salad and toss with clean hands. (I added the diced chicken, wrapped Saran Wrap over the bowl and gave it a good shake).
-
Make Parmesan curls by running a vegetable peeler along the long side of the block of cheese and top each serving with a few curls.


One last note from me and then I'll shut up: the dressing for this salad is very light both in amount and flavor. It was fine for me, but if you want a more heavily-dressed salad, increase the measurements for the dressing by 1/2.

Comfort Food Without the Guilt



From "Super Natural Cooking" by Heidi Swanson

Winter Rainbow Gratin
  • 3 tbsp. olive oil
  • 4 small purple or red potatoes, unpeeled and cut into wedges
  • 4 small shallots, peeled
  • 1 large red-fleshed sweet potato, peeled & cut into 1-in. chunks
  • 4 young yellow or orange carrots, cut in half lenghtwise if thicker than your thumb
  • 4 green onions, trimmed
  • Sea salt & pepper
  • 1 apple or pear, unpeeled, cored, and cut into 6 wedges
  • 1/2 c. whole-grain bread crumbs (my note: I used regular bread crumbs)
  • 2/3 c. freshly grated Parmesan cheese
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees
- Heat the olive oil in your largest ovenproof skillet over med-high heat. In a single layer, add the potatoes, shallots, sweet potato, carrots, and green onions and toss to coat.


- Saute over med-high heat for about 15 min, shaking the pan a couple of times along the way. The vegetables should start to brown and be tender but not mushy.
- Remove from the heat and sprinkle with a generous dose of salt & pepper.
- Stir in the apple or pear wedges.
- Sprinkle with all of the breadcrumbs and half of the Parmesan cheese.
- Bake for 40 min, tossing about halfway through.
- Remove from the oven and sprinkle with the remaining Parmesean.

Have You Had Your Phytonutrients Today?

As I have really been trying to stick to eating more vegetables in my diet, I have been looking through all of my cookbooks for ideas (boredom in food, for me, is the kiss of death and will send me right back to grilled-cheese sandwiches and chocolate cake).

One of the food blogs that I read is 101 Cookbooks by San Francisco local Heidi Swanson. She also published a cookbook last year called "Super Natural Cooking", which I own, but until recently had not tried.


The inspiration behind 101 Cookbooks is near and dear to my heart:

The premise this site was built on is best summed up in two sentences: When you own over 100 cookbooks, it is time to stop buying, and start cooking. This site chronicles a cookbook collection, one recipe at a time.

101 Cookbooks started in early 2003 when I looked up at my huge cookbook collection one afternoon and realized that instead of exploring the different books in my collection - I was cooking the same recipes over and over. I seemed to buy a new cookbook every time I stepped out the front door - always with good intentions. I would regularly go through my collection of books and magazines and carefully tag each recipe that piqued my interest. I ended up with shelves full of books brimming with Post-it notes and drawers full of recipes clipped from my favorite magazines - neatly organized by course, flavor, region, or ingredient.

Those two paragraphs could have easily been written by me - I have at least that many cookbooks, but can never resist buying more. It really is no different than being addicted to porn - I pour over the glossy pictures of beautiful dishes in bed and sigh with pleasure over paragraphs describing the origin of food. And I need more, more, more!

Turning to "Super Natural Cooking", I picked a few recipes and stocked up on groceries. I like that each one does not have too many ingredients, the prep time is reasonable, and the skill level required is minimal. She also loves walnuts as much as I do, so I can use them in multiple recipes. The photographs are gorgeous (Heidi is also a photographer), and the the text is very down to earth. Both the blog and the book feel like they could have been written by a friend, not by some celebrity chef who is out to prove himself. This is truly a book for the home cook who wants to explore the a more healthy lifestyle and incorporate whole grains and fresh produce into an everyday diet.

The following two posts are from the chapter entitled "Cooking by Color", which explores phytonutrients. Phytonutrients are basically plant nutrients which are meant to stave off disease and promote health, many of which are found in the vegetation with the richest and most vibrant color. (think of "beta-carotene" in carrots).

I'm looking forward to trying out many more recipes in this book - and, strangely enough, I feel like I have a new friend in the kitchen.

Saturday, February 9, 2008

Homemade Granola

I have been meaning to make granola. It doesn't look difficult. You just toss all kinds of grains with sugar and oil, then bake and then add dried fruit. They cost six dollars a box at my supermarket. I refuse to pay. I'm making my own granola.



