Portabella Mushroom and Radish Greens Curry

Now that winter is here and there's not enough sunlight, I miss the fresh herbs and baby greens from my garden. I particularly miss tender fenugreek leaves and young mustard greens, which I incorporate in my cooking as much for their healthful properties as their fresh crisp taste.

To remind me of the joys of fenugreek leaves, I decided to include a picture here taken over summer in my garden.

Fresh Fenugreek leaves from summer garden

In summer, I make this mushroom curry on and off with different varieties of mushrooms and greens -- the most common version is with with white button mushrooms and fenugreek leaves. Portabella being my favorite, I use it more often than other kinds. Stuffed Portabella makes a fantastic meal on its own, and especially when paired with my favorite arugula-and-pear salad, it feels like a feast.

This time, I went with Portabella mushrooms and radish greens. Now, radish is another favorite in my home garden – mainly, I must admit, for its gorgeous lilac flowers when it goes to seed and particularly the edible radish seed pods! We did the seed-saving and planting for a couple of years and then I got lazy... Maybe next year I get to do it again.

This is a simple curry, Indian-style: Saute and simmer, that's it.


Ingredients
1 cup radish greens, coarsely chopped with stems and all
1 Portabella mushroom, diced
½ large purple onion, diced
1 large tomato, diced
6 cloves of garlic, crushed or minced
½ tsp turmeric powder
1 Tbsp coriander powder
1 tsp cumin powder
1 Tbsp dark brown sugar
1 Tbsp coconut oil (or vegetable oil)
½ cup plain non-fat Greek yogurt
salt to taste

Preparation

1. Marinate the Portabella mushroom in yogurt mixed with turmeric powder, keep it aside while assembling the rest of the ingredients
2. Heat the oil in a pan, add the onions, garlic, tomatoes, a pinch of salt, and saute
3. Add the radish greens and marinated mushrooms, spices and seasoning, a splash of water, cover and simmer on low heat till mushrooms are cooked through and the flavors meld
4. Serve warm with naan or roti, or even cooked millet or cous cous.

Herb-Walnut Encrusted Wild Alaskan Ling Cod with Kale Pesto

Ling cod is mild and buttery, perfect for fish-and-chips or broiling with a crusty topping. We had a hunk of it caught in Alaska by the other adult last summer that I wanted to use up.

Herb-Walnut crust that crisps under the broiler, with a layer of Parmesan cheese forming a crunchy topping, seemed like the way to go. Typically, butter is used for the crust, but I went with olive oil in this recipe.

Paired with Kale Pesto made with sunflower seeds and sesame seeds, this was a nutty, seedy treat one winter night.

I did leave the fish a tad longer in the broiler than I intended... that seems to happen a lot when I ignore the oven timer and focus on something the kids have drawn me into... but, it was still all good. It helps to keep an eye and check often when broiling.


Kale Pesto:
1½ cups chopped kale
½ cup roasted salted sunflower seeds
¼ cup toasted sesame seeds
6 Tbsp olive oil
2 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
1 Tbsp lemon juice
2 cloves of garlic
salt to taste

Pulse the ingredients till desired coarseness/smoothness for the pesto.

Herb-Walnut Crusting:
½ cup chopped walnuts
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 Tbsp fresh chopped basil or freeze dried basil
2 cloves of garlic
salt and pepper to taste


Ling cod cut into portioned chunks
1 Tbsp vegetable or olive oil (or any oil)
1 tsp smoked paprika (optional)
3 to 4 Tbsp Parmesan cheese,grated, to use as topping

Preparation

1. Start the Crisp Julienned Veggie Salad as below, and allow it to marinate while the fish is getting ready
2. Pulse the Herb-Walnut crust ingredients and keep handy
3. Preheat the oven to Broil at about 370 °F
4. Rub the fish with some salt and smoked paprika, if using
5. Heat the oil in a cast iron skillet, place the fish gently, allow to brown a bit, then flip and brown the other side, on medium low heat, till mostly cooked through on the inside
6. Turn off the stove, apply a layer of the Herb-Walnut crust on the fish and place the skillet with the fish under the broiler and cook for about 8 to 10 minutes till the crust turns brown and crunchy
7. Sprinkle a layer of grated Parmesan and continue to broil for a few minutes more till crisp on top
8. Remove from the oven, serve on a bed of Kale Pesto, accompanied by Crisp Julienned Veggies salad.

