Garam Masala and Thyme

Sat 16 Aug 2008

Spicy-sweet Chinese Eggplant with String Beans

Posted by dani under Veggies, Dinners, Vegan
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This recipe was a take on an old Asian Eggplant recipe I found on a card at Whole Foods when I was in college; it’s a bit more stripped-down than the original recipe, but with a lot more veggies. It was a terrific way to use some of the veggies from today’s trip to the farmer’s market and the tomatoes from my garden. Yum!

If you can’t find sticky rice (you can get it from Asian supermarkets; it’s called “Sweet Rice”), you can easily serve this with jasmine rice.

To make the rice, you want to take 1/3 cup for each person of sweet rice and soak it in water for about 4 hours. Drain, wrap in cheesecloth (you can also use any kind of small container with holes in it), and steam for 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, take
5-6 smallish Chinese eggplants, sliced lengthwise
a handful of green beans
3-5 Thai chiles, sliced lengthwise and seeded
2-3 cloves garlic, sliced
salt/pepper to taste and olive oil

and toss it all together in a sheet pan so that the oil coats the veggies. Bake in a 400°F oven for about 20 minutes, until the eggplant is tender. Once it’s done, transfer to a largish bowl and add

6-8 grape tomatoes, quartered lengthwise

Then make the dressing. In a small bowl, mix together
2 tbsp rice vinegar
1 tsp sugar
1/4 tsp fish sauce (you can get it in Asian supermarkets, and in the Asian section of the supermarket)
1 tsp soy sauce
1 tsp fresh ginger, chopped
1 tbsp Thai Basil, julienned

and then whisk in

1-2 tbsp sesame oil

Pour dressing over veggies, mix everything together and serve over rice.

Thu 31 Jul 2008

Lentil Salad

Posted by dani under Salads, Veggies, Vegetarian (ovo-lacto)
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This has become one of my favorite lunches for a summer day. Amazing if you grow your own stuff (the cukes, tomatoes and herbs in mine come from my own garden), but you can easily substitute quality store-bought veggies with good results.

The important thing to remember here is using either French Green or Black Beluga lentils; they stay firmer when you cook them. Standard green lentils or red lentils get too mushy to work well in this dish.

Start with:
1-3/4 cup French green or Beluga lentils, rinsed
4 cups vegetable stock
salt and pepper to taste
2 cloves garlic (whole)

add everything to a large saucepan. Cook over low-medium heat, covered, for about 30-45 minutes, until liquid is absorbed and lentils are tender. Stir occasionally to make sure that the lentils don’t stick to the pan.

Meanwhile, add
1 small-medium cucumber, quartered lengthwise and cut into 1/4″ slices
6-7 grape tomatoes, quartered lengthwise (or 2 plum tomatoes, diced)
about a dozen good-quality pitted green olives (I use the lemon-garlic olives from Whole Foods), quartered lengthwise

into a large bowl. When lentils are done, add lentils to veggies and let cool in the refrigerator for about 20 minutes. Once lentils have cooled, add:

8 oz good-quality feta cheese
2 tbsp julienned basil
1 tsp fresh thyme
2 tbsp garlic chives, chopped
juice of 1 lemon
2 tbsp good olive oil

Mix everything together carefully, let chill for about an hour, and serve. Really good by itself, or along with some brown rice.

Tue 29 Jul 2008

Pork Stroganoff

Posted by dani under Dinners
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This is an easy, and YUMMY, take on a dish my mom used to make when I was growing up. The pork works really well in this, as does the sour cream.

Ingredients:
2 tbsp olive oil
1 medium onion, sliced thinly
1 lb pork tenderloin, cut into thick strips (or cubed)
2 tbsp flour
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup(ish) dried mushrooms - I used oyster, but you can use Porcini or Morels also.
1 cup water
1/2-3/4 cup white wine
2 tbsp fresh sage
1-1/2 cup sour cream (not the light stuff - live large tonight)

Heat olive oil over low-medium heat in a high-walled sauté pan and add onions. In the meantime, add water to dried mushrooms in a small saucepan and bring to a boil, then take off heat and soak for about 15 minutes. Salt and pepper the onions to taste, and cook over low-medium heat until onions are softened and start to caramelize.

In a small bowl, add salt and pepper to some flour. Dredge the pork in the flour mixture and add to onions, pushing the onions aside to give the pork some contact with the pan. Cook for about 2-3 minutes each side to get a good sear on, then add wine, sage and stock from mushrooms. Cook over low heat for about 10-15 minutes until pork is cooked through. Take off heat, fold in sour cream, and serve immediately.

Awesome over roasted potatoes - although the traditional way to serve it is over egg noodles. You can also try serving it over steamed spinach or adding frozen peas to it to give it a bit of veggie kick, but I left them out tonight.