Vinagret

The main part of today's lunch is pictured here: pelmeni (Siberian meat dumplings) and vinagret. Vinagret and olivier are what I think of as the "Big Two" of Russian salads. Both are extremely classic, everyone knows them, and you probably won't go to a Russian party or holiday celebration where they aren't present.

Even though everyone knows them, of course everyone has their own way of preparation. And of course, everyone is surprised to find out when someone else makes one of these salads differently, as they are "classics" for which the preparation is set in stone. ;-)

Here is how I've made it, which I believe is a pretty standard preparation. At least, my boyfriend proclaimed that it was "a real one."

Ingredients:
1 medium to large beet
1 large potato, boiled and peeled
1 large dill pickle (like this), or 2-3 smaller sized (baby dills)
1/2 a medium apple
1.5 c kvashennaya kapusta (or substitute drained sauerkraut)
1.5 c canned or jarred peas (you could use cooked frozen ones, but for some reason I've always liked the taste of canned peas)
A couple of tablespoons of oil (we use a mix of sunflower and olive, and it's tasty)

Method:
Boil the potato and the beet. Peel them. I usually boil first and then peel. It's easy, and the vegetables retain more nutrients and taste. (Experimentally verified!) It's best to do this in advance, if they are cooled off they are easier to chop into nice little cubes.

Everything except the cabbage and peas will be chopped into smallish cubes (in the neighborhood of .25"x.25" to .5"x.5"). Start with the beet and potato. Add them to a salad bowl. Salt just a little bit. You'll be adding other salty things (pickle, cabbage) so don't add too much, but the beet and potato should get a little salt of their own. Chop the apple and pickle(s) into small cubes. Drain the peas. Add these things to the salad. Now add the cabbage (or sauerkraut). Drizzle the salad with the vegetable oil, and stir well.

Notes and Serving Suggestions: This is probably my favorite Russian salad. I love all the ingredients separately and together they're awesome. Plus, there's no meat or mayonnaise! (Well, some people add herring. And some people use mayonnaise. See the intro to this post.)

This is great as an appetizer or part of an appetizer course, or, as we had today, as sort of a side dish.

Kvashennaya Kapusta

This is the fermented cabbage we made this weekend. It's kind of like magic. The first day you don't want to eat it, but of course you try a little bit out of curiosity, and it is insanely salty. I kept asking my BF, "Are you sure we didn't add too much salt? Are you sure?" And he'd just respond, "Don't worry, you can't spoil this with too much salt!" I had my doubts. But then the fermentation actually happened, and it turned into the sour cabbage that I remembered eating in Ukraine.

Ingredients:
2 medium/large heads of white winter cabbage*
2-3 medium carrots
about 5 pieces dried horseradish**
A LOT of salt

*Using the winter kind, which is white and sort of flatter, is important because the leaves are firmer. I think it may still be tasty with regular cabbage, but the texture is better with the winter one.
**This is optional but I strongly recommend it! Each of the dried horseradish pieces I have is about .25"x.25". I'm sure you can substitute fresh, but it's probably stronger, so use less in that case.

Method:
Wash the cabbage, wash and peel the carrots. Grate the carrots on your grater's rough setting. Shred the cabbage (like for coleslaw or other salad). In a large vessel (I use a wide, deep bowl, like this but about 2-3x as deep), put a few handfuls of cabbage and carrots, then add a lot of salt. Sprinkle liberally all over the cabbage. Now, scrunch the cabbage and carrots with your hands, really work the salt in there. Toss in a piece of the horseradish. Add the next layer, a few more handfuls of the cabbage and carrots, and repeat. When you have exhausted all your vegetables, they're all in the bowl and thoroughly scrunched with salt, put a weight of some kind on the cabbage. We put a salad plate on top of the cabbage, and then a large pickle jar filled with water on top of the plate. Let it sit at room temperature for 2-3 days.

Ours took about 2.5 days before it wasn't salty anymore, but nice and sour. The cabbage should still have crunch, but it's softer. There will be a lot of liquid in the bowl, too. Keep it, it's tasty. And while the cabbage is sitting at room temperature, you don't have to worry about stirring or anything. If the liquid rises above the veggies that's fine.

