lperry

Christmas black bean chili tamales, pulled from the freezer and steamed to happiness.

Braised mustard greens.  OK, it was Shanghai cabbage, but if you do the olive oil chile flake thing, it all works out.

I stopped in today after a trip to the grocery next door and picked up a spicy order of aloo gobhi matar.  Delicious.  Wonderfully spiced, not greasy, freshly prepared, hot enough to make my nose run, but not hot enough to make me cry, simply delicious.  I don't know why we don't head here more frequently. 

Homemade pho with tofu and tiny Shanghai cabbages, and four containers of the stock in the freezer for easy warming meals in the coming months.

An inch of ice pellets on the car (rain first, my &%#) changed our dinner plans, so an unplanned freezer-fridge-pantry meal of tofu (the sliceable kind) and sweet potato leaves in a Thai green curry, served over jasmine rice.  I've only got enough frozen curry paste for two more meals.  I find this situation oddly unnerving.  

If you join the World Market mailing list, there is currently 30% off many of their wines if you buy a full case.

We're in a salad rut as Mr. lperry is back from a trip, and he wants to lighten it up for a while.  It's typically been romaine, Fuji apple, dried cranberries, and pieces of chèvre or Manchego in a tarragon, Dijon vinaigrette. 

Curry paste of dry red chillies, coriander, cumin, cloves, nutmeg, mace, fennel, cardamom seeds, shallots, and garlic all roasted and then pounded with galangal, lemongrass, kaffir lime peel, cilantro root, shrimp paste, white pepper and salt. Lamb ("Osso Bucco" from Fields of Athenry) braised in coconut milk with lemongrass, roasted star anise, roasted bay leaves, roasted cinnamon stick, and roasted cardamom pods. Curry paste fried in reduced coconut cream, added to lamb with boiled potato cubes, under-ripe pineapple cubes, pearl onions, and peanuts. Seasoned with fish sauce, palm sugar and tamarind.

Served with Jasmine and red rice and

Who has nice lemongrass right now?  I've only got a little curry paste in the freezer, so it's time to make another big batch and I can't find decent lemongrass.

Absolutely true on the increasing prevalence of GF menus across the country and in our area. I'm not sure if the celiac incidence rate has change much in the past few years but I know a ton of people (including some family) who increasingly opt for GF items to some degree. In my own experience, the best "gluten free" dishes tend to be those that don't try to replicate something traditionally made with gluten. GF bread like Cathal Armstrong does is much more exception than rule. Heavy, sugar-laden or dense, soggy products are more the norm in GF breads, pastries, pastas or pizza crusts. There are, of course, exception but I think those rules generally hold.

If you are encountering that sort of GF pastry, head to the Happy Tart. All her pastries are wonderful. Trader Joe's brown rice pasta is really good (I actually like it better than wheat), and Rudi's bread is decent toasted. Mr. lperry claims to have eaten a "pretty good" bagel in Seattle, but he couldn't remember the brand. Rustico has the best pizza crust around here, although it can be unpredictable in texture, sometimes being breadier, and other times crunchier.

Celiac diagnosis is on the upswing, I've read because it can be checked quickly with a blood test now instead of the original test which was an intestinal biopsy. (urg.) Even if it's only a small percentage of the world population, the highest rates are in those of Northern and Western European descent, so if you have a restaurant full of white people, you're going to see it more frequently. I hope they find a cure soon. It's a royal PITA.

And, what do they make the crust from if not wheat flour? Is there any technical difficulty in getting the dough to work?

1) Any number of flours including but not limited to millet, sorghum, chickpea, potato, corn, rice, quinoa, etc. 2) Yes, but once you figure it out, you are home free. I've got a great GF baking blend I mix at home now that I made banana bread with yesterday, and you can't tell a difference. I wouldn't be able to use it in bready-bread, though, or in a pizza crust because it isn't protein-y enough. Good bakeries use different mixtures for different items.

Total Wine's current coupon is 20% off anything Old World that isn't already on sale or in a bottle larger than 1.5 liters.  Nice for weekday libations. 

The ginger, sesame sauce was requested again, so tofu, water chestnuts, and a big bag of tiny little Shanghai cabbages, each cut in half to make them one bite's worth.

Jasmine rice

Just out of curiosity, and having no dog in this fight whatsoever, why is it that nobody has called the police?  If your money is being fraudulently taken, this is an issue for the authorities, no?

Snow peas, tofu, and water chestnuts in a ginger, sesame sauce

Jasmine rice

^ Congratulations!  And many happy loads of dishes. 

My run got rained out, so salad for dinner.  Inspired by a few interesting things I've had in restaurants lately along with what was languishing in the fridge, roasted sweet dumpling squash, Bosc pear, dried cranberries and toasted pecans in a Meyer lemon, linden honey, olive oil dressing, served over the last of the butter lettuce. 

We bought the Whirlpool Gold stainless model "with total coverage spray arm."  I couldn't be happier.  We decided against the Bosch because of the bipolar nature of anecdotes from friends along with a warning from a repair person (this could be bunk, I don't know) that Bosch parts are made in two places and you don't know if you will get a quality one or a crap one.  We went with Costco because they beat everyone else by at least $100 after installation was included, and even though they said it would take two weeks, two nice young men showed up in two days and installed it the day before Thanksgiving.  Note:  They do not UN-install, so if you are not comfortable unhooking water lines and an electrical cord, go elsewhere.

So far it's been great, although I like the Cascade detergent better than the Finish.  I had to crank the rinse agent adjustor to the max for the Finish to wash off the glasses in the rinse.  I do not wash the dishes before they go in, although I do rinse off chunky stuff.  I use the sensor cycle and everything comes out sparkly clean, it's amazingly quiet compared to the old Maytag, and it washed Christmas dishes and glasses from seven people along with all the serving pieces in a single load.  FWIW, this one may be a decent choice.

esnobiggie: an important life lesson applicable to most situations

Crimini mushrooms and sweet onion in a red wine, balsamic reduction with a very small amount of chestnut honey

Quinoa

Butter lettuce and Bosc pear in a tarragon, Dijon vinaigrette

Alas.  Fugu, but no fufu. 

An embodied one, possibly.  I saw fufu and immediately saw in my mind an image from a video I used in a class - women standing alongside a large, wooden trough, squashing yams with giant wood pestles.    They had excellent arm musculature.  I need a vacation.

Roasted Sun Gold tomato (freezer) risotto, finished with chèvre

Butter lettuce in a tarragon, Dijon vinaigrette

Roasted spaghetti squash with caponata (freezer)

Butterhead lettuce tossed in a tarragon Dijon vinaigrette

OK, going the hot route I'll add that you can slice thinly and layer with potatoes into a lovely gratin. 

If I may suggest a different route, celery root and apple, shredded, salted to get some water out, tossed with rémoulade, capers, and Italian parsley, well, it's a beautiful thing. 

Our New Year's dinner, a few days late due to unforeseen circumstances.  Gigante beans in an herbed tomato sauce, braised collards with hot sauce, and cornbread.  The collards were the best I've had outside of home grown.  I picked them up at Shoppers, of all places.

Salad of red leaf lettuce, radicchio, frisee, watermelon radish, cucumber, celery, carrot, bacon, and hard-boiled egg; miso-ginger vinaigrette

Leftover pork tenderloin plus shiitake mushroom - sherry sauce

Leftover black-eyed peas with roasted cauliflower and brussels sprouts

How were these?  I was thinking of buying seeds for this spring.

Breakfast for dinner with arepas and scrambled eggs.  Maybe if we all concentrate really hard, spring will come soon.