morestomach

chicken masala

Published on September 12, 2013September 11, 2013 by Lan | MoreStomach10 Comments

it’s not yet autumn
but i suppose it’s unofficially fall,
what with school already started,
the daily commute with the added 10 minutes
due to kids ambling with textbook laden backpacks
and yellow school buses dotting the neighborhoods
the ac has been turned off at night
as the temperatures dip into the delicious 60s,
our windows flung open to cool the abode
only to be shut the moment i open my eyes from slumber
as i haul ass to shower in the morning,
shivering and silently lamenting the passing of summer
already the trees are shedding their leaves
the morning is darker still when i rise

these are dw’s months
autumn is his favorite season
you can tell a lot about a person
by what their favorite season is
i like the summer months
hot and heady and sweaty and messy
golden days with humidity to exhaust even the staunchest
and healthiest of beasts
(i’ll leave it to you to figure out what kind of person
i am with that description!)
but man, when september hits,
leading into october
the air has a crunch of apples
and cinnamon breezes,
cool to the skin but warming to the core
fall makes me feel drowsy
but frantic all the same
i am holding out for an indian summer
desperate for july & august
whilst trying to bask in what the coming days could bring

and what is coming in these days
are stews and soups
and hearty one pot dishes
that require ingredients thrown into a pot
set on low
and simmered all the long day

if you can’t tell
i’ve been on an indian kick lately
(truth be told, i’d make afghani food if i could
find a reputable cookbook or blogger,
that cuisine is so underrated)

for this dish,
amrita says you must have this recipe in your life
i completely and wholeheartedly agree
i started the process saturday night
cooked it on sunday
and as i’m typing this, wednesday,
i have one portion left for lunch

chicken masala
adapted from the subjectivist

*note: we (i mean, dw) chopped an entire bird. we get our poultry from a local farm every two weeks and i will tell you, this past summer with this csa has been an exercise in coming up with interesting chicken recipes. i wanted to make use of every part of the chicken, with bones. i can’t imagine not having bone-in. i’m just saying.
**note: i completely and utterly forgot to add chili. i know. so there was no heat but it was still incredibly good. also, i like my chicken to fall off the bone tender so i cooked it on low for longer than amrita’s version.

1 whole, organic grass fed chicken, about 3-4lbs, chopped with bone in

for the marinade:
1 black cardamom pod
half cinnamon stick
1 tsp nutmeg (i don’t have whole pieces of the stuff)
2 tsp of fennel seeds
3-4 cloves
3 TBL of white vinegar
1 tsp of ground turmeric

2 large tomatoes
2 TBL vegetable oil
2 large cloves of garlic
1 large red onion, sliced thinly
1/4 cup of coconut creamer (i use So Delicious)
Salt

in a frying pan, dry toast the black cardamom pod, cinnamon stick, nutmeg, fennel seeds, and cloves. don’t get crazy and burn it. add mixture to a spice grinder, again don’t get crazy, you’re not going for a powder, just a slighlty coarse-fine mix is good (i know, it’s confusing, go for in btwn the two textures.) add to big bowl with vinegar and turmeric. then add in the chicken pieces, you want to coat the pieces well. cover with plastic wrap and leave in fridge overnight.

next day: take the chicken out of the fridge an hour before starting the whole cooking thing. you want the chill to be off the meat/bones prior to adding it to the hot pan.

on the stove bring a pot of water to boiling. criss cross cut the butt ends of the two tomatoes, add to the water and cook for about 5 minutes. you want the tomatoes to be just submerged in the water. remove the tomatoes and put into blender/vitamix. reserve 1/2 cup of the water, discarding the rest. blitz the tomatoes, skin included, into a puree.

meanwhile, in the same pot, add a bit of oil and saute the garlic and onion slices. season with salt & pepper, and cook until nice & brown. remove from heat and grab the mixture of onions & garlic to add to the blender/vitamix. blitz with the tomato puree.

using the same pot, that will have residual oil (add more if you need) brown the chicken pieces. you may have to do it in batches. don’t crowd the pot. when done, lower the heat, throw all the browned chicken pieces back into the pot, add the tomato/onion/garlic puree, along with the reserved 1/2 cup of water. simmer on low heat. add in the coconut creamer, mix, ignore for anywhere from 25 minutes to an hour. season to taste. per the original recipe, this is a slightly dryer dish. i will admit to missing the gravy.

serve with naan.
it’s great the day of, but even better the ensuing days.

other indian inspired dishes:
morestomach blog – coconut egg curry
morestomach blog – vegan indian feast
bon appetit hon – butter chicken
manger – butter chicken + peshawari naan

