Paz

2008 © ChristineCooks.blogspot.com – All Rights Reserved

Paz

Orange Caper Gremolata

2008 © The Perfect Pantry – All Rights Reserved

While Paz has been recovering from surgery, she’s been dreaming about a garden in her window.

In the city, it’s a challenge to maintain any type of garden. The wind, heat, car exhaust, and even the noise test the resilience of the most hardy plants – and often test the patience of the gardener, too. But if your apartment has a sunny window sill, you can grow some of the same herbs I plant in my garden, indoors in pots, or outside in a window box.

Chives

2008 © The Perfect Pantry – All Rights Reserved

There are a few secrets to successful window sill gardening. Most important, choose herbs that don’t grow too wide or tall. Don’t overwater if your herbs are growing indoors; on the other hand, herbs growing in a box outside your window need frequent water, to compensate for evaporation from the wind. Most herbs benefit from frequent snipping, but never cut more than one-third of the foliage at a time.

Thyme

2008 © The Perfect Pantry – All Rights Reserved

Chives, basil, parsley, rosemary and thyme are good choices. They’re easy to grow, and a small amount added to a recipe will have a big flavor impact. Paz can grow her favorite cilantro, too. Don’t forget about mint; invasive by nature, mint can only invade as far as the confines of your window box or flower pot, and no farther. You can try interesting varieties, like chocolate or pineapple mint. Nasturtiums, which you can start from seed, add color to your window garden, and to your salads.

Parsley

2008 © The Perfect Pantry – All Rights Reserved

In my herb garden, flat-leaf parsley is definitely the star of the show this year. I started with nine plants, purchased from our local organic gardening center, and set in the ground in late May. After a slow first month, the parsley really took off. Now I’m harvesting every day, trying to keep up with the late-season growth spurt.

Paz, I know you’ll enjoy growing herbs (and maybe a few tomatoes and lettuce, too?) on your sunny window sill. Here are two of my favorite recipes for parsley, so be sure to plant some in your “herb garden”.

Orange-caper gremolata
A wonderful topping for salmon or halibut, and great on grilled steak, too. (Shown in the top photo.)

The Perfect Pantry

1/4 cup finely chopped flat-leaf parsley (start with a small bunch or handful)
1 clove garlic, minced
The zest of 1 small orange (grated on a fine grater or Microplane)
1/2 tsp capers, drained, roughly chopped
Coarse sea salt and fresh-ground black pepper, to taste

Place all ingredients in a bowl and mix to yield a rough paste. Can be stored in the refrigerator for 1-2 days in a container with an air-tight lid.

Parsley-walnut pesto
A zestier alternative to basil pesto, this sauce pairs especially well with buckwheat noodles. Makes enough for 6 servings of pasta.

The Perfect Pantry

1 large clove of garlic
1/4 cup walnut pieces
2 cups parsley leaves
1 tsp lemon juice
Kosher salt and fresh black pepper, to taste
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil

In a food processor, chop garlic and walnuts to a fine grind. Add the parsley, lemon juice, salt and pepper, and chop until the parsley is minced. With the motor running, slowly add the olive oil, a bit at a time, until desired consistency is reached. (You might not end up using the whole 1/2 cup of oil; it’s up to you.) Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper.

Paz

Every Monday I have a date with New York – a slice of that lovely city photographed by Paz. So I thought to start this post I’d share a photo of my city, Melbourne at night, taken at the banks of the Yarra River.

2008 © Haalo – All Rights Reserved

When Paz asked if I would guest post while she recovers I immediately had to say yes. Paz is one of those truly lovely people, a friend to all, she’s always there with a cheery word and encouragement.

So for this post I thought I’d make something with her favourite fruit which has just come back into season here – Mango!

2008 © Haalo – All Rights Reserved

While it is perfectly acceptable to just indulge in the fruit in its unadulterated form I really needed to do something more. Various ideas were floated but ultimately I wanted something simple and uncomplicated that wouldn’t compete with the fruit but rather compliment it.

So I turned to a forgotten ingredient -

2008 © Haalo – All Rights Reserved

Pearl Sago or Pearl Tapioca or Tapioca Seed – it is known by various names but refers to virtually the same product. Sago comes from the Sago Palm while Tapioca is made from cassava.

Sago itself has a neutral flavour but does work as a carrier of flavour and as a textural element. To complete the dish, another friend of mango comes into play, coconut cream to bind it together.

The end product, a lusciously delightful Mango and Coconut Sago Pudding!

Mango and Coconut Sago

Cook (almost) Anything at Least Once

½ cup pearl sago

1 cup coconut cream

1½ – 2 cups water

½ cup sugar

1 mango

Prepare the mango:

Cut the cheeks from the mango – slicing close to the central seed.

Using a large metal spoon, drag it around the edge of each cheek to scoop the flesh out in one piece.

Cut each cheek into small dice.

Remove the skin from around the seed and then scrap off as much of the mango flesh as you can – collect this in a bowl and then mash to form a puree. This will be used as a topping.