Ingredients
  • 2 cups rolled oats

  • 1/4 cup oat bran

  • 1/4 cup ground flax seeds

  • 1/4 cup sesame seeds

  • 1/2 cup unsweetened coconut flakes

  • 1/2 cup chopped peanuts

  • 1/4 cup extra light olive oil

  • 1/4 cup Agave nectar

  • 1/2 cup raisins

Directions
  1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees

  2. Toss all the grains, coconut and peanuts in oil and agave nectar

  3. Spread in a baking pan, and bake for 30 minutes. Stir to keep the ingredients loose and evenly baked every 10 minutes.

  4. Toss in the raisins after the granola cools. Keep in airtight containers.

Wednesday, February 6, 2008

Waldorf Redux


Do you find most salads incredibly boring? I do! Endless bites of lettuce, followed by treasure-hunting with your fork to find anything sweet, salty or textured so that your taste buds don't fall asleep. I get sick of eating a salad about 5 bites in, unless it's a supporting player on a full plate of other things.

Well, here is a salad that stands up on its own. It's a take on the classic Waldorf salad, modernized and simplified to perfection. It comes from my favorite all-time cooking magazine, BBC's Olive, which is always trend-right but never pretentious (why is it that we can never get this right in America - our food magazines are either holier-than-thou or happy-hands-at-home, and nothing in between):

Winter Waldorf Salad
  • 1 red-skinned apple (my note: I used a Pink Lady)
  • 1/4 lemon, juiced
  • 2 tbsp mayonnaise
  • 1/2 tbsp Dijon mustard
  • 1 stalk celery, cut into chunks
  • walnuts, handful (my note: get the freshest you can, as they taste best. I stock up on the organic ones from the farmer's market)
  • watercress, handful
- Cut the apple into chunks and toss with the lemon juice
- Mix together the mayonnaise and mustard, and toss with all of the other ingredients
(my note: I put everything in a large plastic storage container with a lid and give it a good shake. I also add salt & pepper)

This makes 2 small or 1 large salad. Shredded chicken would be a nice protein addition for a complete meal.

Tuesday, February 5, 2008

Kawaii! = Cute!

We decided to go to Japantown on this rainy, dismal Saturday. Japantown is perfect for this kind of weather since it is all about the cute, the bright, the sweet, the cuddly and of course, swords.

After enjoying a snack of crepes wrapped in a cone (mine was Nutella, almonds, and custard - hello, yummy!), we went off to peruse the mall.


Our last stop was Kinokuniya stationary store, which has a respectable assortment of practical and cute things. I am a huge, huge, huge fan of Japanese office supplies. I love my new tape dispenser, cutting blade, Preppy fountain pen, Tri-color roller ball pen (just like the ones from junior high, but 10,000 times better!), and of course my Emoticon notebook. :-> Funny! :-D Smile! ;-] Wink! *<:-) Party!

But the pinnacle of cuteness was reached when we were leaving, and my dad & brother surprised me with a French Bulldog wall calendar for 2008. Oh! Kawaii! Kawaii! Just take a look at this adorable pup, Mr. October, and see if your heart doesn't melt. Now I will have cuteness all year long! :-D


Monday, February 4, 2008

Have House, Will Travel


There is no place like home. As someone who has spent her life moving, I know all too well what it is like to develop an attachment to a place, only to find yourself living somewhere entirely different in a few years. All of your pictures and belongings move, but somehow at first they don't look right in your surroundings. The furniture is a little too big, or too small, or the previous owners' wallpaper clashes with your couch, etc. As soon as that comfort level is reached, of having everything settled into its proper place, when you are familiar with all of the cracks in the ceiling and how to regulate the shower perfectly, it usually means that it is time to uproot again.

But what if your house didn't change, only the environment? What if your house was completely mobile, able to be hitched onto a trailer and brought along like a member of the family?

Needless to say, in order for this to happen, your abode would have to be portable, and by portable, I mean small. Enter Tumbleweed Houses. My friend Amy told me about them a few months ago, and they are fascinating. Designed by a guy called Jay Shafer, they are supposed to contain everything you need, and support an eco-friendly, sustainable lifestyle. It all sounds so good, so Walden. But when you consider the size of the smallest model offered, 70 feet - phew! That makes me clausterphobic just thinking about it. Still, imagine being able to fit your house into a parking space...

