New Series: Aarti Cooks!

There are a lot of great things about Wednesdays. You're halfway through the week. The horror of Monday morning is a distant memory, whilst the joy of Friday evening beckons like the smell of salt in the air as you get closer and closer to the beach.

(Tangent alert: Did you know that "Wednesday" comes from the Anglo-Saxon god, Woden? He was associated with Mercury, to whom the Romance language folks dedicated their Fourth Day too: "mercredi", "miercole" etc. In Hindi, Wednesday is Buddhavar, derived for the Vedic name for Mercury, Buddha. And no, I didn't know all this; I stole it from Wiki.)

There are some sobering things associated with Wednesdays too: Wednesday's child is full of woe. Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of Lent. And sometimes Wednesday means you wasted time on Monday and Tuesday, so now you don't have enough time to finish everything before the weekend. (Woops, that was a bit of my life peeking through there!)

But anyway. The reason I love Wednesdays is... the Food Section. That hallowed newspaper section printed on Mercury Day by most newspapers across the country. Ah Wednesday: the promise of a chef's secret recipe uncovered, a new trend to criticize snootily, a review of a new restaurant whose owner is waiting with baited breath to read... There's something quaint and sunny about it, isn't there?

Well, from now on, you can add me to your Wednesday Food Section browsing. As a challenge to myself, I am going to publish an original Aarti recipe every Wednesday in a series I'm calling Aarti Cooks!

(I know, it's all I could come up with. I just couldn't put my name and "Hump Day" into a title. It's just so... un-ladylike. If you have a better one, I'm open to it.)

This is the recipe book I've been keeping since I was 11, full of recipes I had copied down because I liked. Now I'm adding ones I've made up.



So here's my first one -- it's a great recipe for autumn, both because of the flavours and because you can heat up the house by using your oven for 45 minutes. Your house will smell like Thankgiving.

The dish is also completely vegetarian! Vegan even! Whee!

A few notes about the ingredients:
- Quinoa is an ancient grain (linked to the Incas somehow), that has a slightly crunchy and nutty flavor. It is the only grain that is a complete protein -- all the amino acids are intact so it's great for vegetarians and vegans. It's not a substitute for meat - the protein strands may be complete, but a chicken breast has more protein as a whole. Anyway. Let me take my food geek hat off. You can find it at Trader Joes and at Whole Foods, or order it online. It comes in red or white -- they both taste the same.
Update: Thanks Mandi for pointing out the missing pronouncer here. Quinoa is pronounced KEEN-wah.

- Delicata (deh-lee-CAA-ta) squash looks like this:



I chose this squash because you don't have to peel it! Yippee! The peel is thin enough that once roasted, it's slightly crunchy. Good roughage as my Mum would say. Of course, you can substitute whatever squash you can find. If it has a thick peel though, you should peel it. I find Delicata squash in the farmers markets these days.

Garam Masala, an Indian spice concoction, is popping up in regular supermarkets these days! Otherwise, go without and add just a touch more cinnamon. (Alternatively, grind up some cinnamon and some cloves in your coffee grinder; you'll have my mum's garam masala mix. Mum, do you use equal portions of cinnamon and cloves? Omit the cinnamon called for in the recipe and just use this garam masala if you decide to make it.) By the way, it's pronounced GUH-rumm, not GAY-rumm as I've heard some people say it.

Asfoetida Powder is also knows as Hing in Hindi. You don't need to add this, as it does little for the flavour, but I added it because I remember Mum telling me something about it helping relieve beans' gassier qualities. Ahem.
UPDATE: Yet again, forgot to tell you how it's pronounced! Ummm. Let's try ASS-foh-TEE-dah. Yeah that'll work

Without further ado:

QUINOA PILAF WITH DELICATA SQUASH, SAGE & BLACK BEANS



For the squash:
3 lbs delicata squash, unpeeled, seeded and diced into 1/2" cubes
1 1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
4 tsp chopped sage
3 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp cinammon
1/2 tsp garam masala

For the quinoa:
1 cup quinoa
3 cups water
1 onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp garam masala
1/4 tsp asfoetida powder/hing (optional)
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1 15oz can black beans, drained and rinsed
2 tsp sherry vinegar (or more depending on how tangy you like it!)
Handful of parsley, chopped

