Molagha Tanni (tamarind broth with pureed pigeon peas and black pepper)

Not to be confused with mulligatawny, this is the thin, peppery-but-not-spicy soup that it's based on. It's best served over white rice or another starch that can soak it up and absorb the flavours.

It doesn't have any inclusions as written, but you can cook vegetables into it if you want something a bit more substantial. Ayer recommends bell peppers, pearl onions, and/or tomatoes. I think asparagus might work well.

Ingredients

• 60mL skinned split yellow pigeon peas (toovar dal)
• 60mL finely chopped fresh cilantro
• 10mL Rasam powder
• 5mL coarse salt
• 5mL tamarind paste
• 2.5mL ground asafetida
• 2.5mL ground turmeric
• 15-20 fresh curry leaves
• 30mL ghee or canola oil
• 5mL black or yellow mustard seeds

Procedure

1. Place the pigeon peas in a small saucepan. Repeatedly fill with water, turn the peas with your hands, and drain until the water runs clear, 3-4 iterations. Drain.
2. Add 250mL water and bring to a boil, uncovered, over medium high heat. Skim off foam.
3. Reduce heat to medium low, cover, and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the peas are tender, ~20 minutes.
4. Meanwhile, pour 1L of water into a medium saucepan. Stir in half of the cilantro and all of the Rasam powder, salt, tamarind, asafetida, turmeric, and curry leaves.
5. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, then reduce heat to medium and simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally, for 15 minutes.
6. Transfer the cooked peas and their water to a blender and puree.
7. Heat a small skillet (or just re-use the saucepan from step 1) over medium high heat and pour in the ghee and mustard seeds. Cover until the seeds have stopped popping, ~30 seconds.
8. Scrape the ghee/mustard mix and the pea puree into the simmering broth and stir them in.
9. Top with the remaining cilantro.

Rasam Powder (roasted spice blend with black pepper)

This spice mix from 600 Curries is used in brothy, soupy curries from southern India. This recipe makes quite a lot; I halved it when making Molagha Tanni and still had a massive surplus.

Ingredients

• 60mL coriander seeds
• 60mL black peppercorns
• 30mL cumin seeds
• 30mL fenugreek seeds
• 30mL yellow split peas (chana dal)
• 5mL whole cloves
• 5mL canola oil

Procedure

1. Combine all ingredients in a bowl and toss to coat evenly with the oil.
2. Roast in a skillet over medium-high heat until the split peas turn light brown, the coriander, cumin, and fenugreek reddish brown, and the peppercorns ash-black, 3-4 minutes.
3. Transfer immediately to a plate and let cool to room temperature.
4. Grind finely in a spice grinder or coffee grinder (you will probably need multiple batches).
5. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 months.

While I haven't actually sat down and worked out the nutritional information, based on the ingredient list, this pancakes look much healthier and more virtuous than your traditional buttermilk pancake. They have whole grain and fruit built right in and no added sugar or fat. That's gotta count for something, right?

Although you can give these the standard pancake treatment and douse them in maple syrup, I've found that my favourite way to have them is actually slathered with a generous quantity of plain Greek yogurt and drizzled with a bit of honey. (Spread with Nutella comes in at a close second.) I haven't gotten around to trying them with dulce de leche yet, but I suspect that would be quite excellent as well.

Banana-Oat Pancakes

Slightly adapted from Smitten Kitchen

Ingredients

• 2 large, ripe bananas, mashed
• 3/4 c. quick oats
• 1/4 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1 large egg¹
• 1 Tbsp. baking powder
• 3/4 c. whole wheat flour²
• 1/4 c. milk
• 1/2 c. sliced strawberries (optional)

Directions

1. Stir oats and salt into mashed bananas.
2. Add cinnamon and egg, followed by baking powder.
3. Stir in the flour, then thin out the batter with milk.
4. If using strawberries (or other inclusions), they can be stirred in now.
5. Lightly oil a pan and pre-heat it over medium-low³ heat.
6. Dump several 1/4-c. blobs of batter into the hot pan, flattening slightly if they look like they need it.
7. Cook until you start seeing small bubbles in the batter, then flip and cook the other side until edges look dry.

---

¹ I ended up using two eggs the second time around because my eggs were quite small. The batter came out a little thinner than the first time around and tasted a bit less biscuit-y⁴, but was otherwise the same. <sup>Back

2</sup> I used all-purpose whole wheat flour because that's what I had easily to hand, but I think plain/pastry/soft whole wheat flour would work just as well here, if not better! <sup>Back

3</sup> I usually cook pancakes on medium heat (or even medium-high on occasion). I made the mistake of attempting to cook these ones on medium and ended up with several burnt pancakes. Deb was right: medium-low is definitely the way to go! <sup>Back

4</sup> I use "biscuit" here in the American sense of the word. ^Back

The instruction booklet that came with my ice cream maker contains a recipe for chocolate cherry frozen yogurt. It calls for semi-sweet chocolate and maraschino cherries. I thought that sounded pretty good, but... I feel like if you're gonna put chocolate and cherries together, it really wants to be dark chocolate. And, as much as I love maraschino cherries — and I really love maraschino cherries — I also felt like regular dark, sweet cherries would bring more of that cherry-y goodness to the table. The nice thing that maraschino cherries add to the mix (aside from a lot of sugar and red food colouring) is almond. Cherry + almond is a great combo. So is almond + chocolate. And, as noted, chocolate + cherry. You see where this is going...