I like the idea of having to pare down to only the essentials. That would mean making some tough choices, and virtually eliminating anything that holds only sentimental value. Clothes, dishes, music, books - only the cream of the crop would survive. Never again would you find yourself in the basement going through boxes wondering what on earth could possibly be inside. You and your inventory of owned goods would have an intimate, daily relationship. Getting something new would take careful consideration, as it would mean that something old would have to be chucked out.

Weather would not be an issue. You could summer by the lake and winter in the mountains. Utilities would be kept to a minimum no matter what. Guests overstaying their welcome (or for that matter, staying at all) would never be a problem. Don't like your neighbors? Hitch up the trailer and hit the road!

One thing I noticed about the demo video is that Jay Shafer (and Dee Williams, a customer and now a member of the company) is extremely lean. He can wiggle his way around those tight corners with the grace of a cat, whereas when I picture myself in there...well, say it's a cold winter and you stay indoors a lot, eating popcorn and pancakes made on your tiny stove. Suddenly, you realize one day that you are stuck in the loft, or wedged in the shower, or trapped trying to get out of your tiny front door. You scream for help. But then you remember that you wanted peace and quiet and have shacked up in the middle of a national forest. What to do? Starve and wait till spring, I guess.


As you can probably tell, I have a little obsession with these Tumbleweed homes. They make me want to wear Nau clothing and be totally efficient and have the carbon footprint the size of a field mouse's. What a statement it would make. What freedom - my goodness, imagine having no morgage, and hardly any bills (no room for stuff!). It would be the oppostite of the Costco-shopping, belongings-accumulating lifestyle that many of us are trapped by. But then, what if I wanted a pet? A spouse? A big fluffy sweater? Wouldn't they need their own house?

I think that rather than a reality, the notion of Tumbleweed houses is a good reminder to me about what is essential in life. It is a window into an existence of forced simplicity, proof that we can live a decent lifestyle with only the bare minimum of possessions. It also reinforces the notion that you don't have to keep up with the Jones's, and in fact, there are those who are opting to get out of Jonesville completely.

Dan & the Pip

Our friend Mike told us about this English duo, dan le sac Vs. Scroobius Pip. We are going to see them on March 16th at Cafe du Nord. They remind me a little bit of the Streets, but with less bourbon and better lyrics.

Lap Buddy


Here is my new favorite accessory. It's called the CushTop from Belkin, and it is so useful if you use your laptop anywhere other than at a desk. Its simple ergonomic design not only makes your working posture much more comfortable, it keeps your legs from getting hot (Mac users, you know this discomfort more than anyone).

The hole in the middle can be used to stash your cord or mouse, but what I like is that it makes it easy to pick up, laptop and all (i.e. time to get a snack!).

Mine is Chocolate/Tourmaline, purchased at Best Buy over the weekend, along with a slick neoprene case. At $34.99, this is a reasonable indulgence for yourself, or would make a great gift for the techie in your life. As with all Belkin products, the function is equally matched with style.

Next...a PocketTop or a SleeveTop? Orange or Green? Decisions, decisions.

Send in the Clowns


Yes, I am one of those people who, as a rule, hates clowns. Let me rephrase that: I am afraid of clowns. I think that Stephen King was absolutely right when he depicted them as sporting fangs, living in sewers, and having a fondness for killing. Shudder.

However, I do have a soft spot for all things nostalgic. So when I was at "Sugar and Spice", the odd & wonderful baking-supplies store near my house, and I spotted these old-timey clown decorations straight out of my childhood in the 70's, I had to get them! There is something about these clowns that seems benign to me - I think it is because their eyes look dead, like the eyes of cartoon animals that in death become little "X"'s.

I had 2 events to attend, and the clowns would be perfect for both. First was Book Club at Amy's, to discuss "Water for Elephants", a book set in the world of an independent traveling circus in the 1930's. For this event, I made Red Velvet cupcakes (made with natural food coloring) with cream cheese frosting.

The next event was Kristina's birthday party at Sugar Cafe. I knew that she would appreciate the sweet/scary combination of the clowns & cupcakes. And she did! They were a big hit. For this event, I made chocolate sour cream cupcakes from my "Cupcakes" book, by Elinor Klivans. Fabulous recipe, even if a looks a little time-consuming for every day. The fluffy batter yielded 18 flat-top cakes, wonderfully easy to frost. This is by far the tastiest cupcake recipe I have come across. I used Guittard bittersweet chocolate, which is much easier to work with and less expensive than Scharfen Berger. Right out of the oven they are a little delicate, but they cool to a moist, dense cake.