1) preheat oven to 375 degrees fahrenheit/190 degrees celsius
2) grab a big baking sheet and line with foil so you don't have much washing up to do. throw the squash on your baking sheet, and toss with the salt, pepper, sage, olive oil, cinnamon and garam masala.
3) roast for 45 minutes, or until tender, and slightly caramelized.
4) meanwhile, bring water to a boil in a saucepan. wash the quinoa, then add to the boiling water. (I don't salt the water; seems to keep the quinoa tender). Cook 13 minutes, or until white spiraly germ is prominent and the grains are tender. Store off heat with lid on.
4) warm 1 tbsp olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. saute onions and garlic, along with spices until softened and slightly browned.
5) Add cooked quinoa, beans and squash. Stir lightly until combined. Sprinkle with sherry vinegar. Taste for seasoning. Garnish with parsley and serve.



I served it with some stir-fried Chinese broccoli (my new favorite! yum yum!).



Let me know what you think!

-x-
aarti

What are YOU eating?

The other day, whilst wasting yet another hour (and who knows how many braincells) on Facebook, I wrote this as my status: "Aarti can't decide what to eat. What are you eating?".

(N.B. for those of you who are unfamiliar with the cyber-crack that is Facebook, you can input your status anytime you want, as if to broadcast what you're doing for the thousands of hungry eyes that really and truly do care. I'm not kidding. They really do care. It's weird but true. I love knowing what people are up to RIGHT NOW.)

Imagine my surprise! I got a flood of responses -- the most I've ever received on my status!

"Jelly." (Jello to the US folks)

"Eggs"

"Beer"

"A roast beef sandwich with onions, lettuce, mayo and a touch of oil & vinegar."

"Soy chocolate ice cream mixed with organic almond milk and roasted almonds. Divine!"

"A chupa chup lillipop - coco vanilla flavor...and some beer! mmm!"

"Vegimite on toast...it's breakfast time here. But I'm also in the process of making a beef rendang."

I just loved hearing what everyone was eating! And moreover, I loved the fact that so many people were eating at 3 in the afternoon. Maybe my oddly-timed hunger pangs are not so strange after all -- Bren always makes fun of me because I'm always hungry... even if I've only eaten an hour ago. In fact, I'm hungry right now. Hmmm. I know exactly what I'm going to have too. Plain yoghurt (gotta get those digestive enzymes in somewhere!). Maybe with some honey and some toasted sliced almonds. That is my favorite snack.

It all begs the question: what are you eating? Or, what are you having for dinner? I can't wait to hear all your responses!

And don't forget, the next Aarti Cooks installment drops tomorrow. And this one is good my friends. Very, VERY good.

Write soon!

-x-
aarti

Aarti Cooks: Yorron's Soul-Singer Soup

I envy those of you buried under a foot of snow; I doubt you feel like you're in an enviable position but, there's something unnatural about the weather here: 80 degrees in January. Even in Dubai, it wasn't that hot at the beginning of the year.

Out of solidarity with you or stubborn rebellion against the LA weather gods (not sure which!), I can't help piling my grocery basket up with root veggies: butternut squash, sweet potatoes, parsnips and carrots. Perhaps it's the colour. I was going through my closet the other day and I realised that most of my clothes are either yellow, orange, red or black. Not so much of the blue or green. What can I say? I'm a fire sign.

Speaking of sweet potatoes, Bren reminded me of this clip:



Aaaaghghghgghghghgh! You're welcome!

Anyway, I decided to make an old cooking school staple, butternut squash and sweet potato soup. But, I wanted to add something else to the soup recipe, put a little trademark aarti in there. While at Elat Market, I spied a jar of amba, a tangy pickled mango sauce that my friend Yorron had introduced me to when we were shopping for Burning Man. He is such an inspiration to me because that man was not afraid to try anything. I still remember how he made spinach with mangos and prickly pears!



According to Wiki, amba comes from the Iraqi Jews, who brought it to Israel, but the name sounds suspiciously like "aam", which is how we say mango in Hindi. In fact, we grew up on unbelievably good mango pickle that my grandmother makes from unripe green (aka "raw") mangos. So I don't know whether the Iraqis got it from the Indians (do mangos grow in Iraq?!), or vice versa, or whether the Indian Jews took it with them to Israel as well... who knows?


