Narangi Keema

This month the Brain and I celebrated 6 years of togetherness. Well celebrated is a little strong of a word. We noted the passing of time. See we're not shmoopy traditionally romantic people. I can honestly say I've never gazed into the Brain's eyes for any long period of time, despite the fact that he has the most beautiful blue eyes and really long lashes. We don't hold hands very often and if we do it tends to be something of a silly moment. That's just how we are.

(3 weeks after we met)

Don't get me wrong. We are very compatible and live a life full of love and laughter, but we're not traditional. Did I ever tell you we met on the Internet? Indeed. I met his requirement of being a Catholic without any children and he met my requirement of being bald. Yes. I like bald men. A lot.

This is us about 8 months later (when I already knew there was no going back.) Aren't we cute? That's one fine looking bald man...

So yeah, sometimes I like things a little different than the next person. For example, I have always had a certain soft spot for a bald man. I think I get it from my mother who thinks Danny DeVito is a wildly sexy man. I'm not even making that up.

Given some ground lamb and a craving for Indian food most people make Ground Lamb with Peas (or Mutter Kheema). It's delicious. But I had just gone to the library and checked out From Curries to Kebabs, recipes from the Indian Spice Train by Madhur Jaffrey. In this very interesting cookbook is a recipe called Narangi Keema, which is short for Hyderabadi Ground Lamb with Orange. It's a really unusual, really delicious dish. I didn't alter it too much from the original recipe. The only difference is that at the end of the recipe she says to add the garam masala, but doesn't include it in the ingredients list. and the unit of measurement is missing from the coriander leaves. It just says 1. 1 what? 1 bushel? 1 tsp? 1 cup? Yes, it's the standard how to annoy a math geek moment. But anyway, this was really different and tasty way to try a new Indian ground lamb recipe.

Narangi Keema
from From Curries to Kebabs with alterations previously noted.

1 large orange
1 tsp ground turmeric
1 tsp salt

3 Tbsp peanut oil
2 medium onions, sliced into fine half rings
2 tsp ground cumin
1 Tbsp ground coriander
2 Tbsp peeled and grated fresh ginger
4 cloves garlic, crushed to a pulp
4 Tbsp plain yogurt
2 pounds ground lamb
1/2 tsp ground turmeric
1/2 tsp ground cayenne pepper
1 cup fresh orange juice
1 1/2 tsp salt

3 serrano peppers, sliced into very fine rounds
1 cup lightly packed cilantro, coarsely chopped
3/4 cup lightly packed fresh mint leaves, finely chopped
1/2 tsp garam masala

To prepare the orange, peel off the orange rind, making sure to leave the white pith behind. Cut the rind into very fine, 1 inch long julienne strips. Combine the turmeric and salt with 6 cups of water in a pan and bring to a boil. Pour half into a measuring cup and reserve. Add the rind to the boiling liquid in the pan and boil rapidly for 1 minute. Empty the pan through a sieve set over a sink. Pour the reserved turmeric water back into the pan and bring back to a boil. Put the rind back into the pan and boil again for 1 minute, then strain again through a sieve set over the sink. Rinse the rind under cold running water and set aside.

To prepare the lamb, pour the oil into a large, nonstick, lidded pan set over medium high heat. When the oil is hot, stir in the onions and cook for 6 to 7 minutes, or until a dark caramel color. Add the cumin and coriander and stir for 30 seconds. Add the ginger and garlic. Cook for 1 minute. Stir in the yogurt 1 tablespoon at a time, waiting for the previous tablespoon to be absorbed before adding another. Put in the lamb, turmeric, and cayenne. Stir and cook for 5 minutes, breaking up all the lumps in the meat. Add the orange juice, rind, and salt. Stir and bring to a simmer. Cover, reduce heat to low, and simmer gently for 40 minutes. Add the chilies, cilantro, mint, and garam masala. Stir to combine. Cover and continue to cook for 10 more minutes. Serve.

Spaghetti and Meatballs

Hello. How are you?

Have you dropped a little weight?

You're looking pretty good!

I've been dieting some. I've also been working out more.

Why?

Because there's so much going on in the world today that I can't do anything about. I can't help those people in Haiti besides write a check. I can't do anything about all the poor people (and self employed people) who have very limited access to healthcare. I can't adopt one of the hundreds of thousands of little orphaned Haitian babies. I can't find Osama Bin Laden. (Okay, I haven't looked either.) It seems to me that every time I listen to the news it's just more and more that I can't do anything about. I find it a touch depressing.

What I can do, and the reason for the dieting and working out, is ride my bike. I have a teensy little seat and I'm seriously hoping it gets MUCH more comfortable in the next 7 months. Because July 29th - August 1st I will be riding 328 miles in Pan Ohio Hope Ride. I will be riding to raise funds for the American Cancer Society and their Hope Houses. In fact, today, when I learned yet another person I love very much has been diagnosed with cancer, the only thing that made me feel the tiniest bit better was to put on my biking clothes and ride my bike. So if you'd like to support me, here's the link to my page. If you'd like to join the team I'm on (Adam's Army- named after a soldier who was a good friend of my team leader Mike) we'd love to have you! Just click on the button that says "Join My Team."