Blueberry Breakfast Cookies

Published on September 9, 2013September 9, 2013 by Lan | MoreStomach14 Comments

last week i read a book that made me pause,
look up and ask dw the most random questions,
prompted by the story,
but mainly because i wanted to hear his voice
and i wanted to know his answer
(fyi: no it’s not romantical to be boba fett,
even if skies are crossed on your behalf)
(and i also made dw croon love will tear us apart,
because i’m not familiar with the song
and it seemed SO IMPORTANT that the main protagonist loved it so much)
it’s been 3 days since i finished the book
and i’m still thinking about it
(it’s like i’m 15 again)
he always thinks about my questions,
treating each with the same reverence
for someone who likes to ask silly questions
it means so much that he doesn’t make me feel irreverent

one of the things i love so much about dw
is that he is game for anything
it’s never “do we have to?”
it’s always “sure, LET’S DO IT!”
during one of our early conversations,
it may have been our 4th date,
i mentioned to him that i was giving up meat for Lent
then i offhandedly said that if he
wanted to hang out during mealtimes
it’d be a good idea for him to give it up for 40 days
cus you know,
it’d be hard for me to watch him nibble on a steak
while i noshed on cauliflower
i didn’t seriously think he’d do it,
nor did i think he had to,
and most importantly, it wouldn’t have been a deal breaker
for me if he didn’t want to partake
but without blinking an eye
or skipping a beat
he said OK
and that was that

Blueberry Breakfast Cookies
*note: i am a stickler for breakfast. i’m not always good at eating breakfast but i know the importance of it. every sunday i try to make something for the week so to keep myself accountable i’m starting this Breakfast Series. i won’t be able to do it every week, and likely, there’ll be some weeks that are repeats but i’m hopeful that i’ll come up with delicious but wholesome treats for us to eat during the early hours of the day.
**note: blueberry season is over, sadly. early in the summer we went berry picking to make jam and well 22lbs is a lot of berries. we still have a bag left in the freezer from that adventure. you’ve been warned: there might be a few more blueberry treats coming up. any seasonal fruit will do in these cookies.

1 cup spelt flour
1/2 cup rice flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/8 tsp salt
1/4 cup sugar
1/3 cup tahini
2 tbl lemon juice
1 tsp ground ginger
1/4 cup brown rice syrup
1/2 cup of fresh blueberries

Pre-heat oven to 400F

in food processor, combine dry ingredients and pulse a few times. add in the tahini, pulse until combined. add the lemon juice and maple syrup. the dough should feel moist and pinch together.

divide the dough into 4 equal parts, then divide each part in two, shape into flattened rounds. dot the top with a few blueberries, as many as you’d like.

place on baking sheet.

bake for 14 minutes

cool on sheet. will keep in tightly covered container at room temp for a few days, after which, put in fridge.

other blueberry treats:
angry asian creations – blueberry pie + orange nut crust
angry asian creations – lemon blueberry scones
une gamine dans la cuisine – blueberry orange scones
use real butter – blueberry scones
movita beaucoup – blueberry break cake

roasted bone marrow

Published on September 6, 2013September 5, 2013 by Lan | MoreStomach11 Comments

during the languid months of Winter
i’m my least social
except for that first year
i met dw
for some reason
there was always something planned –
an out of town trip
a girls’ weekend
guests in town
you name it, i had it going on
and so,
dw kept my interest
with his daily emails:
eloquent
thought provoking
speckled with $5words
that made me swoon
i could cry when i
think back to that time
when i was already enamored with
someone i hadn’t yet met

by nature, i am a realist
by heart, i am a romantic

it was 3 weeks
before we finally met
it was a slow start,
admittedly,
but i can still taste
how delicious
the anticipation was

roasted bone marrow
*note: you can bake at 350F for 20 minutes, or broil for 8-9minutes

4 bone marrow, we purchased from whole foods, i can’t recall the weight
salt/pepper
rosemary
olive oil, optional

place the marrow in oven safe dish
in a mortar & pestle, grind the salt/pepper with rosemary, amounts at your discretion and according to taste
season over marrow

broil for 8-9 minutes. the goal is to soften the marrow, but not liquefy it.

to serve: i made rosemary dutch oven bread earlier in the day. spread the marrow goodness on sliced bread, enjoy!

i meant to grab the green tomato & mint chutney, which would’ve cut through the richness but i forgot!

other bone marrow adaptations:
the kitchn – on eating bone marrow
pepper – bone marrow + apple pear confit

meyer lemon bars

Published on September 3, 2013June 17, 2015 by Lan | MoreStomach15 Comments

so avoid using the word ‘very’ because it’s lazy. a man is not very tired, he is exhausted. don’t use very sad, use morose. language was invented for one reason, boys – to woo women – and, in that endeavor, laziness will not do.” N.H. Kleinbaum, Dead Poets Society

this may be a weird thought,
but i equate online dating,
or rather,
the reading of online dating profiles
to reading a professional resume
i know in my previous
post i used the analogy of
Online Dating as
a Swimming Pool,
one where i dove headfirst into
the deep end
(cus, what other way is there?)
when i signed into
the match making site
i really viewed it as a
job application –
this looking for an ideal mate,
and interviewing to see if i’m
someone’s ideal mate
as a professional headhunter
i say without ego
that i am an excellent judger of
a shitty resume

personally, i have rules with
regards to how a resume should look:
punctuation (this space is exempt)
capitalization (again, this space is exempt)
grammar (seriously)
first person vs third person perspective
length of resume (too short shows lack
of imagination, too much bores me to death & i end up skimming)