Whatever the case, this Israeli version is delicious: tangy, spicy in that way that tingles the roof of your mouth but doesn't make you run for a glass of water, slightly sweet... it's apparently drizzled over falafel and sabikh sandwiches, sometimes made fresh on the premises. This jar didn't have any chunks of mango in it though, which disappointed me. I'll have to try another brand.

It's hardly a surpise that I like amba; it it made from mangoes, turmeric and fenugreek. And you already know about my obsession with fenugreek. I decided to be brave and add it to the butternut squash, and it's a tasty, if not a slightly assertive combination. Be sure to add the pecans. They temper the sour stream of flavour that the amba adds.

Bren thought that this would make a good first course soup, rather than a main course. He said this as he ate three helpings of it.



Ha!

I love this soup. I place myself in your shoes, shoveling pounds of snow, shaking your head at how your nose hairs have frozen together. Even in the empty abyss of a grey day, you can take some visual, nasal and oral comfort in a pot of bright, mustard-yellow coloured soup. Add some toasted pecans for a hint of Thanksgiving and fireplaces, and voila, your nose hairs are emancipated, your insides melted and your spirit in a state of song... which is appropriate because Yorron means "he who sings of joy" in Hebrew.

I found amba at the Jewish/Middle Eastern market. If you can't find it there, you can order it off Kalustyans.

This one's for you, Yorron!


Yorron's Soul-Singer Soup: Butternut Squash, Sweet Potato and Pickled Mango Soup with Pecans

You'll need this stuff:



1 onion, diced
1 carrot, peeled and diced
2 cloves garlic, peeled and sliced in half
2lbs butternut squash, peeled and diced
1 medium or 2 small sweet potatoes, peeled and diced
2 cups vegetable stock
5 cups water
2 bay leaves
6-7 tablespoons amba
Handful pecans, toasted in a pan over a low flame

1) Heat some olive oil in a big soup pot over a medium flame. Add onions, season with some salt and saute for a minute or so.

2) Add the carrots and garlic. Saute for another couple of minutes, and add the squash, sweet potato, stock, water and bay leaves. Season with some salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, then turn the heat down until the soup is simmering, throw a lid on it and cook for 45 minutes.

3) Check the veggies after 45 minutes. If they're nice and soft, they're ready to go. If a knife doesn't go through 'em like butter, then let them boil for another 10 minutes. That way, your soup will be nice and smooth.

4) Remove soup from heat. DON'T FORGET (as I often do!) to pull the bay leaves out! Hold down the lid with a dish towel, and blend the soup in batches until smooth, either with your trusty counter-top blender, or if you're fancy, your immersion blender. If you have the latter, lock it up buddy, or else I'm stealing it from you.

5) Return the blended soup to the pot. Stir in amba. Taste and season accordingly. Serve with a few pecans on top.






-x-
aarti

Aarti Cooks: Sausage with Apple & Potato "Crush"

I have a crush. On whom?



As McCain would say, "THAT one." (The one doing the choking, not the other one.)



She's Gina Carano, the face of women's MMA (mixed martial arts). And not only is she beautiful, she also kicks arse at kicking arse. If you're an American Gladiator fan, then you'll know her as "Crush", but she was making waves in MMA circles way before the show. Bren has been raving about her for two years, but I was too busy ogling the men of MMA to notice!

It was only this past weekend, when I watched her clobber her opponent, Kelly Kobold, that I realised how talented she is. She's strong, fast and her kicks are vicious. And I love that she has trouble making weight (she had to weigh in NAKED to make weight for this most recent fight). I love that woman! I even let Bren show me a few Krav moves this morning at the gym, subconsciously inspired by her. Bren said I have good form!

I dedicate this dish to her; I made it this past weekend for our little MMA-viewing party (Kevin and Catie!). To me it's only fitting: the sweetness of the apples alongside the ahem, male-ness of sausages. Right? And the mash potato represents um, the beating their insides take. Get it? Right? Hello?

This was really, really delicious, and unlike some of my other recipes, fantastically simple. I used Trader Joe's Chicken-Mango sausages, but you can use whatever sausage you want -- chicken-apple, turkey, even sweet Italian pork sausage would be good. Just make sure you cook them all the way through.