Once the cabbage has fermented, keep it in a cool place, like the refrigerator, or outside (like we do) if it's cold enough.

Notes and Serving Suggestions: I really love this stuff. We made that huge bowl of it this weekend, and it's over half way finished! To serve it, put some cabbage in a serving bowl. Drizzle with a couple of tablespoons of vegetable oil, sprinkle with a teaspoon or two of sugar (to taste), and mix well. Let sit for a few minutes then serve. You can also add herbs, such as dill, and sometimes people add chopped apples. Served as a salad, or as a side dish.

Spicy "Korean" Carrots

This was an attempt to recreate a dish that is sold in markets across the former Soviet Union. I had it in Ukraine, and got a craving for it in a bad way a few nights ago. But Switzerland is not the FSU, so if you want spicy "Korean" carrots here, you have to make them yourself. That is a problem, because it is a closely guarded secret. It's not an actual Korean dish, but those of Korean descent in the FSU who know how to make it don't tell anyone the recipe. There are, however, a lot of recipes on the internet, and I figured that they were all similar enough that the basic approach must be right.

The carrots in the market are sold in looong strips. I think they use one of these. Since I don't have one of those, I had to settle for attempting to julienne my carrots. Since I'm not a chef, and carrots are hard, I had to settle for thicker carrot sticks.

Spicy "Korean" Carrots

Ingredients:
2 very large carrots, 1 small one
1 small white onion
1 big clove of garlic
1.5 T vegetable oil
1 T powdered coriander
1.5 T chili powder*
2 t sugar
Juice of half a lemon
Salt to taste

*Note: My chili powder is mixed with a few other spices (oregano?!) and is a bit weak. You can adjust this based on your ingredients and your taste.

Method:
Cut the carrots into as close to a julienne as you can, or use a vegetable slicer of some kind. They shouldn't be shredded though. Slice the onion into thin half rings, and chop the garlic. Warm the oil in a large skillet. Add the onion, fry until translucent, soft and fragrant. Push the onions to one side, make sure there's enough oil pooled on the other side so you don't have to add more (we want to keep the fat down to some extent). This may mean tilting the pan slightly to get some on that other side. Once you have some warm oil on the opposite side of the onions, add the spices to it. Make sure that all the chili powder and coriander is immersed in the oil, let it fry for some seconds, it should smell really spicy. Add the garlic to the pan, and mix every thing together. Turn the heat down as low as it goes, add the carrots, the sugar, the lemon and the salt. Toss the carrots really well in the spice mix. Let them cook for a few minutes, you may need to keep tossing them so the spices don't burn and so they cook evenly. They should be still a bit crunchy when you serve them.

Notes: In recipes I've seen online they use vinegar, not lemon. But I had half a lemon, so guess what went in, and guess what tasted good? Also, in the real recipe the carrots aren't cooked. They sit in the marinade for a long time. But I cooked them because I was really hungry and couldn't wait. I think it especially worked out because I had thicker carrots. The flavor was close enough to the real thing to satisfy a craving. I think it would be even closer if I didn't cook the carrots and had really nice and thinly cut ones.

Serving suggestion: This was part of a dinner that included frozen and microwaved spinach souffle and perfectly boiled eggs (thank you, boyfriend!). I think they'd make a really good side dish to poultry or pork. Or even hamburgers, come to think of it.

Red Cabbage Sauté

In case you couldn't tell from last post, kasha + fried eggs + veggie saute = fast, tasty and nutritious dinner. Reasonably cheap, too.

Ingredients:
200 g red cabbage sauerkraut
2 t oil (any kind)
1 small onion
1 small apple
Salt to taste
A splash of apple cider vinegar if you want extra tart flavor

Method:
Warm the oil in a pan. Peel the onion and slice into demi-rings. Saute them until golden with hints of brown caramelization. Turn heat to low, add the apple, cut into matchsticks (peeled if you prefer), the cabbage, salt to taste and the optional vinegar. If your sauerkraut is not very wet, add a tablespoon or two of water to keep things from burning. Saute till apples and cabbage are warm.

Notes: Satisfying and tasty on a fall evening. Also, light and healthy.

