Random Thoughts On Cooking, Bike Riding, and The Sacred Journey of Everyday Life
#479 (above)…a cardboard box containing 3 loaves of freshly baked chickpea turmeric bread, a camera bad containing an extra camera and two lenses, a canvas bag containing a few books and an electronic reader, and an empty dough rising bucket.
#480 (below)…six live herb plants, two meal moth traps (’tis the season), and 120lbs/54.5k of top soil/manure.
I haven’t posted this bread in a while, in fact I haven’t made it in a while, but here it is. Delicious and healthy, it is also easy to make. Like any of the Ezekiel Bread Recipes or other whole grain recipes, the chick peas basically dissolve (or get mashed) into the dough as it is kneaded. It offers a really interesting (light and fluffy) texture, and turmeric–besides adding color–is super good for you. Anyhow, the recipe is below. (This bread makes great toast for sandwiches, btw.)
4 cups whole wheat flour
Boil the beans in the water for 60-90 minutes, or until thoroughly cooked. As the bean cook add more water to the pot as necessary because the cooking liquid, which is full of nutrients, will become part of the recipe (keeping a lid on the pot will slow it’s evaporation). After the beans are cooked allow them to cool in the liquid to room temperature, refrigerating if necessary. After the grains are cooled drain them, squeezing them with your hands or the back of a spoon, reserving the cooking liquid. Mash the chickpeas a little with a kitchen mallet or a heavy whisk.
Turn the dough out onto a floured work surface and cut it into 2 or 3 pieces. Shape into loaves and place into lightly oiled pans. Loosely cover the loaves with plastic wrap and allow to ferment for 30-60 minutes, or until double in size and when gently touched with a fingertip an indentation remains.
Bake the breads for about 30-40 minutes, adding steam to the oven a few times (either with ice cubes or a spray bottle) and rotating the breads every ten minutes. The breads are done when they are dark brown and sound hollow when tapped upon. Remove the breads from their pans and allow them to cook on a wire rack for at least 10 minutes before slicing.
So this is pretty incredible. It makes me feel small. Three years of the sun in three minutes. It’s impressive to watch even for a minute or two. Sort of incomprehensible really (that this giant ball of gas and energy is what is keeping us not only in orbit but also from instantly freezing). We just take it for grated that it will be there in the morning when we wake up each morning.
Anyhow, I also wanted to mention that I will be away from my computer for a few days and will likely not post again until Monday or Tuesday of this week. Until then, peace.
The sun rises and the sun sets, an hurries back to where it rises.
Ecclesiastes 1:5
Well, this post should actually be titled “Things That Can be Pulled by a Bike” because nothing wa actually on the bike except me, everything was being pulled, and this is it…
About $40US in groceries, a gym bag full of wet clothes, three bottles of wine, and two slices of pizza.
Also, this past week marks one year of being entirely car-free 🙂 but more on this in a later post.
And lastly, don’t forget that May is National Bike Month and next week, May 8th, is National Bike To Work Day.
These photos are actually in reverse order…the below image was shot last evening on my way home and the above one on my way to work this morning. It just seemed more natural to have the day image above the evening one. Anyhow, beautiful, beautiful weather these last few days…perfect. And there is no other way I’d want to transport myself than on a bike or just using my own two feet. Just lovely.
I have a luncheon which I’ll be cooking and serving tomorrow and the guest requested either watercress or mache in their salad. When I called my produce purveyor they told me they had neither available but they did have a couple flats of beautiful microgreens, so I took them instead. When they arrived and I opened their cases I was immediately struck by their natural beauty so I snapped a few photos…they taste pretty good, too.
Okay…so a bit of clarification. This is not ice cream in the classic sense in that it does not contain cream, but it is without doubt delicious. And while it may only take you a couple minutes of prep time it will actually take longer than five minutes because it has to freeze. But, on the other hand, even a person the claims not to be able to cook can make this in the same amount of time as a pro. Now here’s the really special part…it really does only contain two ingredients: ripe bananas and strawberries. Yes, I was as dubious as you likely are now reading this, but it is really good (the key, no doubt, is to have ripe fruit for sweetness. I had heard of this before but came across it today at this post at TreeHugger. The recipe, while having just two ingredients, also employs only three simple steps: dice/slice the fruit, freeze it, and puree it. The resulting dessert tastes more like frozen yogurt or a smoothy than it does ices cream, but it really is delicious (and healthy, too!). Anyhow, below is the basic recipe.
Slice four ripe bananas and halve eight ripe strawberries. Lay the fruit in a single layer on a plate or small baking sheet and freeze the fruit. Depending on your freezer this can take up to an hour or longer. Transfer the fruit to a food processor and puree it until it is smooth and creamy. If it becomes warm and begins to melt (from being processed) return it to the freezer for a few minutes before serving.
There really is nothing more satisfying to me when I cook at home than being able to do it all in one pot or skillet. This (pictured) is something I made for my son and I for dinner this evening. And this post is really more about a method rather than it is an actual recipe. Because using this method–pan roasting–you can use nearly any food ad it will turn out delicious, trusting that you cook things in proper order. What I mean by this is placing the sturdier items in the pan first, and the lighter ones thereafter. And even more importantly do not pile things in the pan; one layer, maybe two, is about all you can afford if you want the food to caramelize (which translates to flavor). Other key steps are to have a heavy oven-proof skillet (I prefer cast-iron, as I do with most cooking these days), and to have the oven preheated to about 400F. If you’d like to learn a bit more about roasting, here’s a link to an article I wrote some time ago. Anyhow, here’s how I made this recipe.
