I made your lunch: creamy pea soup

I took a few minutes Monday afternoon to make some lunch.  I used Cara's recipe for a healthy pea soup with creamy avocado instead of actual cream.  I didn't miss the cream at all!  I thought the avocado taste (which I like, don't get me wrong) might be overpowering and it would make the soup too thick. I was wrong on both accounts!  What a delicious simple soup.  I topped it with some of that cilantro, pumpkin seed and lime pesto as those flavors go very well with avocado.  I only made a half recipe and look forward to making it again tomorrow with the other half of the avocado that is tightly wrapped in plastic, just hanging out in the fridge. 

Thanks Cara and Anu!

Hello! Inspired by Cara's post about her cooking class, I couldn't wait to make Anu's lentil recipe.  It went perfectly with the yogurt marinated chicken I had planned.  On a cold night, it was prefect to crank up the oven to 500 to roast the chicken and make something a little spicy.

 I had all of the ingredients on hand!  Even curry leaves (they can be found at Namaste Indian grocery here in Des Moines.)! They were required for a round of Indian cooking Ryan and I did a few months ago, and upon reading that this recipe called for them, I remembered we stored the extra in the freezer.   I used split red lentils and a 16 oz can of tomato sauce instead of fresh tomatoes. I can't wait to try this when we have some fresh garden tomatoes!

 

The yogurt marinade on this chicken makes it super tender and juicy.  I usually half the recipe, but use the full amount of yogurt and double the amount of spice (1 tsp. each coriander and cumin).  

Weekly Menu with recipes and a story!

I'm writing this week's menu while drinking the chai that Cara posted as her farewell before her trip to India.

This weekend, I took a trip to our local spice shop here in Des Moines, Allspice,  to invest in the star anise, whole nutmeg and green cardamom pods.  If you like chai try this homemade version, it's delicious.  The recipe allows you to add your own sweetener to taste, it's much less sweet than the kind you'd get from Starbucks (I think they use Oregon Chai-- which is good, it's just SUPER sweet) and you can really enjoy the spices in this mix.

In honor of Cara's trip to India, you'll see some exciting menu items this week.  When Ryan and I lived in NYC, we became very fond of Indian cuisine.  From the string of cheap prix fix Indian joints on 6th street in the East Village, to our beloved Roti Roll Bombay Frankie, we were never wanting for perfect naan, spicy curries and khormas, or  those little fennel seed candies. When people ask me if I miss New York, I usually say "What I really miss are my friends. And the FOOD."

This guy is making a roti roll. It's an Indian flatbread filled with spicy potato and pea mixture and some kind of magic green sauce. It's the best thing ever.  We will recreate it someday.

YUM! We need to get back to NYC again soon....

When we moved back to Iowa, I was legitimately worried about how we'd get our Indian food fix.  In the early days of our Des Moines residency, we tried all of the Indian restaurants in Des Moines and Ames (I think at the time was a total of 4 or 5).  Unfortunately, and I am still mourning this, Taste of India/India Grill was the clear favorite and it closed last year in spite of our regular patronage.  Sob!

Our resolve was to start experimenting with Indian recipes ourselves.  This is where it gets tricky.  The tricky part isn't going to the Indian grocery and searching for spices you'd not heard of until cracking open an Indian cookbook, that is the fun part!  The hard part for Ryan and I was that it's damn hard to replicate a restaurant dish. When you get used to something, it's disappointing when it can't be recreated. I don't know about you, but it can be really disappointing to prep, cook, use every pot in the house, and then take an unsatisfying first bite.  Because of that we don't make Indian food very often.  However, we are getting better at finding recipes that work for us. We got a new cookbook and this one has led us to some tasty dishes... you'll see some below. 

I can't wait to hear about Cara's adventures in India and the real deal Indian food.

Here's what we'll be making this week in Des Moines, Iowa...

Dum Alu (fried whole potatoes in tomato sauce) with Sabut Masoor Dal Amti (sweet and sour lentils) and naan.  All recipes from From Mom With Love by Pushpa Bhargava.

Fish Tacos from Food Network Magazine.

The Black Bean and Sweet Potato Burrito will make a reappearance. Man, that was good! Did anyone else try it?

Ravioli with Veggie Sausage and Tomato Sauce.
Iowans: Hy-Vee has a good frozen cheese ravioli.

Chicken, Pasta and Squash Bake.

I Made Your Dinner!

I made the sweet potato black bean burritos tonight.  I will admit that at first I was a bit leery of the sweet potato and black bean combo for what reason I cannot understand since I LOVE both ingredients.  The aversion was 100% foolish.  What a terrifically tasty combination.  This is a delicious and easy dinner.  Just be careful not to burn the cumin seeds or the potatoes (I almost did!) the outer edges of those potatoes will brown before the rest is tender.  Watch the heat carefully and you'll be all right. 

sweet potatoes with cumin seeds

sweet potatoes combined with corn, beans and diced tomatoes

A couple things I did differently...  I made about a half recipe (our fridge is full of leftovers!).  Ryan had 2 small burritos, I had one and there was a little left over.  Also, I had some leftover diced tomatoes with green chiles from the last time I made black bean soup so threw those in.  I also didn't have any cilantro or fresh limes wedges so I omitted them.

I paired the burritos with a side of quiona with golden raisins and chopped almonds.

Bring 1 Cup water + 1 tsp veggie bouillon to a boil.  Add 1/2 Cup quinoa.  Cover and reduce heat to medium-low.

Toast a teaspoon of ground cumin and a some red pepper flakes in a hot skillet.  Add about a handful each of chopped almonds and golden raisins to the skillet and heat until raisins begin to puff up (don't walk away it doesn't take long).  Add to quinoa.  The quinoa is done when most of the liquid is gone and the quinoa has grown larger and formed little rings around the outside.

This quinoa dish is a perfect example of my "well-stocked pantry" mentality. I hadn't really planned a side for this dinner and threw this together by taking a quick peek in the pantry while thinking about the spices included in the main dish.  I usually stock up on walnuts (I put them in so many dishes), almonds and other dried fruits for snacking, to toss in with my hot cereal, baking whims, etc.  I like to keep a variety of versatile grains on hand: several kinds of rice, lentils, quinoa, bulgur, barley, etc. to mix with veggies or other ingredients as I have done here. 


I highly recommend this dish to everyone!

Your Kitchen Table Friend,
Allison 

Weekly Menu Jan. 22-28

Ryan's Chili with Martha Stewart's Buttermilk Cornbread.  Ryan's chili is made with turkey, a lot of beans, our homemade canned stewed tomatoes(!!!) and always while he drinks a beer. We ate this last night.  The leftovers just get better throughout the week.

Homemade pizza with olives and peppers

Cara's sweet potato and black bean burrito

Salmon with lentil salad a new recipe from a book I got for Christmas

Pasta with rosemary and sage sauce

Risotto with rosemary and white wine sauce

I hope I have time for these 2 new recipes From a book by Marcella Hazan that Ryan and I were given this summer but haven't cracked yet...

Have a great week everyone!
Allison