Serving Suggestion: We had this with kasha (roasted buckwheat groats) and fried eggs. I think a dollop of sour cream or thick Greek style yogurt would have been good on the cabbage.

Vegetable Pancakes

Just made these, but we'll have dinner later tonight. I ate one though. It was tasty, but for dinner I'm going to serve them with sour cream mixed with garlic and dill (that'll be really good)!

Ingredients:
1 small potato
1 small-medium zucchini
2 medium carrots
1 small onion
1/4 c flat leaf parsley
2 eggs
1/2 c flour
1 tsp baking powder
Salt and lots of ground black pepper to taste
Oil for frying

Method:
Grate all the vegetables except the onion. I only peeled the carrots. The onion slice very thinly, and the parsley chop. Add all to a mixing bowl. Crack in the eggs, well, add the rest of the ingredients (except oil) and mix very well. Warm oil to fry. Place dollops of the vegetable mix in the pan, smush them a little to make them more pancake shaped. I did 3 at a time in my pan. When done on one side (golden brown, a couple of minutes) flip and finish on the other side. Remove from pan and let drain on towels/paper towels.

Notes: I think a good step to do, which I was going to do and forgot, is to salt the vegetables, let them sit a few minutes, and then remove the liquid that comes out of them before you add the eggs and flour etc.

Serving Suggestion: Well, I intend to top them with sour cream or yogurt mixed with chopped dill and minced garlic. I'll probably either have them with leftover schi from yesterday, or some arugula. These could be a light meal or appetizer. Probably good for breakfast too.

Celery and Apple Salad

We had this tonight with boiled potatoes and baked trout. (I'm trying to eat less meat, but it's mostly for health reasons, and fish are pretty good for you.) It's an attempt of mine to make a salad similar to one from the CERN cafeteria. The food there can be highly questionable, but some of it is surprisingly tasty.

Celery and Apple Salad

Ingredients:

Dressing:
2 T nice mayonnaise
2 t nice mustard (I used a mild Dijon)
1 T apple cider vinegar
Squeeze of lemon juice
1 small bunch mint, chopped
1 T dried parsley

1 small apple, cored, quartered and sliced thinly
1/4 c cashew halves & wholes, crumbled
2 ribs of celery, chopped
4-5 cups lettuce, chopped
Salt and Pepper to taste

Method:

In a salad bowl, mix the ingredients for dressing together well. Add the celery, apples and cashews. Mix well, season with salt and pepper. Add lettuce, and toss before serving.

Serving Suggestion and Notes: It had nice, understated flavors. Really springtime-like. I think the kind of mayo you use is important, and mustard too. We get insanely wonderful ones here, nothing like the mayo I remember in the States. Actually, I never ate mayo when I lived in the States, because I didn't like it. This recipe makes enough for about 5 side salad portions, or 3 large meal-type portions.

The CbG idea + food rut + Diet (Carrot and Feta Salad)

So, I think that the Cheap but Good thing was a good idea, but I'm getting a little burned out on it. Maybe it's because for a while there, it was so essential to us to find the cheapest way to do things, but now that the euro isn't doing so well, we've relaxed a little. Anyway, my standard "bag of tricks" is getting exhausted. I'm going to continue the idea, but not hold myself to a once a week post; when I find something good, be it a recipe or an idea, I'll post. I'd rather post when I have an idea that I really want to share, than post just for the sake of posting.

We're kind of in a food rut here ... my boyfriend actually got sick of soups, and lately we're eating a lot of salads. Part of it is that I don't have the time at the moment for a lot of more complicated cooking. At least the salads are healthy, and easy to vary.

Bringing me to the last part, "me on a diet." Since I moved to France, about 7 kilograms (that's about 15 POUNDS) has mysteriously affixed itself to my body. Ok, so it's not so mysterious. I think it's mostly due to living with a man; he eats more and more often than I should, and I've fallen into the habit of eating when he does. (And eating what he does, not always a good thing). I've decided that I'd really like to get back to my old self again, if only for the reason that I'll once more be able to wear a good half of my wardrobe. So, food is probably going to get a lot more vegetable-y around here, for one thing. And that's not bad.

