Using Up My Pantry: Tadka Dal and Coconut Arborio Rice Pudding

To save money and the world, I am making more effort to use up as much of the contents of my fridge, freezer and pantry as I can. While reading one of my favorite blogs, Korean American Mommy, she posted a lovely recipe for Tadka Dal. I LOVE Indian food and of course had to try this. I didn't have to go to the grocery store as I had all the ingredients on hand, or so I thought. The only onions I had were red onions; a whole garlic bulb only had 1 nice clove, a bulb that was only bought a few days prior- that's a commissary vent post on its own; and I had no asafoetida on hand, but I was still able to make this meal AWESOME. Check out the recipe over at her blog: Korean American Mommy.

The only changes I made was that I fried whole cumin seeds along with fenugreek seeds with the red onions. I also used 1 clove of garlic and about 2 tsp of garlic powder. It tasted AMAZING and I will definitely make this again in the future. I also made naan bread. and spiced chicken. Delicious, big thumbs up from the whole family! I also made Naan as I also didn't have basmati rice on hand, and I was so sure I did!  The Naan is easy and delicious.

Naan Bread

Adapted from: Indian Food Made Easy

2 cups all purpose flour (i used bread flour)

2 t sugar

1/2 t salt

1/2 t baking powder

1/2 cup milk

2 T vegetable oil (i used  canola)

For topping

pick from nigella seeds, sesame seeds, minced, garlic, or fresh coriander

Note: I've used garlic and coriander in the past. Last night I used nigella seeds.

Preparation

For dough, sift the flour, sugar, salt, and baking powder into a bowl.

In another bowl, combine vegetable oil and milk

Make a well in the center of the flour mixture and pour in liquid mixture

Slowly mix together the dough by working from the center and incorporating the flour from the edges of the well.

Dump contents on a clean counter top and knead for 8 to 10 minutes adding a little flour in case the dough gets sticky. Great stress buster! f you don't have the time, use a stand mixer or food processor.

Place in a oiled bowl, cover with damp kitchen towel or plastic wrap and allow to rest in a warm place for 10 to 15 minutes. I let it rest for an hour while I prepared the Tadka Dhal.

Preheat broiler , and out a heavy duty baking sheet to heat.

Form dough into 5 balls and roll quite thinly into a teardrop shape (if desired).

Prick with fork so it does not turn into biggol pita bread!

 Sprinkle with topping of choice

 and bake in the oven for 1-2 minutes or until lightly browned. Brush with butter and serve warm!

Spiced Chicken:

2 T Peanut Oil

3 Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts

2 t Ground Cumin

1 t Hot Madras Curry Powder

Salt to taste

Heat oil in a large skillet in medium high.

Season chicken then add to skillet skin side down. Fry for 15 minutes then flip over until cooked through- another 10 minutes. Allow to rest, then slice! Easy

On to dessert.

 My ultimate comfort dish Rice pudding. My husband isn't a big fan, so I tried it a new way. In my pantry was some coconut milk and arborio rice dying to be used and my fridge some leftover blueberries from my blueberry-balooza week. Growing up, rice pudding was always my fave, My father flavored it with many extracts, and loved them all the same. Nothing like a warmness of the cinnamon, the creaminess of the milk and the sweetness. MM, I have to go get some more!

This is my first time using arborio rice in a rice pudding, but as it is a creamy rice on its own, I was sure it'd make my all-time fave comfort dish twice as creamy, and it did!

Coconut Arborio Rice with Blueberries

2 cups water

4 T unsalted butter

Pinch of Salt

1 14 oz can of evaporated milk

1 14 oz can coconut milk

1/2 cup of milk
1/2 cup sugar

2 t vanilla

1 t cinnamon

1 t ground cardamom

pint of blueberries

This is delicious hot or cold!

Bring water, butter, and salt to a boil.

Add rice and cook on medium, stirring rice occasionally, until rice has absorbed the water, but the rice isn't mushy.

