Easy Indian Veggie Curry

Cooking can be a release, a much-needed break from studying or a pleasurable unwinding activity after a long day at work, but it can also be stressful, straining, and annoying when you're hungry/not sure what you're doing/exhausted/the take-out place is right down the block. Such was my week - parental units out of town and studying for a pesky physics exam (tonight), I remembered what it was like not to cook out of merely pleasure (as I have had the awesome opportunity to do recently), but out of necessity. With a hankering for Indian spices and lack of a good, quick and healthy (read: not butter chicken) place nearby (or at least that I know of nearby - I love the places up on Jean Talon but it's much to far of a trek for a quick dinner on a Tuesday night), I decided to trust my internal judgement and go for it on my own, without recipe. What materialized may or may not be true Indian cuisine, but it successfully hit the spot for a hearty-yet-light, warm, easy weeknight dinner, with just enough leftovers to tide me to the next day, but not so much as to overwhelm me. Give it a try, and as always, play around! This would be great with different types of veggies and legumes (as I mention below in the recipe), with a bit of cream or yogurt stirred in at the last minute (if you crave a creamier dish) and served atop rice, quinoa, couscous, or barley. 

Easy Indian Veggie Curry

Ingredients

Olive oil

1 medium onion

3 cloves garlic

1-2 teaspoons fresh chopped ginger

Saffron ** very optional**

1 small-medium eggplant, cut into quarters lengthwise and into 12-1 inch chunks

1 zucchini

1 turnip (optional)

Cumin (essential!)

Hot curry powder, or other spicy powder

Ground coriander (optional)

Cinnamon (optional)

1/2 - 1 cup white wine (optional, but highly recommended)

Canned whole or stewed tomatoes, or 2 large fresh tomatoes in chunks

any other quick-cooking veggies you like! I used cabbage shavings, but feel free to substitute green beans, broccoli, cauliflower, kale, spinach, chickpeas, beans etc.

Water, chicken stock or veggie stock if necessary

Salt and pepper

Chopped cilantro or parsley as garnish

Serve atop quinoa, brown or white rice, couscous, barley, or potatoes!

Directions

Smash garlic with the side of a big knife (using your palm - see photo), remove skin, and chop finely. Cut onion in chunks. Heat oil in a pan slightly and add garlic, onions and ginger (and saffron is using, but very optional! It's $$ and I have leftover from Zanzibar), stirring every so often (lower heat if getting burned/too brown!), about 5-7 minutes. 

Smashing the garlic: Hit the flat side of a big knife with the palm of your hand to crush the garlic, but careful not to cut your fingers!

Some prepped veggies

Softened onions, garlic, ginger and saffron

Add eggplant to pan. Add a touch more oil if the eggplant seems dry. Cook over medium-low heat about 5 minutes until browned. Move eggplant around every couple of minutes but DO NOT stir constantly - the dish will turn into baby mush!

Eggplant addition

Add zucchini, turnip (if using) and about 1 teaspoon cumin, 1/2 teaspoon curry powder, 1/2 teaspoon coriander, 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon, and salt and pepper to taste. Cook over medium heat, about 4 minutes, until slightly browned. The pan should be hot and seem a bit dry. Add 1/2 cup of white wine (or water/chicken stock/veggie stock, if not using white wine), deglaze (aka: scrape) bottom of the pan, lower heat slightly and cover, cooking about 5 minutes.

Turnips - some of the last veggies remaining from my dad's garden (remaining in our fridge, I mean!)

With turnips and zucchini

Spices added

Add tomatoes (squish them though your fingers if they are whole!), anywhere from 1/2 a container to a whole container, depending on your tomato preferences. Stir, and again, cover at a medium low heat, checking and stirring periodically, adding water or stock if it seems dry - there should be some thickening liquid at the bottom - about 10 minutes or until all veggies are soft (pierce with a knife to determine!).

Adding tomatoes (canned or fresh will work!)

Squish them through your fingers - the best part!

Let simmer, covered or not, until soft and the liquid has thickened

At this point I like to taste it and I usually add about 1 more teaspoon of cumin (I love the stuff), some more hot curry powder and salt. Stir to combine. Add any other veggies you're using (quick-cooking ones - see above!), stir, and cover until soft, about 5 minutes. If there is too much liquid, cook it off with the cover removed. Not enough liquid while you're cooking the soft veggies? Add a bit more!

Another remaining veggie from Robin's garden

Soft-veggie addition (cabbage, in my case)

Sprinkle with chopped cilantro and/or parsley and serve!

Ta-daaaaa!

Note: I had leftover chicken, so I sprinkled that on top, but I would highly recommend adding beans or chickpeas at the last step (soft-veggie addition) to ensure a bit of protein in the dish!

