Dal

Dal.  You've surely heard of it, no?  It's not usually the kind of dish you order at an Indian restaurant, unless of course it's a Punjabi restaurant like Indique whose dal makhani is to die for.  Dal is the dish that you find in the homes, it's a staple.  Most vegetarians in India have dal with every meal.  Some drink it.  It's incredibly nutritious and healthy.  Some people serve it as a side.  I like it by itself.  It's a great detox meal.  Just boil some rice and you've got yourself dinner. My husband was hinting the other day that we haven't had Indian food in a while, and then he mentioned how much he would love it if I made dal. We get our fair share of dal in our diet but it always comes from my mother or my mother in-law.  There are endless ways of making dal (and spelling it), and I wanted to create my own.  If there is one thing I have learned about dal over the years it's that everyone's is different.  I followed my mother's directions but got a bit lost along the way but everything turned out great.  The colors of dal can vary, I wanted mine not a pale yellow, but a rich orange (then why does it look brown up there?), and I wanted it thicker and not as watery as it often is.  It can also be prepared extremely simple.  When you get sick in India all they let you eat is dal and rice, with some yogurt.  Dal and rice, dal and rice, and I never get sick of it. Sometimes when I would be so sick of eating heavy meals I'd pretend my stomach hurt so I had an excuse to eat dal and rice. This recipe is for moong dal, a great variety that cooks the fastest of most lentils.  You can even cook dal with the rice, but that's another time and place. I decided to put squash in mine, as I love Indian squash.  It was called Long Squash at the Korean market, and I've also seen it called Indian Squash.  I'll include it with these instructions, but you can easily leave it out.  Lots of vegetables can be added, like spinach.       

1 cup moong dal (this will be enough for at least 4 servings)
1 long squash, seeds removed, peeled, cubed, soak in bowl of water
1 white onion
1 green chili (optional)
2 garlic cloves
t fresh grated ginger
1/2 c crush tomatoes, or a fresh chopped tomato, or you could add a T of tomato paste
t cumin seeds
1 t each of Indian spices: turmeric, red chili powder, ground cumin and ground cilantro

Sautee half a white onion in a pot or dutch oven.  Add a spoon of turmeric, then dal, sprinkle with salt.  Toss in a fresh green chili, sliced (seeds removed if you like).  Cover with water.  You want the dal swimming in the water, and you can add as it cooks and absorbs it depending on how thick you want it.  Let simmer for about 20 minutes or so.  I like my dal very tender and soft so I let it cook for about 30 minutes.  Meanwhile, in a large sautee pan, heat some oil and cumin seeds together and cover.  Wait for them to pop, then add half a chopped white onion and let brown.  Then add fresh garlic and ginger.  Next spoon in the spices and let roast in the center of the pan.  Add tomatoes, let cook down.  Toss in squash if you are using, and let cook for several minutes.  Back to the pot with the dal.  If you want a smoother dal, place immersion blender in the pot and puree for a bit.  I pureed a bit but still wanted the texture of most of the dal.  Now slide in everything from the sautee pan into the pot with the dal and let cook together, until squash is tender.  I added some chopped fresh cilantro at the end but this is optional.  You can also add a bit of butter for a little indulgence.  

The Best Chocolate Chip Cookies

This chocolate chip recipe is the best.  Trust me, it is.  That's the only way to describe them, the best chocolate chip cookies ever!  The brown butter combined with the dark brown sugar gives the cookies a rich, almost caramel-like taste to it.  They are delicious.  My cousin in-law makes these cookies and I finally snagged the recipe and made some over the weekend.  The recipe is from Cook's Illustrated (they always seem to know what they are doing, don't they?).   

1 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 t baking soda

14 T unsalted butter

1/2 cup granulated sugar

3/4 cup packed dark brown sugar

1 t table salt

2 t vanilla extract

1 large egg

1 egg yolk

1 1/4 cup semi-sweet or dark chocolate chips or chunks (I used dark)

3/4 cup chopped pecans or walnuts

Whisk flour, baking soda together and set aside.  Heat 10 tablespoons of butter in skillet. Cook while swirling pan constantly until butter is dark brown and nutty. You'll see little brown specks throughout. Remove from heat and pour into a mixing bowl, Add remaining 4 T of butter and stir untill completely melted.  Add both sugars, salt, and vanilla to bowl with butter and whisk untill fully incorporated. Add whole egg and 1 egg yolk. Whisk until mixture is smooth with no lumps remaining. Let mixture stand for 3 mins, then whisk for 30 secs. Repeat process of resting and whisking 2 more times untill mixture is thick, smooth and shiney. Using spatula or wood spoon add flours mix until just combined, about 1 min. Add choco chips and nuts.  This recipe makes 16 large cookies.  With ice cream scoop, scoop 8 mounds of dough on to baking sheet lined with parchment paper or silicone pad.  Bake at 350 for 10-14 minutes.

