If we dare say so ourselves

by Lisa

Really, I don't have much I want to say today except that Sarah and I made a potato salad this weekend which we quickly declared was The Best Potato Salad We've Ever Had.

Okay, maybe I have a few pictures, too. We had some burgers,


did some cartwheels (more like, As Many As We Could Possibly Do Before Feeling Ill),


tossed around a frisbee,


and laid around like kittens.


But really, the most important thing we did, honestly, was make and eat that potato salad. Okay, fine. Maybe that was second to hanging out with each other. And eating burgers. And doing cartwheels and playing frisbee. And sleeping like kittens. But still. It was darn good.

It was so good I'm tempted to go buy more potatoes right now. Even though it's July 7th. And we're not having a picnic for dinner tonight.


The Best Potato Salad We've Ever Had
adapted by Lisa and Sarah, from The Silver Palate

My favorite foods to make are those which don't depend on exact measurement, but rather require intuition and experimentation. So, as usual, please don't stick to what I've written here. Taste along the way (how could you not?) and adjust to your preference. You're bright. (You certainly will be after making and eating this baby.)

8 red potatoes, washed, peels left on
3 hard boiled eggs*, chopped

1/2 cup mayonnaise
2-4 tablespoons Dijon mustard
2 stalks celery, chopped
1/2-1/4 red onion, diced small
1 or 2 stalks green onion, chopped thin
handful of chopped Italian parsley

splash of white wine vinegar
splash or two of olive oil
salt and lots of fresh ground pepper

Boil potatoes whole in salted water until tender but still firm. Boil eggs as instructed below. In a bowl, stir together diced vegetables with mayonnaise and the rest of the ingredients, except last three ingredients. Roughly chop eggs when they are done. When potatoes are done, slice them roughly and sprinkle still-hot potatoes with vinegar, olive oil, salt and pepper. Mix into mayonnaise mixture.

Eat. Enjoy. Rinse. Repeat.


*Tried and true method: Add cold water to pot with eggs, bring to boil, covered. With pot still covered, turn off heat and set timer for 5-7 minutes (depending on how cooked you like them). Drain, and run cold water over them until to stop cooking and cool eggs. Also, older eggs (i.e., purchased a week ago or so) peel more easily, so plan ahead if you can.

Surprisingly delicious

by Lisa

Being a food blogger comes with its challenges. (Sometimes it's so much easier to write haiku that doesn't make any sense.) I mean, I feel like I always have to have some sort of theme, where I creatively and analogically tie it into the recipe, or something brilliant like that. And also I almost always feel like it's not okay to cheat on recipes, like calling for spaghetti sauce from the jar or using canned garbanzo beans. And even though I disclosed all in my last post, it's not without at least a little diffidence that I bring today's recipe, which doesn't even pretend to be gourmet.

I was actually quite caught off-guard when I found this recipe online which inspired today's. I wasn't looking for a recipe for instant chai. Even in the past I have had this discussion in my head: Should I make an instant chai? No, it wouldn't be fresh. But it'd be so easy. No, it's not as good as the real thing. But it's so easy. No, no, no. Yes, yes, yes. (Or something like that.)

[For those as neurotic as I and who may want to know how I "accidentally" found myself at this site with this chai recipe which threatened so my mental stability: I was actually looking up recipes for aloo gobi to try to figure out why the one I ordered had been so soupy - maybe it was something regional. One site suggested that there's a wetter version of potato cauliflower curry called aloo phulkopir dalna, but when I googled that, it didn't really seem to explain my soupy curry. But somehow I found the link to the instant chai, and it caught my eye.]

[For the not-so-neurotic, I proceed here:] Long story short, I decided, what the heck? why not try this instant chai? As lovely as it is to be able to boil chai at home with milk and with whole cardamom pods, cloves, cinnamon sticks, etc., when you're at work with only the water "cooler," a good instant chai sounds a lot more attractive and reasonable than walking down the street to the dreaded Starbucks for a too-expensive,-too-sweet,-not-creamy-enough chai latte.

The recipe looked reasonable enough. I used it as a guideline, not really following the proportions, and it was surprisingly delicious. I think I've had three cups every day since.

I'm planning on making more and mailing some to a certain friend in Minnesota once she gives me her new address. (I can even throw in some instant coffee powder, too, if you'd like it dirty. Even more if you want it... um, nevermind. Eww for gross guy at Starbucks. Yay for Molly!])

The stuff is great 'cause you can have it hot or cold, although with the weather here the last few days, it's kind of hard to tell which way you'd want it. It's still good anyway; just be careful when you get to the bottom of your mug/glass, lest you end up with a mouth full of ground spices which have sneakily settled to the bottom.

So, here's to a lukewarm glass of chai! Cheers!

Instant chai tea
inspired by Sandi on RecipeZaar

The original recipe called for instant tea (have you ever seen it in the stores? I haven't); I didn't follow that. In any case, I still liked being able to keep my tea brewing separate from the powder, so my recipe basically makes the creamer/sugar/spices part for the chai. The recipe is really rough, and I really encourage you to modify it according to your liking. I couldn't have it any other way for you.