Make the pudding:

Put the sugar, coconut cream and 1½ cups of water into a saucepan and place over a gentle heat. Stir until the sugar has dissolved and then add the sago.

It’s important that you don’t allow the mixture to boil as that will cause the coconut cream to split.

Keep stirring to ensure the sago doesn’t form clumps. The sago will swell and the mixture will become quite sticky as the starch is released – if it becomes too thick, just add a little more water.

The sago is cooked when it becomes translucent. When you see this happening, gently fold through the diced mango.

The pudding can be served from cold to hot – my preference is to serve it warm.

Pour the pudding into serving glasses and top with the reserved mango puree.

Thanks again to Paz and we all hope to see you back at the helm very soon!

Paz

2008 © Kalyn’s Kitchen – All Rights Reserved

  
When Paz first asked me to be a guest blogger for her while she was recovering from surgery, I planned a surprise and photographed a bunch of food bloggers at the BlogHer conference in San Francisco, all holding signs with get well wishes for Paz.  Then I was impatient and shared a couple of photos in my post about the conference, and Paz refused to stay in bed like a good patient, so she saw the surprise!

I believe things happen the way they’re supposed to, so maybe the get-well wishes were better when Paz was first recovering anyway.  Now I’m thinking she might be feeling quite a bit better and maybe now she’s well enough to make this simple salad.  This recipe is loaded with nutritious ingredients to get Paz back in good shape in no time!

Paz

2008 © When My Soup Came Alive – All Rights Reserved

I’m honoured to be a guest blogger for Paz, whom I came to know even before I set up my own blog.

When Paz invited me to write for her blog, I only had one dish in my drafts, and no story to go with it. And I had promised to send her the post as soon as I could, so ever since we spoke to each other before I sent this post, my hours were filled with thoughts about how to put the egg curry in context.

I’m no great believer in the happy statement that things have a way of falling into place but that’s exactly what happened with this post.  I came around to deciding how, in India, when there is no meat readily available to feed visiting guests or even not-so-staunch vegetarian guests, eggs come in handy. Today, I had a guest, and because of having to accompany her on her rushed schedule, we made do with leftovers for lunch, but back home for dinner, we made omelettes with coriander and curry leaf and our meal was made! Immediately special! Despite the presence of a dozen eggs in my refrigerator, I wouldn’t have thought of the omelettes if I hadn’t been thinking about the post.

Guests or not, eggs are a sort of a halfway house – they are seen as making up for the lack of meat, somewhat, and they are dressier than vegetables, or even an elaborate all-vegetarian meal. If you simply don’t have the energy to rustle up a full-fledged non-vegetarian dish, just the presence of eggs will liven up the dining table, and everyone’s minds. It’s as if you’ve made a fair effort to cook something special. Of course, you can even resort to eggs when you don’t want to spend money on meat J

Eggs are friendly – they are easy to cook, are versatile and are done fast. And the egg curry, or should I say sauté, I’m talking about here is a nifty dish that takes only relatively little time to make, and is satisfying as well.

Ed. Note:  This dish takes about 10-15 minutes to make, once the eggs are boiled and shelled.

Eggs Curry

When My Soup Came Alive

Eggs, boiled, shelled – 4

Onions, minced – 2 cups

Coriander/cilantro, chopped – ½ cup

Curry leaves (optional, but recommended) – 5-6

Green chillies – 3, chopped (or fewer)

Or

Red chilli powder – 1 tsp

Ginger-garlic paste – 1-½ tsp (or very finely chopped ginger and garlic – 3/4 tsp each)

Mustard seed – 1 tsp

Cumin seed – ½ tsp

Turmeric – ½ tsp

Garam masala – ½ – 1 tsp (http://indianfood.about.com/od/masalarecipes/r/garammasala.htm)

Salt, to taste

Oil – 3 tsp

Score the eggs with a piece of the shell – this is to allow the spices to seep in. Three or four gashes will do.

In a wok, heat the oil. Pop in the mustard seed. Once it begins to splutter, add the cumin.

Now turn the heat down, add the onion and sauté. If you’re the impatient sort, add a bit of salt to the onion and continue to sauté – this is to hurry the process. Sweat the onions as much as you can. Wait long enough to let them turn pink and transparent, at the very least.

Now add the green chillies. Sauté. (If you’re using red chilli powder, wait.)

Add the ginger-garlic paste. Mix it well with the onions and cook for a couple of minutes.

Add the curry leaves, stir for a few seconds.

Add the salt, turmeric, a pinch of the garam masala and red chilli powder, if you’re using it, at this stage.

Mix it all up.

Now add the eggs to the onion mixture and keep turning them around frequently (not constantly). They will break a little, or they may break up into thirds and halves but that’s the fun – they get coated with the spices, and the white, now yellow with all the spices, turns a crusty brown here and there as the heat roasts it. A slow fire is the key.

Sprinkle the rest of the garam masala over the curry and fold it in. Garnish with the coriander.

Bon appetit!

2008 © When My Soup Came Alive – All Rights Reserved