Apparently the "Syrian Christians" in India are referred to as such because when they were converted to Christianity nearly 2000 years ago, Syrian and Aramaic were the languages of choice for their sermons. They are apparently markedly distinct -- in both religious and dietary customs -- from the Latin-based Christians who were converted some 1500 years later.

I will admit, I don't really know anything about either sect beyond what Iyer has written about them in his book. But I do like this vinegary curry. The acidity puts me in mind of a vindaloo, but it has far less heat and more black pepper and other spices. The inclusion of the potatoes with the meat also puts me a bit in mind of a Goan gosht curry. And that one also includes vinegar and not too much heat, but the vinegar doesn't come through nearly as strongly in that one due to the inclusion of tomatoes and coconut milk, so the flavour profile feels quite different, even if it has several elements in common. Either way, it's delicious. Not a favourite, I think, but very good nonetheless.

Syrian Christian Lamb Curry

Slightly adapted from 660 Curries by Raghavan Iyer

Ingredients

• 2 tsp. coriander seeds
• 2 tsp. fennel seeds
• 2 tsp. black peppercorns
• 1 tsp. cumin seeds
• 1 (~7cm/3") cinnamon stick, broken into smaller pieces
• 500g boneless leg of lamb, cut into 2cm pieces
• 1/2 c. vinegar
• 1 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 1/2 tsp. ground Kashmiri chilies¹
• 1/2 tsp. ground turmeric
• 1 onion, coarsely chopped
• 4-5 cloves garlic
• 4 tsp. ginger paste
• 1/4 c. oil and/or ghee, divided²
• 500g potatoes, cut into 2cm pieces
• 1 c. water
• 1/4 c. chopped fresh cilantro
• 1 tsp. mustard seeds
• 20 fresh (or frozen) curry leaves

Directions

1. Combine the coriander seeds, fennel seeds, peppercorns, cumin seeds, and cinnamon in a spice grinder and grind to a fine powder.
2. Add the ground spices to a bowl along with the lamb, vinegar, salt, ground chilies, and turmeric. Cover and chill for at least 1 hour (and up to overnight).
3. Meanwhile, place the onion and garlic in a food processor and process until finely chopped. (Or mince both by hand.) Add the ginger paste.
4. Heat 2 Tbsp. of the oil over medium heat.
5. Add the potatoes and stir-fry until nicely browned and almost cooked through (~15 minutes). Remove from heat and set aside.
6. In a new pan, heat another Tbsp. of oil over medium heat.
7. Add the onion mixture and stir-fry for ~5 minutes.
8. Add the lamb, along with its marinade, and cook until oil begins to separate (~15 minutes).
9. Add the water and bring to a boil.
10. Cover, reduce heat to low, and simmer until lamb is tender (~30 minutes).
11. Add the cilantro and potatoes and simmer for another 5-10 minutes.
12. Meanwhile, heat the remaining Tbsp. of oil (or ghee) over medium to medium-high heat.
13. Add the mustard seeds, cover, and cook until they've stopped popping (30-60 seconds).
14. Add the curry leaves and immediately remove from heat.
15. Stir-fry in the residual heat for a few seconds to allow the curry leaves to crisp up a bit.
16. Once the potatoes are cooked through, pour the tadka into the curry and stir to combine.
17. Serve over rice and/or with your favourite flatbread.

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¹ The original recipe calls for 1 tsp. of ground cayenne, but I decided that I wanted a slightly milder curry, so I swapped out the cayenne for half the amount of Kashmiri chilies. I was quite happy with the result, the curry had a bit of warmth to it without being spicy/hot. ^Back
2 The original recipe simply calls for 5 Tbsp. of oil: 2 Tbsp. to stir-fry the potatoes, 2 Tbsp. to cook the lamb, and a final Tbsp. for the tadka at the end. I opted to use the full 2 Tbsp. of oil for the potatoes, but only 1 Tbsp. for the lamb, and then switched it up and used a Tbsp. of ghee to make the tadka. Either approach will work just fine. Use whatever's convenient. ^Back

Sauerbraten (German Sweet and Sour Beef)

When I was in NZ last year, I found an excellent deal on beef brisket and came home with a nice piece. It went in the freezer to be cooked later... But then I never quite got to it before I left. So it was still waiting for me in the freezer when I returned this year.

Another time I might've tried to smoke and/or barbecue it. But we're kind of out of grilling season in this hemisphere now and, after a year in the freezer, it was a bit freezer-burnt, so I decided to go for a slow cooker option instead.

After giving it a bit of thought and tossing around a few different ideas, I settled on taking a crack at turning it into sauerbraten. I have fond memories of the sauerbraten that my dad made. And, while I don't have his recipe, I figured I could at least ask the internet and try to come up with something similar. And it seemed like the ideal thing to do with a big chunk of slightly freezer-burnt beef.

The recipe that I used recommends using a bottom round or rump roast for this, but I figured the brisket would also work quite well. And it did! I really enjoyed how it came out. That said, I'm sure it would be good with other cuts too.