So, after a bit of tweaking, I ended up with a pretty excellent batch of rich, luscious dark chocolate-cherry-almond yogurt all ready to go into the ice cream maker for churning. It came out wonderfully! But, I have to admit, it was really hard not to just sit down and eat the unfrozen chocolate yogurt with a spoon! It was divine!

Dark Chocolate-Cherry-Almond Frozen Yogurt

Adapted from Cuisinart Instruction and Recipe Booklet

Ingredients

• 1/2 c. heavy (35%) cream¹
• 1/4 c. 1% milk
• 130g dark chocolate, chopped
• 2 c. fat-free plain Greek yogurt
• 2 Tbsp. maraschino cherry juice
• 1/4 tsp. almond extract
• 1/2 c. sugar
• 1/2 c. pitted sweet cherries
• 1/2 c. slivered almonds

Directions

1. Combine cream and milk and gently heat to a simmer. Remove from heat.
2. Add chocolate pieces and stir until melted.
3. Add yogurt and stir until well-combined and homogeneous.
4. Mix in cherry juice, almond extract, and sugar.
5. Chill in fridge for at least two hours.
6. Pour into ice cream maker and churn for 20 minutes.
7. Add cherries and almonds and churn for an additional 5 minutes.
8. Transfer to an appropriate container and store in the freezer.

---

¹ The original recipe called for 3/4 c. whole milk, but I had some heavy cream that was going begging in the fridge so I used what I had left and just added enough 1% milk to make the 3/4 c. called for. Use whatever milk or cream you have on hand for this with the caveat that low-fat milk will result in a firmer freezing, slightly more icy and less creamy end product. ^Back

This is actually my second time making this recipe. I did up a batch last year but never quite got around to posting it. It does make really excellent sorbet though, so I figured it was worth posting.

I'm not usually a fan of sorbets. I like the creaminess of ice cream. Sorbets are generally too icy and... just generally lackluster to really appeal to me. But, as it turns out, when you make a sorbet with a huge pile of fresh fruit (rather than juice concentrates, artificial flavours, or whatever else normally goes into a commercial sorbet) it's actually quite delicious!

Raspberry Sorbet

Slightly adapted from Chowhound

Ingredients

• 1 c. sugar
• 1 c. water
• 900g frozen raspberries, thawed
• 1 tsp. lemon juice

Directions

1. Heat the sugar and water over medium-high heat until sugar has completely dissolved. Remove from heat and set aside.
2. Combine raspberries and lemon juice and mash with a potato masher (or use a food processor if you have one).
3. Pour the mashed raspberries through a fine mesh strainer to remove the seeds. Use a spatula or a wooden spoon to stir and press the raspberry misture in the strainer to extract as much of the raspberry goodness as possible. (You should end up with ~2 1/3 c. of raspberry purée.)
4. Whisk the sugar syrup into the raspberry purée and chill in the fridge for at least 1 hour.
5. Pour mixture into an ice cream maker and churn. (Mine took ~25 minutes.)
6. Quickly transfer sorbet to an appropriate container and store in freezer. (It will be very soft when it first comes out of the ice cream maker, but will firm up after a couple hours in the fridge.)

---

Alternate Versions

Vegan Version

For vegan sorbet simply ensure that your sugar is vegan (and does not use bone char during processing).

Beef Stroganoff

This recipe comes from The Home Creamery, which -- in addition to ­recipes for various dairy products -- includes some recipes for things to do with them. This recipe is written for sour cream, but we had made a delicious batch of crème fraîche and had just about the right amount left.

This recipe is slightly altered from the original to account for that and upping some of the seasonings.

We served it over whole wheat rotini, but like all stroganoffs it would probably work with a wide variety of substrates, including rice or egg noodles.

Ingredients

• 45mL salted butter
• 1kg sirloin and/or striploin steak, cut across the grain into strips
• 2 medium onions, thinly sliced
• 500g cremini mushrooms, sliced
• 15mL flour
• 3mL hot paprika
• 3mL cayenne
• 10mL freshly ground black pepper
• 320mL crème fraîche

Procedure

1. Melt 15mL of the butter in a large, deep skillet over medium high heat.
2. Add the steak and cook, turning often, until browned and cooked through. Remove to bowl with a slotted spoon.
3. Melt another 15mL of butter and add the onions. Cook, stirring often, until soft, ~10 minutes.
4. Add the mushrooms, reduce heat to medium low, cover, and cook, stirring occasionally, until the mushrooms shrink, release their liquid, and soften, ~10 minutes. Remove the mushrooms and onions to the same bowl as the steak.
5. Add the remaining butter, the flour, paprika, cayenne, and black pepper to the pan. Cook, stirring constantly, for one minute.
6. Stir in the crème fraîche to form a homogenous sauce.
7. Return the meat, onions, and mushrooms to the pan and stir to coat with the sauce until heated through.

Flax Egg

I could've sworn that I'd already written a post about flax eggs, but I can't seem to find it now. So, at the risk of repeating myself, here is how to make a flax egg.