Eat with love, while Skyping with a BFF in Australia (hi Ali!)

With fall comes comfort food; short ribs are a must

Saturday night (or early Sunday morning) we 'fall back' an hour. In exchange for the extra 60 minutes of sleep that I gain, is fewer hours of daylight, heightened pallor, minimized vitamin D, and potential seasonal acute depression (SAD). While some girls might cure these symptoms with a visit to the tanning bed, I have a feeling Dr. Robin might not approve (even if I DID wear the SPF 100 that I have seen time and time again in our closets). Instead, I'll make do with a little comfort food - short ribs! I decided to wait before including osso bucco...the marrow that's an essential element of osso bucco freaks some people out - but short ribs hit the comfort-food-spot, and best of all? They're still great after cooling/reheating or freezing! To be honest, I'm not sure about the exact science behind it, but I'm pretty sure I has something to do with the amount of collagen present and breaking down certain connective tissues, resulting in a more tender, falling-apart piece of meat. You can sop up the remains with many a starch: couscous, mashed potatoes or pasta do the trick, but my fav is barley, which combines with short ribs to form a hearty and healthy stew. There are a plethora of short ribs recipes, but the true secret is solely to give them enough time braising in the oven with enough liquid to absorb it all and  slowly disintegrate into a lovely, tender mixture. On top of the addition of salt (and maybe a little balsamic??) at some point, I suggest serving most short ribs with a touch of dijon mustard on the side... never an insult to the chef, but the addition of a little cold tang to some hot stew makes all the texture and flavour difference in the world. Enjoy!

Here's a slideshow of 12 yummy-looking recipes, most of which have my vote. Feast away! http://www.bonappetit.com/recipes/slideshows/2009/10/short_ribs_slideshow

SUPER simple, but you need many hours (5-8, but it can be divided e.g. turn it on for 3 hrs in the morning, 3 hrs in the evening): http://www.bonappetit.com/recipes/2008/10/braised_short_ribs

Just as easy and much shorter cooking time. They suggest marinating the short ribs overnight which surely does wonders, but I bet you could even do it for just a few hours before cooking: http://www.bonappetit.com/recipes/2007/10/cabernet_braised_short_ribs_with_gorgonzola_polenta_and_mixed_herb_gremolata

And last but not least: http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Braised-Beef-Short-Ribs-with-Root-Vegetable-Ragout-100597

Again, I tried to stick to the more simple, non-scary ones, but feel free to peruse websites for a few more additions! And I always like adding a little mushrooms to the sauce as it's braising in the oven. 

Butternut Squash and caramelized leek soup

Butternut squash soup is the ultimate comfort food. And why not? It's scrumptious, easy to make, deceptively impressive and wholeheartedly satisfying - all while ensuring your daily dose of vitamin C, what more can you ask for as winter gallops closer? Butternut squash soup is a little overdone, I'll admit, but this slight spin on an old classic revamps it and adds a certain je ne sais quoi that's enough to cause me to fall in love all over again. Simple leeks do the trick. My friend Anais is a butternut squash aficionado and even she conceded that this one was a keeper. Try this and I promise, your appreciation for butternut squash will never be the same again...

Butternut Squash and Caramelized Leek Soup

• 1 medium/large butternut squash
• 1 medium onion
• 4-6 cloves of garlic
• 2-4 tbs olive oil
• a few sprigs of thyme or rosemary
• 4 leeks
• approx 2 cups white wine
• approx 4 cups chicken or vegetable stock
• salt
• pepper
• Tabasco
• nutmeg

Preheat oven to 375-400 degrees F. Cut off stem and base of squash and halve squash lengthwise (careful not to cut yourself! It slips...). Scoop out seeds.

Peel and halve onion, crush garlic and peel. Place on baking pan and rub inner flesh of squash with 1-2 tbs olive oil, some salt and pepper, and remove thyme or rosemary leaves from sprigs and sprinkle over inside of squash. Place half of onion and a few cloves of garlic in each inner bulb (where the seeds were), turn squash over, and bake 45-60 minutes or until very soft when pierced with a knife.

Cut off the stem 

Cut it down the centre (as evenly as possible) - Sometimes I give it a nice THWACK! against the counter to make it easier, careful not to cut yourself!

Scoop out seeds/guts

Halved onion and coarsely chopped garlic

Butternut squash with onion, garlic, oil, lemon thyme, salt and pepper (flip them to be cut-side-cown while baking)

While squash is baking, cut white and light green portions of leeks in 3-4 mm disks. Heat 1-2 tbs of olive oil in a pot and add leeks, cooking until browned (keep at a lowish heat to caramelize!). Add about 1/3 cup of white wine after about 7 minutes, scraping up brown bits, and allow leeks to cook at low heat for several more minutes until soft and fragrant.