Sauerbraten

Slightly adapted from Daring Gourmet

Ingredients

• 2 onions, chopped
• 2-3 carrots, cut into large chunks
• 1 leek, white parts only, thoroughly rinsed and chopped
• 3-4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tsp. dried thyme
• 1 tsp. dried rosemary
• 2 bay leaves
• 8 juniper berries
• 6 whole cloves
• 10-12 black peppercorns
• 2 1/2 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 1 tsp. sugar
• 2 1/2 c. red wine
• 1 c. red wine vinegar¹
• 1 1/2 c. water
• 1.5-2kg beef roast (brisket, bottom round, rump, etc.)
• 1-2 Tbsp. oil or lard
• 4 slices bacon, chopped (optional)
• 1/4 c. flour
• 1/4 c. raisins
• 75-85g gingersnaps/gingernuts (6-7 gingernuts), crushed
• 1 Tbsp. honey

Directions

1. Combine the onion, carrot, leek, garlic, thyme, rosemary, bay leaves, juniper berries, cloves, peppercorns, salt, sugar, wine, vinegar, and water and bring to a boil.
2. Reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes.
3. Remove from heat and allow to cool completely.
4. Nestle the roast into the marinade, cover, and refrigerate for 4-7 days, turning each day if the marinade does not completely cover the meat.
5. When ready to cook, remove the meat from the marinade and set aside.
6. Strain the marinade and reserve both the solids and the liquids.
7. Heat the oil over medium-high heat.
8. Add the beef and sear on all sides. Set aside.
9. Add the bacon (if using) to the now-empty pot and cook.
10. Add the vegetables and sauté for ~5 minutes.
11. Add the flour and cook until no longer raw (3-4 minutes).
12. Pour in the reserved marinade, raisins, gingersnaps/gingernuts, and honey and bring to a boil.
13. Add beef, cover, reduce heat to low, and simmer for 2-4 hours if cooking on the stovetop. Otherwise, transfer everything to a slow cooker and cook on "high" for ~6 hours. (Or use an InstantPot-style multi-cooker to do the whole thing in place.)
14. Once beef is cooked through and tender, remove from the pot and set aside.
15. If desired, remove the bay leaves, juniper berries, and cloves from the liquid and purée the veggies into it to make a thick gravy. Otherwise, adjust consistency by mixing in a cornstarch or flour slurry and boiling until gravy thickens to desired consistency.
16. Adjust seasoning to taste.
17. Slice beef and serve with the gravy (and veggies if you chose not to purée them).
18. Serve with a starch (potatoes, bread, etc.) and rotkohl (sweet-and-sour red cabbage) or another vegetable dish of your choice.

---

¹ I couldn't find any red wine vinegar, so I just used white wine vinegar. Either is fine. I think that cider vinegar would also be good in a pinch. ^Back

Batata Dukkar Vindaloo (Potato Pork Vindaloo)

I had gotten some "stewing pork" on sale at some point and then tossed it in the freezer and forgot about it. Having been reminded of its existence, I decided it was high time I did something with it! We also have a surplus of potatoes to use up right now. So this curry seemed pretty much perfect to use up ingredients on hand. Plus, who doesn't love a vindaloo?!

I made the mildest version of this curry: 3 dried chilies and 1 fresh. I feel like this produced quite a pleasant heat level. The Kidlet found it a bit on the spicy side, but she still ate all of her portion. If you would like a milder dish, you can either reduce the chilies a bit further or, alternatively, simply serve it topped with a little plain yogurt. The yogurt will have a moderating effect on the heat as well as adding a bit of extra nutrition.

I didn't find that the potatoes browned up as much as Iyer described, but they were still delicious! I think I'd be tempted to slice them slightly thicker next time. Iyer simply said "thinly sliced", so I went for very thin; probably only ~2mm. Maybe a 4mm thickness would have been better. That would've allowed for fewer slices so that each one could've had more time in contact with the pan. Something to experiment with...

Batata Dukkar Vindaloo

Slightly adapted from 660 Curries by Raghavan Iyer

Ingredients

• 1/4 c. oil, divided
• ~700g potatoes, halved and sliced 3-4mm thick
• 2 tsp. coriander seeds
• 1 tsp. cumin seeds
• 1/2 tsp. mustard seeds
• 1/2 tsp. black peppercorns
• 6 whole cloves
• 3-5 dried red cayenne, arbol, or Thai chilies
• 1 (7cm) cinnamon stick, broken into smaller pieces
• 1/2 c. cider or malt vinegar
• 8-9 cloves garlic
• 2 onions, 1 chopped, 1 halved and sliced
• 1-2 fresh green Thai, serrano, or finger chilies, sliced
• ~600g stewing pork
• 1 c. water, divided
• 1/2 Tbsp. coarse sea salt
• 1/2 tsp. ground turmeric
• 2 Tbsp. chopped fresh cilantro