Flax (or Chia) Egg

From Minimalist Baker

Ingredients

• 1 Tbsp. ground flax seeds (or ground chia seeds)
• 2 1/2 Tbsp. water

Directions

1. Combine ground flax and water. Stir and let stand 5 minutes.
2. Use in place of egg in baking.

On the rare occasions when I actually make banana bread, I've always used my mom's recipe. It is an excellent and very flexible recipe that can accommodate anywhere from two to twelve bananas! (Although I think somewhere between four and ten generally works best.) I would still like to do a write-up for my mom's banana bread recipe at some point because I have many fond memories of both making and eating that bread. This time, though, I was feeling a bit lazy and couldn't remember quite where I'd written my mom's recipe down, so I decided to hit up Smitten Kitchen and see if Deb had a favourite banana bread recipe to share. And, sure enough, she did!

Her recipe is based on another that she tweaked and adapted to her own tastes. Similarly, I applied a few (very slight) tweaks of my own. It is still, essentially, the same recipe though. And a very good one too!

Banana Bread

Slightly adapted from Smitten Kitchen

Ingredients

• 4 or 5 over-ripe bananas
• 1/3 c. butter¹, melted
• 3/4 c. dark brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 1 Tbsp. rum or Frangelico
• 1 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg
• 1/8 tsp. ground cloves
• pinch of salt
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1 1/2 c. flour²
• 1/2 c. chopped walnuts (optional)

Directions

1. Peel and mash the bananas.
2. Stir in the melted butter, then add the brown sugar and mix.
3. Add the egg and mix well.
4. Stir in the vanilla and rum, then add the cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves.
5. Sprinkle the salt and baking soda over the mix and stir it in.
6. Add the flour and then toss in the nuts on top. Stir both in together.
7. Pour the batter into a greased and floured loaf pan.
8. Bake at 350F for 1 hour.

---

Alternate Versions

Vegan Version

• 4 or 5 over-ripe bananas
• 1/3 c. margerine or vegan butter
• 3/4 c. raw sugar
• 1 flax egg
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 1 Tbsp. rum
• 1 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg
• 1/8 tsp. ground cloves
• pinch of salt
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1 1/2 c. flour
• 1/2 c. chopped walnuts (optional)

---

¹ I used unsalted butter because, as a general rule, I don't keep salted butter on hand. I didn't find I missed the extra salt, but I'm sure it would be fine with salted butter (as Deb uses) if that's what you have easily to hand.<sup>Back

2</sup> I used all-purpose flour, but I think that pastry/plain/soft flour would work just fine for this recipe.^Back

Ramps, if you've never heard of them, are basically the scallion's wild cousin. They're in the Allium genus and look like scallions with extra wide leafy tops. The leaves are much less stiff and more tender than your typical onions or chives and very flat and broad. Their season is very short and they are extremely difficult to propagate so they are, as far as I know, exclusively harvested from the wild.

I am generally very wary of buying anything that is harvested from wild populations (plant or animal). These were available through our produce basket though and I know that Mama Earth tends to curate their offerings pretty carefully. I also took a look at the supplier and it does seem like they are trying to follow sustainable harvesting practices. So, provided it is, in fact, being done sustainably, I'm okay with buying some and supporting that.

It took me a while to decide what I wanted to do with my lovely ramps. I wanted something to really showcase their flavour. I debated just grilling them with a little olive oil, but that wouldn't really be substantial enough to be a meal on its own. I was tempted to try a ramp risotto, but it looked a little more complex than I was willing to deal with this week. In the end I settled on a very simple quesadilla recipe. It was simple, quick, easy, and should showcase the ramps nicely while still being substantial enough to be a (not very balanced) meal. Perfect!

I know you can't actually see the ramps here, but trust me: they were delicious!

Ramp & Chorizo Quesadillas

Slightly adapted from Epicurious

Ingredients

• 2 uncured chorizo-style sausages
• 1 bunch ramps, chopped
• ~1 c. grated Cheddar cheese
• 2 (10") whole wheat tortillas
• butter (optional)
• crème fraîche or sour cream, to serve

Directions

1. Remove sausage casings and crumble sausage meat into pan.
2. Cook on medium-high until meat is cooked through and starting to brown.
3. Remove sausage from pan with slotted spoon and set aside.
4. Add ramps to pan and cook in rendered fat from sausage. Add a couple Tbsp. of water to help deglaze the pan if necessary.
5. Remove ramps from pan and toss with chorizo.
6. Add cheese to ramp mixture and toss.
7. Add a very small amount of butter (if using) to pan.
8. Place a tortilla in the pan and cover 1/2 with ramp mixture.
9. Fold tortilla in half (sandwiching the ramp mixture between) and cook until tortilla is slightly browned and crisp.
10. Flip quesadilla over and cook until second side is starting to brown, cheese is melted, and quesadilla is hot all the way through.
11. Remove from heat, cut into quarters, and top with a dollop of crème fraîche (or sour cream).

Chicken California

Another Cook's Country recipe from the backlog that I don't actually remember anything about.

