That's Maggie on the bottom shelf - and all the shelves are now completely filled up! In fact, I have 2 smaller spice racks over on the counter (and a shelf-full of all those duplicate spices, because believe it or not, for once I have that rare thing - enough kitchen cupboards!) We ordered a bunch of canning jars and sealer lids, then filled'em up. Flours and rices are kept in a cupboard (it would be hard to put a 20lb bag of basmati on those shelves even if they are large!) Maggie's food was up there for a while because we are still trying different foods out with Daphne, our other cat, and while Mags hated Daph's food, Daph would make a beeline (kittyline?) straight for Mag's food, which has allergens we thought might be bothering her (corn products or chicken). The great news is that she's been so much better since we moved here. We still do not know what made her so ill that we nearly lost her, but it's great to see her on the mend.
Anyway -- to the food! I've only been cooking once a week, with Mike doing all the rest, so that I can focus on my literature review. When I do cook, then, I really like to have fun with it. I consider it lots of fun to find good looking recipes, chop, slice, prep, measure - that part is as good as the eating part to me, though I certainly wouldn't turn that down, either. Tonight, it was koftas -an Indian-spiced meatball in a tomato-yogurt sauce, accompanied by a turmeric tinted brown basmati with spinach and peas. I won't lie - it was a lot of work. But as I said - I consider it a blast!
Tempeh Koftas
The original recipe came from here, but in fact turns out to have been an adaptation of another recipe! I'll copy it here because I want to make some adjustments.
Meatballs:
12 oz tempeh
1/2 cup chickpea flour (besan)
1 cup vital wheat gluten
1 onion, shredded
1 tbs vegan worcestershire sauce
1/2 tsp browning sauce
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 tbs ginger, minced
2 serrano peppers, seeded & minced
1/4 cup cilantro
1 tbs cumin seed
2 tbs coriander
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
2 tbs plain soy yogurt
Sauce:
2 tbs vegetable oil
2 tsp cumin seed
1 onion, finely chopped
2 tomatoes, grated
1/2 tsp turmeric
1/2 tsp paprika
1 tsp garam masala
2 tsp coriander
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup soy yogurt
1 cinnamon stick
9 whole cloves
9 cardamom pods
Meatballs:
Boil the tempeh for about 10 minutes and allow to cool. Grate tempeh and onion and combine with all remaining meatball ingredients. Note: I just ran both through the food processer. Knead until all ingredients are combined and the dough becomes sticky. Set the refrigerate the dough for at least an hour or up to overnight. Note: one hour worked just fine. I think at this point you could form the meatballs and freeze them, as I plan to do.
Pour a tablespoon of vegetable oil onto a cookie sheet and put the cookie sheet into the oven. Note: or spray with oil, then spray the meatballs as well. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.Form into 1 tablespoon sized balls, making about 35-40 balls. Small sized meatballs hold together better and have a much better texture. Don't make them too big.
Pull out the preheated cookie sheet and swirl the oil around, just to coat. Place the meatballs on the sheet and bake for 20-30 minutes, turning the meatballs every 5 minutes or so, until the meatballs are evenly browned and slightly crispy. Note: I turned the oven up to 375F, didn't turn as frequently, and cooked about 10 minutes longer than called for. I like my meatballs firm!
Sauce:
Heat the oil in a saute pan over medium-high heat. Add the cumin seeds and cook until they begin to pop. Add the onion. Saute, stirring often until the onions carmelize and turn brown. Add the tomatoes and ground spices. Tie the cinnamon stick, cardamon and cloves into a piece of cheesecloth and add to the pan. Saute for a couple of minutes. Stir in the yogurt and combine thoroughly. Note: at this point you could add about a cup of veg broth or tomato sauce and stir, if you like more sauce. Pour the sauce into a 9x13 casserole along with the meatballs. Stir to coat, cover and bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes.
Spinach Rice
This recipe came from here, and we both thought the lemon could be doubled. We added salt at the table (I tend to use no salt or very little in cooking, and serve food with a lemon wedge).
Ingredients
2 c brown basmati rice
2 c frozen chopped spinach
1/2 c cilantro leaves, chopped
1 medium onion, roughly chopped
1/2 c frozen green peas
1 tsp whole cumin
1 tsp garam masala
1 TB lemon Juice
2 TB oil (I used olive)
2 green chilies (serrano)
4 garlic cloves
1/2" ginger (I used 2 TBs)
1/4 tsp turmeric
Salt to taste
Directions
Wash and soak the basmati rice overnight in 4 c. water (or at least 2 hours).
Chop the garlic, ginger, onions and green chillies finely.
Mince the ginger, garlic and chillies (seed the chillies for less heat).
Measure frozen spinach and peas into a bowl, add in the chopped cilantro, and set aside.
In a pressure cooker (or large heavy saucepan with a tight lid), add the oil and cumin seeds. Once they start spluttering, add the onions and saute till they turn translucent.
Add the ginger, garlic, green chillies and saute for a minute.
Add the chopped spinach, cilantro, green peas along with salt, garam masala and turmeric.
Stir, then add in the soaked rice and all the water and stir all the ingredients together.
Bring to a boil, cover, and cook til done (it's ok to check it!)
Add lemon juice after taking it off the heat - and as I said, serve it with lemon wedges.
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