Directions

1. Heat 2 Tbsp. of the oil over medium heat.
2. Add the potatoes and fry until browned on both sides (15-20 minutes), flipping once or twice during cooking. Remove from the pan and set aside.
3. Add the coriander, cumin, mustard, pepper, cloves, dried chilies, and cinnamon to the now-empty pan and cook until fragrant (~1 minute). Transfer spices to a blender jar.
4. Add the vinegar, garlic, and chopped onion to the blender jar with the spices and purée.
5. Add the remaining 2 Tbsp. of oil to the pan and heat over medium heat.
6. Add the sliced onion and fresh chilies and cook until softened (3-5 minutes).
7. Add the pork and sear on all sides (~5 minutes).
8. Add the sauce from the blender jar.
9. Add 1/2 c. water to the blender jar, swish it out, and add it to the pan.
10. Stir in the salt and turmeric and bring to a boil.
11. Cover, reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer for 20 minutes.
12. Uncover, add the fried potatoes and the remaining 1/2 c. of water.
13. Simmer until potatoes are fully cooked and sauce is thickened (5-10 minutes).
14. Sprinkle with cilantro and serve with rice, plain yogurt or raita, your favourite flatbreads, and vegetable curries.

陕西臊子面 (Shaanxi Saozi Mian)

The name of this dish literally translates as "Shaanxi sauce noodles". The final product is a delicious lightly spicy, savoury, and sour noodle soup. Full of pork belly, fried tofu puffs, carrots, potatoes, wood ear fungus, and lily blossoms. But the first step is making the intensely flavourful meat sauce. Once the concoction is complete, you make the rest of the soup and then add the sauce, which then gets ladelled over freshly cooked noodles and topped with thin ribbons of omelette and a mix of garlic chives and green onions. The finished product is incredibly delicious and satisfying. This one is definitely a keeper!

Hanzi: 陕西臊子面
Pinyin: Shǎnxī sàozǐ miàn
English: Shaanxi sauce noodles

陕西臊子面

Slightly adapted from The Woks of Life

Ingredients

Meat Sauce

• 2 Tbsp. oil
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 3 star anise
• 3 bay leaves
• 2 Tbsp. minced ginger or ginger paste
• 450g pork belly, cut into 5mm dice
• 2 Tbsp. 老干妈 (Laoganma)¹
• 1/4 c. 绍兴酒 (Shaoxing wine)
• 1/2 c. black vinegar
• 1/2 Tbsp. five-spice powder
• 2 Tbsp. light soy sauce
• 2 tsp. sugar

Soup

• 1-2 Tbsp. oil
• 1 Tbsp. minced ginger or ginger paste
• 1/2-3/4 c. diced carrots
• ~1 c. diced potatoes
• 20g dried wood ear fungus, rehydrated
• 5-6g dried lily blossoms, rehydrated
• 1 Tbsp. oyster sauce
• 6-8 c. chicken or vegetable stock
• 8 fried soy puffs, quartered

Toppings

• 1 tsp. cornstarch (cornflour)
• 4 tsp. water
• 2 large eggs
• 1-2 tsp. oil
• 450g dried spaghettini or other thin wheat noodles
• 1/3-1/2 c. chopped garlic chives
• 1-2 green onions, chopped

Directions

1. Heat the oil over medium-low heat.
2. Add the cinnamon stick, star anise, and bay leaves and cook, stirring occasionally, until oil is infused (2-3 minutes).
3. Add the ginger and pork belly, increase heat to medium, and cook until meat is opaque.
4. Add the Laoganma (or chiles and salt, if using) and cook for another 5 minutes.
5. Add the Shaoxing wine, vinegar, five-spice powder, soy sauce, and sugar and bring to a boil.
6. Lower heat slightly and cook until sauce is slightly reduced (6-8 minutes). Remove from heat and set aside.
7. Heat the oil for the soup over medium heat.
8. Add the ginger and stir-fry for 30-60 seconds.
9. Add the carrots and potatoes and cook for 5-6 minutes, stirring occasionally.
10. Drain and chop the wood ear fungus and the lily blossoms and add them to the pot with the vegetables.
11. Add the oyster sauce and cook for 2-3 minutes.
12. Add the stock, soy puffs, and the meat sauce prepared earlier and bring to a boil.
13. Simmer for 10 minutes.
14. Meanwhile, mix the cornstarch with the water and then beat in the eggs.
15. Heat the remaining oil over medium heat.
16. Pour in the egg mixture and cook until eggs have set.
17. Carefully flip and cook for ~30 seconds on the other side.
18. Remove omelette from pan and cut into ribbons. Set aside.
19. Bring a pot of water to a rolling boil and cook the noodles according to package directions. Pasta should be fairly al dente and not too soft.
20. Drain noodles and portion out into bowls.
21. Ladel a generous quantity of the soup over the noodles.
22. Top soup with some omelette ribbons, garlic chives, and green onions and serve immediately.

