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For Ben’s birthday, I decided to make him a special meal of the Indian food of his choice.  Armed with a few cookbooks from the library, he chose what he liked.  These were the undeniable hits of the evening.  I’ve adapted the recipes to reflect how I cooked them and any specific problems I had with the recipe have been addressed.

Pumpkin Dahl

1/3 c. torn basil leaves (1 package of fresh basil should be more than sufficient)
1 star anise
1 cup dried yellow dahl (split peas)
pinch turmeric
3 bay leaves
1 small chopped onion
water, as directed
1 peeled and chopped pumpkin (butternut squash)
1 teaspoon sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons unchrushed salt
2 tablespoons olive oil or vegetable oil
3 tablespoons butter (I used the spreadable butter that has oil mixed in)
1 1/2 teaspoons cumin seeds
1 tablespoon ginger
3 serrano chilis, cut into matchsticks (you can use other peppers as you like)

Shred the basil and set aside.  In a stockpot, combine split peas, 2 cups water, turmeric, bay leaves, onion, and star anise; bring to a boil and cook partially covered for twenty minutes.  Add the pumpkin pieces, 1 cup water, sugar and salt.  Return to boil; cook for another twenty minutes, or until the pumpkin is at your desired consistency (I left mine somewhere between mush and soft chunks; note that this did required the addition of more water during this second cooking time).  Remove from heat.  In a small frying pan over high heat, heat the oil and butter together.  When hot, add cumin seeds; when the cumin seeds are dark brown, add the ginger and hot pepper.  Reduce to low heat and continue cooking for half a minute; and the basil and cook for another thirty seconds.  This mixture is poured over the pumpkin dahl and gently spread into the mixture (you needn’t and shouldn’t mix thoroughly!).  This will make a lot; it fed Ben and I once and me two more times.  It’s good with both rice and flatbread.

Chapati

1 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
salt as desired
2/3 cup warm-to-hot water

Combine the flour, oil, and salt and rub together.  Add the water, mixing to form a mass.  Knead for 10 minutes, cover, and let rest 30 minutes.  Knead a few more times, then divide evenly into two portions.  Roll each portion into a cylinder and cut each cylinder into eight pieces.  Roll each piece into a ball and then roll out flat on a floured surface (do not stack the rolled dough; it’s best if you have one person roll and have the tawa already hot and manned with a second person).  Heat the tawa (you could also use a frying pan) very hot, and turn on a second burner to high flame or, for an electric stove, place a cooling rack on top of a burner on high.  One at a time, cook the flat circles of bread, starting on the tawa (both sides, until brown spots begin to appear) and then moving it to the second burner/cooling rack (both sides), where the bread should temporarily puff up and darken a little more.  I used the cooling rack method to a degree of success I had not expected.  This is supposed to feed about four people, but Ben and I demolished the whole stack in one sitting, so plan to make a lot if you have company that likes to eat with their hands!

Ben's Easter Quiche with Wine

This morning I made the most amazing Easter Quiche for our Easter brunch. For our Easter lunch, we had our usual Sunday Lunch fare- Roasted Lamb with Garlic, Sage, and Thyme; Green Bean Casserole; Mashed Red Potatoes with the skin on; Grilled Garlic and Coriander Asparagus; and Strawberries with Angel Food Cake and Heavy Whipped Cream for dessert, only the Yorkshire Puddings were missing! But as you can see from this menu, Jaci does lack a main dish- and to that end I decided to make a vegetarian- tomato, chives, and cheese quiche.

Now, normally when you make quiche you might imagine labors including using lard and flour and a refrigerated pastry- however, with some help from some very suggestive recipes, I came up with a recipe that was fast, easy, and incredibly delicious. In fact, the quiche was ready in 50 minutes or so, from start to finish, including baking. The secret- using Pilsbury Crescent Roll dough for the crust, rather than making your own pastry crust. This recipe was so fast- it is perfect for an Easter Sunday morning on the way to church- when you want something memorable, but fast enough to get you out the door for the sunrise service. And thus- Ben’s Easter Sunday Quiche was born! I can fully imagine that this will soon become an Easter tradition in our household.

Ingredients:

• One can Pillsbury’s Refrigerated Crescent Rolls
• 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
• Four chopped Green Onions
• 1/2 cup chopped chives
• 1 medium tomato, chopped
• 3 eggs, lightly beaten
• 1 cup cream (heavy or light)
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees.

Pop the can of the Pillsbury Crescent Roll dough and roll the dough into a ball. Roll out on a flat surface with a little flour into a circle. Press the dough into a deep dish, 9 inch pie plate, making sure that the dough reaches over the top of the edges. Beware- the dough can be tricky to roll, and you want to use as little flour as possible, since the butter in the dough gives enough grease that you don’t have to add additional to the pie plate.Also note- don’t use baking beans at the bottom of the plate like you might do with a normal quiche- the crescent roll dough doesn’t need them!

Sprinkle a half cup of the cheddar over the bottom, then layer the chives, green onions, and tomatoes over them. Note: here you can use ham or cooked bacon if you wish as well, but this dish is better vegetarian in my opinion. Mix the cream and the eggs in a separate bowl until well blended (try not to beat too much air into the mixture), then add over the top of the ingredients in the pie crust. Sprinkle the top with the remaining cheese.

Bake for 40 minutes, or until firm. I recommend leaving the quiche sit for 5 minutes after removing from the oven, then serving with fruit- grapes and melon! Enjoy!