I made a salad last night that was really good. It was simple, but for some reason I found it really tasty. It was bright, slightly sweet, filling and satisfying.

Carrot and Feta Salad

Ingredients:

2 T apple cider vinegar
2 t honey
1 T olive oil
1 T dried parsley
1 large clove garlic, minced
1 large carrot, peeled and grated
1 small tart apple, cored and cut into matchsticks
50 g of feta cheese (I used full-fat sheeps milk feta)
4-5 c of lettuce, roughly chopped (I used Batavia lettuce, I think it's a butterhead variety)

Method:

In a large salad bowl, assemble the dressing: first the vinegar, then whisk in the honey, then whisk in the oil. Stir in the parsley (I crumble it slightly) and the garlic clove. Add the grated carrot and the apple, toss well in the dressing till it's all covered. Add the cheese, and mix. Now add the lettuce. You could toss it, or do what I did and just serve it at this point.

Notes and Serving Suggestions: I didn't toss the salad, it was nice to scoop it out and see the layers. I got a bunch of lettuce and the tasty apple-carrot-cheese mix on top. This makes enough for about 4 generous side/appetizer portions. I had 1/3 of it, with a boiled potato that had just a little sour cream on top. It was a pretty satisfying meal.

Calorie Count: In the entire salad, there are 461 calories.

Aloo Paratha and Aloo ka Mattar

So a couple of nights ago I made my first rotis. I was surprised at how incredibly easy it was! I was motivated to make them because I brought a dozen back from the States, and we discovered that my boyfriend really likes them. The thought occurred to me: "He's gonna eat all my rotis. I'm not going to have any left!"

And so, even though I'd always been intimidated in the past at the idea of making my own, I did so.

They came out ok. I decided to use only wheat flour and water, so they were a little brittle and definitely could've used some salt. But they made me brave, by coming out ok and tasting decent. Thus, tonight I felt up to making something a step up: aloo paratha.

This is a roti, basically, with spiced potatoes mixed into the dough before it's cooked. And lucky everyone, today I'll basically be posting 4 recipes: basic spiced potatoes, Aloo ka Mattar, basic roti dough, and Aloo Paratha.

First I made the spiced potatoes.

Spiced Potatoes
(I used 1/2 for the paratha, 1/2 for dinner):

Ingredients:

4 small potatoes
1 t cumin seed
1 t black mustard seed
1 chili
1 t tumeric
1 t cumin ground
1 t coriander ground
salt to taste
1 t chopped ginger
1 clove garlic chopped
1 small onion chopped
2-3 T oil (I used sunflower)
Fresh cilantro (1 handful)

Method:

Cut the potatoes into cubes, peeling if desired. Boil the potatoes till very soft (soft enough to mash). Drain and set aside for the moment. In a pan, heat the oil, and sautee the onions. When they become translucent, add the chili, ginger and garlic. Stir, sautee a little less than a minute. Now push all the stuff in the pan to one side, and let the oil pool on the other side. I like to position the pan such that the oil side is over the flame/heating element and the onions etc. side is cooler. Dump the spices into the pool of hot oil. You should be able to hear them cooking, and smell them becoming fragrant. Cook for about 30 seconds, then stir everything together in the pan. Add in the potatoes and stir well, mashing with a wooden spoon as you do it. Chop the cilantro, and mix it in too. You can now turn off the heat and salt to taste. Reserve a little less than 1/2, about 1/3 for the paratha. The rest you can eat, or you can make more paratha dough and use it all. I used the remaining to make aloo ka mattar (potatoes with peas), recipe to follow. Or you could just eat this by itself! Or use it to stuff samosas ... hm, that sounds like a future post! ;-)

Aloo ka Mattar

Ingredients:

Spiced Potatoes from above (you can use a portion, or all of them. I used about 2/3.)
1/2 a medium sized tomato
1 c frozen green peas
1 T oil (I used sunflower)
Salt to taste

Method:

Heat the oil in a pan. Chop the tomato. When the oil is hot, drop the tomato in it. It will sizzle and make the skin wrinkle. When the tomatoes begin to get soft, add the peas and the potatoes. Stir all together. You may have to add more salt to taste. We ate this with fried eggs, it was tasty.