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¹ The original recipe called for 1/4 c. of oil (rather than just 2 Tbsp.) here + 2 Tbsp. Sichuan chile flakes and 1 tsp. of salt. I didn't have any Sichuan chile flakes and didn't want to try to go out and get yet another variety of chiles, so I reduced the oil, omitted the salt, and swapped out the chile flakes for the same amount of 老干妈. This gave me the heat, salt, and extra oil all in one. And, I must say, I'm quite happy with the results. Would definitely be happy to go that route again! ^Back

We got a surprise cucumber in our produce basket last week. Normally I wouldn't worry about it because cucumbers and bell peppers were the Kidlets main school snacks for several years. But she seems to have gone off them lately. So the cucumber was going begging and I needed to find a use for it.

Enter this delightlfully low-effort cucumber salad. Just toss everything in a bowl and let it sit for half an hour. Boom! Done.

Thai Cucumber Salad

Slightly adapted from Vegetable of the Day by Kate McMillan

Ingredients

• 1/3 c. rice vinegar
• 1 1/2 Tbsp. sugar
• 1/4 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 1/8 tsp. black peppercorns, ground
• 1/2 small red onion (or 1/4 large), thinly sliced
• 1 English cucumber, sliced into 1cm thick discs
• 1 fresh chile¹, thinly sliced
• 1/2 c. chopped fresh cilantro
• 1/4 c. roasted unsalted peanuts², chopped

Directions

1. Combine vinegar, sugar, salt, and pepper in a small pot and bring to a boil.
2. Cook for 2-3 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.
3. Add onion to vinegar mixture and allow to cool.
4. Pour vinegar mixture over cucumber slices.
5. Add chile and toss to combine.
6. Set aside for at least 30 minutes.
7. Stir in cilantro and peanuts and serve.

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¹ The recipe calls for a jalapeño, but I thought that a Thai or finger chile would go better and I already had a bunch of those on hand, so that's what I went with. I think either a red or green Thai, cayenne, serrano, or finger chile would work here. (Or a jalapeño in a pinch, I guess.) Use whatever you've got. ^Back
2 The recipe only calls for 2 Tbsp. of peanuts and that's what we used when we made this. That said, I feel that it would have benefitted from more peanuts, so I've upped the quantity here. ^Back

Peach and mustard is a good combo with pork. This recipe reminds me a bit of our Christmas ham recipe. This just uses an uncured pork shoulder rather than ham and makes the sauce with lots of tomato and vinegar to create something more like a barbecue sauce.

I think this would've been beautiful done on the barbecue, but it's cold and I was tired, so I just did it in the oven. I think it really would have benefitted from a long, slow, cooking over indirect heat on the grill. As it was, I found I needed to tweak the oven cooking a bit.

I initially just cooked it at 300°F for 5 hours as directed in the recipe, but I failed to check the internal temperature before removing it from the oven and, after resting it for a while, TF found that it was a bit undercooked when she went to shred the meat. So, back into the oven it went! We ended up nudging the temperature up to 350°F and cooking it for another hour. That did the job and got it up to the desired internal temperature, but I think it would've been nice with an even longer cook time. We were just hungry and tired and wanted to get it done, so we rolled with it as it was.

Pulled Pork with Peach-Mustard Sauce

Slightly adapted from Dish of the Day by Kate McMillan

Ingredients

• 1 bone-in pork shoulder (~3kg)
• 1 Tbsp. coarse sea salt
• 1 Tbsp. black peppercorns
• 1 Tbsp. mustard seeds
• 2 c. cider vinegar, divided
• 1 c. water
• 7 onions, 4 sliced, 3 chopped
• 2 Tbsp. unsalted butter¹
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 400mL crushed tomatoes
• 2 Tbsp. tomato paste
• 1 c. peach jam
• 1/2 c. Roman mustard² or Dijon mustard
• 1/2 c. bourbon³
• 1/2 c. honey
• 1/4 c. brown sugar
• 1-2 Tbsp. hotsauce
• buns, to serve
• coleslaw, to serve

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 160°C (300°F) and grease or oil a roasting pan.
2. Combine the salt, pepper, mustard seeds and grind.
3. Slather the ground spices over the entire surface of the pork shoulder and place it in the prepared roasting pan.
4. Pour the water and 1 c. of the vinegar into the roasting pan.
5. Add the sliced onions over and around the pork.
6. Cover with foil and bake at 160°C (300°F) for 4 hours.
7. Remove foil and return to oven for another hour or two (until internal temperature reads at least 80°C/175°F).
8. If pork is still not done (or if you'd like to brown the outside a bit more), increase the temperature to 180°C (350°F) and cook for another 30-60 minutes.
9. Meanwhile, melt the butter over medium heat and add the chopped onions and garlic. Cook until onions have softened and started to brown (~10 minutes).
10. Add tomatoes, tomato paste, jam, mustard, bourbon, honey, sugar, and hotsauce.
11. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat then reduce to medium-low and simmer, uncovered, for 2 hours.
12. Once pork is done, set aside to cool for ~1 hour.
13. Remove pork and onions from roasting pan. Shred the meat and discard the fat.
14. Add ~1/2 the sauce to the shredded pork and mix well.
15. Serve the pork on buns with extra sauce and coleslaw.