Sausage with Apple & Potato "Crush"

1 1/2 lbs Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and cut in half
1 packet pre-cooked chicken-mango sausage (about 5 of them)
4 shallots, chopped medium-fine
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1" ginger, minced fine
4 apples, cored, peeled and sliced thinly into half-heart shapes (I used 2 Granny Smith and 2 Gala)
1 tsp fennel seeds
1 tbsp cider vinegar
2 tbsp sherry
3/4 cup Half and half (or more depending on how starchy your potatoes are)
3 tbsp butter (or more to taste)
Salt and pepper

1) Set potatoes in a saucepan, cover with water, bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for about 15 minutes, or until potatoes are tender. Drain.

2) Meanwhile, set a wide skillet over medium-high heat, and swirl a little oil in the pan. Add the sausages, and allow to brown on all sides and cooked mid-way through if they're the raw kind, 5-10 minutes.

3) Add 1/3 cup of water to the pan and immediately cover, allowing the sausages to steam for about 4-5 minutes. Check that they're cooked all the way through. If you like, turn the heat up and allow any remaining water to evaporate. Remove the sausages from the pan and keep in a warm place.

4) Add a touch more olive oil to the pan, and add shallots, ginger and garlic. Saute until the shallots begin to caramelize.

3) Add apples and fennel seeds. Stir gently so you don't break 'em. Cook until the apples have started to turn brown and tender.

4) Add the cider vinegar and the sherry, scraping up any brown bits stuck to the bottom of the pan. If you'd like more of a sauce, add a little water. Return the sausages to the pan and combine.

5) Meanwhile, mash the drained potatoes. Microwave your half and half so that it's warm and, by turns, add a little butter and a little half and half, stirring in between. Make sure you add a good amount of salt (especially if you're using unsalted butter, which you really should be using anyway).

Plate, eat and cheer for Gina!



-x-
aarti

The Best Food Blogs

'Ello luvs! I'm writing this week's installment of "Aarti Cooks" now, but in the meantime, I thought you might enjoy this list of the 50 best food blogs in the world, compiled by the Times of London. No, I'm not on there. YET (bwaaaaaahahahaaaa). Although I should probably check out my competition huh?

Enjoy!

-x-
aarti

Sorry!

Far be it from me to suggest that your lives are affected by my blog (!), but I'd just like to apologize for the radio silence since Thursday. It's been a bit busy over here, what with the yard sale and working on documentary ideas etc. Don't worry though; if you are looking for the weekly "Aarti Cooks" installment, I hope to get it up later today. As a little teaser, I'll tell you that it's a departure from my typical style of cooking; this time it's simple and requires the teeniest-tiniest amount of stovetop cooking. Oh, and it involves persimmons, pistachios and rainbow chard.

Oooooooh!

-x-
aarti

Aarti Cooks: Mum's Stuffing Cupcakes

There are few things that say "home-cooked meal" more than a roast chicken. But let's face it. If there's stuffing on the table, the chicken takes the backseat. I see it as a vehicle to get more stuffing in my mouth.

As promised earlier this week, I give you my mum's stuffing recipe, slightly adapted since my memory is not that great. We always loved our mum's stuffing. The only thing I didn't like about it is that there was never enough. Now that I'm a big girl, I decided I had to figure out a way to make more stuffing, cooking some of it inside the bird cavity, and the rest outside of it.

I was inspired Rachel Ray.

In one of her earliest episodes, she made "stuffin muffins". Genius. They're cute, easy to cook and easy to portion out too.

I'm calling mine "Stuffing Cupcakes" even though there's no frosting. Hmmmm, stuffing and frosting. Maybe?


Stuffing "Cupcakes": Stuffing with bacon, mint, pine nuts and raisins

You'll need this stuff:


6 rashers bacon, chopped into 1/4" pieces
2 medium onions, chopped fine
4 cloves garlic, chopped
1" piece of fresh ginger, chopped
2 serrano chiles, sliced in half and seeded (optional)
1/4 cup pine nuts
1/3 cup raisins
1 small loaf of bread (in this case I used a brioche. It's better if the bread is a couple of days old.)
Splash of brandy or whisky (optional)
2 cups chicken stock
2 eggs
Handful of mint leaves, minced
Cooking spray

1) Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Prep your muffin pan with cupcake liners, spray them with a little cooking spray.

2) Put a big skillet over medium heat, and add the bacon. Don't let it burn! If it's browning very quickly, turn the heat down; you want to render as much fat out of the bacon as possible before it turns a dark caramel brown. Once it's cooked, remove the bacon from the pan. Return the pan (and delicious ambrosia aka bacon fat) to the fire.

