Indian Feast

We had some friends over for supper who happen to be vegetarians.  So, a traditional Easter menu was out of the question.  I decided to make Indian food.  We had paneer curry, dahl, basmati rice, and naan. 

I found a recipe for paneer curry in the April issue of bon Appetit.  I had paneer for the first time a few years ago at an Indian neighbor's party.  (Paneer is a fresh cow's milk cheese that has a firm, creamy texture that pairs perfectly with a spicy sauce.)  It was amazing and I have wanted to make something with it ever since.  

Yesterday, I learned that the most convenient paneer vendor for me is an Indian restaurant near my house.  They only sold paneer in 4lb blocks, so I have plenty in the freezer to use later.  I am excited because I loved this recipe!  The taste was great and it was fairly easy to make. 

 

I made a bunny shaped cake for dessert. 

Mediterranean Feast

The last few days have left me feeling tired and lazy- I think this pregnancy is starting to catch up with me.  While I do love to cook, I have a hard time finding energy at the end of the day to do anything other than sit with my feet propped up.  But my desire to eat propels me to cook, and my toddler propels me to feed him, play, bathe him, and not sit down for more than 2 seconds.

Supper tonight was a perfect meal for a lazy cook- it was virtually effortless and very delicious.  We had hummus, tabouli, pita, feta cheese, olives, and spinach.  The hummus was made earlier this week.  This afternoon, I quickly made the tabouli and put it in the refrigerator to let the flavors intensify.  When we were ready to eat supper, I just took everything from the refrigerator and put it on the table.

We combined the ingredients (hummus, tabouli, feta, olives, and spinach) on pita bread to make sandwiches.  The individual ingredients were each delicious, but the flavors combined were amazing.  We all really liked this meal.  I liked not spending a ton of time in the kitchen.    

Marinated Chicken Tenders and The Grove Grill

Art and I went out with some of his co-workers last night to The Grove Grill.  Almost all of us got the shrimp and grits.  They were so rich and yummy.

Jacob got to stay at home and play with the baby sitter.  Before we went out, I fixed him some oven-baked chicken and sauteed peas for his supper.  He seemed to enjoy both.  I marinated some boneless, skinless chicken tenders in olive oil and balsamic vinegar salad dressing with a minced garlic clove for about 1 hour.  Then, I baked the tenders in the marinade at 350 degrees for about 15 minutes. 

I'm glad Jacob liked the supper because we are going out again tonight and he gets to stay home and eat leftovers. 

Pan-Roasted Broccoli

Last night we had cheese ravioli with tomato sauce and pan-roasted broccoli.  I cooked some frozen ravioli from Sam's.  According to Jacob, the highlight of the meal was the broccoli.

An article on cooking vegetables in Cook's Illustrated inspired me to try cooking some standard veggies in new ways.  The article recommended sauteing peas in butter instead of boiling them.  Jacob loved this method- although, he never complained about boiled peas. 

To cook broccoli, the article also advocated using the stalks in addition to the florets, and roasting the broccoli in a pan to bring out "broccoli's sweet rather than sulfurous flavors."  We all really enjoyed the broccoli.  Jacob did not care for the stalks, but they were my favorite part.  The stalks were browned and tender and the florets were browned and flavorful.  The method is easy, but a sharp knife is handy for trimming the tough outer layer off the stalks.

Ingredients
2 Tab oil
1 3/4 lb broccoli
3 Tab water
salt, to taste

Trim florets off stalk as closely as possible to their heads.  Square off each stalk with a chef's knife to remove the outer 1/8'' of the stalk.  Cut on a diagonal into 1/4" thick slices. 
Heat oil in skillet over medium-high heat.  Add stalks and saute for 2 minutes, covered without stirring.  Add florets and cook until they start to brown (1-2 min), then add water.  Cover and cook for 2 minutes.  Remove lid and cook until water evaporates and broccoli is tender, another 2 minutes.

Hummus

Sunday, I took my first trip to our local Mediterranian Grocery.  The store had a lot of items that I love- olives, sesame tahini, pita.  It also had many items with which I am not familiar but I want to try. 

I made a hummus recipe that I found years ago in Martha Stewart's Living.  It is easy to make and very good.  Sesame tahini is called for in this recipe, but it is not something most people keep in their pantry.  I would encourage you to buy some.  (It is sometimes with the peanut butter at the store.)  You will want to make this hummus a lot, so you will use the tahini.  I use the hummus as a dip for raw veggies and bread.