Ingredients

• 1.5kg bone-in chicken pieces
• salt and pepper
• 125mL + 30mL cornmeal
• 75mL olive oil
• 1 onion, chopped fine
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 15mL chili powder
• 250mL dry red wine
• 320mL chicken broth
• 15mL packed brown sugar
• 85mL sliced almonds, toasted
• 85mL pitted green olives, chopped coarsely
• 85mL chopped fresh cilantro

Procedure

1. Season chicken with salt and pepper.
2. Put 125mL cornmeal in a shallow dish. Dredge chicken.
3. Heat 30mL oil in a dutch oven over medium heat. Add half of chicken and cook until evenly browned, ~3 minutes/side; remove and repeat with remaining chicken, adding another 30mL oil if needed.
4. Wipe out pot, add remaining 15mL oil, and cook onion until soft, ~3 minutes.
5. Add garlic, chili powder, and remaining cornmeal and cook until fragrant, ~30 seconds.
6. Stir in wine and cook until reduced by half, ~3 minutes.
7. Add broth, sugar, 1mL salt, 2mL pepper, and chicken and bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat to low, and simmer for ten minutes.
8. Flip chicken and continue to simmer, covered, until chicken is cooked through, ~10 more minutes. Remove from heat.
9. Remove chicken from dutch oven and season sauce with salt and pepper to taste.
10. Pour over chicken and top with almonds, olives, and cilantro.

The thing that originally prompted me to make crème fraîche was actually an excess of oranges. We got a bunch of oranges in our last produce basket, which is great... except neither TF nor I tend to really eat oranges. I'll happy eat grapefruit for breakfast. And he'll go through clementines at a somewhat alarming rate. But we don't really "do" oranges. (The kidlet isn't really keen on citrus in general right now, so we can't count on him to be a fruit sink here either.) This meant that I had to search for things to do with surplus oranges.

The first got sliced up and put into a citrus-avocado salad, which I found tasty after a couple minor tweaks, but TF wasn't too keen on. (I may do a write-up for it at some point but, given that neither of us were crazy about it and we're not likely to revisit the recipe any time soon, it's not exactly a high priority right now.) The next orange recipe I found was much more of a hit though: homemade whole wheat bread slathered generously with maple-cinnamon butter, toasted, and topped with vanilla sugar saturated sliced orange and homemade crème fraîche. That, as it turns out, went over exceedingly well!

Unfortunately I was in such a hurry to sit down and devour my delectable breakfast, that I forgot to snap a picture of the fully assembled dish. So, I will just borrow the photo from yesterday's post to show you the crème fraîche-topped maple-cinnamon toast:

So now just imagine that with three or four thin slices of juicy orange and a drizzle of maple syrup on top and you'll have an idea of the deliciousness that was my breakfast this morning!

Maple-Cinnamon Toast with Citrus & Crème Fraîche

Adapted from Epicurious

Ingredients

• 1 orange, thinly sliced, seeds removed¹
• 2 Tbsp. vanilla sugar²
• 1/2 c. unsalted butter, room temp.
• 1 1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
• pinch coarse sea salt
• 2 Tbsp. maple syrup
• 4 (1/2"-thick) slices whole wheat bread
• 1 c. crème fraîche
• extra maple syrup to serve (~1/2 c.)

Directions

1. Toss orange slices with vanilla sugar and set aside. (I prepped mine the night before and let them sit in a Ziploc bag in the fridge overnight.)
2. Combine butter, cinnamon, sea salt, and maple syrup. (I just tossed the cold butter in a dish with all the other stuff and let it sit on the counter overnight. By morning it was soft enough to easily mix everything together.)
3. Spread one side of each slice of bread with some of the cinnamon butter.
4. Bake at 450°F for 8 minutes.
5. Place toast butter-side-down on a plate, top with crème fraîche and orange slices, drizzle with maple syrup, and enjoy!

---

¹ The recipe does not say to peel the orange and the picture on Epicurious shows unpeeled orange slices. I think that if your slices are thin and even and neat, having an unpeeled orange would work and does produce a striking visual. The peel also gives those thin slices some structural integrity so they don't just disintegrate on you. That said, I chose to remove the very outer part of the peel with a vegetable peeler (mostly so that I could candy it). The remaining pith did lend some structure, but wasn't as substantial or chewy it would have been had I left the whole peel on. I think fully peeling the orange and using a very sharp knife to cut somewhat thicker slices would also work well. It all depends on what you're after.^Back

² The original recipe calls for 2 Tbsp. sugar + seeds from 1/2 of a vanilla bean. Going that route would definitely give a more pronounced vanilla flavour which I think would be quite lovely. I went with the vanilla sugar mainly because I had it easily to hand and because there were enough other flavours going on that I wasn't really expecting the vanilla to take centre stage anyway. If you want to really taste the vanilla though, definitely use the vanilla bean!^Back

I still haven't ordered the rest of my cheese making supplies yet, so I have to stick to things that don't need rennet (or CaCl₂ or molds or any of that fancy stuff). If nothing else, holding off on placing the order forces me to stick to the basics and do the simpler stuff before moving on to the more intricate recipes.