Leeks - use white and very light green portions

Cook leeks and olive oil over medium or medium-low heat until caramelized and soft

Deglaze pan with white wine and cook down

 Scoop out squash, garlic and onions adding to pot. Add about 1 cup of stock, and puree in food processor in batches, or with handheld mixer in pot until smooth (if using handheld mixer, you might need to add a bit more stock).

Scoop out soft squash, onions and garlic

Scooped goods back in pot 

Return soup to pot. Add remaining 3 cups of stock, about 1-1 1/2 cups of wine, a splash of Tabasco and about 1/4 -1/2 tsp of nutmeg. Stir, and let cook until alcohol evaporates and soup is warmed through, about 10 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Pureed soup returned to pot. Adding the good stuff (wine!)

Of course, SALT!

 Garnish with chopped parsley or cilantro. Serve! Always delish with a fresh baguette and stinky Quebecois or French cheeses.

Finished product with a garnish of parsley

Spiced chickpea nibbles

Perhaps I'm on a new-snack-recipe kick, but the kale chips prompted me to do a little more fun-and-easy snack searching. My friends and I were going to the 10 PM special at Lemeac - a fantastic deal for anyone who hasn't yet discovered it (and one of my favourite restaurants in Montreal, deal or not, but I'll leave the review to Val's Bits and Bites) so I wanted to serve little munchies that go well with drinks, but nothing to take the place of the tantalizing tartares, soups, short ribs, and calamari to come. Kale chips were a go-to, especially since they were already on my mind, but what other deceivingly easy snacks could I come up with? Spiced chickpeas! Healthy (they're baked) and sassy (spices lend the usually-boring chickpea some zest), they're perfect pre-dinner nibbles.

Spiced Chickpeas

1 15 oz can of chickpeas

1-2 tablespoons olive oil

a total of about 3-4 teaspoons of mixed spices of your choice, but here is my suggestion:

2 teaspoons ground cumin

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

1/4 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper (or less, for those who don't love spice)

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon salt, or to taste

Many spices! I didn't actually land up using them all

Preheat oven to 375 F. Drain chickpeas and rinse with cold water until there is no more foam. Place on paper towel and gently roll to dry with another paper towel.

Mix spices together in a small bowl (I skipped this step, but it's a good idea to ensure even distribution of spices over the chickpeas). Toss chickpeas with olive oil and spice mix. Spread in a single layer on baking sheet and bake for 40-50 minutes or until they are slightly browned, a touch crunchy, but not as hard as little pebbles! Serve warm or cooled.

Rolling chickpeas to dry

Spice mix, olive oil, and chickpeas

Toss to mix

Roasted chickpeas

A simple, easy, and yummy little amuse bouche!

Kale-i-fy your life

In no way do I mean do be condescending by starting off with relatively simple recipes but a) I'm studying for a physics midterm which kind of makes me want to bang my head against the wall and cry, b) I want to use the tail-end of summer's bounty before it disappears in the Houdini-esque manner that defines fall, and c) these babies are good! Plus, unless you're actively trying to find ways to burn your money, there's no reason to pay upwards of $5 a box for a pathetic amount of kale chips anyways (and we both know that when you do that, essentially you're paying for the plastic box they come in). So, kale chips! Perfect for snacking on with wine, a healthy fun-to-eat snack, and good nibbles while you're studying, in the kitchen, on long drives, or anywhere else where your adventures take you.

Kale Chips

- Kale (a bunch! However much you want)

- a few tablespoons of olive oil

- seasonings (salt, lemon or lime juice, lemon salt, garlic salt, chili powder, sugar...)

Preheat oven to 375ᶱF. Wash kale and pat dry (or spin, if you have a salad spinner). De-stem kale leaves by cutting out the thick, fibrous backbone. 

Washing and spinning kale

Cutting out stem (you would have a second hand there to help you cut, but alas, I needed to take a picture!)

Kale once de-stemmed

Wet hands with olive oil and moisten each individual leaf with oil. Note: do not cut corners and douse the leaves in olive oil – they will burn in the oven at this high a temperature! 

Kale leaves in olive oil

Moistened leaf, not too oily!

Place leaves in a single layer on a baking sheet. Do not over-pack or they won't crisp properly.

Season as desired! I like a hefty amount of salt (surprise, surprise), and a squeeze of lemon is good too. One of my good friends likes the mix of sweet and salty – a touch of sugar and a bit of salt. A smidgen of chili powder is always good with salt too...feel free to mix and match! Bake for about 10 minutes or until leaves are crisp, but not brown/burnt (keep an eye on it, everyone's oven is different). Remove from oven. Let cool slightly and arrange leaves in glass.

I went upstairs and my leaves are a little on the crispy side!

Yummmm! Perfect decorative munchies.