apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

I made a goat cheese, roasted beet, and walnut crustless quiche thing. Then I made a lamb/barley stew and froze it, and also made an all chicken thigh version of Mark Bittman's chicken and garlic stew (thanks whomever suggested that!! yummy) - with a few more of my own variations. And then, finally, on Sunday night I made chocolate banana muffins for my work buddies.

I don't know how cold it was down in NYC, but up here in Montreal, it was nasty-cold on the weekend.

I made a trusty, tasty stew adapted from a recipe by the Urban Peasant (James Barber): sliced chorizo sausage (from the local Portugese butcher), onions, tomatoes, broccoli and white beans spiced with thyme and rosemary. Served on rice.

A hearty, if slightly squishy, belly-warmer.

on friday night i made porcini mushroom pasta (from the global bazaar sale at target!) with a modified puttanesca that i called "poker widow pasta"

and then on saturday night i made a huge, hearty, smokey stew with smoked turkey, garlic pheasant sausage and smoked, hot pimenton from spain!

pictures and recipes linked in my name

i love that chicken stew recipe, though i didn't suggest it. I made a fish soup (i already rattled on about that) as well as roasted a chicken with the (wait for it) lavender salt. j'like. i am offiially off to buy ill-advised wine at astor tonight on my way back to la burg. for the record.

We marinated a flank steak for 2 days and were going to BBQ it on Sunday night (I live in CA) but then the worst thing happened, we were hit with nasty weather, raining and cold!!! So instead we made it on the grill pan in the kitchen with some rice and green beans, it was delicious.
Tonight I am making a pot of chili as it is still raining and cold here.

My favorite winter time/ anytime comfort food- Uppuma. A south Indian version of cream of wheat with spicy kick (mustard seeds, green chilli, red dried chilli and curry leaves) and soothing comfort. I like to eat it with a little bit of yougurt and sugar. And top it off with a mug of Indian tea

Uppuma Recipe

Luke - that sounds wonderful! South India has the best breakfasts in the world - I am sure of it. Rava masala dosa with lots of coconut chutney - heaven in the morning. I have a big bag of dal in my cupboard, intended for dosai from scratch, when I get up to it.

My best friend is from Tamil Nadu and I am always looking for helpful South Indian cooking resources online. Have you ever been over to Mahanandi? ( http://www.nandyala.org/mahanandi )

I think I am going to make her Stuffed Brinjal Curry next week for some vegetarian friends.

Faith-

Chocolate bannana muffins sound so yummy where did you get the recipe for both that and your beet goat cheese tart?

Take the plunge and try home made dosai!

Made
-cranberry granola bars and granola cereal
-tricolor cheese tortellini with peas and mushrooms in a white wine sauce
-red wine and balsamic vinegar sauteed mushrooms with sauteed spinach and polenta cakes.

Spaghetti bolognese served with crusty bread, a leafy green salad, and a glass of red wine is hard to beat on a cold night.

My husband and I made Bittman's bean veggie burgers (from his recent NYT article) and sweet potato fries with scallions cooked in ginger curry oil (a Ming Tsai's recipe). That oil rocks! The burgers were good, but it was hard to get them firm enough.

The beet tart recipe is from here: http://www.leitesculinaria.com/recipes/cookbook/cheese_tart.html

For the banana bread I smushed a couple different recipes together - if I ever get my food weblog up and running (hopefully this week) I will post it there - along with any future attempts at dosai!

Also, usually I'm not a big fan of sweet potatoes, but sweet potato fries with scallions suddenly sounds amazing.

ooooh... chrisB, will you post the ginger curry oil recipe please?!?
sounds soooo goooood

This week I made Breakfast Bean Cookies with Oatmeal (there are white beans in them, though you'd never guess it) and 'Monster Cookies' (peanut butter, oatmeal and 73% dark chocolate chunks!).
I've been lucky to have a 'guest cook' over these days who'll cook for me for cookies!!! Any good cookie recipes you guys can recommend? I'm liking taking a break from having to come up with supper ideas. And most days I get healthy lunches packed & great fruit salads (nectarines, plums, apples, cantaloup etc.)
Love Ming Tsai, the ginger curry oil sounds good.

hmmm...one of my co-workers brought in loads of homemade crepes today and ALL the trimmings-raspberry coulis, maple syrup, sauteed apples, icing sugar plus ham, mushroom sauce, asparagus, grated parmesan... I am in seventh heaven!! (I'm on my third one!)

leeds, how about ginger cookies made with molasses?
you get a chewy spicy dark yum . . .
don' t have the recipe on my computer but you could google one up.

mine is a stained piece of paper from my mom

guido- great idea as guest cook/gf totally loves molasses (and ginger). Your description convinced me, I'll try looking up some recipes but...if you want to scan that old recipe..,(those old recipes passed down are The Best!) I would love to receive it :) My contact is portobelleza@yahoo.ca
In any case, thanks for the good idea!

