Tikkun

One of the crew stopped by before motoring off again to the land of overpaid Arby's employees. We were so glad to have her within hugging range for a short while.

The plan was to cook a fabulous meal for the sake of old times. The kind that leaves everyone a little blissed out after it's over. After half an hour of coughing that left us with four pepper-ravaged throats, we finally were able to sit down long enough to eat our dish. But really, if we hadn't accidentally vaporized the spices, we would have accomplished our goal. If you decide to try Aloo Chat, we recommend that you excercise excruiating diligence when toasting your spices. Or that you ventilate your kitchen first. Or that you just cook the whole dish outside.

Aloo Chat
Gabonzo Beans
1 dried red chili
Boiled and diced potatoes
1 t cumin seeds
2 t salt
1 t black peppercorns
1 t dried mint
1 t cayenne pepper
1 t ground ginger
yogurt

Hold your breath. Grind up the spices with a mortar and pestle. Toast them dry. Mix half in with the beans and potatoes, and mix half with the yogurt. Serve it all up. Exhale.

So, that happened. And of course, a post from yours truly wouldn't be complete without hearty cultural allusion, and this one goes out to our estranged friend Gabers in New York. And to the really great Challah bread that Natalia made to go with the meal. Jewish tradition (and I'm not very familiar with it, so I apologize if I get it jumbled), has a creation story about the world splintering into scattered bits of light. The work of the present is to put it all back together by tikkun olam: repairing the world. And no, I don't think that we've brought about world peace by sitting down together to eat potatoes and garbonzo beans , but there is something marginally restorative about sharing a meal with a good friend who has come back for a visit. We're sending our goodwill with you to the plains, Natalia!

Sweet and Sour Shrimp...Without Sweet and Sour Sauce

Well, it's Monday and we're all back at work. Here's what Rabi and I made last night in an attempt to send us off on our week satisfied and well-fed:

















Sweet and Sour Shrimp:
About 1 1/2 pounds of shrimp
2 Tbsp. lime juice
2 Tbsp. rice wine (or rice vinegar, if that's all you have)
1 onion, sliced
2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
2-3 stalks celery, sliced
2 tomatoes, diced (or one can with no juice)
3 Tbsp. veg oil
1 Tbsp. brown sugar
1 Tbsp. ketchup
1 Tbsp. soy sauce
1 Tbsp. fish sauce
1 tsp. corn starch (dissolved in 1/3 cup water)
Salt
Cilantro (optional)

Prepare shrimp, wash, and pat dry. Mix with 1 Tbsp. lime juice and 1 Tbsp. rice wine. Slice onion, garlic, and celery. Saute onion, garlic, and celery in oil briefly. Add shrimp and saute 1 more minute. Add the rest of the lime juice, rest of the rice wine, tomatoes, brown sugar, ketchup, soy sauce, and fish sauce. Simmer for a few minutes. Add corn starch and bring to a boil. Salt to taste, garnish with cilantro! We served this on rice.







Disclaimer: I am typing this recipe from my memory. I looked at it a lot last night during the cooking process, so I'm 99% sure I remembered all the ingredients and the right amounts.


Also, thanks to Rabi for the photos!

Leftover Salmon. Or: WHY KRISTIN AND GABE ARE LAME!

That's right. This is a public shaming. We want to know what our distant friends are eating, and you're not telling. If this keeps up, I'm going to make new friends and blog with them instead. So there.

But in other news, I've been getting my omega-3s and promoting Montana's School Nutrition Programs-all in the same pizza. Although the salmon-pizza combination elicited some wrinkled noses when I brought it to work for lunch, it stirs up great, fecund Alaskan memories in my soul. Your loss if you agree with my coworkers.

But if you're feeling adventurous, here's how to play along.

1) Make a fillet lip smacking baked salmon with lemon and capers. Don't eat it all.

2)Through some dough ingredients together and let them rise in the window through which the 6 o'clock sun is streaming. If you're trying to authentically replicate my trip down memory lane (and what a metaphysical task that would be!), you should include yeast, warm water, olive oil, salt, and a mix of white and Kamut flour. Don't you dare measure.

3) Rummage around in your refrigerator for whatever seems pizza worthy. In my case, this was some sauteed onions and chard, the aforementioned salmon, a jar of sauce that I made from pilfered tomatoes last fall, and the sample "cheese" that the school lunch ladies wanted us to taste test.

4) Bake that shit. Eat it.

Due to my Daylight Savings-induced euphoria and the awful lack of south facing windows in our Birdhouse, this pizza was a free range one for about 5 minutes when I took it into the back yard for photographing.


Note the way that the cheese started burning before it ever got close to melting. Give us back our fat, USDA!

And incidentally, the primary title of this post refers to a band from Colorado who claim to have a distinct "polyethnic cajun slamgrass" sound. It's another sentimental Alaskan memory, if you'll indulge me.

