Hey there! Hope you had a great Monday – I’m sad to see the weekend fly by so fast, but oh well. I’m also a little behind on posting my daily eats and events…but here’s a recap of some of the items I made this weekend.
Most of this weekend’s meal could be summed up as multicultural – we spiced it up a bit.
SATURDAY:
This past Saturday the hubby and I had some things to take care of like going to an open house for The Art Institute of Atlanta’s culinary program and going to the dentist for an annual cleaning and check-up. Fun fun – well the dentist really isn’t ever that fun, but the open house was great. I’m trying to make some plans and the hubby and I are in the research phase of some things.
Good news is that I got to bust out my new cookbook – The Gourmet Cookbook I got in the mail last week. I tried my hand at making an Indian inspired dish as my first recipe out of here – Red Lentil and Tofu Dal – so yummy! I picked up a container of red lentils at the Farmer’s Market last week and was jumping at the chance to use them. Glad the weather is starting (although a little slower than I’d like) to change. You can tell in the mornings and at night – the days are still pretty warm, but we can have the windows opened at night and it’s cool. It’s been almost 3 years since we’ve seen the seasons change – Florida is just the same most of the year. The plan was to make this dish and serve over rice.
Excited to use this bad boy
I actually only had Sushi rice on hand so, I went ahead and got that started cooking…
Rice + a pat of butter
Then I got to work on the main dish.
Ingredients:
- 1/2 lbs tofu
- onion, diced
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- olive oil
- ginger – I only had the powdered kind
- cumin seeds – I only had the powder
- garam masala
- cayenne
- red lentils – 1/2 cup
I didn’t really measure, I just threw in a little here and there and just tasted it along the way until it was how I thought it should taste
Next, I opened up the tofu and wrapped it up in a towel and set a heavy object on top to press out some of the water.
I only used 1/2 of this
Next, I started to sauté the onion and garlic.
Onion + Garlic
Sauteeing onions + garlic
I measured out the lentils – rinse and pick out any bad ones.
Picked over + Rinsed
Here are the onions after they’ve been cooking a bit – should get soft and translucent.
Added the other spices to the mix
I let the tofu sit for about 20 mins to press out as much liquid as possible and then I cut the block into cubes.
After being pressed, then cubed
Then I added the lentils to the pot.
Stirring in the red lentils
Then I poured in 3.5 cups of water
Adding water
I brought the mixture to a boil and then simmered it for about 20 mins.
Simmering
Then added the tofu to the pot.
Tofu Added in
While the tofu simmered for about 5 mins, I chopped up fresh cilantro to add to the finished product.
Fresh Cilantro makes any dish better
Ta-da…the final dish – served over Sushi rice – what a combo, it actually worked quite well.
Finished Dal served over rice
I really would’ve loved some Naan to go with this. I think I’m going to pick some up at the Farmer’s Market this week.
While enjoying our Indian dinner, we watched one of my favorite Indian Movies – Netflix finally had it available!! Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham – which translates to Sometimes Happiness, Sometimes Sadness. I just love this film and haven’t seen it in years. The hubby was also a very good sport and agreed to watch it with me…eventhough it’s 3 1/2 hours long – they even put in an Intermission spot in the movie – funny. It was a good time.
SUNDAY:
I felt like making another soup/stew type of dinner for us – I’m really trying to bring in the fall season around here – can you tell?! But I love soups/stews, so comforting and hearty. They make a lot and they fill your tummy up.
Moroccan Chickpea Stew – this recipe is from a Cooking Light magazine I have – I have made this dish a million times and each time I do, it’s different
Ingredients:
- diced onion
- diced carrot
- 1 diced Anaheim chili – or you could use a jalapeño
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- 1-15.5 oz can of chickpeas
- 1-28 oz can of tomatoes
- 1-14oz can of chicken broth – I used plain water
- 1 potato – I like using sweet potatoes
- olive oil
- ground cumin
- chili powder
- turmeric
- salt and pepper
Basically, I sauté all of the veggies together until they become soft and then I add in the water/broth, tomatoes, chickpeas, tomatoes and spices and bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer until everything is done – about 25-30 mins. I topped it off with green onion, cilantro and avocado – so fresh and delicious with these!
Moroccan Chickpea Stew
I did manage to get at least on workout in over the weekend!
Workout:
- 10 min warm-up, walking on treadmill
- 3 miles – 31 mins
- 9 min cool down, walking on treadmill
I know this is a short post, but I’m so tired today that I’ve got to get some sleep! But before I go, here’s my FAVORITE song from the Indian Movie – this song is amazing, even if you don’t know the words (like me), but it’s so beautiful. Suraj Hua Mddaham from the Kahbi Khushi Kahbie Gham Soundtrack. The music was composed by Sandesh Shadilva with lyrics authored by Anil Pandey. It is sung by Alka Yagnik and Sonu Nigam.
Night y’all!!