Just before we ate, I prepared the basic roti dough, so it could rest during dinner:

Basic Roti Dough

Ingredients:

1/2 c whole wheat flour
1/2 c white wheat flour (all purpose flour)
Sprinkling of salt
Drizzling (about 2 t) of vegetable oil
water (no specific amount, depends)

Method:

Put the flours in a bowl with the salt. Mix well. Drizzle the oil uniformly, then begin to pour in water into the center of the mound of flour a little at a time, stirring as you pour it, stirring from the inside out. It will be sticky on your hand at first, stir in more of the flour. If there's not enough water it'll be crumbly. Add water, stirring/mixing the dough with your hand until it's not sticky, but not crumbly. You should have a silky ball of dough. Knead it a bit. The dough should start to spring back when you lightly push it with your finger. Let it sit in the bowl covered with a damp towel for 30 minutes at least. This isn't to make it rise like other breads, but to make sure the flours absorb the water. This is the basic dough! This can probably make about 6-8 rotis. To make them, split the dough into balls of equal size. Roll out with a rolling pin until they're about 8 inches in diameter. I do this one at a time. When I have the first rolled out, I put it on a very hot pan. I just use a large concave non-stick skillet (kinda wok-like, but not as sharply sloped at the sides). The roti will start to puff, which is fine. When brown spots start to appear on the bottom, flip the roti and cook the other side (about a couple of minutes each side). When it was cooking, I usually roll out the next one, so it's ready to go into the pan when the other one comes out. The one that's ready I put on a plate, and smear all over with butter (helps make it tasty and pliable). Continue till done.

Aloo Paratha

Ingredients:

Spiced Potatoes from above
Basic Roti Dough from above
extra flour, about 1/2 to 1 c

Method:

Take your big ball of roti dough, roll it out into a big circle. Sprinkle a bit of flour, add the potatoes in the center, sprinkle a bit more flour, then fold the dough over the potatoes, closing the ball up well. Now roll the whole thing out again, as before, this will well distribute the potatoes. They are wet, though, and will make the dough a bit more sticky, so add flour to it as needed, to make it silky, not sticky, in texture again. Roll it into a ball. Now you have a ball of dough with potatoes well mixed in. Separate into 8 equally sized balls. Heat a pan, as described above for rotis. Roll out one ball at a time, you will need to dust the board and the ball itself with flour, likely. Roll till 6-8 inches in diameter, place in the hot pan, and cook both sides as directed above. Transfer to plate when finished and spread each side with butter.

Serving Suggestion and Notes: The parathas came out really well. I like the mix of whole wheat and white flours. You may use more white flour, or all white flour if you like for rotis, but parathas really benefit from the whole wheat. I think it's good, because they're traditionally a travel food, so they should provide tons of nutrients! You can eat them with some yogurt, or a raita, or by themselves. Rotis are better for curries and dhals because they're plain and don't distract from the flavor of the dish. Adding some fat (oil) to the roti dough makes them pliable, I find. I like my breads not very salty, but my boyfriend wants me to add more salt next time. To each their own, I guess. Rotis are also delicious with butter and sugar, or dipped in mango puree that's been mixed with some whole milk. That is a great breakfast! (So is roti crisped up a bit in the toaster or a skillet, served with eggs!)

Sour Cherry Rice

Tonight I made this rice in an attempt to duplicate one of my favorites from a Persian restaurant in Dallas. It came out really tasty, but it just needed a little more lemon juice and some chopped fresh dill added in at the end. But I'm posting what I did:

Sour Cherry Rice

Main Ingredients:

1/2 glass of uncooked white basmati rice (about 1/4 c)
1 glass water (important ratio is 2 parts water to 1 part rice)
about 1/4 c (a small handful) of dried sour cherries (I get mine at Whole Foods in the bulk foods aisle)
one VERY small onion (or about 1/2 of a regularly small one)
1 clove of garlic
Salt to taste
1 T oil (I used sunflower seed oil)
Squeeze of lemon

Spices:

1 black cardamom pod
2 small green cardamom pods
2 whole peppercorns
1 "petal" of a star anise
1 small bay leaf
2 whole gloves
1 tsp. of cumin seeds

