Warning Kravitz. I am going to rhapsodize shortly about the consumption of God’s dead creatures, which I try to do mindfully, but I do do. In my hopes that you may some day have your own friends you can find God with, my tribute to you was a red lentil, couscous vegan dal which I think was quite nice. I should have warned you Kravitz to add some heat to it because it was made to be palatable to our children and more particularly their parents, both of whom are big fat wusses when it comes to hot. Although I adore horseradish and wasabi. Himself does not, but has a taste for mustard hotter than you would suspect and I would prefer personally. Said dal was transported to Kravitz and Paul in a nifty little Tupperware type toolbox thingie I found which sort reminds me of the ark of the covenant…will keep it vegan kosher for all of us restless spirits.
So, I’ll tell about the dal first Kravitz and then you can log off. I began with some inspiration from Deborah Madison, and if I haven’t said it before, she is my cooking hero. The Westerberg of cuisine.
(Kravitz likes onions VERY WELL COOKED) See now you can forward this on to your friends who are happy to cook vegan for you. Got any? Oh, except ME I mean…So please forgive me the fucking dead bird.
I never would have occurred to me to mix lentils and couscous but it was way past dinner time and the dal was stilly super liquidy while it simmered away. I threw in some couscous just to absorb but it turned out to be a really nice combination which I’ll definitely experiment more with.
Lentil Couscous Dal
Canola Oil
2 medium onions
2 cups red lentils
Chile oil (I like La Yu)
Chopped garlic
ginger spread or chopped fresh ginger
2 cups couscous
1 can coconut milk
cilantro
This is something you can riff on some weeknight. Left seasonings vague because this is quick cooking,. I am not a chef. Nope. Not me. So use these seasonings in whatever amount you prefer or better yet, substitute anything that strikes your fancy. The principle is to clear the onions in the oil and then add the lentils, chile oil, garlic and ginger and lightly brown. Add 6 cups of water and bring to a boil. Reduce to light simmer. Cover and simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Turn off heat and add couscous. Cover and let rest 5-10 minutes. Add the cream layer from the coconut milk. Garnish w/ cilantro.
Roasted French Beans
Found huge bags of snipped French beans of excellent quality at Costco. Or get one of the smaller bags at Trader Joe’s and nuke it right in the bag.
Green Beans
Butter or Olive Oil
Coarse Salt and Pepper
Grated Cheese (optional) (I used some dry jack)
Microwave beans however you usually do it but a tiny bit less done than usual. E-mail me if you need help with basic bean microwave. I slit the bag after cooking, add the oil and seasonings and optional cheese (enough to lightly coat) and shake it a bit. Throw them on a cookie sheet and broil for about 5 minutes.
Another Variation on the theme of Turkey Thighs
I bought some mole in a jar from Trader Joe’s knowing that Himself has never warmed to mole and that it is not a flavor I think my kids crave. I purchased a bottle of organic ketchup at TJ’s too. I never use anything but Heinz, which we were out of, but the kids will use anything in an emergency. Ditto, on Best Foods/Hellman’s mayo. Nothing else. May even be better than homemade! Since I had made good on the Heinz in the extravagant size at Costco, it occurred to me that the organic TJs stuff would be quite redundant, and I, in a blast of 1950s housewife fury, added it to the mole to sweeten the hot and the funky. It worked. I won’t tell you what measurements to use, but this is the gist:
Turkey Thighs
Mole
Ketchup
Chopped Garlic
Raisins-small handful
Soft dried pineapple-small handful
Roasted pumpkin seeds
Preheat to 350 and spray a big roasting pan with tons of cooking spray before adding the turkey, skin up. Do what you need to do, if anything, to get the mole to your liking. Leave out the ketchup entirely if you will. I don’t care. Mix everything until it’s the way you like it. Don’t go crazy on the dried fruit. It absorbs the sauce and you don’t want the turkey to dry out. Brush it on the turkey. Cover the pan with foil and bake 90 minutes. Let cool enough to remove meat from bones and served garnished with pumpkin seeds.
So, I’ll tell about the dal first Kravitz and then you can log off. I began with some inspiration from Deborah Madison, and if I haven’t said it before, she is my cooking hero. The Westerberg of cuisine.
(Kravitz likes onions VERY WELL COOKED) See now you can forward this on to your friends who are happy to cook vegan for you. Got any? Oh, except ME I mean…So please forgive me the fucking dead bird.
I never would have occurred to me to mix lentils and couscous but it was way past dinner time and the dal was stilly super liquidy while it simmered away. I threw in some couscous just to absorb but it turned out to be a really nice combination which I’ll definitely experiment more with.
Lentil Couscous Dal
Canola Oil
2 medium onions
2 cups red lentils
Chile oil (I like La Yu)
Chopped garlic
ginger spread or chopped fresh ginger
2 cups couscous
1 can coconut milk
cilantro
This is something you can riff on some weeknight. Left seasonings vague because this is quick cooking,. I am not a chef. Nope. Not me. So use these seasonings in whatever amount you prefer or better yet, substitute anything that strikes your fancy. The principle is to clear the onions in the oil and then add the lentils, chile oil, garlic and ginger and lightly brown. Add 6 cups of water and bring to a boil. Reduce to light simmer. Cover and simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Turn off heat and add couscous. Cover and let rest 5-10 minutes. Add the cream layer from the coconut milk. Garnish w/ cilantro.
Roasted French Beans
Found huge bags of snipped French beans of excellent quality at Costco. Or get one of the smaller bags at Trader Joe’s and nuke it right in the bag.
Green Beans
Butter or Olive Oil
Coarse Salt and Pepper
Grated Cheese (optional) (I used some dry jack)
Microwave beans however you usually do it but a tiny bit less done than usual. E-mail me if you need help with basic bean microwave. I slit the bag after cooking, add the oil and seasonings and optional cheese (enough to lightly coat) and shake it a bit. Throw them on a cookie sheet and broil for about 5 minutes.
Another Variation on the theme of Turkey Thighs
I bought some mole in a jar from Trader Joe’s knowing that Himself has never warmed to mole and that it is not a flavor I think my kids crave. I purchased a bottle of organic ketchup at TJ’s too. I never use anything but Heinz, which we were out of, but the kids will use anything in an emergency. Ditto, on Best Foods/Hellman’s mayo. Nothing else. May even be better than homemade! Since I had made good on the Heinz in the extravagant size at Costco, it occurred to me that the organic TJs stuff would be quite redundant, and I, in a blast of 1950s housewife fury, added it to the mole to sweeten the hot and the funky. It worked. I won’t tell you what measurements to use, but this is the gist:
Turkey Thighs
Mole
Ketchup
Chopped Garlic
Raisins-small handful
Soft dried pineapple-small handful
Roasted pumpkin seeds
Preheat to 350 and spray a big roasting pan with tons of cooking spray before adding the turkey, skin up. Do what you need to do, if anything, to get the mole to your liking. Leave out the ketchup entirely if you will. I don’t care. Mix everything until it’s the way you like it. Don’t go crazy on the dried fruit. It absorbs the sauce and you don’t want the turkey to dry out. Brush it on the turkey. Cover the pan with foil and bake 90 minutes. Let cool enough to remove meat from bones and served garnished with pumpkin seeds.
2 comments:
Ok, I'm making this. It's only 8 am but I'm already hungry for dinner now. Thanks!:) xox.s
Post a photo of the label on hot sauce with our family's favorite: that old scowling Korean woman.
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