After not writing in my blog for a few weeks I have decided that I miss doing it. Yesterday I was trying to recall when the last time we had eaten a particular dish and I had no reference to find it! So I guess I am starting back up again.
In looking at my past posts I almost always serve Afghani dal with kale. No kale? No problem. This dish works just as well with broccoli which was the only green vegetable, aside from celery, that I had in the house. I also used chicken stock last night but Afghani dal is equally as good with veg stock if you are keeping it vegan. We also like to toast cumin seeds instead of using ground cumin but that’s really just a fussy extra step.
Red lentils are quicker cooking than their brown/green counterparts and the dish is ready to go with 15 minutes of cooking. Red lentils are coral colored in the bag but turn yellow when you cook them. I suppose “Coral-colored lentils that cook up yellow” took up too much labeling space.
Afghani Dal (red lentils with ginger)
2 tsp. olive oil
1 finely chopped medium onion
2 cloves minced garlic
1/2 tbsp. finely minced fresh ginger
1 tsp. ground turmeric
1/2 tsp. ground cumin (or toasted cumin seeds)
1/8 tsp. ground cayenne
1 cup red lentils
2 1/2 cups low-sodium vegetable or chicken broth
2 tbsp. fresh lemon juice
1 tsp. kosher salt
Optional yogurt, sriracha
Heat the olive oil over medium-low heat in a medium sauce pan. Add the onion, garlic and ginger and saute for about 5 minutes until the onion is translucent. Add the salt, turmeric, cumin, cayenne and let them cook in the pan briefly and then add the lentils and broth, stir and turn the heat up to high. When the liquid boils, turn the heat down to a simmer, cover and cook until the lentils are very tender, about 15 minutes. Remove from heat and add the lemon juice and adjust salt if needed. Serve with a spoonful of plain yogurt, a drizzle of sriracha, and rice, greens, warm pita or naan.
Who wants to spend mega dollars eating out in crowded restaurants on Valentine’s Day? We don’t. Instead we opted for a prime cut of beef with a couple of tasty sides followed by two dark chocolate Dove candy hearts.
Originally we were planning on grilling the beef and potato but the weather did not cooperate. John did a great job cooking the meat indoors although it was messier than using the grill. For my part I used up some previously peeled butternut squash chunks combined with two small russet potatoes. I microwaved the combo for 11 minutes and then mashed it up with a little butter.
Since it was Valentine’s Day I took the extra step of peeling the hard ends of asparagus instead of just snapping them off. Since asparagus is often expensive the extra inch or two of asparagus makes them more economical. (I see that this coming week asparagus is on sale for $1.99. Better than my $2.49/lb. I paid!) I cooked the asparagus in a little water, salt, and butter.
We opened a bottle of aged Cabernet Sauvignon and toasted each other. We finished our celebration with two dark chocolate Dove candy hearts.
Happy Valentine’s Day!
For the dressing I whiz up in my mini processor an inch of fresh ginger, two garlic cloves, 1/2 cup soy sauce, 1/3 cup rice wine vinegar, and a pinch of sweetener or sugar. I drizzle the sesame oil over the entire dish. By leaving the oil out of my mini prep it cleans up with just a thorough rinsing.
John and I tried this new recipe and we really liked it so I thought I would pass it along. The potatoes sop up the flavor of the gochujang and soy sauce enhanced stock. I used russet potatoes I had on hand and just cut them into smaller pieces. The other thing I changed was to delete any sweetener. That is my personal preference. We served ours with rice which seems a little overkill on carbs. And we used a sprinkling of cilantro but no sour cream.