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¹ The original recipe called for 1/2 c. of butter! I cut this back to 2 Tbsp. and I'm perfectly happy with the results. Next time I might even be tempted to skip the butter altogether and just skim some fat off the pork drippings to use in my sauce. Either way, I don't think you need 8 Tbsp. of butter to make a good sauce for your pork! That just seems excessive. ^1
2 I only ended up putting 1/4 c. of mustard into our sauce. I wanted to taste it first and see if it seemed like it needed the whole 1/2 c. I think it was fine with only half the amount, but more would've been better. I just got a bit frazzled toward the end of the evening and forgot about adding the rest of the mustard. At least now I'll know for next time! ^Back
3 I didn't have any bourbon handy, so I just tossed in some rum. Not the same, I know, but I didn't want to go out to the LCBO just for that, so I made do with what I had. ^Back

I've had these interesting-looking sandwiches on my radar for a while now. I just keep having bread and no turkey or turkey but no bread. I finally managed to have both together though, so I took the opportunity to try this slightly luxurious lunch offering.

Turkey Melts with Pickled Apples

Slightly adapted from Cook's Country February/March 2021

Ingredients

• 1 c. cider vinegar
• 5 Tbsp. honey, divided
• 1/2 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 1 apple
• 1/2 c. mayonnaise, divided
• 2 Tbsp. Roman mustard
• 2 tsp. minced fresh rosemary (or 1 tsp. dried)¹
• 8 slices bread
• 8 slices cheese (cheddar, Swiss, or a mix)
• ~400g sliced turkey (preferably smoked)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 220°C (425°F).
2. Core and halve or quarter the apple, then slice thin.
3. Combine vinegar, 1/4 c. of the honey, and the salt and bring to a boil².
4. Remove from heat, add the apple, and let stand for 5 minutes.
5. Drain³ the apple and set aside.
6. Whisk 1/4 c. of the mayo with the mustard, rosemary, and remaining 1 Tbsp. of honey.
7. Spread 1 side of each slice of bread with the remaining 1/4 c. of mayo.
8. Place the bread mayo-side down on a baking sheet and spread with the honey-mustard mixture (you may not need all of it).
9. Place a slice of cheese on top of 4 of the bread slices and top with ~100g of turkey.
10. Divide the pickled apple amongst the 4 sandwiches, then top with remaining cheese and bread (with mayo side facing out/up and the honey-mustard side facing in/down).
11. Bake at 220°C (425°F) for 8-10 minutes, flip, return to oven and bake for another 5-8 minutes.
12. Serve with carrot sticks and/or a soup⁴ or salad of your choice.

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¹ Whoops! Just realized that I completely missed the rosemary in mine! Didn't even see it in the ingredient list until just now. Oh well... it was still delicious. But I do think it would've been even better with a bit of rosemary in the sauce. ^Back
2 The Cook's Country folks have you do this in the microwave, but, having done it that way this time, I think I'd actually prefer doing it on the stovetop in the future. Use whichever method works best for you. ^Back
3 The brine can be reused once or twice more. The ATK folks also recommend that it makes a good base for a vinegarette and that they often serve these sandwiches with a green salad. I didn't have any salad greens handy, so TF just reheated the brine, added a few more apples to it, and stuck it in the fridge for now. We've been using them to make more sandwiches when we need a quick lunch fix. Maybe I'll try using it for a salad dressing once the apples run out... ^Back
4 I think a soup featuring white beans, pumpkin, or butternut squash would go particularly well with these sandwiches. ^Back

I enjoyed these eggs, but I'd like to give the recipe another try at some point. They were good, but not as good as they could've been. I was juggling too many things at once and I ended up reducing the vinegar a bit too much so it didn't make as smooth as sauce as it was supposed to and the eggs ended up a bit overcooked because they were being kept warm in the oven while I tried to get the toast ready. Still good, just not optimal.

Fried Eggs with Malt Vinegar and Butter Sauce

Slightly adapted from The Good Egg by Marie Simmons

Ingredients

• 3-5 Tbsp. unsalted butter¹, cut into 1/2 Tbsp. pieces
• 4 large eggs
• 1/2 c. malt vinegar
• salt and pepper, to taste
• 4 slices toast

Directions

1. Warm a large plate (or 2-4 smaller plates) in the oven.
2. Meanwhile, melt some butter (see footnote 1) over medium-low heat.
3. When the butter sizzles, carefully crack an egg into a cup and pour into the pan. Repeat with remaining 3 eggs.
4. Reduce heat to low and fry for 1 minute.
5. Cover and cook until yolks are desired doneness (3-5 minutes).
6. Transfer eggs to warm plate(s).
7. Add the vinegar to the now empty pan and increase heat to high.
8. Boil until reduced to 2-3 Tbsp. (1-2 minutes).
9. Remove from heat and add butter, one piece at a time, swirling to melt between additions.
10. Drizzle the sauce over the eggs, season with salt and pepper, and serve with toast.