Method:

Wash the rice well, then set it aside. Have the water ready to pour into your saucepan. In the saucepan, warm the oil. When it shimmers, add the onion, chopped, fry till golden brown (careful not to burn!) and stir in the garlic, minced. Push the onion-garlic mix to one edge of the pot, and let the oil pool on the other side. Add the spices (except bay leaf) into the oil. The oil should be hot enough that you can hear a quiet sizzle. Once you can smell the fragrance of the spices (about 30 seconds), stir everything in the pot together, add the rice, let the whole thing lightly fry for another 30 seconds or so, and then add the water, cherries and bay leaf, salt and a squeeze of lemon. Let the rice gently boil until it's just almost dry, then remove from heat and let sit covered for about 10 minutes. Uncover and fluff with a fork. If your rice is still a little too wet, you can pop it in the microwave for a few minutes, or gently cook it on the stove, stirring, until it's drier.

Serving Suggestion and Notes: I thought this was really tasty, and a good approximation of the rice at the restaurant. Theirs is a little drier and fluffier than mine came out, and also less pink (from the cherries). Probably they add the cherries in just at the end, and they get kind of plumped from the steaming rice, but aren't cooking with it. Chopped fresh dill would've been great, but I didn't have any.

Beet Raita (Shakunder ka Raita)

This is a tasty yogurt salad that's a nice twist on the classic cucumber raita. If fresh cucumber and beet isn't available in the winter time, skip the cucumber and use canned beets.

Shakunder ka Raita

Ingredients:

1/2 English cucmber
1 small onion
2 small beets
1/2 c plain yogurt
small bunch fresh cilantro
1/2 t ground cumin
salt and pepper to taste

Method:

If using fresh beets, boil them until tender, and then rinse under cool water, peeling the skins off. Allow them to cool completely. Cut them into circles and then cut the circles into half. If using canned beets, drain them well, and (they usually come already in circles) cut into half moons. Cut the cucumber into half moons (slice into rounds and cut into half). Slice onion into thin semi-rings. I think it's nice texture-wise if everything is kind of the same shape. Whisk together the yogurt, the cumin and the fresh cilantro (chopped). Stir in the vegetables, and then salt and pepper to taste. The beet will turn the raita a lovely pink color.

Serving Suggestion and Notes: This salad (like all raitas) for me is especially good in the summer time with kabobs straight of the grill. But since the yogurt is so cooling and soothing, this is a perfect side dish for any spicy curry, or biryani, or even for something non-Indian, like plain grilled meats (or baked meats, or pan fried). If you want the raita to be spicier, then you can add a chopped serrano chili.

Spicy Eggplant Rolls

These are a really tasty and simple appetizer. I had them in Ukraine this summer at someone's dacha (countryside home).

Spicy Eggplant Rolls

Ingredients:

1 eggplant
1 T oil
1/4 c flour
sprinkling of salt
1 tomato
1 bunch of parsley
2 cloves of garlic
2 T mayonnaise

Method:

Cut the eggplant into long thin strips. I do this by cutting it top to bottom in half, and then each half into half (top to bottom again), progressively until I have eggplant slices (cross sections of the whole veggie) that are about 1/4" thin. I then cut those in half to make 2 strips from each cross section. Sprinkle with salt on each side, and toss in a plastic bag with the flour so it coats them lightly. Pan fry the strips in the oil on medium-high heat until soft and golden brown on both sides. Set aside on paper towels to drain and cool slightly. Dice the garlic finely, and cut the tomato into strips that are about the same length as the width of the eggplant strips. Rough chop the parsley. To make the rolls, take a fried eggplant strip, spread with a little mayo, sprinkle a little of the garlic over that. Put a couple of the tomato pieces at one end, then roll up. Stand it up like it's a piece of sushi, then sprinkle parsley over the top. Complete procedure for all eggplant strips.

Serving Suggestion and Notes: For thicker slices of eggplant, you may need to use a toothpick to keep them rolled up. For thinner slices (or if you can cram a bunch of rolls into a bowl) it's not necessary. These are really tasty, they're kind of a summer food, which I'm missing. They were so good on a hot summer day, eating in the backyard of a house near the sea.