Meanwhile, in another bowl, mix together remainder ingredients except the blueberries and add to rice.

Cook on medium low, cover, but keep and eye on it stirring it occasionally. Takes from 30 to 35 minutes for the rice to absorb the milk creaminess.

Put blueberries in the bottom of a bowl and pour hot rice mixture over it.

 Sprinkle with cinnamon and cardamom then, put in fridge. If you want it right away like my husband and I, just swirl the blueberries around. Growing up we used raisins. If you do, put raisins in at the last 10 minutes of cooking. Oh and my husband really enjoyed this as well!

Hope you try this and and enjoy!!!

Freestyle Friday: Rain, Fondants and Inspiration

This week has been a bit of a blah for me. Mother Nature has a bratty kid who is having a bit of a laugh at my expense. It sunny outside, I go outside to take out the trash/recyclables it pours. I hang clothes out on the line on a seemingly nice day, it pours. Quit turning the rain switch on and off, kid!

 This weather is harder on my asthmatic son. When seasons starts to change he instantly gets sick, it's like clockwork unfortunately. We took him to the doctor after a second day with the sniffles and he was given a clean bill of health.

So when my world is a bit calmer I love to browse the web. I love reading blogs and getting inspired. This week I found a lovely recipe for Lemon-Blueberry Scones over at Liv Life. They're adapted from a Tyler Florence recipe and tastes absolutely delicious. I only added a little cinnamon, an ounce of cream cheese. The raw sugar addition on top was absolutely lovely. A perfect 10 in the whole household. Thanks for sharing this lovely recipe! It taste just as lovely the next day. Had some with the kiddos for lunch. 

Also, while going through the blogosphere, I saw a few posts about the use of fondant instead of just butter cream on cakes. I've always been intrigued by fondants, but been too afraid to give it a shot- until now. So I am going to make a marshmallow fondant on my own for my daughter's 3rd birthday party. I've been reading loads of cake forums, talking to friends and watching as many YouTube tutorials on the subject. It seems like a sticky process, but hey, I am a mother of 3 children under the age of 4 so I am used to sticky.

This morning my daughter and I decided on Princess Dora. All summer she said she wanted a Princess and the Frog cake, but after going to a friend's super cute Dora themed birthday party she wants Dora. This morning I asked her again before I start ordering supplies online. Here's that conversation:

Me: So babygirl, you still want a Princess and the Frog cake for your birthday?

Her: YEEETH!!!! (she has a lisp) Wait no. I want Dowa cake.

Me: I thought you wanted a Princess a....

Her: I WANT DOWA CAKE MOMMAY OK?! DOWA!

Me: Yes, ma'am...

So Princess Dora it is.

Here's my little girl. I can not believe she will be three! I hope I do well with the cake. I will updating my progress on the blog! We're going to make the fondant "dough" next weekend.

'

Wish me luck!

A Video of My Teeny German Kitchen: Where the Magic Happens

My kitchen is small. The more passionate I become about cooking and the more we move, it seems like the kitchen gets....smaller. That's backwards, right? But this house has a huge bathroom which is needed with 3 children! I should be happy, because unlike most typical kitchen kits in Germany I  have a big fridge!  Hell, some kitchens in Germany doesn't come with a full kitchen!

My 4 year-old son helping with pie dough

 Our kitchen is specifically made for American uses because when we viewed the house, there were openings for a large fridge and slightly bigger than your normal German stove.The only "un-American" thing is the small size. I only have 1 and a half counters for prep work!

 I had to be very creative to make this kitchen work. Some things I did was to turn our entryway closet into a little pantry. That helped with all the food storage, We had to store a lot of things in the dining room which was a pain with 3 curious children about! We also put shelves on the wall to place more things. My next project is to buy a pot and pan holder that hangs from the ceiling. It's better for the pans and pretty cool looking. I'm very tall, so I will hit my head a good few times. Hey, I've already lost a few brain cells after having children, what's 100,000+ more gonna harm? 