Angus Beef Hot Dogs and Baked Beans

Today we returned home from our week at the beach.  We played on the beach, took walks, went to the playground, and, as on every trip we take, we ate a ton.  I will miss the beach and the fresh seafood, but I am glad to be home.

On this trip, we felt like we came a lot closer to perfecting our car trip strategy.  Quick stops about every two hours to stretch really helped us all burn some energy.  As Art wrote in his pirate post,  two of our three meals on the road were eaten at the McDonald's in Troy.  Jacob got to play while we ate.  Then, Jacob ate in the car when we got back on the road.  We also stopped at Peach Park in Clanton.  Jacob ran around the park while Art and I enjoyed peach pie and peach ice cream.

Our final stop of the trip was at Walmart and Newk's in Tupelo, MS.  Art and I agreed we would rather not eat another meal at McDonald's.  So, we stopped at Walmart and let Jacob run around.  Then, we went to Newk's and all sat down for lunch.

While at Walmart, we picked up some angus beef hot dogs, baked beans, and s'mores stuff for supper.  I "dressed up" the baked beans a bit while Art roasted our hot dogs over the fire pit.  Art further flavored his beans with chili sauce- he said it was a "win."

Pirate Post: Fear and Loathing in Panama City

Pirate post by Art Carden

We've spent the last few days in Panama City, where we eat well (here's a discussion of Panama City Beach from our friend Lance at Local Traveler).  We borrow a trailer from some family friends, and Shannon has been coming here for as long as she can remember.  I've been working on a few projects while Shannon and Jacob enjoy local amenities.  In the last few days, we've had the following meals:


Thursday Night (En Route to Birmingham):  Chick-Fil-A in Tupelo, MS.  This is the Happiest Place on Earth, apparently.  Jacob seemed to think so as they had someone in a cow costume going around the restaurant taking pictures with the kids.  In a few years, I'm going to see if Chick-Fil-A will sponsor Jacob's birthday parties.


Sunday Lunch: McDonald's in Troy, Alabama.  It's McDonald's, so you know what to expect.  They had a nice indoor playground that was separated by glass from the rest of the dining room.  Jacob had a blast, we got to enjoy a (relatively) quiet lunch, and we all left happy.  It was the perfect road trip lunch stop given that Chick-Fil-A is closed on Sundays.


Sunday Night: Montego Bay.  Decent, but nothing special.  We were going to go to Captain Anderson's or Angelo's, but they were closed.  The spaghetti from the kids' menu that we got for Jacob was enormous, and he's still working on it.  I fed him some for lunch yesterday while Shannon was out and made a mental note to myself not to feed spaghetti to Jacob again unless I have a pressure washer and a Shop Vac handy.

Monday Night: Angelo's.  Angelo's is a regular stop on Shannon's family PCB trips, and we've made it part of our rotation in the times we've been here.  Their ribs are great, the onion rings are fantastic, and their sauce is very distinctive.  In a fit of creative destruction inspired in part by having seen most of "Man vs. Food" the night before, I made an ersatz sandwich out of the buttered toast they serve with the meal, french fries, rib meat, sauce, and a small dollop of the ranch dressing that came with our onion rings.  I like to think Joseph Schumpeter and Gordon Ramsay would be proud.

Tuesday Night: Shrimp City.  Another regular feature of Shannon's family PCB trips is take-out steamed shrimp from Shrimp City.  We got the really big shrimp.  They were great, as always.  Steamed shrimp and Hawaiian rolls make a very nice po'boy.

Wednesday Night: Captain Anderson's.  The advertising and promo material say it's regularly listed as one of the best restaurants in Florida.  We've been a couple of times, and last night did not disappoint: the food was amazing on all margins.  Shannon got Amberjack.  I got the seafood platter.  Jacob got mac & cheese.  We got crab stuffed mushrooms as an appetizer, and they were also fantastic.  It's a great place for a Very Nice Dinner in an atmosphere that isn't stuffy.

Tonight:  Dunno.  It's Family Night at a local Chick-Fil-A, though, so we might go there.

Coffee, Wifi, and a Place to Work Every Day: McDonalds.  The coffee is pretty good, the company is interesting, the service is great, the wifi connection is pretty good, and they don't seem to mind basically renting out a table for most of the morning.