At the Bengfort House in England (2006-2008), Jaci and Ben received a “vegbox” every Tuesday afternoon from Riverside Farm, a local organic farm north of Oxford. It supplied us with a good bit of food that usually lasted us the entire week. The box always included potatoes, onions, carrots, etc- so called “useful food” by Jaci and Ben; but also came with a surprise vegetable from Black Kale to Crown Squash to Swiss Chard. One week we received a strange looking cabbage, and not knowing what else to do with it, we used this recipe from the Farm to make curried cabbage, and it was actually quite good!

Recipe Summary

Difficulty: Easy
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 20-25 Minutes
Servings: ~4

Ingredients:

• 1 medium cabbage
• ½ cups water
• 2 tbsp butter
• 3 large onions, coarsely chopped
• 2 tbsp flour
• 1 tbsp hot madras curry powder
• ½ cups milk

Directions:
Cut cabbage into 1-inch slices, and separate the leaves into pieces. Place the cabbage in a heavy skillet with the water and cook, covered over medium heat for 20 minutes or until cabbage is fork-tender.

While the cabbage is cooking, melt the butter in a second skillet and sauté onions until they are translucent. Add the flour and the curry powder, stirring to make sure they are well-mixed. Cook for 2-3 minutes. Then add the milk and continue to cook until the sauce is smooth.

When the cabbage is cooked, drain it and place it in a serving dish. Pour the curry sauce over it and serve hot.

I discovered borshch while traveling to Tver as part of a language study abroad program with the Naval Academy in the summer before my Firstie year. Being a vegetarian in Russia seems like it would be easy, especially because most Russians don’t eat a lot of meat- they can’t afford it. However, in an effort to be a good host, and thanks to communication difficulties, the babushka I stayed with tended to serve a lot of meat and needless to say, vegetarian borshch was a welcome relief. The secret of good borshch is to brown the vegetables separately in a frying pan before adding them to the soup.  And don’t skip the lemon juice–it may seem unneccessary, but the acidity of the juice ensures a deep crimson colour!

Recipe Summary

Difficulty: Easy
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 30-35 Minutes
Servings: 6 dinner-sized bowels

Borshch

Ingredients:

• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 beets, grated
• 3 carrots, grated
• 1 potato, cubed
• 1  turnip or parsnip, chopped
• 2 tbsp oil
• 2 tbsp lemon juice
• 4 cups water
• 1 head cabbage, chopped
• 3 stalks celery, chopped
• ¼ tsp salt
• ½ tsp pepper
• 1 cup tomato juice
• ½ cup sour cream, for garnish
• dill, for garnish

Directions:
In a large skillet, brown the onions, beets, carrots, potato, and turnip/parsnip separately in oil with one tbsp of lemon juice. Stirring occasionally, sauté for about 10 to 12 minutes. Meanwhile, in a large pot bring the water to a boil.

When water is boiling, add the cabbage, 1 tbsp of lemon juice, and celery; the vegetables will cool the water, so bring it back to a boil. When boiling again, add the browned vegetables from the skillet, salt, and pepper; simmer until the vegetables are soft, but not mushy; about 20 minutes. Finally add the tomato juice.

Serve hot OR cold, depending on the season; topped with a generous dollop of sour cream and a sprinkle of dill.

This potato curry should be served with a sada roti or roti. It is a good vegetarian equivalent to chicken curry or any meat curry, and is a good satisfying meal. My vegetarian daughter-in-law’s favorite meal is roti, pumpkin, and aloo.

Ingredients:

• 3 tbsp vegetable oil
• ¼ tsp cumin seeds
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 small onion, finely chopped
• 1 green onion, finely chopped
• 3 celery leaves, finely chopped
• 1 hot green or red pepper, seeded and minced
• 1 tbsp curry powder
• ¼ cup water
• 2 lbs potatoes, peeled and cubed
• 2 cups hot water

Directions:
Heat oil in medium saucepan over medium high heat. Add cumin seeds and fry 1 minute. Add garlic, onions, celery leaves, and hot peppers and fry for 2 minutes.

Combine curry powder and ¼ cup water in small bowl to form a paste. Add to pan and sauté 3 minutes.

Add potatoes and stir well. Add hot water and cook over medium low heat until potatoes are very tender, about 10 minutes. Serve hot.

The word Dhal is Hindi for split peas. This dish was brought to the Caribbean by the East India Company. It should be a thick sauce but consistency can vary depending on taste. There are various utensils for pureeing the soft peas but a hand whisk or electric blender makes a good substitute. Serve on rice, or in a bowl with roti- perfect on a cold day! Also- try crock-pot dhal for easy dinners.

Dhal

Ingredients:

• 2 cups yellow split peas
• 5 cups water
• ½ tsp salt or to taste
• 1 tsp turmeric
• ½ tsp curry powder
• 1-2 whole hot peppers (optional)
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 2 tbsp vegetable oil
• 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• ½ tsp cumin seeds

Directions:
Wash split peas thoroughly, removing any debris. Place in a saucepan with water and bring to a boil. Skim off froth. Add salt, turmeric, curry powder, hot peppers, and onion and cook covered on medium low heat until peas begin to soften, about 45 minutes. Using a wooden spoon, beat the dhal until it begins to thicken.

In a ladle or very small frying pan, heat oil until very hot. Add garlic and cumin and fry until garlic is golden brown and seeds are almost black. If you have used a ladle (the best way), quickly lower it into the dhal saucepan, partially covering the saucepan to keep the oil from splattering. If you have used a frying pan, carefully spoon the oil mixture into the dhal. Cook dhal until split peas have formed a sauce or soup consistency, about 50 to 60 minutes, beating occasionally with a wooden spoon to help dhal thicken. You may need to add some water from time to time if dhal becomes too thick, as it should be only slightly thickened.