There are advantages to having a small kitchen:

1. It's easy to move about- everything is in a close vicinity.

Was whipping up Beef Wellington. Was worried about the lack of space, but it was quite easy to do after all! 

2. Forces you to have an immaculate prep area! I clean so much while cooking because clutter is way too frustrating for me to deal with.

3. And best of all, less to clean. 

After! Babygirl helped frost the cake.

The are obvious disadvantages:

1. I feel a bit claustrophobic when the kids help out, but I still have them come in. It's the most popular room in the house!

2. Having no room to put anything anywhere and less prep area

From baking 1 single layer cake (pre-pantry days)

I have to use my dining area as an extended part of my kitchen when using the food processor or stand mixer. My stand mixer is now used as part of our home decor. haha. My friends know I cook, so it's not so odd!

Here's a video I made in March 2010. I spring cleaned my home and wanted to show the results. I wanted to just do a slide show on Google Picasa, but it ended up on YouTube with Vivaldi Four Seasons 2 in the background. Le sigh. I would just re-publish the photos, but the photos are on the computer that has crapped out and there's no way to recover the photos :( Hope you enjoy and turn the speakers if you want!

All-in-all, I love my kitchen. It's small, but has the most character than all of the kitchens I've ever had. It's my favorite place in the house and its truly where the magic happens. Not THAT magic....yet ;) But it is where the pie happens.

Happy hubby with homemade Chicken and Bacon Pie. 

Just Peachy, Peach Chutney that is!

While reading my Rachael Ray magazine (don't judge me), I came across an interview where she asked the main character from True Blood, Stephen Moyer, **Confession- I had to Google his name as I never watch the show or have the magazine in my vicinity**  about his fridge and his fantasy dinner party guests. What really stuck out to me was the chutney in his fridge. He described it as a pear and chili chutney and how he used it to dress sandwiches, perk up meat and my mouth began to water.


I've only bought chutney once this past winter, and was a bit turned off that the main ingredient was High Fructose Syrup, especially as it's so easy to make at home! Though that did not stop me from using the whole jar- I just did not buy chutney again. It was a mango chutney and I used it as an accompaniment to curries, to dip pita breads in, spread on a sandwich, etc. I promised myself that I would make some, but never did. Now that I am into jarring/canning I've been researching different things to can. The main thing I am most excited canning is chutneys! I do not have any jars yet, but it's on my list of things to order on Amazon as soon as we have extra money. In the meantime I made just enough chutney to accompany tonight's dinner- Lemon-Curry Tilapia with a Cool Cucumber Salad on the side- also from Rachael's magazine.


I found a peach chutney recipe on www.foodnetwork.com and it is really simple, play it safe recipe for a first try. I will be making different varieties in the near future. I absolutely loved this paired with the fish! And you can use it with whatever you want! Slab on some nice toasted crusty bread if you want, chutney is pretty versatile!

Ingredients
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon finely chopped garlic
2 shallots finely diced
1 jalapeño pepper, seeded and diced
1 1/2 pounds fresh peaches, blanched and diced**
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup brandy
1/2 cup cider vinegar
Salt and Pepper

Directions
Melt butter, add garlic, shallot and jalapeño and sweat for 1 to 2 minutes on medium heat. Add diced peaches and cook for 2 to 3 minutes,  raise heat to medium high. 






Add sugar and stir cooking for about a minute more. De-glaze pan with brandy and vinegar and stir for a about 1 or 2 minutes, then turn heat down to low until peaches are soft. Season with salt and pepper and serve.

Shrimp Salad with Cucumber, Mint and Basil in Lettuce Cups

Back story: Yesterday I finally got my internet back if you haven’t read in the previous post. So I spent a good portion of the day catching up with folks, reading blogs, uploading photos, explaining myself to my mother, etc. So I sort of splurged on junk food! Luckily I planned a healthy dinner for tonight last week. As well as being healthy it's also quick to make! Today was spent cleaning and researching jam and chutney recipes and learning all about the world of canning (I feel like such a grandma sometimes- but I like it!). So dinner was late and a quick, fresh fix is what was needed. 

