Sauteed Baby Kale for Lunch

Oh man, this was so good:

We had a surprising variety of fresh vegetables around, including a container of baby kale that I had found on manager's special and hadn't used soon enough to make a salad out of it.  Just a tiny bit wilty.

So, for lunch the other day, I caramelized half an onion, added a julienned carrot, half a sliced red pepper, some grape tomatoes, and garlic; I sauteed those for about a minute.  Then I added the kale and cooked for less than a minute.  Meanwhile, I cooked eggs (started in cold water, boiled 4 minutes....whites hard, yolks runny) and toasted some bagel pieces for croutons (we were out of bread).

SOOOOOOO good.  The bitterness of the kale with the sweetness of the peppers and the richness of the yolks......

Perspectives V and Mesir Wat Recipe

Ethiopian food for the fifth Perspectives meal.



 

 

Injera with Mesir Wat (lentil stew) and Spinach-Sweet Potato Wat...I should probably not mix languages so often in recipe titles.  I am assuming mesir might mean lentil, though in my mind it should refer to corn (Uzbek?  Turkish?)

The camera on my phone is clearly not the greatest...

Injera is a spongey, sourdough flatbread made of flour from a grain called teff.  I have expiremented a little with making injera, with no real luck as of yet, so I meanwhile continue to buy it from an Ethiopian store nearby http://www.yelp.com/biz/addisu-bakery-and-carryout-columbus.

The Mesir Wat recipe is also (based on the one) in the RIC cookbook http://www.yelp.com/biz/addisu-bakery-and-carryout-columbus.

MESIR WAT

• 3 onions, chopped
• 1/4 c. oil
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 T. ginger, peeled and minced
• 1 1/2 T. paprika
• 1/2 tsp. cumin
• 1/4 tsp. ground cloves
• 1/2 tsp. turmeric
• 1/4 tsp. black pepper
• 1/2-2 tsp. cayenne pepper, spice to taste
• 2 tomatoes, diced
• 3 c. water or vegetable broth, plus extra as needed
• 2 c. split red lentils, rinsed well
• salt to taste

In a large stock pot, heat oil and cook the onions on medium/medium-high heat for several minutes, stirring frequently, until they begin to soften and turn translucent.  Add the spices and allow the ingredients to simmer together for a few minutes.  Add the tomatoes, lentils, and water and bring to a boil.  Turn the heat to low-medium and simmer about 30 minutes or until lentils are completely tender.  Add more water as needed so that it does not dry out.  Salt to taste.  Should be like a medium stiff porridge.

Som Tam Recipe

Som Tam (Som Thaam, Som Taam, etc...) is a green papaya salad that I made for a Perspectives meal, and it is gooooood.

The recipe is (based on the one) in the RIC cookbook
http://rosedalemennonitemissions.org/w2/getInvolved/cookbook.html,
and was submitted by my 2011 intern, Samantha Yoder.



SOM THAAM

 

• 1/4 c. peanuts
• 1 T. oil
• 3 cloves garlic, crushed
• 1 lg. pepper, chopped
• 6 fresh green beans, cut into 1/2" lengths
• 1 sm. tomato, chopped
• 1 carrot, grated
• 1 green papaya, peeled, seeds removed, and shredded or julienned
• Juice from one lime
• 2 T. fish sauce
• 1 T. sugar

Fry peanuts in oil.  Cool.  Mix all remaining ingredients together and muddle, either with a mortar and pestle, or in a large bowl with a heavy spoon.  Mixture will be soft and juicy, but not completely smooth.

 

 

 

Since I made it for 40 people, I bought pre-julienned papaya from a Laotian store nearby.  The lady there saw all of the papaya I was buying (along with a 25-lbs. bag of sticky rice) and asked if I was making chicken wings to go with them.  Apparently in Laos, you eat chicken wings with sticky rice and som tam.  Sounds good to me!

Perspectives Meals

First of all, I'm not sure if I need an apostrophe in the title.  I think Perspectives is simply a proper noun in this case, and I can say Perspectives Meals like I can say RIC Meals.