I know crème fraîche isn't actually a type of cheese, but it is a cultured dairy product, so it feels like part of the same family in my mind. And it was fun to get to play around with cultures again after the more-or-less instant direct acidified cheeses. And it looks like it came out beautifully! I haven't actually tasted it yet, but if appearance is anything to go by breakfast is going to be a real treat tomorrow. I can't wait!

Update: So I've now had a chance to try the crème fraîche and it is just as delicious as it looks! (See above.) It is rich and smooth and creamy with just a tiny hint of tartness. If I'm completely honest, I think it could actually stand to be a bit tangier, but it's perfectly tasty the way it is. I might try either letting stand out at room temp slightly longer next time or using a different culture. I'll be sure to write up another post detailing the results if I do!

Crème Fraîche

Ingredients

• 1L heavy (35%) cream
• 1/4 tsp. Biena mesophilic aromatic type B culture¹

Directions

1. Thoroughly wash and/or sterilize all tools and containers. (I used a pressure cooker to achieve this.)
2. Gently warm cream to 30°C.²
3. Sprinkle the culture onto the surface of the cream and allow to stand for 2 minutes.
4. Thoroughly stir culture into cream, partially cover, and allow to stand at room temperature overnight. (Mine was out for somewhere around 12 or 13 hours.)
5. Cover and refrigerate overnight.
6. Crème fraiche may be used at this point or kept in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.

Feel free to use whatever mesophilic culture you prefer when making your own crème fraîche. You can even use a few Tbsp. of buttermilk in a pinch! Each one will produce its own characteristic flavour. I chose Aroma B for this because, based on some quick Googling around, it seemed like it was probably closest to the canonical crème fraîche culture.

Some Tips on Using Crème Fraîche

Crème fraîche is actually pretty awesome. It is a cultured dairy product similar to sour cream and can be used pretty much anywhere you'd use sour cream. People don't usually tend to substitute it because sour cream tends to be cheaper and more readily available whereas crème fraîche is more of a "specialty" ingredient so it tends to get reserved for the cases where only crème fraîche will do. That said, if you've made or bought a bunch and have some left over, it makes a fine stand-in for sour cream.

Better yet, crème fraîche is much more heat tolerant than sour cream. If you try to cook with sour cream, unless you stir it in right at the end (as with stroganoff), it will tend to break and curdle. Crème fraîche has a much higher fat content, so it won't curdle nearly so easily. If you want a cultured cream that will stand up to prolonged cooking and/or reheating then crème fraîche is where it's at!

It also whips! It does start out as heavy (aka "whipping") cream after all. Culturing it breaks down the lactose, making it less sweet and more acidic/"tangy", but it doesn't break down any of that glorious fat (which is why it stands up to heat so well). That high fat content is also what makes it whip-able. So you can have delicious, tangy, fluffy, whipped crème fraîche! How awesome is that?

---

¹ Aroma B is a blend of Lactococcus lactis subsp. cremoris, Lactococcus lactis subsp. lactis, Lactococcus lactis subsp. diacetylactis, and Leuconostoc mesenteroides subsp. mesenteroides.<sup>Back

2</sup> I chose to pour my cream into a large Mason jar and heat it up in a warm water bath. This does make it more difficult to stir, but it meant that I could do everything directly in the jar and didn't have to worry about transferring it to the jar later. And the warm water bath ensures gentle, even heat.^Back

Energy Balls

Based on "Quick-Energy Pickups" from Betty Crocker's Cookbook for Boys and Girls (1975). symbol made these with Alex earlier this week and they were a hit.

Ingredients

• 4 graham crackers, crushed
• 250mL powdered sugar
• 250mL crunchy peanut butter
• 250mL semisweet or bittersweet small chocolate chips (or other chocolate chips you have lying around)
• 125mL skim milk powder
• 45mL water
• enough dried shredded coconut

Procedure

1. Combine all ingredients except coconut in a bowl.
2. Shape into 2-3cm balls.
3. Roll in coconut until covered.
4. Refrigerate for ~20 minutes.

One Pan Pork Chop Dinner

Ingredients

• 4 (~300g) bone in, center cut pork chops
• 80mL olive oil
• pepper and coarse salt
• 5mL paprika
• 5mL ground coriander
• 500g yukon gold potatoes, skins on, halved lengthwise and then cut crosswise into 1cm slices
• 500g carrots, peeled and cut into 7cm lengths, thick ends quartered
• 1 fennel bulb, stalks discarded, bulb halved, cored, and cut into 1cm wedges
• 10 garlic cloves, peeled
• 10mL minced fresh rosemary
• 30mL minced fresh parsley
• 1 small shallot, minced
• 20mL red wine vinegar
• 1mL sugar

Procedure

1. Adjust oven rack to upper middle position and preheat to 450F.
2. Combine 10mL salt, 5mL pepper, paprika, and coriander in a small bowl.
3. Rub pork chops with oil and season all over with spice mix; set aside.
4. Toss potatoes, carrots, fennel, garlic, and rosemary with 15mL oil, 5mL salt, and 1mL pepper.
5. Spread vegetables in a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet and roast until just tender, ~25 minutes.
6. Place pork chops on top of vegetables and return to oven until cooked through and vegetables fully tender, ~10-15 minutes. Rotate halfway through cooking.
7. Meanwhile, combine parsley, shallot, vinegar, sugar, 2mL salt, 1mL pepper, and remaining oil. Whisk together and drizzle over pork chops and vegetables. Serve.