Crisp Julienned Veggie Salad:
Julienne some beets, colorful bell peppers, yellow sumer squash, purple onions, carrots, ginger
Toss with some lemon juice, salt, and apple cider vinegar
Serve as a side salad to add a cleansing freshness to the palate

Chicken with Black Peppercorn, Nigella Seeds, Black Sesame Seeds, Dried Basil and Fenugreek Leaves

Panch Phoron spices -- a combination of five ("panch") ingredients - is a spice mix quite standard and much relished in many northern and eastern parts of India. I was introduced to it by one of my room-mates whose family was from West Bengal, and she used to cook some wonderful fish, which I never got to relish as I was practising being vegan in those days...

Anyway, this time, I went with the combination of a different set of five unique ingredients for the spice mix -- black peppercorns, dried fenugreek leaves ("methi"), freeze-dried basil leaves, black sesame seeds, and nigella seeds. The freeze-dried basil rehydrates with a burst of freshness that the dehydrated basil lacks.

Lightly toast the seeds and peppercorns, add in the dried fenugreek and basil leaves and grind to a fine powder. When stored in an air-tight container, this spice mix will keep well for a week or so, and in the fridge it will last a month at least. But, I prefer fresh ground when I want to use it.

Rub an organic free-range chicken breast with tamarind and salt and allow to marinate while the spice mix is getting ready. Cut into chunks when ready to cook.

Ingredients
Black peppercorn Sesame seeds Nigella Fenugreek Basil Spice Mix:
3 Tbsp dried fenugreek leaves
3 Tbsp freeze-dried basil leaves
2 Tbsp black peppercorns
1 Tbsp nigella seeds
1 Tbsp black sesame seeds
1 tsp turmeric powder

2 small boneless skinless chicken breasts
2 Tbsp tamarind concentrate
salt to taste

2 Tbsp coconut oil (or vegetable oil)

Preparation

1. Rub the chicken with salt and tamarind and allow to marinate while the spice mix is getting ready
2. Toast the sesame seeds, nigella seeds and peppercorns, add in the dried fenugreek and basil leaves and grind to a fine powder
3. Heat the oil in a pan, add the marinated chicken and turn it around to coat evenly with oil, allow to cook for a few minutes on each side
4. Add in the spice mix powder stir well, add a splash of water, cover and cook over medium low heat till chicken is cooked through
5. Garnish with thinly sliced bell peppers and onions tossed in lemon juice for a bit of sparkle and balance, serve with a side of quinoa or millet or wild rice or even just simple roti or naan.

Roasted Kale and Colorful Bell Peppers Warm Salad

It almost feels wrong to enjoy colorful mini bell peppers around this time of the year, with snow all around, and my garden totally dead... but, I couldn't resist picking up a bag at the grocery store.

This is a simple recipe, almost didn't want to post it, but, it was so filling and hearty and perfect for the awfully cold weather here that I thought why not...

Toss rainbow kale, bell peppers, and onions, with olive oil, some salt, and a splash of apple cider vinegar, spread it evenly in a roasting pan and bake in a 450 °F oven for about 15-20 minutes, checking partway to make sure kale is not withering away, but a nice bit of crunch would be fine.

Topped with some hemp hearts, this warm salad seemed like a perfect meal for a cold snowy day a while back.

Apricot Cheesecake

This Apricot Cheesecake was a holiday dessert, requested by the kids. The recipe is nothing original, just a remake of this popular one, with minor adjustments to suit our tastes.

It's a simple Graham cracker crust, with sour cream topping, infused with apricot jam/pulp. However, the repetition of the apricot motif makes it burst with flavor: the cream cheese gets a generous swirl of pulpy apricot cooked in wine, and an apricot rose sits on top invitingly.

Minor differences: I used Splenda™ instead of sugar; cooked the dried apricots in white wine and pureed to get the pulp for swirling into the cream cheese as well as the sour cream topping.

This cheesecake froze well. I insisted on putting away half of it in the freezer to be enjoyed at another time. Simply thaw in the fridge overnight.

Spicy Bitter Melon Curry with Fenugreek and Szechuan Peppercorns

Indian Bitter gourd and Chinese Bitter melon are oft-relished veggies at home. Having offered it to kids since they were little, both seem to like bitter gourd and bitter melon, especially as chips. Healthful properties of this supremely bitter vegetable is no secret in India, where many regional recipes showcase this green beauty.

