Friday 28 December 2012
So what do you do with the half a turkey that's left over anyway? Now that Christmas is over, I am suddenly feeling the post-holiday blues, helped along with a rather large quantity of leftover giant 18 pound turkey that I cooked for Christmas dinner.
But that said, if you're me, or for that matter, any Indian (generalising, much?) you smother it with spices and turn it into a jalfrezi. Simple, really!
OK, so this idea's not the most original of the lot, seeing as jalfrezi's were originally devised as a way to use up leftovers after a traditional British roast dinner. This classic Indian dish originated in British India, and is attributed to the 'khansamahs' or chefs who worked for British families in India. Even though the Indians didn't generally do a roast dinner, the Brits did, and their clever chefs repurposed the leftovers by stir frying them with spices and vegetables.
A classic, simple jalfrezi consists of roast chicken, cut into strips (or you can also fry up raw chicken strips), green peppers and onions. You can just as easily replace the vegetables and meats with whatever you have handy. Beef or lamb would be delicious in this dish, as would a variety of vegetables. I also make a paneer jalfrezi which is simple, yet flavourful dish.
Thursday 27 December 2012
Oh my! How on earth did the time pass so quickly? Christmas is almost upon us, and I am madly scrambling to get everything together, including last minute menu planning and present buying. Luckily, my cousin Crystal's come down from Victoria to spend her first Canadian Christmas with us, and she's such a delight. From her squeals when she saw snow for the first time, her boundless energy, her desperation to go sledding and make snowmen (which I've had to dampen, seeing as its below 30 C out there :)) to her enthusiasm about all things Christmas, its been like my first ever time that I saw snow and spent Christmas with my Kay in England all over again. She was even excited about the turkey and all the leftovers, for er... Christmas' sake :) Its like I see everything through her eyes, and its kind of magical, all over again.
As I was talking about in my previous post though, I have actually held off baking this year. Partly because both Kay and I have been trying lose weight and eat healthier, but the lack of time was also a contributing factor. But of course, I can't possibly give up my one indulgence, eggnog. I love eggnog, but have been pretty unadventurous with it until now... I was thinking of a dessert to make to have with Christmas pudding, and of course - eggnog ice cream, how much more Christmassy can we get?
This is a very simple, classic recipe for eggnog that I've been making for a while now. All I did was increase up the sugar a bit, decrease the rum (I know, the agony!) and I used a cup of whipping cream to increase the creaminess of the ice cream.
I was pretty pleased with the end result! It had the right balance of cream and booze, and even better, tasted so delicious with lots of fresh nutmeg grated on top. My head is already buzzing with ideas for next year. Perhaps an orange flavoured ones with Grand Marnier or cognac, perhaps? Or a minty one? The possibilities are only limited by your imagination, so ahoy for eggnog icecream, I only wish we could have it all year round (ahem... now that gives me another idea...)
Tuesday 18 December 2012
So Christmas preparations are in full swing on almost every blog I visit and to be honest, I do love looking at the pictures and drooling over the recipes. But in my household, we are all trying to lose weight and be healthier, so I am restricting my sweet tooth to just looking, rather than baking and eating. I am lucky to have lovely friends (yes, Susan M and Marlow Moo, I am looking at you :-)) who have already dropped off beautiful treats, and so even though I've done very little baking, my house is still full of delicious treats and more are being added as I meet up with friends. MIL sent her boozy, dark, fruit filled Christmas cake, and its being demolished even before Christmas is here, so I may even have to ask her to send another (gulp!)
Coming back to the site though, I must apologise for my lack of regular activity on here. Its been a bit of a crazy ride with Get Cooking, and maybe its just the season, but we've been incredibly busy, especially after Kathryn was featured on the Edmonton Journal. Its winding down a bit though and much as I love my work, I am looking forward to the Christmas break. I promise to cook and bring to you a lot more recipes. In fact, I have drafts months old sitting in my folder that I haven't gotten round to taking pictures for, its that bad... and of course the waning daylight never helps either. I am still aiming to get four to six posts a month, though ocasionally they may err on the four side.