this isn’t even touching on the subject
of pictures

again, with my rules:
recent pictures
(i can normally tell if a photo
is outdated, hello 1996 high school class pic)
group picture or worse, a picture
with someone (usually a chick) cropped out
the topless in the bathroom shot
(there’s an alarming amount out there)

last, but actually the beginning:
the manner in which the
perspective applicant applied
the wink or “yo” emails were
promptly deleted and depending
on my mood, blocked
if there was even a slightest
indication that the guy did not
read my profile
(which, i’ll be truthful, read
very much like how i talk,
which incidentally, is how i write here)
if the email was interesting enough,
the profile was alright,
it was then that i responded

i know, i’m such a brat
it’s a wonder i got asked out
but i managed to go on dates,
a few of them repeats!
this went on for an exhausting 3 weeks
when one night
i received an email that
stopped me in my tracks
made me sit down
log into my account
to respond
and give him my personal contact
information right off the bat
it was dw’s email
i just knew

you know when you ask your
mother/whoever how they knew they met
The One
and they say vaguely,
and maddeningly,
that you just know
that was my moment
i just knew
he woo’d me from the first email
and i just knew
he was The One

Meyer Lemon Bars
*note: i didn’t make these. dw did. i know. see what i mean?

1 cup flour
1/3 cup scant coconut oil, melted
1/4 cup confectioner’s sugar
2 eggs
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
4 tablespoons lemon juice
2 tablespoons flour
1 cup sugar

Preheat oven to 350°
Mix flour, coconut oil, and confectioner’s sugar.
Press evenly into bottom of square pan
Bake for 20 minutes

Beat remaining ingredients until light and fluffy.
Pour over hot crust and bake about 25 minutes longer
Cool
Cut into squares

other citrus and/or bars:
angry asian creations – lemon bars
angry asian creations – lime bars
morestomach blog – chocolate wonderfuls
spontaneous tomato – peach rhubarb oatmeal bars
une gamine dans la cuisine – brown butter peach crumb bars

tofu gyoza

Published on August 29, 2013August 28, 2013 by Lan | MoreStomach18 Comments

you guys,
the time is drawing closer
so close i can almost
touch it

i will warn you:
in the coming weeks
this space will vomit
love stuff

no fear,
i’ll still have recipes,
a few crafty things,
hopefully pretty
pictures
but my stories
will be mainly
about the last two
years
to the culmination of
you know:
Ball & Chain Time y’all!

i guess i should start
with how we met
but before that,
i do want to acknowledge the
almost 1 year i was Single
i took deliberate time off
from serious dating
i fostered relationships
and god bless,
i confronted being alone
i also reveled in being
Cantankerous

from the moment i left home
i began dating in earnest
i’m what you would call a
Serial Monogamist
and so when i found myself
not being attached
it was daunting

fast forward to the moment i
decided that wading into
the dating pool was something
i wanted to do again
(i was in spain at the time)
it was like a new year’s resolution of sorts

and like how i conduct
the majority of my days,
how my everyday life is,
i met the love of my life
online

in the swimming pool of
Online Dating
i pretty much dove into the
deep end
i gave myself 3 months
and should nothing happen
i was going to take another
break
lo & behold
3 weeks in,
4 guys later,
dw emailed me
and that was that

Tofu Gyoza
*note: i purposefully made the filling bland. my favorite part of eating dumplings/dimsum/wontons/gyoza is the various dipping sauces i can choose from. drowning these little gems in sauce is fun. for this particular meal, i kept it simple with 1:1 of soy sauce & rice wine vinegar, a healthy pinch of sugar & a light drizzle of sesame oil. you can certainly dip in plum/hoisin sauce, peanut sauce, whatever.

1 packet round wonton wrappers
1 container of firm tofu
half an onion, diced
1 knob of ginger, minced
1 garlic glove, minced
1/4 cup of sliced wood ear mushrooms, reconstituted in warm water
2 oz somen noodles, cooked according to package instructions
2 tbl soy sauce
1 tbl rice vinegar
1 tbl sesame oil
1 tsp sugar

except for the wonton wrappers, in a bowl, mix everything together. you want the mixture to be clumpy, not a wet mess. the cooked somen noodles will act as a binder

with the wonton wrappers, put a small amount, about a tsp in the middle. wet the edges with water, fold over. and if you’re feeling fancy, pleat them. you want the gyoza to sit up so shape them to be able to sit up but make sure the seams stick

heat up a pan with a bit of sesame oil. put the gyoza in a fan-like pattern in the pan, fry them until the bottoms are nice and crispy. pour in 1/4 cup of water and cover, being careful of splatters. steam for about 5 minutes and remove lid, making sure all the water has evaporated

other dumplings/wontons/gyozas:
angry asian creations – wonton soup
angry asian creations – wonton noodle soup
delicious shots – vegetable potstickers
wandering chopsticks – a variety of dumpling recipes
the little kitchen – (who completely influenced me by via her instagram) chinese potstickers