This time, the flavors come from toasted Szechuan peppercorns and fenugreek seeds, along with other curry staples. After toasting the peppercorns, put it through a sieve to remove the husks before using.

Health benefits of fenugreek is also quite well-accepted in India, where the cuisine naturally incorporates it in many everyday dishes. Just ½ tsp of fenugreek seeds, soaked overnight, drained and rinsed in the morning and eaten on an empty stomach is a habit I had going for a while, and still do on and off but not as regularly as I'd like, being too forgetful with old age and all.

Served with a side of pearl millet, this is a hearty weekend brunch.

Ingredients
1 Thinly sliced red onions
2 medium bitter melon, cleaned and sliced
1 Tbsp brown sugar
1 Tbsp sesame oil
1 tsp turmeric powder
salt to taste
cilantro for garnish

Spice Mix:
1 Tbsp Szechuan Peppercorns, toasted
1 tsp Fenugreek seeds, toasted

Masala paste/gravy:
2 Tbsp Tamarind
1 Tomato, chopped
1 cup diced yellow or red onions
6 cloves of garlic
1 Tbsp fresh grated ginger

Preparation

1. Soak the sliced bitter melon in salted water and let it sit while preparing the spices
2. Masala paste: Grind up the paste and keep handy
3. Spice mix: toast the peppercorns and fenugreek seeds, put it through a spice grinder and sift to remove the shell-like husks
4. Heat the oil in a pan and sauté the sliced onions with a pinch of salt and turmeric powder
5. Add in the masala paste and saute some more till the rawness of onions mellows down; then stir in the spice mix powder and sauté some more
6. Drain the bitter melon, rinse well, pat dry, and add it to the pan, stir in enough water to make a gravy, cover and simmer on medium low heat till bitter melon is cooked through
7. Adjust salt to taste, garnish with cilantro and serve warm with roti or quinoa or millet

Cream of Kale Soup

With nicknames ranging from "Power Soup" (no guesses who picked this one) to "Brown Slime" given at home, this filled-with-green-goodness soup is one of my favorites, even if kids drink it reluctantly every time I make it. Fifteen more times and am sure they'll end up loving this soup.

Pressure cook some greens - kale, mustard greens, spinach - with celery, onions, garlic, and mayo coba beans. Then, run it through the blender to make a smooth mush. Then, strain it to remove pulpy lumps for a smooth texture.

At this point, stirring in cream and simmering gently should be fine. But, since I like to use my slow cooker to keep the soup warm and ready for dinner when I come back from work, I poured the strained soup into the slow cooker one morning and let it slow cook till dinner time. Around the 8-hour mark, some heavy cream was stirred in, plus dried basil (I use freeze-dried which feels intense fresh), dried parsley, dried oregano and continued till the slow cooker is done.

Cook longer if preferred for the soup to come together with a creamy  warmth. I start it first thing in the morning and let it slow cook till dinner time - about 12 hours - in the slow cooker.

With a few slices of Pumpernickel bread, the kind made according to "old world methods, utilizing a slow-rise process", from Trader Joe's. Of course, the name "Pumpernickel" itself has fun origins that we talk about every time we eat this bread.

An alternative origin of "pumpernickel" is nearly as strange, if somewhat less savory. "Pumpern" was a New High German word similar in meaning to the English "fart" (so chosen because, like the word "achoo," it imitated the sound it described), and "Nickel" was a form of the name Nicholas, an appellation commonly associated with a goblin or devil (e.g., "Old Nick" is a familiar name for Satan). Hence, pumpernickel is the "devil's fart," allegedly a reference to the bread's indigestible qualities and hence the effect it produced on those who consumed it. (Some word fanciers have claimed that "pumpern" refers to the sound produced by thumping on a loaf of pumpernickel, but that explanation is extremely unlikely.) 

With winter firmly here, the old slow cooker gets a lot of use with stews and soups; quick one-pot meals come about often as well, like casserole and roast vegetables.