It's a bit awkward with some ingredients you may not have just lying around the house (like vanilla sugar; odd that I had some), but I did some quick and dirty calculations, and I think that even if you spent the money on it, it might work out to cheaper than instant chai from the store. (It's definitely tastier.)

I'm putting my original proportions, but I'd recommend doubling it; it goes fast. (I did two batches one right after the other.)

1/2 cup dry whole milk powder
1/2 cup non-dairy powdered coffee creamer
1/2 cup vanilla sugar (which Sandi says you can make by putting vanilla extract into the sugar, allowing to dry, and then breaking into clumps; you can also replace this with 1/2 cup regular sugar, plus 1/2 cup French vanilla flavored powdered coffee creamer - in addition to the plain powdered coffee creamer above)
1 heaping teaspoon ground ginger
2 heaping teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 level teaspoon each, ground cloves and cardomom
*adjust spices to your liking, and also consider adding: white pepper, allspice, nutmeg, cayenne
tea bags (black, orange pekoe, darjeeling, etc.)

Pulse ingredients for a few seconds in food processor to blend ingredients.

To serve: Brew black tea in hot water. (Use less water if you're going to ice it.) Any tea (even Lipton) will do; my dad always sends me home with different teas from the Indian market which are in nice bags. (I am not tea snobby enough to say you must brew loose leaf.) Stir in 2-3 heaping teaspoonfuls of your newly blended chai. Enjoy!

Store dry mixture in airtight container.


[P.S. If you were looking for the theme in this post, sorry. I don't think it really got anywhere. I think I was trying to go for something like, how 'bout we give me a break? or Here's a cup of chai to make us all happy!]

Finally

by Lisa

So my last post was about waiting. Waiting for Thanksgiving. Waiting for Steph and I to write our joint post about our lovely dinner party. (Way overdue by now; we're sorry.) But mostly, waiting for school to be over.

Well, now it's finally here. I. Am. Officially. Done. With. School. Forever. Until grad school, of course. As for the other things we've waited for, certainly Thanksgiving has come and gone. And after this, I'm going to start our joint post. We need to make up for all we owe to you, wonderful friends and readers, for this hiatus in writing.

The last few weeks have been filled with frantic thesis writing, but I've still managed to have some cooking adventures. I just haven't had time to write about it. But now I'm finally free! I wouldn't have expected to feel so overwhelmed by having so much to say about food, but I really do. That is, I really do feel overwhelmed... and of course, I do also have so much to say about food.

Where do I begin?

I could talk about how I ate eight (yes, eight!) of Maria's glorious banana cream pies. Well, they were more like little muffins, not really pies. Whew. But still. Maybe we shouldn't start there. How about this? I got this lovely (lovely!) spice set from India from my wonderful friends Brad and Carla. You can ask my roommates: I did a little dance around the kitchen when I opened the metal container.


I have been working on Indian food since the summer so this was such a treat. Yesterday I made chana masala (garbanzo bean curry) and yes, it tastes so much better when you add in the spices one at a time in whatever proportions your heart desires. Plus it's more fun that way.

Besides Chinese, I'm most often cooking Indian or Mexican. In the kitchen you'll often find me chopping onions, mincing garlic, dicing tomatoes, washing cilantro, using lemons, limes, cumin and other spices. Did you notice what I did? There is quite an overlap in the list of common ingredients! I was surprised, too. Well, a friend asked for my pico de gallo recipe so I've decided to post it, but to be honest, there really isn't a recipe to it. I think you'll like it best if you trust your instincts. (Just don't ever ever ever make it while you're mincing garlic for collard greens and in trying to be efficient and end up mincing garlic for both your pico and your greens because you don't want to have to wash the knife and board twice and then while you're waiting for the burner you accidently drop all your tomatoes in the bowl with too much garlic and then end up bringing your way-too-garlicky salsa to your professor's house for a party. No good, I tell you.)


This is all for now. But there's definitely more to come! Until then, enjoy the recipes. The pico makes a surprisingly Christmasy addition to any party, what with all its red and green. And it's very quick and easy.

Oh, wait! One more thing before the recipes. I wrote a sonnet, for my roommates, about our fridge. Here it is. And then, the recipes.

College Fridge

Our fridge, we find, is never full for long.
We cannot seem to keep ourselves away.
Upon return from school we form a throng
about the cage and hunt for food and play
by thinking ‘bout the matches we can make.
“Do you want ice cream with your apple pie?”
“Or how about some fruit with chocolate cake?”
There always seems to be a large supply
and so we find our joy in making things
that put together what we have inside,
to find surprises in whate’er that brings.
It worked for us until today we cried,
“Oh no! We really cannot go on in this way!”
“We’ve more ideas than food—it’s not okay!”