Almond, Cinnamon, Coconut Granola

I have been wanting to make homemade granola for a while now.  I've perused a lot of recipes, gotten some from friends but was feeling unmotivated because the recipes always seemed to call for grape seed this and wheat germ that and I had no idea where to find them. This is all the more sad since I've wanted to make some to send to one of my very best friends who is serving in Afghanistan with the Special Forces.  I mean could I call myself any more pathetic and lazy compared to what he is doing?  He's pretty much the most remarkable person I know; he came to the U.S. from Vietnam as a young boy, went on to succeed at West Point, Georgetown Law, worked at a top D.C. law firm, became a White House Attorney and then a Federal Prosecutor.  He's incredible.  I've sent him a few care packages and some things tend to hold up better than others.  I felt that granola would hold up pretty well in an airtight container, and he once wrote me "little things from home go a long way".  I can't wait for him to return so I can spoil him with home cooked food. 

I caught a few minutes of Barefoot Contessa the other day and I saw her make just about the tastiest and easiest looking granola I've seen.  I loved that it had coconut in it, and I had almost all the ingredients in my pantry.  I changed it up a bit as I had raisins instead of dried cranberries (though some of the raisins became too dark so I plucked them out), and I added just a pinch of garam masala that my parents had brought back from Morocco (this gave a deep warmth to it that I absolutely love).  I also cut the recipe down, but it still made quite a lot.  Here is the original recipe for your reference.  I am pretty sure I may never buy granola again as this was a lot of fun, and it's delicious (if it weren't getting shipped out today I would finish it all myself in a matter of days!).  It also made my kitchen smell incredible.  I can't wait to make more.    

Almond, Cinnamon and Coconut Granola

3 cups old fashioned oats
1 cup sweetened, shredded coconut
1 cup sliced almonds
1/2 cup dried fruit
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup honey
spoon of ground cinnamon
pinch of garam masala (optional)

Mix everything in a bowl and pour onto sheet pan (lined with silicone pad if you want) bake at 350, tossing throughout, until golden brown and toasty, 20-30 minutes.

Potato and Leek Soup

I was really excited to make some soup this week so I could add my homemade chicken stock to it. I decided to go for potato and leek as I've never made it before.  I followed this food blogger's recipe, and though I cut back on the number of potatoes, it still came out a bit too potatoey for me, but still delicious.  I suspect a lb measurement of potatoes would be more helpful.  It also came out quite thick but I had already frozen the remaining chicken stock so I left it as it was.  I had never before cooked with leeks, they smell so lovely as they sautee - the kitchen smelled as I imagine a French woman's would as she prepares dinner.  I served this soup with this recipe for baked cod with truffled panko and it was delicious.

Potato and Leek Soup

3 tbsp butter

3 leeks, cleaned, green parts discarded, thinly sliced

1 medium onion, chopped

4 russet potatoes, thinly sliced and peeled if you desire (I left some of the skin on)

3-4 cups chicken broth (or stock)

1 cup heavy cream

salt, pepper to taste

drizzle of truffle oil if you so desire

Melt butter in a saucepan (or dutch oven) and sautee onion and leeks until they are cooked down and tender.  Add potatoes and pour in chicken stock, cook on medium until potatoes are tender, about 20 minutes.  Turn off heat and with an immersion blender, puree until it's the consistency you want.  Add cream and heat back up for a few minutes.  Season with salt and pepper.

Cauliflower Alfredo

Cool concept, no?  I had zero inspiration for dinner last night so I looked to some of my favorite food blogs for ideas.  This cauliflower alfredo recipe sparked my interest so I decided to go for it (I really like Food Wishes because of his videos), and all I needed to grab from the grocery store was a head of cauliflower. Jackpot!  I could eat pasta every day, so when I come across a pasta dish that is a bit healthy I'm all over it.  Plus, with the incorporation of vegetables into the pasta it turns into a nice one dish vegetarian meal, kind of like that spinach and asparagus pesto I made.  I highly recommend following that link and watching the video if you are interested in making this.  Though I have an immersion blender, the pot just wasn't deep enough for it to get in there and blend - it started splattering a bit so I decided to put the cauliflower into a blender.  That worked well, and then I poured it back into the pot.  I didn't feel like using cream, but instead I just used a bit of half and half I had on hand.  Basically, mine did not appear to come out as smooth and creamy as his looked, but it was still delicious.  Instead of adding dry herbs, I added a spoon of fresh pesto that I wanted to finish, and I added some black truffle shavings and a bit of white truffle oil.  I must say, I'm pretty sure that truffle oil made quite a difference.  