3) Add the chopped onions, garlic and ginger. Let them pick up some colour so that they're soft and slightly browned. While it's browning, cut the crusts off the loaf of bread and cut it up into very small cubes. You can use the crusts too if you like.

4) Add the raisins and the pine nuts to the skillet, cooking until the pine nuts have picked up a little color too.

5) Now add the bread and toss, trying to cover each cube of bread in the yummy bacon-fruit-nut mixture. Turn the heat off. Add the bacon bits, a splash of brandy/whisky and the mint. Stir. Taste and season according to your palate.

6) In a bowl, beat the two eggs lightly, and add the chicken stock. Make sure your skillet is still off the heat and has cooled slightly, because you don't want the eggs to cook in the next step.

7) Pour the egg mixture over the bread mixture and stir thoroughly.

8) Divide the mixture evenly between the muffin cups. You can press the stuffing down into each cupcake liner so it'll hold together after baking, but don't overload them.

9) Put the muffin pan in the oven and bake for 15-20 minutes, until the top is browned and your kitchen smells goooooooood. Serve!



They're great alongside a roast chicken, roast meat of any kind really... or like we did tonight, you can eat them on their own.


-x-
aarti

Aarti Cooks: The Perfect Eggs!

Once you begin to ponder the egg, it's hard to stop wondering at this happy little creation.


So pleasing to the eye: the sensual round, generous bottom, the delicate taper to a cute, nubby nose. A tiny rugby ball, it reminds me of a woman's belly in those last days before birth, so swollen, so ready to explode a new life into the world! The purity of the white ones, the warmth of the brown ones, the quaint speckles here and there reminding you that every egg, like every snowflake, like every baby in the womb, is unique.


Say it... "egg". Notice how your tongue curls in such a way as to mimic the way an egg would nestle tenderly against your palm, against the side of a carefully constructed nest, against the warm feathery belly of its mother or father. Fragile enough to smash, but strong enough to withstand a gentle squeeze that relieves even my worst anxiety.

And don't get me started on its mystery. Had we not interrupted its intended purpose, how does that egg birth a chick? What's it like for that little baby bird inside its sanctuary? Is it quiet? Is it loud? Is it dark? Is it constantly changing? I can't say it better than this chick (pun, sadly, intended):

Probably one of the most private things in the world is an egg until it is broken.

-M.F.K. Fisher

Cute, huh?

And isn't the egg flexible? Once you can get over the macabre notion that we've ended a life in order to sustain our own (hang on... yup, I'm over it), the egg functions as breakfast, lunch and dinner. It's the glue that holds pastries and pasta together, the agent responsible for fluffy pancakes, muffins and cupcakes, the custard that batters french toast and deep-fried Twinkies.

Yeah, I said it. Deep-fried Twinkies.

Attention: tangent approaching. Here it comes: Isn't it funny how fried is only one letter away from friend? Think about it.

:)

Ok, back to the egg. A cheap, easy source of protein, you can eat eggs hard-boiled, soft-boiled (yum!), coddled, scrambled, over-easy, sunny-side up, poached, baked, as an omelet, a frittata... it goes on and on.

And yet, how easy it is to screw it up! I'm not sure what's worse: an over-cooked or an undercooked-egg.

By far, the most daunting option for me is the poached egg. I learned how to make them in cooking school, and it involved large pots of water, a chopstick to swirl the water at just the right pace, and a perfectly executed drop. Being a less-than-delicate cook, I messed these up a lot, and decided then and there never to make 'em again.

But, a couple of weeks ago, I HAD to make one (for a super-secret project that I'll describe as soon as I'm allowed to!), and as luck would have it, I stumbled upon a great technique that I knew I had to share with you! Eggs benedict, here you come!

It also reminded me that I had figured out a way to make the perfect sunny-side up eggs too. No more will your yolks be splattered across your pan as you flip 'em over (unless you like them that way)! No! Now you too can have picture perfect yellow circles greeting your noggin every morning!

And so, let us begin with the poaching technique since that's the one I'm most excited about.






Ok, first, grab a small skillet, fill it with water, bung a lid on it and bring the water to a boil.






Meanwhile, break you egg into a small bowl. I like this little rice bowl.