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¹ The original recipe calls for cooking the eggs in 2 Tbsp. of butter and then using an additional 3 Tbsp. to make the saue. I ended up cooking the eggs in just 1/2 a Tbsp. of butter and then using the full 3 Tbsp. for the sauce. I'd be tempted to try reducing the butter in the sauce a little bit next time too though. Especially if I actually managed to get the vinegar reduction right. I figure I could try it with 3 Tbsp. overall: 1/2-1 Tbsp. for cooking the eggs and then the remaining 2-2 1/2 for the sauce. ^Back

This is a simple vegetable side. It's somewhere between a salad and a quick pickle. It's very easy to make and requires very little active time. You just need to start it far enough in advance to give it at least an hour for the flavours to develop before you serve it.

This reminds me a lot of how I used to eat cucumbers as a kid: in a little dish with some white vinegar, salt, and pepper. Using cider vinegar instead of white, adding a bit of sugar, and diluting the mixture with a bit of water all help to tone down the acidity a bit. I still like my childhood version, but I do think this mellower take is probably more broadly appealing. And letting it sit for a while before serving gives the vegetables a chance to really absorb the flavours.

I made my salad with Vidalia onions since I had some on hand for another dish anyway, but the write-up says that regular yellow onions worked fine here as well. And I used an English cucumber because that's what I had on hand, but apparently when the folks over at ATK tested this recipe their tasters preferred field cucumbers to English. It's not like it's bad with English cucumbers though, so use what you have and enjoy!

Cucumber and Onion Salad

From Cook's Country June/July 2019

Ingredients

• 1/2 cider vinegar
• 1/4 c. water
• 2 Tbsp. sugar
• 1/2 Tbsp. coarse sea salt
• 1/2 tsp. black peppercorns, ground
• 450g cucumbers
• 1 onion, halved and sliced thin

Directions

1. Mix the vinegar, water, sugar, salt, and pepper until dissolved and set aside.
2. Peel the cucumbers, halve lengthwise, and slice thin.
3. Add the cucumbers and onions to the dressing and mix well.
4. Cover and chill for at least an hour before serving.

The ramen train has no brakes! Except when we run out of ramen, or I forget the write up the recipes, or we just aren't in the mood for it. But apart from that...

This one is quick and easy and slightly more vegetable-y out of the box than the others thanks to the presence of an entire tomato in it.

Tomato-Egg Ramen

Aaron & Claire

Ingredients

• 1 packet ramyun
  
• 1 tomato, chopped
• ¼ yellow onion, sliced
• gochugaru to taste
• 1 tsp white or cane vinegar
• 1 green onion, sliced
•  1 egg, beaten

Directions

1. Add tomato and onion to the water and bring to a boil.
2. Add seasoning packet and mash the tomato in the water.
3. Add noodles, gochugaru, and vinegar.
4. When noodles are ready, add green onion and pour over egg; do not stir.

Feijoada (Goan-Style)

The main contenders for dinner tonight were either hotpot or curry. TF was more in the mood for curry, so that's what we opted for, and I'm really glad we did! This curry was so good! Everyone loved it. The sausage and beans work really well together and the vinegar, chilies, and garlic combine to give it wonderful, savoury-sour, mouthwatering flavour. I'm slightly regretting not making a double batch!

Photo goes here.

Feijoada

Slightly adapted from 660 Curries by Raghavan Iyer

Ingredients

• 1/4 c. malt vinegar
• 4-5 cloves garlic¹ (or 1/4 c. garlic paste)
• 4 dried guajillo chilies²
• 2-4 dried red Thai, cayenne, or arbol chilies³
• 2 slices fresh ginger (or 1 1/2 Tbsp. ginger paste)
• 2 Tbsp. canola (or other neutral) oil
• 1 tsp. cumin seeds
• 1 large onion, halved and sliced
• 1 large tomato, chopped
• 1/2 tsp. ground turmeric
• 1/2 c. water
• 1-2 c. cooked black-eyed peas⁴
• 1-2 c. cooked kidney beans
• 1 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 450g pork⁵ sausage (chorizo is ideal), cut crosswise 1cm thick
• 2 Tbsp. chopped fresh cilantro

Directions

1. Combine vinegar, garlic, both kinds of chilies, and ginger in a blender and puree.
2. Heat oil over medium heat.
3. Add cumin seeds and sizzle for 10-20 seconds.
4. Add onion and cook, stirring occasionally, for 15-20 minutes.
5. Add the pureed mixture and simmer, uncovered, for another 5 minutes.
6. Add tomato and turmeric and cook, uncovered, for 5 more minutes.
7. Add water, both kinds of beans, salt, and sausage and bring to a boil.
8. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and cook, stirring occasionally, until sausage is cooked through (~15 minutes).
9. Sprinkle with cilantro.
10. Serve over rice.