Cheap but Good: Tuna Salad with Rice and Corn

This is a really tasty salad, and it's very filling, too. I use tuna packed in oil, because I ALWAYS use tuna packed in oil. I find it much more flavorful.

Tuna Salad with Rice and Corn

Ingredients:

1 can of tuna packed in oil, 160 gram can
1 can of corn, 300 gram can
2 cups of cooked white rice (I prefer long grain)
2 hard boiled eggs
Salt and Pepper

Method:

The rice should not be hot, warm is fine, or room temperature. Cold is fine too, but I prefer it warm or room temp. This is a perfect use for leftover rice! Combine the rice with the (drained) corn and the (undrained) tuna. I guess if you're really watching your fat grams or whatever you could toss the oil from the tuna, but it seems like such a waste! :-) Roughly chop the hard cooked eggs and add them to the bowl. Stir everything together well, salt and pepper to taste.

Serving Suggestion and Notes: You can also add chopped fresh herbs, or dried ones, like parsley or dill. I hear thyme is tasty with corn. I don't eat a whole lot, so for me a small plateful of this is a complete dinner. If you're compelled to have something green in there, I'd stir in some peas or some baby spinach (that sounds really good). My boyfriend also considers this as a complete meal, but he needs about 3 times more than I do, and he *always* has to have bread. With anything. :-)

****Cost and Nutritional Analysis coming soon!!!!!****

Tamago: Japanese Omelette

I think this omlette is so pretty and different!

Tamago

Ingredients:

6 eggs
1 T soy sauce
1 T mirin (very sweet rice wine)
1 T rice wine vinegar
2 cloves garlic
2 pickled hot peppers (optional)
note: can substitute 2 T white wine for the mirin and vinegar
a fairly large pan, something like a non-stick griddle is best (I use a crepe pan)
a little bit of oil to grease the pan.

Method:

Mince the garlic cloves very finely, and slice the peppers into very thin rings. Beat all the ingredients together as you would for an omelette. I use this method for greasing the pan: dip a sort of balled-up paper towel into about a tablespoon of oil. Wipe the towel on the surface of the pan, which you should heat to medium/high level. When it's hot, spread a very thin layer of the mixture on the pan. When the egg is pretty set, roll the omelette. begin with the edge closest to you and roll it up like you would a rug. You'll end up with a log on the side of the pan away from you. Now, wipe the pan again with the towel, and spread another layer of egg mixture, keeping your log where it is. The new egg mixture will sort of flow under the log and stick to it. That's good. When the second layer is pretty set, roll the log towards you. The new layer will be incorporated, and you'll have a thicker log on the side of the pan closest to you. Repeat the process as many times as you can. You may have to alternate the heat between medium and medium/high to keep the omelette from burning. The recipe will give you about 6 to 7 layers. When you have the finished log, cut it into equal pieces. I like to do this by cutting the log in half, and then cutting each half in half, and so on, until I have 8 pieces about 1 inch in thickness.

Serving Suggestion and Notes: These are really pretty on a plate, I think they look like the rings in tree stumps, you know, the ones that tell you how old the tree is. You can serve them with stir fried veggies, cooked rice, or a simple clear soup. They have an interesting yet familiar taste, and I like to add the sliced hot pepper. It adds just the right amount of heat.

Mattar Palao: Rice with Peas

This is a very basic Indian recipe that you can serve on it's own or with curry or dhal.

Mattar Palao

Ingredients:

1.5 cup basmati rice
3 cups water
1/4 t salt
1/2 t cumin seeds
2 whole peppercorns
1 bay leaf
2 whole cloves
optional: 1 cardamom pod
1/2 c frozen peas
1 T oil

Method:

Wash the rice very thoroughly, until the water runs clear when you rinse it. Set it aside. Warm the oil on medium/high heat in a saucepan that you'll use to cook the rice. When it shimmers, fry the cumin seeds, but keep aside the clove, peppercorns, and if you're using it, the cardamom. Fry the cumin for about 30 seconds, you'll be able to smell them cooking and they may pop. Put the rice, water, salt and bay leaf and other spices into the pot. Set the heat to high, and let the water come to a boil. Once it boils, set the heat down a little so it's still boiling, but very gently. When almost all of the water has evaporated/absorbed, and small "holes" may appear in the pot of rice, stir in the peas, turn off the stove, and cover the pot for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes has passed, you should open the pot up and stir/fluff the rice with a fork. If the rice is still too wet, turn the heat back on to a low setting, stirring everything till it's not too wet anymore. Probably it'll be just right, though.