Then, when the water is boiling, add a tablespoon of white wine vinegar -- this coagulates the egg white quickly.

It doesn't add much flavour, but if you think it does, you can always dunk the cooked egg into a bowl of clean water before you eat it. Also add a sprinkle of salt. This not only flavours your egg, but brings the water temperature up a bit so that egg cooks even quicker.


Now listen up all your perfectionist Polly's. This extra step is a pain, but I like it because the egg turns out neater. I forgot to take a photo, but it's pretty simple. Ladle some of that boiling vinegary-water into your little bowl that has the egg in it. Swirl it a little and wait 20 seconds.



Then gently pour it back into the skillet. Turn the heat off, put the lid on, and let it sit for about 4 minutes for a runny yolk.







I like to drain it on a piece of bread, but you don't have to.
I also cut off the tissue-y excess, so that it would look nice in the photo, but ordinarily, I wouldn't bother. Don't want to waste any of that yumminess!
You can throw that piece of watery bread into the toaster now if you like.




Sprinkle with pepper and serve! Ain't she a beaut?!



Ok, now onto the fried, I mean, friend version, sunny-side up.


Grab your nonstick skillet again.
Warm it over low heat for about 3 minutes so its good and warm.
Break your eggs into a little bowl.
Once the pan is warm, add a pad of butter.
It should sizzle sassily as soon as it hits the pan.
Move the butter around the pan too, so it's evenly distributed. If it turns into brown butter, that's ok too. Oh, it's more than ok, who am I kidding?




Once the butter has melted, pour your eggs in.
If your stove sits on a slanting floor as mine does, your yolks will fall to the bottom of the pan like a pair of old boobs.
Season with salt and freshly ground pepper. And garam masala, if you're Brendan.




Ok, now this is a weird step, for those in search of PERFECT eggs. If you don't care that much, then you can skip it.
Grab a piece of paper towel and line the inside of the lid to your skillet, taping down the ends on the outside of the lid.
I know, it's weird, but the paper towel absorbs all the moisture that's going to accumulate in your pan, which would otherwise fall back onto your eggs resulting in... soggy eggs.
No. Thankyou.

Now, take your altered skillet lid and throw it on top of your eggs, as soon as you've poured them into your pan. Set your timer for 3 minutes (for medium eggs).

Serve, decorating with a slice of tomato to indicate your mood that day, and make your husband take absurd photos with said eggs.


Enjoy your new-found egg-cellency. (Sorry, I had to do it).


-x-
aarti

Aarti Cooks: Popeye & that Crazy Bastard Greens!

Popeye should be the international comic strip of the food-obsessed. I mean, first of all, the hero relies on a can of spinach to rescue his girl from hairy situations. And second of all, his girlfriend's name is Olive Oyl!

On the other hand, who likes canned spinach? Blech! And isn't it funny that SPINACH made Popeye's triceps bulge? I mean, there's absolutely no protein in it, right? And I must admit that I always found it creepy that Olive Oyl, who seemed kinda young, was involved with this much older man who relied on a slimy green sludge to come to her rescue... sort of like a precursor to viagra. Ugh! I just grossed myself out. Sorry.

From Quality Art Auctions

Perhaps THAT'S why I never liked spinach when I was a child! Mum would try to serve it all different kinds of ways, but alas, I would sulk off and slice up a tomato as my vegetable-alternative for dinner that night.

Since then, I've embraced spinach, especially when it's combined with a pound of cheese. Exhibit A: spinach-artichoke dip. Exhibit B: Chicago-style deep dish spinach pizza. Be still my cholesterol-laden heart!!

Sadly, Bren, who grips his inner child more fiercely than anyone I know, still despises spinach. In fact, whenever I cook kale or other greens, he usually freezes with his greens-charged fork an inch from his open mouth, looks at my suspiciously and mutters, "there's no spinach in here, right?".

Luckily, at this time of year, there are a plethora of leafy green alternatives at the market, delicious and nutritious enough to lure in Brendan's specific palate and Popeye's greedy one!

Yesterday, I went to my favorite stand at the Culver City farmers market, where the farmer, Brandon, displayed a Benetton ad of greens: black kale (which I used in this week's Aarti Paarti show), russian red kale, red boar kale, rainbow swiss chard, regular swiss chard, collard greens... I wish I'd had my camera with me. But the prices were even more amazing. 3 bunches of greens for $5! WHAT? And what's particularly great about these tougher greens is that they don't wilt as much as spinach does, so one bunch goes a long way. I grabbed the swiss chard and the two red varieties.