Chocolate Sour Cream Cupcakes
  • 3 oz. unsweetened chocolate, chopped
  • 1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
  • 1 1/4 cups sugar
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1/2 cup sour cream
  • 1/2 cup water
- Melt chocolate in a heatproof bowl over a saucepan of barely simmering water (or use a double boiler). Put aside to cool slightly.
- Sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt into a medium bowl and set aside.
- Using an electric mixer on medium speed, beat the butter and sugar until smoothly blended and creamy, about 2 min. Scrape the bowl as needed.
- On low speed, mix in the melted chocolate.
- On medium speed, add the eggs one at a time, mixing until each is blended into the batter.
- Add the vanilla and beat until the mixture looks creamy and the color has lightened slightly, about 1 minute.
- Mix in the sour cream until no white streaks remain.
- On low speed, add half of the flour mixture, mixing just to incorporate it.
- Mix in the water
- Mix in the remaining flour mix until it is incorporated and the batter looks smooth.
- Fill 18 muffin cups (or 60 mini muffin cups) and bake for about 20 minutes, at 350 degrees.

Sunday, February 3, 2008

Massaman Curry

Or the best spicy beef stew recipe ever ever. My friends love love love this curry. I got a special request for it for our biggest potluck party of the year. I pointed somebody to this blog and realized that the recipe is actually on my old blog. So I'm re-publishing it with slightly different scale.

The secret to this is very simple - simmering for a loooooonnnggggggg time. There's nothing else to it. I used pre-packaged massaman curry paste, added a lot of other chopped spices and peanuts and then cooked it for about 6 hours. Massaman curry is a little different from all other Thai curries. It requires some dry spices (cinnamon and bay leaves) as opposed to just fresh spices. Massaman is not exactly a Thai word either. I think it came from Muslim-man telling the origin of the recipe.

Regardless, it's a wonderful and hearty dish to serve in a cold weather.



Ingredients
  • 5 pounds of any flavorful cut of beef - cubed (I used sirloin tips because they were on sale - but chucks would be fine too.)

  • 3 pounds of potatoes - peeled and quartered and then soaked in cold water so that they don't turn brown

  • 1/2 cup of ginger - peeled - chopped

  • 1 head garlic - peeled and chopped *

  • 15 shallots - peeled - chop 5 and leave the rest whole *

  • 3 stalks of lemongrass - discard outer layers and both tips and chopped *

  • 2 tablespoons of galangal - chopped *

  • 2 cinnamon sticks

  • 5 bay leaves

  • 1 cup of massaman curry paste

  • 2 cans coconut milk

  • 1/2 cup chopped peanuts

  • 2 tablespoon red pepper flakes

  • 1 cup tamarind juice (I soaked about half a cup of packaged tamarind in a cup of water. This makes the curry a little tangy.)

  • 1 tablespoon cooking oil

  • 2 tablespoon brown sugar

  • Fish sauce - to taste

Directions
  1. Marinate the beef in a can of coconut milk, 1/4 cup of chopped ginger and about 2 tablespoons of fish sauce for 30 minutes.

  2. Cook the marinated meat on medium heat for 45 minutes. Stir occasionally.

  3. In a different pot - preferably the larger one, fry massaman curry paste with the rest of chopped spices in oil for 1 minute. Stir vigorously and try not to burn the curry. Add a can of coconut milk. Reduce the heat to medium.

  4. Combine meat into the curry pot. Once the content is a little bubble, reduce heat to very low. Add potatoes, whole shallots, peanuts, bay leaves and cinnamon sticks. Season to taste with sugar, red pepper flakes, tamarind juice and fish sauce.

  5. Let simmer for a few hours or until the meat is tender.


* I processed all the spices other than ginger together in my food processor. It saved me a lot of time and tears.

Vanilla Cupcakes with Green Tea Creamcheese Frosting

The last time I made these cupcakes was about a year ago - for the same birthday party. The cupcakes were so successful that I meant to follow exactly the same recipe. I did - mostly. My tapioca pearl filling was left out way too long that it became very sticky and hard to work with. So no filling this year. I added a little more macha powder into the frosting for fear that the cupcakes wouldn't smell like green tea.



They came out fabulous.