Dal baat

Had a Religious Studies party tonight, and tried to cook Nepali food - using ingredients I picked up in Kathmandu, or at least recipes from a cookbook I got there. (In fact, most of the pouches of dry goods I picked up at the Namaste Supermarket remain unrecognizable, despite Googling. What is Lapsy Powder? Five Forom? Siltimur? Are they even edible?) I made dal baat: rice, a buttery ginger turmeric dal, and cauliflower and potatoes in a fenugreek seed, cumin, coriander, garlic, ginger, turmeric, chili and tomato sauce. (On the side I managed to bake Graubrot too!) I made way too much: here below are the leftovers - after feeding 12!
A propos spices and Nepal, this is interesting (from here):
A 1984 Japanese study entitled The Study of Spices in Nepal has something intriguing to report under the heading: ‘Utilizations of spices by the Nepalese tribe people’:
* The Chhetri people usually use methi, besar, jeera, jwano, tejpat, lahsun, aduwa, khursani and rayo.
* The Newars use methi, besar, jeera, dhaniya, jwano, lahsun, aduwa, khursani, Nepali sunp, and tejpat.
* The Tamangs use methi, besar, jeera, dhaniya, jwano, lahsun, aduwa, and khursani.
* The Sherpas use lahsun, aduwa, khrusani, dhaniya, jeera, and methi, and also the wild spices ermarg, koma, and zimbu.
The study points out that while all Nepalese used the same kinds of spices; different castes and ethnic groups used them in different ways.

リゾットらしくないリゾット

Made dinner for two Japanese friends last night. As they both love risotto, I made the most unusual risotto I know - a リゾットらしくない リゾット(rizotto rashikunai rizotto = unrisotto-ish risotto): cauliflower, toasted almonds and brie (!). It's delicious! Pretty easy to make, too.(Sauté the cauliflower - I used golden but white is fine - with garlic and thyme, and toast the almonds, separately. Cook risotto with a thyme sprig; when it's done mix in brie, then the cauliflower, and top with almonds to serve.) The mix of flavors and textures is wonderful- and it went very nicely with late-season broccoli rabe, complete with flower, sautéd with garlic and hot pepper flakes, and home-made bread.

Eating local

I've mentioned that I've joined the community garden across the block, right? Well, at present its huge mulberry (you know it) is driving everyone crazy. In the tree the berries - white, then red, then black - are as pretty as one of those Chinese trees fashioned of semiprecious stones. But when ripe the black berries fall squishily everywhere, soiling everything. But when life give you lemons... I took home a bag of them, and found a yummy cobbler-like recipe - on a local blog! (The pink is anjou pear, added for contrast.)

Barl(eyris)otto

I've been wondering what to call a risotto made with barley (something I discovered recently). It's obvious, I suppose, if a linguistic mongrel, and now that it's appeared in the New York Times, official: barlotto. My self-designed barlotto cooks in the pressure cooker - 15 minutes and natural release - and involves toasting a cup of barley in sautéd onions, then adding chopped dried porcini, chopped sundried tomatoes, some lentilles du Puy (for color contrast) and 2.5 cups of mushroom stock. Serve with parmesan or, as here, with sautéd shiitake (fresh) and leeks.

California fresh Mex

Tried out this quick easy recipe, which I found in the free monthly bulletin of Jimbo's, our local organic supermarket in Del Mar, on some New York friends tonight. Big hit! It's vegan but you'd never know it. In fact, your mouth will tell you you're eating a taco with cheese and ground beef, even though there's in fact no taco shell, no cheese and no meat. Then it'll ask for another.