I'm trying to get into back home cheese making. I used to make paneer at home semi-frequently. I ventured into some other unripened cheeses at home back when I first started working at the dairy, but I never really got any momentum with it or got a good feel for doing it at home on a very small scale. I would like, though, to start experimenting with making my own cheese at home.

Last time I think I got a little ahead of myself. I tried to do too much too fast before I had either the knowledge, confidence, or tools. This time I'm going to try to take things a bit slower. I started out with a basic paneer, just to ease myself back into things. And today I did a simple, direct acidified goat cheese. I generally find direct acidified cheeses quite boring. I like cultured and ripened cheeses. They're more interesting, have more flavour, and are more fun to make. But, as noted, I'm trying not to get ahead of myself. So I'm starting with simple, direct acidified stuff. And, I gotta say, despite my disdain for the "just add acid" cheeses, this one was really quite nice! It looks beautiful and has a wonderful texture and, although it is very mild, the flavour is excellent!

Fresh Goat Cheese

Slightly adapted from The Home Creamery

Ingredients

• 2L whole (3.8%) goat's milk
• 125mL apple cider vinegar

Directions

1. Slowly heat the milk to 80°C, stirring frequently to prevent sticking or scorching.
2. Hold milk at 80° for 10 minutes.
3. Slowly pour in vinegar, stirring to incorporate. Milk should curdle producing small white curds and clear, slightly greenish whey.
4. Pour mixture through a cheesecloth¹ lined colander. (Whey can be saved and used for baking or discarded.)
5. Gather the corners of the cheesecloth together, tie, and hang the cheese to drain. (If not hanging over the sink, place a bowl underneath to catch the whey that drips out.)
6. Allow to drain for at least half an hour (for a softer cheese) or up to five hours (for a slightly firmer cheese).
7. Can be eaten immediately or kept in the fridge for 2-3 days.

Serving Suggestion:

Radishes with Goat Cheese

Adapted from Real Simple

1. Break up cheese with a fork and stir in 1 Tbsp. olive oil + salt and pepper to taste. (I like using a nice coarse salt for this.)
2. Slice radishes and use to scoop up mounds of mild, creamy cheese.

---

¹ If using cheesecloth purchased at a grocery store, use a triple layer. If you can find it, "butter muslin" will work much better. Cheesecloth from an actual cheese making supply house will tend to be much better quality and can be washed and reused. Plastic "cheesecloth" is also an excellent option. It's much easier to clean than actual cloth. The drawback is that it also tends to be somewhat more fragile and can tear if you're too rough with it. All that being said, grocery store cheesecloth can be used successfully, it's just a bit of a pain since it can't be reused and also you need multiple layers and the curds have a tendency to get caught between them. It does make for a cheap and easily available option if you're just getting started though. And is, in fact, what I'm using right now until the rest of my supplies come in.^Back

This is a great general-use curry powder. It works well in Anglo-Indian dishes as well as pretty much any soup that involves squash/pumpkin. And, while it may be similar to store-bought curry powders, the flavour really is much more vibrant when you make your own with freshly ground spices!

English-Style Madras Curry Powder

From 660 Curries

Ingredients

• 1 Tbsp. coriander seeds
• 2 tsp. cumin seeds
• 1 tsp. mustard seeds
• 1/2 tsp. whole cloves
• 1/2 tsp. fenugreek seeds
• 1/2 tsp. black peppercorns
• 5-7 dried red Thai or cayenne chiles, stems removed
• 1 tsp. ground turmeric

Directions

1. Place all ingredients except turmeric in a spice grinder and grind until texture resembles black pepper.
2. Stir in turmeric.
3. Store in a sealed container in a cool, dark, dry place.

(Anglo-Indian) Chicken Curry

This is a mild, coconut milk and tomato based, Anglo-Indian curry. Iyer notes that, as a "British East Indian adaptation", store-bought curry powder would be entirely appropriate here. That said, given that we have all the ingredients for a good curry powder ready to hand, I prefer to make my own. (Iyer even provides a recipe for "English-style madras curry powder" in the spice blends section of the book.) Aside from English curries like this one, I also find the English-style curry powder works very well in squash/pumpkin soups and things of that ilk. Very worth having around!

This is a great quick and easy curry. It's simple to make and produces delicious results. This recipe came to the rescue many a time when we were at a loss for what to have for dinner.

Chicken Curry

Slightly adapted from 660 Curries

Ingredients

• 2 Tbsp. canola oil
• 1 onion, halved and sliced
• 2-3 Tbsp. garlic paste
• 1-2 Tbsp. ginger paste
• 680g skinless boneless chicken breasts, cut into 1" pieces
• 2 tsp. English-style madras curry powder
• 3/4 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 1/4 c. coconut milk (unsweetened)
• 1 large tomato, chopped
• 2 Tbsp. fresh cilantro

Directions

1. Preheat a wok or cast-iron pan over medium-high heat.
2. Drizzle oil down the sides then add the onion, garlic, and ginger and stir-fry until light brown.
3. Add the chicken pieces and curry powder and sear all over.
4. Add the salt and coconut milk, cover, and reduce heat to medium.
5. Simmer, stirring occasionally, until chicken is tender and cooked through.
6. Remove chicken and set aside.
7. Raise heat to medium-high and boil the sauce, uncovered, until it thickens.
8. Add tomato and cilantro to the sauce and pour over chicken pieces.
9. Serve with white rice and mango chutney.