I also grabbed my newest discovery: beet greens. Have you tried them? I used to toss them away with nary a thought, the memory of which makes me clutch my heart in sorrow now! I didn't think I could love beets any more than I did (not the red ones though. Those are still yucky to me. Sorry, I know I'm snobby.), but once I realised that these rough-hewn gems provided TWO meals, at a price of $1.25 a bunch... I was a devotee for life. Plus, I love how the roots feel in my hand -- they are so pleasantly curvy, with that suggestive little tail... it makes me want to draw some eyes on them and stick 'em on my bed.

Waaaait a second.


Ha!

I've read that you need to use those beet greens almost immediately, or else they'll start to rot. But I beat the odds by cutting the leaves off the stems, washing 'em, drying 'em in a salad spinner and then storing them, wrapped in some paper towel in a plastic container in the fridge. They lasted a little more than a week!

Anyway, this week's recipe is an improvisation on an Andy Nusser recipe, Fusilli a la Crazy Bastard. Apparently, he and Mario Batali love this New Yorker cartoon (you can order it from the New Yorker website; isn't that cool?!):


His dish is uniquely delicious, a messy melange of beet greens, roasted tomatoes, walnuts and goat cheese, served over that crazy bastard, fusilli. I decided to nix the goat cheese (ah, lactose) and the pasta. Instead, I added some classic Indian seasoning and served it over brown rice. I present you Popeye & that Crazy Bastard Greens!

N.B. I supplemented the beet greens with some swiss chard. You can use whatever greens you like, except for tougher, longer-cooking ones like collards.

Popeye & that Crazy Bastard Greens!
(Cumin-Coriander-Fenugreek scented Beet Greens & Swiss Chard with Roasted Tomatoes and Toasted Walnuts)

You'll need this stuff (plus spices):


1/4 cup raw walnuts
2 generous cups cherry tomatoes
1 tsp olive oil
2 tbsp canola oil
1 tsp cumin seeds
1/2 tsp black mustard seeds
1/4 coarsely ground fenugreek seeds
3 cloves garlic, sliced
1lb beet greens (supplemented with whatever greens you have if you don't have enough), washed, sliced roughly
1/2 tsp ground coriander
pinch of garam masala
pinch of red pepper flakes (optional)
salt and pepper

1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees F/177 degrees C. Toss walnuts on a baking sheet and toast in the oven for about 10 minutes until lightly browned. Chop coarsely.

2) Turn oven up to 450 degrees F/230 degrees C. Toss cherry tomatoes with olive oil, salt and pepper. When oven is hot, throw tomatoes in and roast for 10-15 minutes, until brown spots appear on some of 'em.



3) Meanwhile, slice up your greens roughly. I discarded the beet steams, but I chopped up the swiss chard stems finely.

4) Heat canola oil in large skillet over medium-high heat. Add cumin, mustard and fenugreek seeds. They should sizzle upon contact. Allow them to cook about 30 seconds until fragrant, add garlic and cook carefully (don't let it burn!) for 30 seconds. Add greens, coriander powder and a sprinkling of salt. Toss until well combined, turn heat down a touch and cover, allowing greens to wilt for about a minute.

5) Add roasted tomatoes and walnuts. Toss to combine and cook until warmed through. Add freshly ground black pepper. Taste for seasoning and serve immediately (it doesn't taste as good when reheated).



Enjoy! Hope your triceps expand beyond your wildest dreams!

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aarti

Aarti Cooks: Fathers Office-Inspired Stuffed Peppers!

Y'all know how much the McSequeira household worships the burger and beer Shangri-La that is Fathers Office. We have our friends Andrew and Meta to thank for our obsession. A few years ago, they told us about the burger (a glorious creation topped with a bacon-onion compote, light blue cheese and arugula), and shortly thereafter, we were hooked.


Indeed, after FO opened their second branch a stone's throw from our house, I wondered whether the theory of (cue eerie whispery voice) "The Secret" could be true! Did Bren love and desire that burger so much that it manifested in his very own Father's Office 2 minutes from our abode?!

We haven't seen Andrew and Meta in way too long, so we had our reunion at you-know-where this week. It was great to see them and gobble that burger together.