Potato and bean stew with gochujang
2 tablespoons unsalted butter or olive oil
1 large red onion, coarsely chopped
Salt and black pepper
5 large garlic cloves, coarsely chopped
3 tablespoons gochujang, plus more to taste
3 cups vegetable broth
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 teaspoon honey or dark brown sugar
1 pound baby gold or fingerling potatoes, large ones halved
1 (15-ounce) can cannellini or butter beans, rinsed
1 large bunch Tuscan kale, stems and leaves chopped (6 packed cups)
Cooked white rice, for serving
Sour cream and chopped flat-leaf parsley (both optional), for serving
Heat a large pot or Dutch oven over medium-high. Melt the butter and add the onion. Season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion starts to soften, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the garlic and gochujang, and stir until heated through and fragrant, just a few seconds.
Stir in the vegetable broth, soy sauce, honey, potatoes and beans. Season with salt and pepper. Bring to a boil over high, then reduce the heat to medium-low to maintain a gentle boil. Cover and cook for 10 minutes, then add the kale. (It will seem like a lot at first but will wilt down considerably.) Tamping down the kale, continue gently boiling the covered stew, stirring occasionally, until the potatoes are tender and the broth is thickened to your liking, 10 to 20 minutes. Taste the broth and add more salt, pepper and gochujang as desired.
Serve the stew alongside white rice and, for coolness against the heat, top with a dollop of sour cream and a sprinkle of parsley, if using.
Our lamb of choice is a chop from the loin. Normally we buy these at Costco but for unknown reasons they haven’t been for sale there the last two times we have been. So we decided to try their much pricier sibling, rack of lamb.
Since John was grilling the chops we decided to go with a form-factor more akin to the loin lamb chops. He cut them into double chops which gave them a similar thickness. They took around 10 minutes on a pre-heated grill. John also put some char marks on the sweet potatoes I had microwaved. The broccoli I merely sautéed on the stovetop.
The lamb was delicious! Actually the rib chops were much easier to eat than the loin chops with all their nooks and crannies. We are still going to try to find the loin chops, though. They are just as delicious and at least $4 less per pound.
This dish is an adaptation of one that our son makes when he is doing a “fancy dinner” night. Normally he makes it with scallops but I was looking to lower the price point. On the bottom layer are braised leeks which are kind of pain to clean but cook up really sweet and delicious in a little water, butter, and salt. The next layer is comprised of mashed potatoes, then the sautéed shrimp, a sprinkling of asparagus, and lastly the beurre blanc.
I made an error with the sauce as I used a piece of red onion that I had left over and it turned the sauce pink which was not such a good look with the orangey color of the shrimp. The sauce is a combination of a little onion or shallot diced very fine and minced garlic which is cooked in white wine and lemon juice. When the volume is reduced by half turn off the heat and add 1/2 tablespoon of milk to stabilize the sauce and then add in butter, a tablespoon at a time. I used about half of a stick. The butter emulsifies and thickens the sauce.
Other than the look of the weird pink sauce this dinner was definitely a winner. I think it is a little better with scallops but it was still delicious with shrimp.
Be prepared to use every pot and pan you own! And be sure to season each component with salt (and pepper if you like it), especially the potatoes!!
I started this blog on October 13, 2011. I have posted maybe a few thousand pictures and commentary about what I have made, how I made it, and more than a few recipes. I can see that my posts now are pretty repetitious. We have a set number of dinners we like and we make them over and over again.
With this in mind I am going to stop my daily posts. If I make something new I will send it along. I appreciate everyone who has followed me and I have enjoyed the comments that I have received. So, thanks, enjoy life, stay healthy, and keep cooking!
I will be busy with the holidays until January, 2024 so I am taking a few weeks off. I hope everyone enjoys the holidays and makes some fabulous food! See you in January, 2024!
Simple dinner on Thursday – sautéed shrimp, rice, and broccoli and cauliflower (better known in restaurants as seasonal vegetables!) I added a sauce of warmed cocktail sauce.
This is a favorite of mine for lunch and it is good for dinner too! I poached a chicken breast and also added scallion, carrot, celery, broccoli, and cabbage to some chicken broth. I poured the soup over some rehydrated rice noodles and added crumbled up tortilla chips on top.
Omnivore 