Murghi Korma (Chicken with an Almond-Yogurt Sauce)

I love kormas! Vegetable kormas are actually a favourite of mine, but I decided to give this chicken korma a go to see how it stacked up.

This is a lovely curry, but I found that it wasn't quite what I was expecting of a korma. Now, I'll be the first to admit that I've only ever had vegetable kormas and I've only ever had them at (Anglo-)Indian restaurants, so may expectations are probably a bit skewed. If you're really craving that very mild, nutty creaminess that characterizes many restaurant kormas, then this may not be the recipe for you. If, however, you're simply looking for a pleasantly aromatic chicken curry that still has some of that nuttiness, then this one is probably a good bet!

Murghi Korma

Slightly adapted from 660 Curries

Ingredients

• 1/4 c. plain yogurt
• 2 Tbsp. ginger paste
• 1 Tbsp. garlic paste
• 1 (1.5kg) chicken, skin removed and cut into pieces
• 2 Tbsp. canola oil
• 1/2 tsp. whole cloves
• 1/2 tsp. black peppercorns
• 6 green cardamom pods
• 3 black cardamom pods
• 3 cinnamon sticks
• 2 dried bay leaves (or Indian bay leaves)
• 1 onion, halved and sliced
• 1/2 c. slivered almonds
• 3/4 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 1/2 tsp. cayenne
• 2 Tbsp. fresh cilantro

Directions

1. Combine the yogurt, ginger paste, and garlic paste.
2. Coat the chicken with the yogurt mixture and refrigerate overnight.
3. Heat the oil over medium-high heat.
4. Add the cloves, peppercorns, green and black cardamom pods, cinnamon sticks, and bay leaves and cook until they sizzle and smell aromatic.
5. Add onion and cook until beginning to turn light brown around the edges.
6. Transfer onions and spices to a blender.
7. Add 1 c. water, almonds, salt, and cayenne and puree to make a slightly gritty paste.
8. Place the chicken (and any residual marinade) in the pan and cook over medium-high heat until lightly browned.
9. Add onion-almond paste.
10. Pour 1/2 c. water into the blender jar to rinse it out and add this to the pan as well.
11. Bring to a boil then reduce heat to medium-low and cover.
12. Cook for 15-20 minutes, turning chicken occasionally to allow to cook evenly.
13. Sprinkle with cilantro and serve.

If you want something that's a bit more subtle in its flavours and lets the nuts shine through more, I'd recommend leaving the spices whole and either removing them before serving or eating around them. They'll still infuse the sauce, but they won't have nearly as much of a presence as when they're ground up and incorporated into it. If you're going this route, just leave the onion and spices in the pan and puree the almonds with a bit of water. I'd recommend measuring out the full cup, but only adding half of it to start. If there's not enough liquid to successfully blend the almonds, add more water, a couple Tbsp. at a time, until they form a smooth puree. If there's any water left after the almond puree is done, add it to the water being used to rinse out the blender.

I haven't tested this recipe tweak, but I do think it will produce a much "quieter" sauce where the spices take more of a back seat. Try it if that's the sort of flavour you're after. I'll probably give it a go if I end up making this one again. (Maybe with some vegetables in place of the chicken this time.)

Murghi Jardaloo (Apricot Chicken with Potato Straws)

This curry was okay, but I wasn't blown away by it. Given that there are so many spectacular curries available to either buy or make, I doubt we'll be revisiting this one. I'm including it here mostly for completeness (and in case anyone else has a different take on it and wants to try it out).

Murghi Jardaloo

Slightly adapted from 660 Curries

Ingredients

• 8-10 dried apricots
• 1/2 c. boiling water
• 2 Tbsp. ghee
• 1 onion, halved and sliced
• 2-3 Tbsp. ginger paste
• 4 cloves garlic, sliced
• 4 fresh Thai chiles, sliced (with seeds)
• 1 (1.5kg) chicken, skinned and cut into pieces
• 1 Tbsp. bin bhuna hua garam masala
• 1 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 1/4 c. white vinegar
• 2 Tbsp. chopped jaggery
• 2 c. potato sticks (either home-made or store bought)
• 2 Tbsp. fresh cilantro

Directions

1. Pour boiling water over apricots and set aside to soak.
2. Fry onion, ginger, garlic, and chiles in ghee over medium-high heat for about 5 minutes.
3. Add chicken, garam masala, and salt and lightly brown the meat.
4. Add apricots and their soaking water.
5. Add vinegar and jaggery and deglaze the pan.
6. Bring to a boil then reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer, turning chicken occasionally and basting with sauce for ~25 minutes (or until chicken is cooked through.
7. Transfer chicken to serving platter, pour sauce over top, top with potatoes, sprinkle with cilantro, and serve.