I first marinated a pound of boneless, skinless chicken thighs in a couple tablespoons of Lebanese seven spice mix and a pinch of salt. While the chicken was marinating and the oven was preheating, I peeled sliced/diced the rest of the ingredients. In addition to the chicken I also used golden beets, asparagus, a potato, onion, and whole garlic cloves. When the oven was hot I heated a large cast iron skillet over medium-high heat with a few tablespoons of olive oil. When the oil was hot I added the chicken first and browned it on one side. After turning the chicken over I pushed it to one side of the pan and placed the beets, potato, onion, and garlic in the available space. The I placed the asparagus and sliced orange on top (the image below is the recipe just prior to going in the oven). After a small sprinkling of salt and pepper over everything, I placed the pan in the preheated oven. After about ten minutes I looked in on it and it looked fine but wasn’t done yet, so I cooked it for another ten minutes. At this point everything was thoroughly cooked and caramelized. Intensely flavored and cooking in their own juices, this recipe was so delicious a sauce was not necessary.
No, I am not referring to the internet game, Angry Birds. And I don’t know if this bird is actually angry at me, though it does look like it in the bottom two photos. But I do know that it is a proven fact the birds can remember you. These photos are in the succession they were shot. I saw the bird foraging for food as I walked to work yesterday and it was close enough that I thought I’d take a few photos. It acknowledged me straight away, and after a minute or so it turned to me as if to say, “will you get that camera out of my face.” Anyhow, whatever its little birdbrain was thinking, I put my camera back in its bag and kept walking.
“Keep your face always toward the sunshine – and shadows will fall behind you.”
“Be curious, not judgmental.”
“Whatever satisfies the soul is truth.”
“Peace is always beautiful.”
“In the faces of men and women, I see God.”
Okay, a few more…
“These are the days that must happen to you.”
“I exist as I am, that is enough.”
“To me, every hour of the day and night is an unspeakably perfect miracle.”
More in the Five Quotes series.
So of course I always say how easy and delicious the recipes that I post are (at least most of them) but this time I really mean it. This is a play on the classic shawarma chick (or beef or lamb) that you find at any Middle Eastern or Turkish restaurant. It is basically chicken marinated in spices and yogurt and then grilled (or roast). And geeze o’ man is it delicious. Classically it is sliced thin and eaten in a pita with tahini dressing, but today I diced it and ate it on a Greek salad with feta and vinaigrette (yum!). Anyhow, the really easy recipe is below.
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Okay, so maybe this will take more than five minutes, but not more than ten. And while I made this with cauliflower this could easily be adapted to other vegetables as well. The key factors are onion, garlic, spices, and caramelizing the vegetable. It is really easy, and this is how I made it.
Slice as much cauliflower as you’ll eat about 1/4″ thick. Heat a heavy skillet over medium heat with a few tablespoons oil (I used olive oil). When the pan is hot but not smoking, add the cauliflower in a single layer; it should begin to sizzle a bit when it hits the pan; if it seems too hot reduce the heat. While the cauliflower is cooking, slice a small onion. Turn the cauliflower over (it should be browned on one side) and sprinkle the onion in the pan. As the cauliflower and onion cooks, mince a clove or two of garlic and add it to the pan with a teaspoon or two of curry (or whatever spices you like) along with a pinch of kosher salt. Shake the pan to toss everything in the spices and garlic, allow it to cook for another minute, then shake the pan again. Cut a lemon in half and squeeze its juice over the cauliflower and shake the pan again. Transfer everything to a plate and eat it as a healthy snack, a component to a salad, or as a side dish (I ate it as a side to Lebanese-style lamb and brown rice; click here for recipes). The cauliflower is delicious hot, at room temperature, or chilled.
Okay, so maybe this will take more than five minutes, but not more than ten. And while I made this with cauliflower this could easily be adapted to other vegetables as well. The key factors are onion, garlic, spices, and caramelizing the vegetable. It is really easy, and this is how I made it.
Slice as much cauliflower as you’ll eat about 1/4″ thick. Heat a heavy skillet over medium heat with a few tablespoons oil (I used olive oil). When the pan is hot but not smoking, add the cauliflower in a single layer; it should begin to sizzle a bit when it hits the pan; if it seems too hot reduce the heat. While the cauliflower is cooking, slice a small onion. Turn the cauliflower over (it should be browned on one side) and sprinkle the onion in the pan. As the cauliflower and onion cooks, mince a clove or two of garlic and add it to the pan with a teaspoon or two of curry (or whatever spices you like) along with a pinch of kosher salt. Shake the pan to toss everything in the spices and garlic, allow it to cook for another minute, then shake the pan again. Cut a lemon in half and squeeze its juice over the cauliflower and shake the pan again. Transfer everything to a plate and eat it as a healthy snack, a component to a salad, or as a side dish (I ate it as a side to Lebanese-style lamb and brown rice; click here for recipes). The cauliflower is delicious hot, at room temperature, or chilled.
Everything needed to do a cooking/bread making class (this is actually the return trip from this post).
Urban Simplicty