Inspired by them and the burger, I made these stuffed peppers last night, built on an autumnal base of caramelized onions, apples and (oh yes please!) bacon. I added blue cheese to the mix, forgetting that I'm not a big blue cheese fan, so leave that out if you're like me. Next time, I might try Gorgonzola for a more delicate tang. Or maybe goat cheese. Hmmm.

Again, with economy in mind, this dish stretches out that pound of ground beef. Plus, since it's stuffed inside a pepper, it's easier to digest; my friend told me that we are meant to eat animal protein with some vegetable fiber so that it digests more easily (so steak and potatoes is actually a BAD idea. Steak and broccoli on the other hand is perfect).

One note -- I used Freekeh instead of the traditional rice stuffing.

Freekeh is a Middle Eastern grain as far as I can figure, probably from Syria? It's wheat that's picked early, hence the green tinge, and then dried out over coals, so the grains have an inherent smoky flavour that is just delicious. I found it at a specialty store here. If you can't find it, or if you don't WANT to find it, you can substitute with 1 - 2 cups of cooked rice, remembering that 1/2 cup of uncooked rice doubles in size once cooked.

This recipe is a tribute to Andrew and Meta, and of course to Father's Office. So without further ado:

Fathers Office-Inspired Stuffed Peppers with freekeh, caramelized onions, apples, bacon and a hint of brandy.

You'll need this stuff:



4-6 large bell peppers, big enough to stuff
1 cup freekeh, or 1 cup cooked rice
Olive oil
2 medium onions, medium dice
2 large apples, medium dice, skins on
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 rashers bacon, small dice
1 pound ground beef
Slurp of brandy or whiskey
2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
2 tbsp ketchup
1/4 cup blue cheese (optional)
1 egg, lightly beaten

1) Bring a big pot water to boil, seasoning the water with salt once it's boiling. Meanwhile wash the freekeh and soak in a bowl of hot water for 30 minutes.

2) Slice the tops of the bell peppers; I sliced about 1/2 inch off. Remove the ribs and seeds, saving the tops for a salad the next day. Rinse the bell peppers.

3) Dunk the bell peppers in the boiling water and blanch for 3 minutes. Then, set them out to dry on some paper towel, cut side up. Bring the water up to the boil again, and add the drained freekeh, bringing the water down to a rolling simmer. Cook the freekeh for 30 minutes. (Alternatively, you can cook the rice in this water. It should only take 10 minutes, as opposed to the usual 15 minutes since there's so much water). Once the freekeh or the rice is cooked, drain and keep the grains aside.

4) While your grains are cooking, set a large skillet over medium-high heat and swirl a couple of tablespoons of olive oil in there. Once it's shimmering, add the onions and the apples. Season generously with salt and pepper. Saute until they start to brown around the edges (5-8 minutes).

5) Turn the heat down on the onion mixture. Cook for another 10 minutes or so, allowing the onions and apples to caramelize, turning a deep brown. Sprinkle the garlic on top now and gently toss. Move the onion mixture to the perimeter of the pan, and add the bacon to the empty space in the middle. Allow the fat to render and when the bacon has stiffened a little (don't let it burn!), stir into the rest of the onion mixture. Allow to cook another 5 minutes.

6) Turn your oven on, preheating to 350 degrees fahrenheit. Then turn the heat up a little to medium-high and add the ground beef. Stir, breaking up the chunks and cooking until browned and no longer pink on the inside.

7) Add a splash of brandy or whiskey to pick up any brown bits on the bottom of the pan; if you'd prefer not to use alcohol, you can use a little stock or even a little water.

8) Add the cooked grains, the ketchup and the worcestshire sauce. Toss and season according to your tastebuds; if you're going to add cheese, remember that most cheese has salt into it, so go easy salt-lovers. Off heat, add the cheese and the egg.

9) Place the bell pepper shells in a baking dish. Fill to the brim with the meat mixture, patting it down. You can top with some cheese if you like, but I like it bare. If you have leftover meat mixture, you can make a little freeform meatloaf on a foil-lined cookie sheet.

10) Roast for 25-30 minutes until the bell peppers have taken on a little color and the meat is browned on top. Allow to rest for 5 minutes, and then serve immediately! A simple salad with a slightly sweet dressing goes really well with this. And so does a nice beer.


What do you think?

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