Spaghetti with Roasted Tomatoes

Ingredients

• 45mL olive oil
• 5 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
• 10mL tomato paste
• salt and pepper
• 5mL sugar
• 1mL red pepper flakes
• 800g cherry tomatoes
• 450g dry spaghetti
• 125mL coarsely chopped basil
• 125mL freshly grated parmesan

Procedure

1. Adjust oven rack to middle position and preheat to 500F.
2. Whisk together 30mL oil, garlic, tomato paste, 7.5mL salt, sugar, 1mL pepper, and pepper flakes together in a bowl.
3. Toss tomatoes with mixture.
4. Line rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. Transfer tomatoes to a single layer, clumped at the middle of the sheet, and scrape any remaining sauce from the bowl overtop.
5. Bake until tomatoes are blistered, ~20 minutes.
6. Meanwhile, bring water to a boil on the stovetop and cook pasta al dente. Reserve 250mL of cooking water when draining pasta.
7. Add basil, roasted tomato mixture, 125mL pasta water, and remaining oil to the pasta and toss to combine. Adjust consistency as needed with remaining pasta water and season with salt and pepper to taste.
8. Serve topped with parmesan.

Our latest produce basket came with a bunch of broccoli. In the past we've used this to make broccoli soup and/or cheese-y broccoli & rice. I wasn't really in a soup mood though and the cheese-y rice was alright, but a bit heavy, so I went in search of new broccoli recipes and came across this casserole. I'm pleased with how it came out. The mushrooms and breadcrumbs make a very nice complement to the broccoli and rice.

Broccoli & Wild Rice Casserole

Slightly adapted from Food Network

Ingredients

• 1 c. uncooked wild rice
• 5 c. vegetable broth
• 1 large head broccoli (florets and tender upper parts of stem)
• 1/4 c. unsalted butter
• 227g cremini mushrooms, chopped
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 large or 2 small carrots, peeled and chopped
• 1 rib celery, chopped
• 1/4 c. flour
• 1/2 c. heavy (35%) cream¹
• 1/2 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 1/2 tsp. black pepper
• 1/2 c. panko breadcrumbs
• 1 Tbsp. minced flat-leaf parsley

Directions

1. Combine rice with 2 c. broth, bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 35 minutes.
2. Steam broccoli for 1-2 minutes, then transfer to ice bath to stop cooking.
3. Melt 3 Tbsp. butter over medium heat in a large pot.
4. Add mushrooms and onions and cook, stirring occasionally, until liquid begins to evaporate.
5. Add the carrot and celery and cook until vegetables soften.
6. Sprinkle the flour on the vegetables, stir to incorporate, and cook for another minute or so.
7. Pour in the remaining 3 c. broth and stir to combine.
8. Bring to a boil and allow to thicken.
9. Pour in heavy cream and stir to combine.
10. Cook until thickened.
11. Add salt and pepper.
12. Combine rice and broccoli and pour into a baking dish (we used a lasagna pan).
13. Ladle the vegetable-broth mixture over the broccoli-rice mixture.
14. Melt the remaining 1 Tbsp. butter and toss it with the breadcrumbs.
15. Top the casserole with the buttered breadcrumbs.
16. Bake at 375F for 20 minutes.

---

Alternate Versions

FODMAP-Friendly Version

• 1 c. uncooked wild rice
• 5 c. home-made (garlic and onion-free) broth
• 2 medium heads broccoli (florets only)
• 3 Tbsp. onion-infused oil
• 250g lean ground beef
• 1 large or 2 small carrots, peeled and chopped
• 1 rib celery, chopped
• 1/4 c. sweet (glutinous) rice flour OR 3 Tbsp. plain rice flour + 1 Tbsp. cornstarch
• 1/2 c. firm tofu, blended smooth
• 1/4 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 1/2 tsp. black pepper
• 1/2 c. crushed tortilla chips
• 1 Tbsp. minced flat-leaf parsley

Vegan Version

• 1 c. uncooked wild rice
• 5 c. vegetable broth
• 1 large head broccoli (florets and upper parts of stem)
• 1/4 c. margerine
• 227g cremini mushrooms, chopped
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 large or 2 small carrots, peeled and chopped
• 1 rib celery, chopped
• 1/4 c. flour
• 1/2 c. firm tofu, blended smooth
• 1/2 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 1/2 tsp. black pepper
• 1/2 c. panko breadcrumbs
• 1 Tbsp. minced flat-leaf parsley

Gluten-Free Version

• 1 c. uncooked wild rice
• 5 c. vegetable broth
• 1 large head broccoli (florets and upper parts of stem)
• 1/4 c. unsalted butter
• 227g cremini mushrooms, chopped
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 large or 2 small carrots, peeled and chopped
• 1 rib celery, chopped
• 1/4 c. sweet (glutinous) rice flour OR 3 Tbsp. plain rice flour + 1 Tbsp. cornstarch
• 1/2 c. heavy (35%) cream
• 1/2 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 1/2 tsp. black pepper
• 1/2 c. crushed tortilla chips
• 1 Tbsp. minced flat-leaf parsley

---

¹ I used heavy cream as called for in the original recipe, but if you are wary of the extra calories, I suspect you could substitute table (18%) cream or even half-and-half (10%) to no ill effect.^Back