Anyone like shrimp salads? I remember growing up eating seafood salads that were laden with loads of mayo and/or miracle whip. Well this version is a different, lighter, take on on your standard shrimp/seafood salad. A mint pesto-like sauce is used for a fresh taste as well as cucumbers for a nice crunch and lemon zest for a citrus kick. This salad was absolutely amazing. I can eat my weight in it- so thank goodness it’s healthy!

To make the mint sauce, use a small food processor or mortar and pestal! I used my large food processor, and it took a little while to get the sauce just right. My first instinct told me to use my mini processor, d’oh! Still easy and quick, though!

This recipe is adapted from my dear friend (she just doesn’t know it yet) Ellie Krieger. Here is the original recipe.

Ingredients

·         1 pound of jumbo shrimp, cleaned

·         1 garlic clove smashed , unpeeled(optional)

·         about 10 peppercorns or your taste (optional)

·         2 mint leaves (optional)

·         1 cup fresh mint leaves

·         ½ cup fresh basil leaves

·         2 tablespoons lemon juice, separated 

·         3 tablespoons olive oil

·         1/2 English cucumber, seeded and diced (about 1 1/2 cups)

·         1 lemon, zested

·         Salt and pepper

Directions

In a large saucepan, add garlic, salt, peppercorns and mint leaves to water, then bring to boil. Cook shrimp in boiling water for 3 minutes, drain and cool in refrigerator or in a bowl full of ice. I just chucked it into the freezer while I chopped the cucumbers!

Put mint, basil and 2 tablespoons of lemon juice in food processor and pulse to coarsely chop the mint and basil. Drizzle olive oil into processor while pureeing until herbs are finely chopped.

I so elegantly chopped the shrimp to add to the salad since they were jumbo. But you do not have to!

In a serving bowl, toss shrimp, cucumber, herb mixture, zest, salt and pepper to combine. Squeeze remaining lemon juice onto salad. Put into cups for an extra elegant touch.

This will keep in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to 2 days. Hope you enjoy as much my family did!

How I Survived 17 days without the World Wide Web

I went nuts about 2 Tuesdays ago when my internet suddenly stopped working. I was slowly weaning myself from access to the internet anyway, but damn, I didn't want to go cold turkey!! Our internet service provider heard A LOT from me and I hope to never call them again unless I have to cancel my service with them when I move from Germany for good!

What I missed the most, more than Facebook and Twitter combined was my blog. I was finally getting a hang of it and finding so many other inspiring blogs. I am not saying this just because it sounds nice, either. But this particular post is about, "How I survived 17 days without the Web: Likes and Dislikes.

LIKES

1. My house has never been cleaner. I finally organized our basement and it's no longer a dark scary spider hell. 

2. Utilizing my cookbooks and magazines. I am a cookbook fiend, but even us fiends go to web as it's easier. I've cooked so much from my Fine Cooking and Cuisine At Home books, it seems like they had exactly what I was looking for!

EX:
 
Cuisine at Home:Circus Hot Dogs with Honey Mustard Coleslaw and French Fries with a BBQ Rub (my recipe)

Buttery Yeast Rolls also Cuisine at Home

Amazing Blueberry and Peach Crisp/Crumble with a Pecan Streusel from my Fine Cooking Magazine. Amazing!

Inspired by the Neely's cookbook. The butter is made with orange zest, scallions, paprika, onion powder and sugar. So delicious

3. Watching TV again. I am not a big TV person, but I rediscovered the good old tube. I watched old DVDs and caught on my favorite show "Come Dine With Me" found loads of inspiration from "Iron Chef: America"  watched "The Simpsons" Seasons 1-10 again and found new shows, "The Great British Menu" and "3 in the Bed". Most of the shows are UK centered, but we have UK satellite!