Chana masala

3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 medium-sized yellow onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 can garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained
1 medium tomato, diced
2-3 tablespoons curry powder or mixed Indian spices (cumin, coriander, clove, chili, fenugreek seeds, ginger, pepper, tumeric, etc.)
2-4 tablespoons of water
salt to taste
cilantro, lemons, tomatoes, onions for garnish

Heat oil on medium heat in skillet. Add onions and saute 5-8 minutes until translucent and fragrant. Add garlic and saute for another minute. Add garbanzo beans and saute until heated through. Add tomatoes and some water, cover skillet and lower heat. Allow mixture to cook for another 10-15 minutes, depending on how hungry you are. Garnish with chopped cilantro, slices of lemon, etc. and serve with hot naan or basmati rice. Serves 3 or 4.

Pico de gallo

3 medium-sized tomatoes, diced (I usually use Roma because they are firmer and easier to cut, but any will do)
1/2 white onion, minced
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
1 jalepeno pepper (sometimes I use serrano if I want it extra spicy)
1 handful of cilantro leaves
1 lime (I like to use Meyer lemons if we have them from our tree)
pinch of kosher sea salt

Basically, it all goes together in a bowl. A few tips: you can seed the jalenpeno if you like it less spicy. After cutting the lime in half, first score it by using a knife to cut an 'x' so that it squeezes more easily. Add salt to taste, but also note that it helps with cut the pungency of the onions and the acidity of the tomatoes. Adjust the proportions to your taste. And it definitely improves upon sitting in the fridge. But it usually doesn't last that long at our place! Serve with tortilla chips.

More on contradictions

by Lisa

I don't bake. But that's for another post. Because today (and a few weeks ago) I baked.

My roommate, Elizabeth, went to Apple Hill this weekend. When I got back from Chicago, I saw apples and pears everywhere. I mean, everywhere. On the dining table, on the counter. A whole drawer in the refrigerator had been emptied in order to be filled with pears. She promised she would make me applesauce (with the skins on, the way we both like it). So I knew I'd be enjoying something tasty soon. (--I thought you would like to know that I just restrained myself from making a pun on the "fruits of her labor.") But the memory of a recent and delicious pear crisp (thanks, Jennifer!) was plaguing me enough to impel me towards turning on the oven.


So I made a pear crisp. I looked up some recipes; most of the ones available were for apple crisps and had way too much sugar. One called for vanilla, and I figured, why not replace that with rum? -- both have alcohol that cooks off to leave a good flavor. And besides, I needed to give myself more motivation to actually bake. I also compensated for my aversion to baking by not measuring. I realize that that makes it difficult for a food blogger to share recipes, but I'll try my best.

A few weeks ago when I made banana bread, I surprised not only myself, but also my roommates. I'm spooning out sugar into the bowl (not a measuring cup) and my roommates standing by are worried. ("You're not measuring?" one of them pipes up. "Oh no," says the other.) I get into my younger-sibling-poutiness and say, "I want to be good at baking, I do! I just... I just don't try hard enough!" Sarah and Maria try to be empathetic. "Me, too," Maria offers, nodding her head with understanding, "but not really..." Ah, well. I guess it's the youngest-sibling part of me that notices something needs to change but doesn't want to make the change.

Anyway, the bread turned out pretty well. Moist, banana-y. The way my mom makes it.



Pear Crisp

Pears:
6-8 pears, cored and sliced thinly
a few tablespoons of white sugar, depending on taste (apples require more)
1 tablespoon flour 1 tablespoon (or more to taste) of cinnamon
2 tablespoon of dark rum (optional)
a few tablespoons of water

Topping:
1 cup quick-cooking oats
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup butter, softened

Mix sliced pears in bowl with white sugar, flour, cinnamon, and rum. Lay mixture on bottom of greased 13 x 9 pan. Add a few tablespoons of water over pears.

Mix oats, flour, and brown sugar. Cut butter into dry ingredients to make a crumbly mixture. Spread evenly over pears in pan. Bake at 350-365 for 40 minutes or until pears are done.


Sarah's Banana Bread

1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup each white and brown sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 ripe bananas, mashed
3/4 cup each regular and self-rising flour
pinch salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
3/4-1 cup chopped walnuts

Cream butter and sugars. Mix in the rest of the ingredients and pour into a loaf pan that has been greased and floured. Bake at 375. for 50 minutes

so maybe firsts aren't so overrated after all...

i've always heard that good food requires love. and i've believed it's true. but it was today that i realized that perhaps the reason good food requires love is because good food is so much like love.

a couple of years ago i overheard two girls joking about how everyone needs to have a first boyfriend just so they can get rid of all their lofty ideals, get over themselves, and go on to have good, healthy, working relationships. now, i won't be giving my opinion on relationships here, but i think there's truth in that for food. everyone needs to try making their first quiche, their first stew, their first souffle-- just so they can experience it, failure or success. then we can all move on and be real human beings, aware of our shortcomings and our strengths, our passions and our pet peeves.

good food is like love because it requires patience. because it requires trying over and over again. because it requires us to not give up when we make a mistake. because it requires gracious recipients who will love us even when we fail. because it requires experimenting. because there's no recipe for it, no fail-proof method. because it requires hope. and mostly, because when done right, it produces joy.