Cabbage Papaya Peppers Slaw with Hemp Hearts and Bits of Dates

I just have a few basic kitchen tools, no fancy stand mixer or avocado slicer or Vitamix blender (which I have been eyeing on and off). So, when I suddenly get an electric grater/slicer aka Salad Shooter, I get too excited. After the initial skepticism wears off, that is. (The Am sure it just can't do what I want it to do feeling)

This cabbage slaw was the guinea pig of sorts for this Salad Shooter. I prefer slicing cabbage thinly with my trusty knife, but, I decided to shred it at the push of a button. And it came out all right. So, I sliced some peppers, shredded some broccoli stems, and julienned some barely-ripe firm papaya (in my finicky Mandoline slicer) to make a quick slaw/salad.

Squeeze the cabbage to press all the excess water out, so the slaw is not too soggy, before adding the dressing.

Topped with hemp hearts and sunflower seeds, and sprinkled with bits of dates, this Cabbage Papaya Peppers Slaw was a perfect quick meal.

Dressing and Vinaigrette are always fun. This time, it is a simple mix of the following. Simply stir well and adjust to taste.

Slaw Dressing:
2 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
1 Tbsp rice vinegar
2 Tbsp Dijon mustard
1 tsp Sriracha hot sauce
1 tsp Bragg Liquid Aminos
2 Tbsp plain Greek yogurt
6 Tbsp olive oil
1 Tbsp apricot preserves/jam

Salmon Fish Curry

A hunk of fresh-caught Alaskan salmon was asking to be made into an Indian-style flavorful fish curry. Not too spicy but full of aromatic goodness.

Most Indian curries start with a ginger + garlic + onion + tomato  ground up to the masala paste base; to which cumin + coriander + star anise + Indian cinnamon bark + black peppers/dry red chilies mix is added in powdered form and sautéed for flavors to develop.

That is just one of the popular combination of dry mix, but there are umpteen regional variations, of course: fenugreek seeds, bay leaves, poppy seeds, nigella seeds, fennel seeds, black cumin seeds, black cardamom, black mustard seeds, black sesame seeds...

Similarly, the masala paste has a few variations like adding yogurt, or almonds, or coconut, or tamarind, or curry leaves...

Part of the fun for me is to go with the flow, with my mood, with the ingredients handy in the kitchen (which is usually well-stocked with spices), and make a "surprise" curry.

Ingredients
2 cups of cubed salmon
1 large Poblano pepper, sliced
a few colorful sweet peppers, sliced
½ cup red onions, sliced
2 Tbsp coconut oil
½ tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp brown sugar or demerera sugar
salt to taste

For the masala paste:
½ cup diced onions
½ cup diced tomatoes
2 Tbsp chopped garlic
2 Tbsp grated ginger
2 Tbsp tomato paste

For the spice mix:
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 Tbsp coriander seeds
1 Tbsp white sesame seeds
1 tsp white poppy seeds
1 star anise
2 dry red chilies


Preparation

1.  Masala paste: Combine the masala paste ingredients and blend to a fine smooth paste and keep handy
2. Spice mix: toast the spice mix ingredients in a pan till mildly aromatic, allow to cool a bit, then grind to a fine powder, keep handy
3. Heat coconut oil in a pan, add the onions, turmeric, some salt and sauté
4. Add the masala paste and peppers and saué some more till the rawness of garlic and ginger cook away
5. Add the fish cubes and the spice mix, stir well and saute some more
6. Add just enough water to immerse the fish, stir in the brown sugar, cover and simmer till fish is cooked and the flavors meld
7. Serve with cooked quinoa, or millet, or rice, or roti or naan.

Breaded Halibut with Poblano Peppers and Colorful Sweet Peppers

Another hunk of halibut fillet was thawed and ready in the fridge, part of a 10-pounder that the other half caught in Alaska last summer.

Breading and pan-frying is the easiest, but it can get boring if just using plain old bread crumbs or Panko all the time. So, in an effort to use up the soon-to-go-stale Triscuit™ crackers, I went with a fun breading made out of roasted almonds, parsley, and the said Triscuit. Simply crumble them in a blender.

Poblano peppers when sauteed give out this delicious flavor and aroma, which when combined with red onions and sweet peppers can be heavenly. This formed the veggie accompaniment to the breaded halibut, which was pan-cooked. Rather than dip in egg whites before the crumb coating, I dipped in buttermilk and pressed into the breading mix, on both sides.

Heat some oil in a cast-iron skillet that is moderately hot, place the breaded halibut fillet and press down, leave it undisturbed in medium heat till browned and firmed on one side. Carefully flip and cook the other side as well. If the flipping is not done with caution, the breading will peel off. Cook till fish is done, about 150° F in the thickest part.