Finished a sweater... Well more like a sweater shrug thing...

This sweater is made out of garnstudio drops alpaca and it is knit with two strands held together. The design is a bit unusual, but unusual is good when it comes to creating a knitting creation!

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Banana Bread

My roommate had some super overripe bananas so I thought it was time to make banana bread. I had previously tried one from smitten kitchen and another one I am not quite sure about, maybe this one? But since they were 6, oh yes SIX, whole overripe bananas in my kitchen, it was time for a new recipe: Banana Sour Cream Bread. I made no modifications to this recipe. All I have to say is it made COPIUS amounts of batter and THREE loaves of 9x5 bread. Next time, I might try to make a crumble topping, add some nutmeg and ground cloves and possible reduce the amount of sugar. I used natural cane sugar instead of regular white sugar. Not sure there makes a huge difference. I am going to be eating banana bread for a long long time I guess! Banana bread is cooling now :)

indian cooking

I thought I would try my hand at Indian cooking since I am in fact Indian. I made Rajma and Aloo Gobi. Typically I am not the biggest fan of Aloo Gobi since to me, it is the most boring of the Indian dishes. But this time, I followed a recipe off of Smitten Kitchen, that involved baking the potatoes and cauliflower instead of pan-frying them and the result was most delicious! I like it better because the potatoes and cauliflower were crispy and and less soggy than with pan frying. These were the ingredients I used:

1 (1 3/4-lb) head cauliflower, cut into 3/4-inch-wide florets
1 1/4 lb Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch cubes
5 tablespoons canola oil
1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 medium onion, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1Tbsp minced peeled fresh ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
1/4 teaspoon turmeric
1/2 teaspoon cayenne
1/2 tsp garam masala
1/2 tsp mango powder
1/4 cup fresh cilantro

Put oven rack in upper third of oven and place a shallow baking pan on rack. Preheat oven to 475°F.

Toss cauliflower and potatoes together in a bowl with 3 tablespoons oil, cumin seeds, and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Spread in hot baking pan and roast, stirring occasionally, until cauliflower is tender and browned in spots and potatoes are just tender, about 25 minutes.

While vegetables are roasting, cook onion, garlic, and ginger in remaining 2 tablespoons oil in a 12-inch heavy skillet over moderate heat, stirring frequently, until very soft and beginning to turn golden, 8 to 10 minutes. Add ground cumin, coriander, turmeric, cayenne, and remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt and cook, stirring constantly, 2 minutes. Stir in roasted vegetables. Cook, covered, stirring occasionally, 5 minutes. Add the garam masala and mango powder last. (Add lemon juice? (optional)).

Garnish with fresh cilantro.

I also made rajma, another "meat and potatoes" Indian dish, but I love rajma! How can anyone dislike anything with beans? This might have turned out too spicy. I also took a recipe from Smitten Kitchen and modified the amount of spices. I might reduce the amount of cumin next time.

2 Tbsp canola oil
1 Tbsp fresh ginger, finely chopped
1 medium onion, finely chopped
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1/2 tsp garam masala

1 tsp mango powder

1/4 teaspoon ground tumeric
1/2 teaspoon cayenne
1 15 oz can of diced tomatoes and their juice
~30 oz dark red kidney beans
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro

Heat oil in a deep sauce pan over medium heat for one minute. Add ginger, garlic, onion and cook until onions become translucent. Add the tomatoes, salt and remaining spices and cook for an additional 2 minutes, stirring frequently. Add the kidney beans plus one additional cup of water. Bring it to a boil, then reduce to medium heat and let cook uncovered for 10 minutes. Add garam masala and mango powder at the last minute. Remove from heat. Add lemon juice if desired. Garnish with cilantro.

I have a lot leftover! Thank goodness for leftovers! As a kid I never liked leftovers, but now I love love them! Probably because it saves me time as I write my thesis.

Zester

I am loving my new microplane zester! I have to say it is officially the best thing ever. Can't wait to make more recipes that call for lemon, lime or orange zest!

Oven Roasted Potatoes!

Okay, maybe it is a boring thing to post about oven-roasted potatoes, but I made some and they were good! And I finished the last of my Boston Organics potatoes. The recipe called for a lot of spices, I did not have the basil or the dill weed so I left them out and did everything else the same, it was still good! I actually wonder if it would be too busy with the basil and the dill weed! So now I am down to one small head of broccoli, which I will use to make the Double Broccoli Quinoa again since I have a fair amount of pesto left, 2 carrots (which will be come Sweet Potato, Carrot, Apple and Red Lentil Soup, hope it's good!), mushrooms (thai green curry?), beets (side-dish?), and watermelon radishes (south indian sambar?). Hope I can finish all this food before it goes bad!

Double Broccoli Quinoa

Today I made the Double Broccoli Quinoa from 101 Cookbooks with the broccoli I got from Boston Organics. I was surprised at how delicious it was! It was SO GOOD! Luckily I have sauce leftover and some broccoli left over, so I will just steam some broccoli and make some more quinoa and voila! at least a few more meals... I will be making this recipe again for sure!