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¹ Since I was working with a previously prepared guajillo chili sauce rather than whole chilies, I opted to swap in garlic paste and ginger paste for the fresh garlic and ginger in order to eliminate the necessity for the blender. I used ~1/4 c. of garlic paste and 1 1/2 Tbsp. of ginger paste. ^Back
2 I had some leftover guajillo chili sauce from an earlier recipe, so I just used that in place of the dried chilies. I used ~6 Tbsp. of sauce. ^Back
3 I left out the spicier arbol chilies entirely both because I didn't want to have to bust out the blender and because I figured using only the much milder guajillo chilies would be more to the Kidlet's taste anyway. This proved to be the right call; she loved it! ^Back
4 I didn't have any black-eyed peas so I swapped in a cup of cooked black turtle beans instead. ^Back
5 This recipe can easily be made vegetarian/vegan by swapping in plant-based sausages for the pork ones. ^Back

This is very different from what I normally expect a masala to be. It is also incredibly delicious. Acidic, pungent, spicy... full of garlic! It is goodness in a jar that you can add to all your favourite dishes to kick them up a notch. (Okay, maybe don't add it to your trifle, but you get the idea.)

Balchao Masala

From 660 Curries by Raghavan Iyer

Ingredients

• 1/2 c. cider or malt vinegar
• 1 tsp. tamarind concentrate
• 1 c. dried red Thai, arbol, cayenne, or Kashmiri¹ chilies
• 1 Tbsp. cumin seeds
• 1 tsp. black pappercorns
• 1/2 tsp. whole cloves
• 1/2 tsp. ground turmeric
• 12-14 cloves garlic
• 2 (6cm by 2.5cm by 3mm) slices of ginger or 2 Tbsp. ginger paste
• 2 (7.5cm) cinnamon sticks, broken into pieces²

Directions

1. Pour the vinegar into a blender jar.
2. Add all the remaining ingredients to the blender.
3. Purée, scraping down as needed, until a paste is formed.
4. Store in a sealed container in the fridge. (Iyer says it'll only keep in the fridge for 2 weeks; in my experience it's gone long before you have to worry about it going off!)

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¹ Iyer only mentions Thai and cayenne chilies in his recipe. I really like Kashmiri chilies thoug, so I opted to use a mix of arbol and Kashmiri chilies for my masala. I am extremely happy with the results! ^Back
2Our blender is not good at fully reducing the cinnamon sticks in this environment; it would probably be a good idea to run them through the spice grinder first, to reduce the prevalence of cinnamon chunks in the final paste. ^Back

Ensaladang Pipino (Cucumber Salad)

I've always enjoyed cucumber slices tossed with vinegar and a little salt and pepper. This salad takes that idea to the next level! My only regret is not getting more cucumbers so I could make a double batch.

Ensaladang Pipino

Slightly adapted from Kawaling Pinoy

Ingredients

• 1/2 c. vinegar (preferably cane or coconut vinegar)
• 2 Tbsp. fish sauce
• 1 tsp. sesame oil
• 1 Tbsp. sugar
• 1/2 tsp. coarse sea salt, ground
• 1 fresh red Thai chili, minced
• 2-3 black peppercorns, crushed
• 2 large cucumbers, halved and thinly sliced
• 1/2 small red onion, halved and thinly sliced

Directions

1. Whisk together vinegar, fish sauce, oil, sugar, salt, chili, and pepper in a bowl.
2. Add cucumber and onion and toss to combine.
3. Cover and chill until ready to eat.

I've been trying to catch up on some of the recipes we made but never got around to writing up. We have a list of what's in the backlog, but Past Me didn't make very good notes there, so I've mostly been flipping through cookbooks for things that we've made but never got a blog post. We made this one quite a while ago. I think it may well have been before we'd even started the blog. It's meant to be made with Goan sausages, but they're not really a thing in North America. The next best thing would be Portuguese chouricos. And the next best thing after that would be Spanish-style chorizo. If I recall correctly, there was a bit of a miscommunication on the grocery list and we ended up with a package of Mexican-style (raw) chorizo sausages instead of Spanish-style (smoked/cured) chorizo. It was still good, but I wouldn't mind revisiting it with the proper cured sausage one of these days. (Although it's unclear from Iyer's recipe whether he intends the reader to use smoked/cured sausage or not. But the tip at the end talks about Goan sausage as well as Spanish chorizo and Portuguese chouricos and my understanding is that all of them are generally smoked. Hence my recommendation here.)