Easier than pie

That simple recipe for apple or pear tart is a winner - it's been a resounding success four times out of four!
1. preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
2. Beat 2 eggs and 1/4 cup milk together in a bowl. Add 1 cup sugar and pinch of salt, beat. Add 1.5 cup all-purpose flour, mix into a compact cake batter.
3. peel 2lbs apples or pears and cut into slices/chunks, 1 inch or so. Add them to the batter, distribute evenly.
4. Butter a non-stick 9" cake pan generously, sprinkle unflavored bread crumbs generously.
5. Put the batter in the pan, level it a little, dot with butter.
6. Bake at 375 for 50 minutes, or until the top is lightly colored.
7. Cool the cake on a rack. While it is still lukewarm, loosen it, slip it on to a serving plate.
It's nice on its own, even nicer with whipped cream.

Easy glamor

Just made something classy for some new friends. I learned it in Paris. Stylish and tasty , it's really good for you, too. And easy as pie: roast a beet (I rolled it in olive oil first), cool (or wait a day), peel and slice; alternate with slices or orange and mint leaves; drizzle some olive oil over the top and let sit an hour or two. Enjoy!

Got it!

I think I've cracked this sticky date pudding thing. Today's attempt (just take two), somewhat tweaked from last week's, turned out simply divine, moist, rich, delicious. And it looks like the Bungle Bungles, besides!
(Okay so maybe it doesn't look as good as it tastes!) Here's the recipe, slightly amended from one I found on a website of the Far North Queensland ABC:

300g seeded dry dates
475ml boiling water
1.5 tsp baking soda
50g chopped unsalted butter
150g brown sugar (= 3/4 cup)
3 eggs
1.5 cups self-raising flour

For the Butterscotch Sauce:
150g brown sugar (= 3/4 cup)
300ml heavy cream
80g chopped butter

1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees (375).
2. Coarsely chop dates. Pour over boiling water, and stir in baking soda. Let stand for 5 minutes.
3. Pour date mixture in blender, add butter and sugar; chop (don’t puree).
4. In a mixing bowl add eggs and flour to date mixture; whisk.
5. Pour mixture into Bundt cake mold sprayed with Pam. Cook for one hour (when a toothpick comes out clean). Let stand for 10 minutes, then turn onto a serving plate.
6. As it cools, combine butterscotch sauce ingredients in a saucepan, stirring over low heat till sauce is smooth, and thickened slightly.
7. Cut cake in slices and pour sauce over it. Ready to serve!

Optional: serve with vanilla ice cream.

I've a hunch this will become the house dessert here at 265 Prospect Place, though now that I've crossed the baking threshold, who knows what comes next! Cheesecake? Sachertorte? Baba au rhum? Kalter Hund?

Fusion

Well, if you can't change the world, you can at least cook! Last night I followed a recipe from the Sunday magazine of "The Age," the Melbourne newspaper I read every morning. (http://www.theage.com.au is the online edition.) I tried the recipe out of curiosity, as I really couldn't imagine what it would taste like, or that it would taste good, and because it seemed an example of the distinctive Australian "fusion" cuisine I'd been told about. That it's relatively effortless helped too!

Miso, Leek and Tomato Risotto

Preheat oven to 200C. Place 1 litre water, 2 Tbs red miso paste, 1 Tbsp light soy sauce and a pinch of sugar in a saucepan and simmer over medium heat, stirring, until miso is dissolved. Place a splash of light olive oil in a flameproof casserole dish over high heat and stir-fry 1 large leek (washed well and thinly sliced) for 2-3 minutes. Add 1.5 cups short-grain rice and stir for 1 minute. Add 3 roma tomatoes (chopped) and stir for 1 minute. Add the hot stock and stir. Cover pan with a tight-fitting lid and cook in the oven for 30 minutes. Stir through 1/2 cup grated parmesan, 1 Tbsp butter and 1/2 cup parsley (roughly chopped). Serve with extra parmesan on top.

Miso in risotto?! Just what I wondered. Risotto in the oven!? My reaction exactly. But it worked, opening up whole new avenues for experimentation!

I made it for my long-suffering hosts, K (no relation of Kafka's K, so far as I know) and A, and we finished off the whole pot. But use more miso, perhaps even twice what the recipe demands. And sprinkling toasted sesame seeds on top instead of extra parmesan might be an even better start for the delicious seesaw of east and west.