 

If I had thought about this earlier, I would have taken pictures of all of the meals for the Perspectives participants....

 

A group of 65ish people attend a Perspectives class at the RIC every Tuesday evening (January-April) this year, and 35ish of them eat dinner beforehand.  I choose the menu based on what part of the world the speaker has been to.  Here are the weeks that have already passed:

 



 

 

Week I Menu (Turkey):

 

Guvech (baked stew of chicken, eggplant, zucchini, peppers, potatoes, and carrots, with lots of red pepper paste and garlic)

Rice Pilaf

Mediterranean-Style Salad (Romaine, tomatoes, cucumbers, and red onions, with olive oil, red wine vinegar, and oregano)

 

 

Week II Menu (Afghanistan):

Qabili Palau (rice pilaf with chicken, carrots, onions, and raisins--and cinnamon, coriander, cumin, all spice, and cloves)

Tomato-Cucumber-Radish Salad (with red onions, lime juice, and cilantro)

 

 

Week III Menu (Identifying with the Poor):

Black Beans

Steamed Rice

Bananas

 

 

Week IV Menu (Thailand):

 

Sticky Rice

Laab Turkey-Beef (ground meat with green onions, mint, cilantro, lime, and brown rice powder)

Som Tam (pounded green papaya, carrots, green beans, and peanuts with fish sauce, lime, and sugar)

 

 

 

 

 

Saturday Breakfast at Home



With our work schedules, Zach and I rarely get to sleep in and have breakfast together, much less on a Saturday. 

 

We had an abundance of sweet potatoes that needed to be used quickly (can anyone say "Aldi Dumpster?"), and avocados had been on sale at Meijer recently.

 

I took this picture partially because avocados always look cool, and partially to make Connie (a 2013 intern) jealous.

 

Menu:

Sweet Potato Hash with Caramalized Onions
Fried Eggs
Sliced Avocados
Whole Wheat Toast with Apple Butter
Coffee (probably)

New Year's Day Brunch with the Persons

The Persons stopped by our house for a night and a morning and rang in the new year with us.  The next morning, we made brunch.

 

 

 

Featuring the coconut syrup that my sister-in-law (Miranda) got me for Christmas

 

 

Menu:

 

French Toast

Pineapple-Ginger Syrup (we had nothing fresh in the house with which to make a fruit topping, so I used canned pineapple and FINALLY used my new microplane to grate in some ginger.  That thing was well worth the wait!!)

Coconut Syrup (really good mixed with the pineapple)

Bourbon-Vanilla Syrup (the basic homemade syrup with bourbon and vanilla in it instead of maple)

Ahmad Cardamom Black Tea

Some Random Fruit Tea


Here is a picture of Miranda in the Renaissance Festival costume that we sewed/made for her at the last minute in the fall sometime:

 

 

Note to self: dying synthetics with coffee is not the greatest idea you have ever had.

 

Turkish Meal with the Interns

Now I am going to start uploading pictures from my phone.

 

 

Remember these guys? 

 

2012 Interns, finally at our house during their last week of internship.  We had a Turkish feast, a "drinks tasting," made cranberry-popcorn chains, and decorated our Christmas tree.

 

 

 

Jess, Janae, DENISE!, Jared, Ryan, Megan, and Zach

 

 

Our menu was:

 

Turkish Tea (duh)

Manti (little meat dumpling things in garlic yogurt, drizzled with paprika-cumin oil)

Mercimekli Kofte (lentil....patties)

Kisir (Turkish version of tabouli, eaten out of little lettuce cups)

Haydari (my version this time: strained yogurt with dill, garlic, and toasted pine nuts)

Patlican Salatasi (my version this time: fried eggplant cubes, red peppers, garlic, parsley in a tomato-ey sauce)

 

 

Goodness, I can't even remember.  This was too long ago.  There may have been some sort of spinach-feta borek.  I would have made them (Megan loved them) unless something prevented it.  There also may have been hummus and/or baba ganoush.