Pasta with Cauliflower Alfredo (and a hint of pesto and truffles)

1/2 lb pasta (though you will have enough sauce for 1lb)
1 head cauliflower, chopped into medium pieces
2 or 3 garlic cloves, smashed
1/4 cup cream or half and half
dry herbs or spoon of pesto (optional)
some shavings of black truffle (optional)
tbsp truffle oil
1/2 cup grated parmesan, plus a bit more
juice of half a lemon
pinch of red pepper flakes
salt, pepper
fresh bread crumbs

Toast bread crumbs in a pan over medium heat for a few minutes, add a drizzle of olive oil, some salt and some parmesan.  Set aside. Heat some oil in a large pot, let heat up with crushed garlic cloves. Add cauliflower pieces and about 3-4 cups of water, dry herbs, salt, pepper and red pepper flakes.  When cauliflower is tender, turn off heat and blend with immersion blender until smooth, or, scoop cauliflower out into blender and blend until smooth, pouring back into pot.  Add cream, fresh herbs or pesto, truffle oil and shavings and parmesan cheese and let simmer for a few minutes.  Boil pasta, drain, toss with lemon juice, sauce, sprinkle with parmesan and bread crumbs.  

Spinach and Arti Dip

I could eat a giant vat of this stuff.  I had some appallingly bad spinach and artichoke dip at Blackfinn in D.C. recently.  Yes, you heard me, Blackfinn, your spinach and artichoke dip is very bad.  It motivated me to make some myself.  I wanted to bring an appetizer to share at a friend's holiday party over the weekend so I decided to whip up a batch.  The recipe made a lot so I put a bit aside for our brunch.  What you see there is what was left of it because it's always hard to snap a photo before we entertain.  I was inspired by this food blogger's recipe, and I essentially followed it closely, with a substitution and a small addition.  If you've ever had it, you know just how addictive it is. It's great with water crakers, melba toasts, sliced bagette, anything, really.

1 10 oz package frozen, chopped spinach, thawed and drained
1 14 oz can artichoke hearts, drained and chopped
4 oz cream cheese 
1/2 cup sour cream
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1 clove garlic, pressed
1/2 tsp chili sauce
1/4 cup grated parmesan
1/4 cup grated cheddar cheese or mozzarella
plus some additional mozzarella or provolone for the top
a few pinches of paprika
salt, pepper

Combine all ingredients and scoop into baking dish, top with some provolone or mozzarella cheese.  Bake at 350 until top is bubbly and brown, about 25 minutes.  

Lettuce Wraps

After all the carb loading that was done over the weekend I figured we could use some lean protein without any carbs, so I decided to make chicken lettuce wraps earlier this week.  I had made lettuce wraps once before, though it was before I began this food blog so I somewhat forgot what I did (I could wax poetic as a librarian about how I love the archival purposes of this blog), but I figured I could throw it together reasonably well.  This was the first time I've cooked with ground chicken, which seems really crazy but in my defense I've only been cooking for a little over a year (oops, you thought I was some kind of authority?!  sorry!).  Ground turkey or pork would work well too, and you could use any kind of lettuce - I like boston bibb or a dark romaine.  This is really the kind of dish you need to just season as you go, tasting it along the way and adding a little of this and a little of that. But I will share with you a template.


1 lb ground chicken
1/2 white onion, chopped
4 garlic cloves, chopped
1 tbsp freshly grated or chopped ginger
2 cups shredded red cabbage
1/2 cup chopped scallions
1 green chili chopped
1/2 cup chopped cilantro
1 tsp lemongrass powder
1 tbsp hoisin sauce
2 tbsp soy sauce
1/2 tsp sesame oil
1 tsp toasted sesame seeds
1 tsp sriracha sauce
1/2 tsp red chili paste 


Heat some oil in a large sautee pan, sautee onion and then add garlic and ginger.  Add meat and brown.  Season with salt and pepper, add green chili, add red cabbage and allow to cook down.  Sprinkle in lemongrass  powder and add soy sauce, sriracha, hoisin sauce and red chili paste.  If you don't want all the heat, skip the sriracha or the fresh green chili.  You can also add some moisture at this point as it continues to simmer - I added some chicken broth but I think water works fine.  Add sesame oil and sesame seeds.  If you want it sweeter, sprinkle in some brown sugar.  I also added a bit of corn starch to thicken it up and make it a bit stickier and less runny as I tested the filling with a piece of lettuce and wasn't happy with the way the sauce was leaking out onto my hand.  Lastly, fold in chopped cilantro and scallions and let simmer for a few more minutes.