How about the Chocolate Featherweight cookies over at Molly's blog? ( http://orangette.blogspot.com/2006/01/when-disappointment-comes-to-dinner.html ) Dark chewy chocolate with studs of walnuts and cocoa nibs or chunks. I am not usually a chocolate cookie fan so much, but these are amaaazing.

faith - thanks, I printed the recipe & looks like I can make them tonight, but...
Pardon my ignorance, what are cocoa nibs (are they like chocolate chips or chunks?) Thanks!

leeds - I think they are actual bits of cocoa bean. ( http://www.scharffenberger.com/prodinfo.asp?number=NIBBX ) I have never been able to find them locally, so I haven't ever tried them either. I put a small handful of regular leftover chopped chocolate in these - I think too much might overwhelm the texture.

Hope you like the cookies! They're very forgiving - I messed up in separating a couple eggs and got some yolk in the whites, but it didn't make a difference.

ann,

Here ya go:
Curry-Ginger Oil

Makes 1 quart
Lasts 1 month refrigerated

1qt. grapeseed or canola oil
1/2 cup peeled and minced fresh ginger
1cup Madras curry powder

1. In a large heavy saucepan, combine the oil with the ginger and heat over medium heat until the oil is fragrant and the ginger just begins to color, about 8 minutes. Remove from heat and cool completely, about 20 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, place a large, heavy saute pan over medium heat. Add the curry powder to the dry skillet and toast, stirring, until the powder smokes slightly, 8-10 minutes. Whisk in the ginger oil, remove from the stove and cool completely, 30-40 minutes.

3. Transfer the oil and spices to a 1-1 1/2 quart glass jar, scraping the pan well. Allow the mixture to stand until the oil and curry powder have separated completely, about 4 hours or overnight. The oil is now ready to use. Store in the refrigerator.

It's fantastic. It's great for stir-frys and roasting vegetables. Enjoy. The recipe is from "Simply Ming."

oh wow, didn't know that-thanks for the link and for your suggestion of adding chopped chocolate instead, will try it like that!
By the way, faith, the beet tart looks good & I love leitesculinaria too! What can I substitute for the goat cheese :( I know, I know, it's good but for some reason I don't like cheese made from goat or sheep's milk...any suggestions would be appreciated! (ricotta?)

wow - you know, I have no idea what a good substitute would be, leeds. Maybe another soft, pungent cheese like Gorgonzola? The texture is what I really loved, here - soft cheese, firm beets, crispy walnuts. Anyone else?

leeds
where do you live?
my one suggestion is fresh ricotta
its much much thicker than "traditional" ricotta
or, if you live in nyc, ronnybrook farms sells a yogurt cheese (from cows) that they sell at the union sq. and (that i know of) the tompkins sq. market (on sundays only) that would be a GREAT fit
its crumbly, creamy and just overall LOVELY
i think sara kate might have even posted something about making your own yogurt cheese
from what i hear, it's a pretty easy process that involves leaving the yogurt, wrapped in cheese cloth, allowing the whey to run off and the curds to solidify
i think that would be a really good subsititute for you
i talk to the farmers quite often, and they assure me the cows are very, very happy :-)

Thanks a lot to both of you! I've often wondered what to substitute. All suggestions seem good, will try. I'm in Montreal & have access to fresh cheeses from the market (great cheeses here in Quebec).
btw, on the cookie front, I made Molasses Crinkles this morning, very good & easy, just roll them into a ball then roll them in sugar, place on baking sheet as is. Crunchy on the outside. Added chopped candied ginger to the batter. thanks for the idea, guido!
Will make chocolate featherweights tomorrow!

chrisB
Re info on the Bittman HTCE cookbook with the cdrom enclosed (it is a 'special edition').
Apparently any bookstore can order it if you give them the book's ISBN number.
The ISBN number is 0-7645-6258-4

I just remembered that Heidi at 101 Cookbooks has a recipe/directions for making your own ricotta. It might actually be more of a paneer cheese, but it looks great.

http://www.101cookbooks.com/archives/000282.html

Wow, leeds - after the last Gourmet doing maple/bacon and local recipes all over Montreal, I am certainly jealous. Sounds like a wonderful place to be!

Thanks, Leeds

I'll give the bookstore a call, and see if I can get it.

chris B, glad to be of assistance.

faith,
thanks, I'll check out the ricotta recipe. Yes, Montreal is a foodie's dream come true!
I still don't have the Gourmet Montreal issue because it has sold out in Montreal, even in surrounding areas (on Sat. a Plattsburg NY bookstore employee told me that lots of people were 'coming down' for the magazine-it sold out there too!) I will get it eventually; in the meantime, I know lots of great places to eat & I'm discovering new ones as well! I saw some recipes from that issue on the Epicurious site.

I certainly recommend checking Montreal out some time!

faith
I just checked out the site that you recommended for the ricotta recipe - the recipe looks fab and the site is great! good one, thanks!
Made the chocolate featherweights today, good but a bit sweet for my taste--my friends will absolutely love them! Rich chocolate flavour but light in texture...I'm wondering what to serve to drink to accompany these. I think they'll be tonight's dessert.