Pork Sausage Curry

Slightly adapted from 660 Curries by Raghavan Iyer

Ingredients

• 2 Tbsp. canola (or other neutral) oil
• 1 onion, halved and sliced
• 4-5 cloves garlic, sliced
• 1 large tomato, chopped
• 2 tsp. coriander seeds, ground
• 1 tsp. cumin seeds, ground
• 1 tsp. ground Kashmiri chilies (or a 1:3 mix of cayenne:sweet paprika)
• 1/2 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 1/2 tsp. ground turmeric
• 450g pork sausage (preferably smoked), cut into 1cm rounds
• 1/4 c. malt vinegar
• 2 Tbsp. chopped fresh cilantro
• 1-2 fresh green Thai chilies, minced

Directions

1. Heat oil over medium-high heat.
2. Add onion and garlic and cook until light brown around the edges (~5 minutes).
3. Add tomato, coriander, cumin, Kashmiri chilies, salt, and turmeric.
4. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and cook, stirring occasionally, for ~5 minutes.
5. Add the sausage and vinegar.
6. Increase heat to medium and cook, covered, stirring occasionally, for 8-10 minutes.
7. Stir in cilantro and fresh chilies and cook, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until the sauce thickens (~5 minutes).
8. Serve with rice and side(s) of your choice.

I think I probably would've preferred to just toss all the "stick" components of this curry into the sauce and serve it as a saucy, chunky stew. But the Kidlet loves any sort of food on sticks and I had the skewers already anyway, so I figured I'd give it a go. It was fun, but the chunky tomato sauce didn't really cling to the meat very well. Serving it as a more traditional curry with chunks of meat in a savoury sauce would've made it easier to enjoy everything together. Plus it saves you the effort of making the little kebabs!

Somewhat out-of-focus photo of "stick" curry (upper left), served with sing pitta (right) and zarda chaawal (lower left).

"Stick" Curry

Slightly adapted from 660 Curries by Raghavan Iyer

Ingredients

• 450g stewing beef, cut into 3cm cubes
• 12-15 cloves garlic
• 4-6 fresh green Thai chilies or 1 green bell pepper, cut into 1cm pieces
• 12-15 nickel-sized slices of peeled fresh ginger
• ~12 short bamboo skewers (10-15cm long)
• 2 Tbsp. canola (or other neutral) oil
• 1 tsp. cumin seeds
• 1 onion, halved and thinly sliced
• 1 c. diced tomatoes (fresh or canned)
• 1 Tbsp. Dhania-Jeera Masala
• 1/2 tsp. ground turmeric
• 1 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 1/4 c. malt vinegar
• 2 Tbsp. chopped fresh cilantro

Directions

1. Place beef in a pot and add water to cover.
2. Bring to a boil then reduce heat to medium, cover, and simmer for 20-25 minutes.
3. Drain beef and set aside. (You may save the liquid for anothe use or discard it.)
4. Create small kebabs out of the cooked beef chunks, whole cloves of garlic, ginger slices, and chile/pepper pieces.
5. Heat oil over medium heat.
6. Add cumin seeds and cook for 15-30 seconds.
7. Add onion, cover, and cook, stirring occasionally, until onion begins to turn caramel-brown (15-20 minutes).
8. Add the tomato, masala, turmeric, and salt and cook, uncovered, stirring occasionally for ~5 minutes.
9. Add the skewers and coat them with sauce.
10. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer for 10 minutes.
11. Remove skewers to a serving platter.
12. Stir the vinegar into the sauce and pour it over the skewers.
13. Sprinkle with cilantro and serve.

Goan Gosht Curry (Goan-Style Beef Stew)

This is one of my absolute favourite beef curries. Delicious! And not too difficult to throw together either. The vinegar stops the potatoes from breaking down too fast so they hold together while the beef tenderizes.

Goan Gosht Curry

Slightly adapted from 660 Curries by Raghavan Iyer

Ingredients

• 450g stewing beef
• 1 tsp. cayenne
• 1/2 tsp. turmeric
• 250g russet (or other floury) potatoes, cut into 1" (2.5cm) cubes
• 2 Tbsp. canola (or other neutral) oil
• 4 green cardamom pods
• 2 bay leaves
• 2 (3") cinnamon sticks
• 120g shallots, thinly sliced
• 2 tsp. cumin seeds, ground
• 2 tsp. coriander seeds, ground
• 400mL coconut milk
• 430mL tinned diced tomatoes
• 1/4 c. malt vinegar
• 1 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 2 Tbsp. chopped fresh cilantro

Directions

1. Toss beef with cayenne and turmeric.
2. Cover and chill for up to 24 hours.
3. Heat oil over medium-high heat.
4. Add cardamom pods, bay leaves, and cinnamon sticks and sizzle for 10 seconds or so.
5. Add beef, shallots, and potatoes and stir-fry until beef is seared and shallots and potatoes are lightly browned (~5 minutes).
6. Add cumin and coriander and stir-fry for an additional 2 minutes.
7. Add coconut milk, tomatoes, vinegar, and salt and deglaze the pan.
8. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer, stirring occasionally, until beef is very tender and potatoes are tender, but still firm (up to 1.5 hours).
9. Add cilantro and serve with crusty bread, naan, and/or rice.

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.

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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