DISLIKES

1. While the internet was down, the weather in Germany was pretty gloomy so no time outside with 3 bored kids got old fast!

2. Not being able to immediately look up something. I was itching to to buy some jars so i can start jarring this season's fruits, but I did not know where the hell to begin! And all the instructions on the jars are in German so I was pretty much screwed. 

3. Not blogging. This is embarrassing, but I typed out a few "faux" entries on Word. Don't judge me, I needed my fix!

4. Not being able to get up with friends. All my communication and event organizing is usually done via web. This shows me I need to buy a phone book. I am horrible with phones. When I call friends, I always end up dialing the wrong number a few times prior. Le Dork.

Well now I am back, and will share more of my life and recipes with you all! I am so sorry for being away so long. I've been reading blogs like mad. 

Check out more food I cooked here on Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/yummysommer/

Chicken Spiedini Salad

Nooo this not a salad made with the chopped up remnants of Speidi aka uber annoying couple Heidi and Spencer Pratt...though it's not a bad idea. It's an Italian dish meaning food   cooked on a stick; this recipe features chicken, baguette, bay leafs, and sausage.


 I am a mother of 3. And I love quick meals and one pot dishes during the week, nah scratch that; I NEED quick meals during the week. I have a full schedule and lots of people to make happy, and I rely on quick fixes! I plan on starting school again this fall, so these quick meals will be even more needed then. 

I've been bitten smitten with the Tyler Florence bug and yet cooked a meal from his book, "Stirring the Pot". Seriously, if you do not have this book- get it! It's full of diverse, delicious recipes that's separated by cooking methods; i.e. roasting, steam, sauté, etc. I adore him, and am so inspired by his cooking.  This recipe is full of wonderful flavors and any sausage can be substituted. 

Ingredients (adapted from Tyler Florence’s “Stirring the Pot” Chicken Spiedini Salad)

Spiedini

·        1 crusty baguette, sliced into rounds

·        2 medium boneless, skin-on chicken breast halves cut into 4 pieces each

·        4 links sweet Italian pork sausage, halved crosswise

·        12 fresh bay leaves (I only had dried)

·        ½ cup of extra-virgin olive oil

·        Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper

·        2 lemons, juice only

I removed the bones from skin-on bone-in chicken. Don't throw away bones as they can be used for stock! Throw the bones in a bag and and freeze them until you have enough bones.

 Salad

·        2 anchovy fillets

·        1 clove garlic, peeled

·        1 tablespoon lemon juice (I used about ¼ cup!)

·        2 egg yolks

·        2 tablespoons water

·        1 cup extra-virgin olive oil

·        2 tablespoons Parmigiano-Romano (I used Pecorino- Romano)

·        Kosher Salt

·        2 heads romaine lettuce, washed then torn

·        2 lemons, halved and grilled

·        Finely shredded Parmigiano-Romano (Pecorino-Romano used)

Directions

Using four metal skewers, thread the components, alternating bread, chicken, sausage, and bay leaves, until the skewers are full.

 Baste the kabobs with the ½ cup of olive oil; season with salt and pepper. Preheat grill to high. Place kabobs on the grill; turn the fill to medium. Cook for 8 to 10 minutes, or until golden brown, basting with lemon juice and turning to ensure color on all sides.

Meanwhile, prepare the salad. Combine the anchovies, garlic, lemon juice, and egg yolks in a blender. Blend to combine; add the water and blend again.

 With the blender running, slowly pour in 1 cup of olive oil through the hole in the top; blend until emulsified (thickened). Add the 2 tablespoons of cheese, blend until just combined. 

Season with salt and pepper to taste. Place the romaine in a large bowl. Add some dressing and gently toss to combine. When kabobs are done, remove from the grill. Serve kabobs with romaine and grilled lemons and sprinkle with shredded cheese.