Also, expect to see updates ocassionally on how the training is going.

And yes, those noodles are made from scratch, not a box.

If it weren't for the Pan Ohio Hope Ride, I would be doing what every other chubby, emotional eater, in rural Ohio does and eating plates and plates of this delicious Spaghetti and Meatballs. Okay. I did eat plates and plates of Spaghetti and Meatballs, but in my defense, yesterday was my birthday, and I seriously think The Complete Meat Cookbook is one of the top 5 cookbooks in my library (one of the spare bedrooms, not the public library.)

Meatballs and Sauce
adapted from The Complete Meat Cookbook

meatballs:
1 pound ground chuck
1/2 pound bulk pork sausage
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup dried breadcrumbs
2 tsp minced garlic
2 Tbsp minced onion
1/3 cup finely chopped parsley (I used 1/4 cup dried because it's what I had)
1/2 cup grated Parmesan
2 Tbsp finely chopped sun-dried tomatoes in olive oil
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp dried marjoram
1 1/2 tsp ground black pepper

sauce:
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 cup chopped onions
2 medium stalks celery, chopped
1 Tbsp chopped garlic
1 cup dry red wine
1 cup beef stock
3 cups canned tomatoes
1 tsp Italian seasoning. (Ok, it supposed to be basil, but somehow I have none in the pantry)

In a large deep bowl combine all meatball ingredients. kneading and squeezing until everything is well blended. Shape the meat into 24 meatballs (approximately 1 1/2 inch balls). Place the meatballs on a cooking sheet lined with parchment and place in a preheated 500° oven and bake for 10 minutes, ocassionally shaking the pan.

Add 1 Tbsp olive oil to a Dutch oven, add the onions, celery, and garlic and cook over medium heat for 5 minutes, stirring once in a while. Pour in the red wine and bring to a boil. Cook until the red wine is reduced to about 1/4 cup. Add the stock and tomatoes and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer. Add the Italian Seasoning (or basil) and a pinch of salt and pepper. Simmer for 30 minutes and then using an immersion blender puree the sauce to as smooth as you prefer.

Put the meatballs into the pan and simmer over low heat for another 30 minutes. Taste for salt and pepper and serve over the cooked pasta of your choice.

Serves 8.

Egg Tomato Curry

It's snowing outside. It's been snowing for several days. Okay, maybe just two whole days, but it feels like longer. It's the perfect kind of weather to snuggle under an afghan, drink a steamy mug of hot chocolate and eat something robust and hearty like beef stew and homemade bread with thick slabs of butter. Real butter, not margarine.

But it's January. Which means one of two things. 1) You have New Year's resolutions and are avoiding things like snuggling all day under an afghan (you need to get moving!) and thick slabs of butter. Or 2) You are sick and tired of rich foods and butter and chocolate (hard to believe THAT happened!) and instead are desperately craving something with a vegetable in it. Or maybe you feel like you can only afford to eat Ramen Noodles (BLECCH!) after looking at the credit card bill. Ah January. What a month.

Because there was a -1 billion degree windchill outside, the Focus does not have heated seats, and I needed to eat something quick and warm and delicious and healthy (and fairly cheap), I told my sister Super G, while driving home from work on Sunday that I would be making Egg Curry for dinner that night. Super G regularly follows my blog and informed me that she didn't think I'd ever posted a recipe for that and she Google searched to be sure. I told her that was ridiculous because I must have posted an egg curry recipe before. It's my go to quick, easy, delicious, cheap, and healthy recipe. Super G insisted I hadn't because she is curious about trying it.

I'm embarrassed to say Super G is correct. I have somehow neglected to post a recipe for egg curry. This is even more embarrassing because I have two different egg curry recipes that I've used in the past. Ooops. Deepest apologies. This is without a doubt super comforting food for me and although it took a moment of courage to get over the idea of hard boiled eggs in tomato sauce, it has squarely landed in the rotation as a meal I cook often. So without further ado, Here's the recipe...

Egg-Tomato Curry

adapted from Betty Crocker's Indian Home Cooking (don't judge, it's a really good cookbook)

1 Tbsp canola oil

1 medium onion

2 medium cloves garlic

1 Tbsp sugar

1 tsp salt

1 tsp ground cumin

1/2 tsp cayenne

1/4 tsp turmeric

2 (15oz) cans of petite diced tomatoes

1 cup water

4 large hard boiled eggs, cut in half

2 Tbsp finely chopped cilantro

Quarter the onion and process in the food processor with the garlic until very finely chopped. Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium high heat. Add onion and garlic and cook for several minutes until all liquid has evaporated and onions start to turn brown (about 5 minutes).

Stir in sugar, salt, cumin, coriander, cayenne, and turmeric. Cook for 1 to 2 minutes stirring constantly. Stir in tomatoes and water. Simmer uncovered for 8 to 10 minutes.

Gently stir in eggs and simmer for another 1 to 2 minutes to warm eggs. Remove from heat. Gently stir in cilantro.