There is no recipe tonight as I am turning in early to be fresh for Wondercon tomorrow. I feel like I have reached a right of passage of nerdom - my first con. I could almost cry (JK). So point is, I'm taking it easy. I posted a link this morning and I've got a little story for you tonight.
I've said it before and I'll say it again, Martha I am not. My first ever blog recipe was almost foiled (twice) because once because I left the onions burn while I was prepping other ingredients and once because I let it go too long in the braise while I was taking a bubble bath and a bit too much liquid cooked away.
I recently found a recipe for tomato sauce with which I am completely enamored. Its ridiculously simple - three ingredients - and it tastes amazing. It is also easily adapted to make some of the best tomato soup you will ever eat. The first time I made the sauce however I decided to cut the recipe in half so that it didn't make too much and because I only had half of the called for tomatoes.
I didn't account for the fact that half as much liquid probably wouldn't stand up to the required simmering and that perhaps I ought to add a bit of water to compensate. Setting my stove top as low as it could go, I put a lid on my pot and - here is where the learning experience will come in - I walked away. I thought it a bit odd that I could no longer hear the soft plop plop plopping of its thick simmer and that there was perhaps a faint sizzle, but I didn't think too much of it until I got the smell. The very distinctive smell of burnt food. Not just any burnt food, but burnt tomatoes and all their now "caramelized" sugar.
When I grabbed the pot off the fire I was pleased to see that it was just the edges and bottom that suffered. Without scraping the pot at all so as not to scrape up any burnt bits I poured the salvageable portion of the sauce into a clean pot and added a bit of water to thin it out. I did remember (barely) to snap a picture though before fully washing my new favorite stainless steel sauce pot.
Don't do what Janey Don't does do kids, and remember to pay attention in the kitchen! This time it was burnt tomatoes, but you never know when it may be a fingertip. Safety first!
Friday, April 2, 2010
And Sometimes You're Just a Flaming Ball of Gas
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
Accidental Lentils
One of the themes of my blog is "accidentally on purpose" because even if things don't always turn out how you wanted them to, I tend to believe they turn out how they were meant to for better or worse.
My attempt to recreate an Indian lentil dish, Dal Masala, turned out a bit like an American adaptation of a foreign film - all the elements are there, but its just not the same. In many cases viewers say that the American version is inferior to the original, but if you look at it as its own entity entirely, it may be campy, but it's still pretty enjoyable.
While I could say that my dish wasn't as good as the original, I am choosing to look at it as an entirely new product. The lentils were very good on their own, so why bring them down by comparing them to something they are not and can never be (at least until I find a local Indian grocer)? This dish is not a poor reproduction of Dal Masala, it's Indian Spiced Lentils, and it's delicious.
Indian Spiced Lentils
1 cup of Lentils
1/2 of a 28oz. can of diced Tomatoes
1/2 an Onion, diced to 1/4" pieces
2-3 Large Cloves of Garlic
1-2 Heaping Tablespoons of Curry Powder
1/4 tsp Mustard Seed, crushed
1/4 tsp Cumin Seed, crushed
1 Cinnamon Stick
2 Cardamom Pods
3-4 Chiles de Arbol (small red chiles)
5-10 shakes of Powdered Ginger (an approximate measurement)
Bay Leaf
Olive Oil
Vinegar - Milder White Vinegar, like White Wine or White Balsamic
Water
1) Pour several large glugs of Olive Oil into the bottom of a medium-large sized pot with a well-fitting lid, turn heat to medium.
2) When oil is hot, add diced onion. Brown the onion gently, as it starts to turn yellow add Curry Powder, Mustard Seed, Cumin Seed, Cinnamon, Cardamom, and garlic to the pot and continue to cook over medium heat to toast the spices.
3) When the onion is thoroughly softened and browned, and the spices are well toasted, add tomatoes, Ginger, and Bay Leaf. Stir with a wooden spoon, the acid in the tomatoes should deglaze the bottom of the pot.
4) Add Lentils and water to cover plus an additional 1/2" of depth. Bring to a hearty simmer but do not boil, then turn down to medium-low, cover and check after 35 minutes for water level and doneness. If water level is low add enough to just cover, stir in and check again every 10-15 minutes.
5) When almost finished cooking to desired softness add salt to taste. Finish cooking (the lentils should hold their shape, but spread easily when squished and have the density of oatmeal, not soup) and serve with a splash of vinegar stirred in to brighten.
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