Tuesday 4 December 2012
I had the funnniest conversation with one of Adz's classmates today.
Little B - Hello, are you Adz's Mommy?
Me - Why, yes, I am, love.
Little B - But, why are you brown?
Me - Sweetie, cause I was born in India, and we are brown skinned.
Little B (pointing to Adz) - But she's white.
Me - That's because her daddy is white.
At this point, Adz interjects - Little B... in the summer I go brown, just like my mommy... and in the winter I am white, like my daddy. I am multicoloured (I think she meant to say mixed race, but got confused)
Little B (also completely confused at this point) - Well... all my family are white and my mommy and daddy too. But not my grandma... she is pink!
I still haven't stopped laughing... and I really want to see B's grandma now :) Gotta love kids, they are just so innocent, aren't they?
Up until this point, I was having a bit of a difficult day. It was little things really, missing one bus, then the next one turns up late, which means you miss the next one, realising halfway through the journey that you'd forgotten the child's snack for school, then getting stuck in a long lineup at the grocery store, all the while panicking about being late... the list was endless. Typical Monday morning, actually. But the I had the conversation with Little B, and the laughter made it all better. Laughter has a funny way of doing that to you, actually, doesn't it? And kids too... they really have no filter :)
The recipe I am posting today is one of my standby favourites and never fails to make me happy too! I went back to my easiest curry, this delicious egg masala. This recipe started off as an inspiration from one of Madhur Jaffrey's cream sauces, but I have tinkered with it so much that I am going to claim it as my own (forgive me, queen of spices!)
It's a super quick dish to put together. I start with my rice, put the eggs on to boil, then whip up this sauce. By the time the eggs have been boiled and peeled, the sauce is ready and the rice is cooked. Honestly, Indian food doesn't get quicker than this. I like to use cream when I am feeling indulgent or am making it as a side dish for a party, but I use light coconut milk when I am making it at home. I leave that up to your preference. For me, this is one of the first dishes I learned to make when I was away from home, and its still one of my best. Easy and simple doesn't mean sacrificing flavour and this dish is ample proof of that. You can also amp up the spice by adding more cayenne or hot chilli powder, but I like this curry quite mild, as you can really taste the delicate nuances of the spices in it. If you're making it, I urge you to play with the spicing, and do come back and let me know how you liked it, and I do hope that you like it as much as my family does.
Even that rat of a child of mine, who can easily chow down spicy peanuts and crisps that make my eyes water, but whines at any hint of a curry... but that's just kids for you, sigh :)
(Printable Recipe)
6 eggs, hardboiled
1 tablespoon unscented oil
1 small onion, finely diced
4 cloves garlic, crushed
1 inch piece of ginger, grated to a pulp
1 tablespoon ground coriander
½ tablespoon ground cumin
½ teaspoon ground turmeric
¼ teaspoon hot cayenne pepper
1 cup crushed tomatoes
1 cup coffee cream (18%) cream or you can use light coconut milk
¼ cup hot water, if required
Salt to taste
Fresh chopped cilantro, to garnish
Rice or naan, to serve
Method:
Peel and halve the eggs.
Place the oil in a saut̩ pan on a medium heat, and add the finely diced onion. Fry for 5 Р7 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the onion is translucent and just beginning to brown.
Add the garlic and ginger and sauté for a minute, until the garlic is fragrant. Add the ground coriander, cumin, turmeric and cayenne and cook, stirring for an additional minute or two.
Add the crushed tomatoes. Cook for another 5 minutes, until the mixture begins to dry out a little. Season with a little salt.
Gently fold in the cream or coconut milk and bring the sauce up to a gentle simmer. If the sauce thickens too much, add a little hot water to thin it down.
Stir in the chopped cilantro, then adjust seasoning, adding a little more salt if required.
Lower the eggs into the curry. Reheat gently, and serve hot with rice or naan.
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