Serving Suggestion and Notes: This recipe can easily be expanded/scaled down. For basmati rice, the important ratio is 1 part rice to 2 parts water. You can add more spices to your taste or as needed. For a complete (and inexpensive) meal, I like to scramble some eggs and combine them with the cooked rice, especially the next day. You could also add cashews or some other nut. It's also good garnished with chopped cilantro and/or a squeeze of lemon. Serving this with plain dhal (recipe posted earlier, just leave out eggplant) makes it a bit more complete.

Cucumber and Cauliflower Salad

I made this for the first time a month or so ago, because we had a cauliflower head, and we always have cucumbers and onions. I read a recipe on some site, I think cooks.com, but I can't find it now. Anyway, this is only loosely based on that, so I hope I'm not stealing anyone's recipe without giving credit. :-)

Cucumber and Cauliflower Salad

Ingredients:

1/2 medium head of cauliflower
1/2 small onion
1/4 english cucumber

2 t salt plus extra to taste
2 t balsamic vinegar
black pepper to taste
1/2 c cream or sour cream
fresh dill

Method:

Cut the half head of cauliflower into 2 quarters, and then cut each quarter into half. So you'll have 4 equal sized wedges of cauliflower. Now slice the cauliflower as thinly as you can and put it into a salad bowl. Slice the onion into semi-rings as thinly as possible, and also cut the cucumber as thinly as possible. Add them to the bowl. Sprinkle some of the 2 t of salt, then mix the veggies, repeating this process until you've added the whole 2 t. Move the bowl to the refrigerator and let it sit for a 2-3 hours. When the time is up, rinse the vegetables and drain them really well. The salt will have softened the cauliflower. Now you can add the balsamic vinegar (you could use lemon juice if you don't have it), the cream, chopped fresh dill (about 2 T, or more if you like it) and pepper and extra salt to your tastes.

Serving Suggestion and Notes: The longest part of this is the waiting for the veggies to soften. I must emphasize that rinsing is important, otherwise the veggies will be very salty. I learned that the hard way. I like to eat this with one or two other salads (like the Simple Tomato Salad from yesterday) and a piece of baguette.

Simple Tomato Salad

This is one of my favorite salads. My boyfriend made it for me when we first started dating, and I was surprised by how delicious, yet simple, it is. In the summer when fresh tomatoes are at their peak, this salad is also inexpensive. Right now tomato prices are higher, and the tomatoes aren't as tasty, but it's still a nice recipe.

Such salads are traditional in many parts of Europe. This particular rendition is a common summer recipe in Russia and Ukraine. There are variations adding more stuff; mozzarella cheese, olive oil, garlic, cucumber, different herbs, apple ... but I prefer this most simple version.

Simple Tomato Salad

Ingredients:

3 medium sized tomatoes
1 small onion
1/2 c cream (we have creme fraiche easily available and inexpensive here in France, but you can also use sour cream. Some people use mayo. I think you could use thick Greek yogurt with excellent results.)
salt and pepper to taste

Method:

Dice the onion very fine and place them in your serving bowl. Chop the tomatoes and add them, making sure that you add the juice to the bowl too. Mix the cream into the mixture thoroughly.

Serving Suggestion and Notes: This salad is best eaten the same day, because fresh tomatoes change consistency dramatically if you refrigerate them (which you shouldn't do!). It is, however, tastiest not immediately after preparation, but after it sits for maybe 20-30 minutes. This allows it to come to room temperature (assuming your cream was cold), and the salt extracts juices from the vegetables. These juices combine with the cream to make a delicious sauce that you can dip nice bread into! In the summer, I think this is a perfect accompaniment to burgers. The rest of the year, I like to eat it for dinner or lunch with a few other salads. It's great for parties, too.