Yummy Surprises

So, the other night Sarah and I decided to make some soup. It turned out to be pretty tasty! We used some leftover vegetable broth and one cube of chicken bouillon. It called for two cups of water, so that's what we added. We goofed a little bit by not sautéing the veggies (carrots, mushrooms, onion and garlic) ahead of time before adding the liquid. However, we survived.

We separately stir fried the veggies (by we I mean Sarah), and I added the chopped, raw chicken breast to the simmering broth. While all this was going on, I remembered that we were going to put potatoes in the mix and I had recently found some purple potatoes in the fridge from last fall. Well, by this time, the chicken was almost already cooked and the veggies were ready to go in the mix. I used our potato peeler that is way too dull, chopped the potatoes and then nuked them to catch up with the rest of the stuff in the pot. I am quite the thinker....actually this was Sarah's idea.

We seasoned the soup with seasonings, but I couldn't tell you what went in, because I was busy cleaning some sticky brown substance that had accrued beneath our produce drawers in the fridge. Or maybe I just wasn't paying attention.

Needless to say, it turned out to be really yummy. We paired it with a salad with radishes and $1.49 ShurSavings Italian dressing. Mmmwahh!

African Pineapple Peanut Stew

Now, now, I know there are no photos to accompany this blog post. For that I am sorry. However, this recipe is worth consideration anyway. I got it from one of the Helena Vegan Potluck emails, and it's even gluten-free!

African Pineapple Peanut Stew

Serve on rice, millet, or couscous (quinoa would probably work too). Top with crushed peanuts and chopped scallions (optional).

1 cup chopped onions
2 garlic cloves, minced or pressed
1 Tbsp. veggie oil
1 bunch kale or Swiss chard (4 cups)
2 cups undrained canned crushed pineapple (20 oz)
1/2 cup peanut butter
1 Tbsp. Tabasco or other hot pepper sauce
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro (optional if you don't like cilantro, like me)
salt to taste

In covered saucepan, saute onions and garlic in the oil for 10 minutes, stirring frequently, until onions are browned. Wash kale/chard. Cut cross-wise 1 inch thick. Add pineapple and juice to onions and bring to a simmer. Stir in kale/chard, cover, simmer for 5 minutes, stirring a couple of times, until just tender. Mix in peanut butter, Tabasco, and cilantro, and simmer 5 minutes. Add salt to taste and serve. Makes at least 4 servings.

This recipe got high ratings from Kelsey, Rabi, and Susan. Unfortunately for me, this meal had little nutritional value, as I ended up not digesting any of it (if you get what I mean). And given that and the fact that there are no photos, one could say this meal never existed. But I guarantee, it was tasty the first time around!

My beef with Kristin

Another visitor to the Birdhouse! Ask Kristin about her colorful coworker next time you talk with her. Said acquaintance supplied the focal point for our meal. I got the recipe from another foodie blog: http://my-plate.blogspot.com/

Mexican Cornmeal Waffles

1 cup flour
1 cup yellow cornmeal
3 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons sugar
2 eggs, separated
1 1/4 cups milk
3 tablespoons melted butter
1 lb lean ground beef
1/2 cup onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon cumin
2 cups canned tomatoes with green chiles
1 can red kidney bean
shredded lettuce
shredded cheddar cheese
sour cream

Mix all of the waffle stuff. Beat it up with your beefiest whisking arm. Make Belgian magic with your beeping waffle maker. Then fry up all of the taco stuff. Cook the beef real slow 'cause you got it from our very own Montucky and it's real lean. Arrange it for a pretty blog photo before eating:

Stefania's Sweet Sixteen

My sister's 16th birthday was last Sunday. After a surprise party thrown by her friends, we had family friends over for shrimp fajitas and cake.

I made her a gluten free, yellow cake with dark chocolate, cream cheese frosting. The taste was good, but the texture was a little spongy. Here is the recipe.

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups white rice flour
3/4 cup tapioca flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
3 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon xanthan gum
4 eggs
1 1/4 cups white sugar
2/3 cup mayonnaise
1 cup milk
2 teaspoons gluten-free vanilla extract

Directions
1.Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and rice flour two 8 or 9 inch round cake pans.
2.Mix the white rice flour, tapioca flour, salt, baking soda, baking powder and xanthan gum together and set aside.
3.Mix the eggs, sugar, and mayonnaise until fluffy. Add the flour mixture, milk and vanilla and mix well. Spread batter into the prepared pans.
4.Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 25 minutes. Cakes are done when they spring back when lightly touched or when a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Let cool completely then frost, if desired.

Cocoa-Cream Cheese Frosting

Ingredients
1 8-ounce package cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup butter, softened
2 teaspoons vanilla
5 to 5 1/2 cups unsweetened cocoa powder (I used Hersheys special dark - very rich, but VERY good!)

Directions:
In a large mixing bowl beat cream cheese, butter, and vanilla with an electric mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy. Beat 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder into the cream cheese mixutre. Gradually beat in powdered sugar to reach spreading consistency. This frosts tops and sides of two 8- or 9-inch layers. (Halve the recipe to frost a 13x9x2-inch cake.) Cover and store the frosted cake in refrigerator.

Yummy!