There is much work to be done in school and that has been keeping me pretty occupied. And since I have been spending a lot of time in the studio many a dinner was transformed into a portable lunch-in-a-box the next day. Like this one:
Which served as wonderful energy to fuel the making of these:
Others were just prepared straight into a box. like this one:
That faithfully sustained me through the carving of this:
Then came Friday with a pleasant afternoon
And a small hunger to accompany it
Have a wonderful week, dear friends!
Indian style vegetable curry with coconut milk and brown rice
1 cup brown rice
2 tbsp Coconut oil
1 bay leaf
a few pieces of cinnamon bark, broken into bits
5 cloves
5 whole coriander seeds
1 large onion, finely chopped
chilly pepper flakes
3 cloves garlic, mashed
nice bit of fresh ginger, grated
small cauliflower, divided into florets
4 tomatoes, diced
1 can coconut milk
about a cup of finely chopped cilantro
large handful green beans, tips removed and lightly blanched
3-4 leaves of chard, large stems removed, greens chopped into wide strips
cilantro to serve
first start your brown rice. boil 2 cups of water, in the meanwhile warm 1 tbsp coconut oil in small pot. add some pepper and salt, then the rice. fry for about a minute, stirring so the rice doesn't burn. add the water once it has boiled. taste to make sure the water is salty enough, bring back to boiling point then reduce heat, cover and let simmer for 30-40 mins.
in a large skillet or wok ( that has a lid) warm oil along with cinnamon, bay leaf, coriander and cloves, just until the oil becomes aromatic. then add onion and fry on medium heat till it is nearing golden. add chilly to according to your liking. add garlic+ginger and fry while stirring for about a minute. add cauliflower, stir for another minute or so. add tomatoes, lower heat and cook till tomatoes create a sauce- up to five minutes
mix in coconut milk, cilantro and green beans. cook for a few minutes, then add chard and cook just till wilted. check seasoning ( you'll want to add salt at this point) and serve over brown rice with fresh cilantro on top.
despite the multiple steps and ingredients, this comes together pretty quickly if you prepare all your ingredients in advance and have them waiting to jump into the skillet rather than having to rush to sink to rinse the tomatoes and get them in there before the cauliflower becomes a mush. Also, there are endless variations yo could try with this one: different vegetables ( peas, grated carrot and an eggplant are a smashing combo), tofu... you name it. use your culinary instinct /common sense to determine which vegetable should be added when- cubed potatoes after the onion, mushrooms and eggplants after the tomatoes have made a sauce... etc. You can substitute the coconut milk with half a cup of cashew nuts, pureed with some water. Then it's nice to add some chopped nuts on top along with the cilantro... yum!
Arugula tomato and zucchini salad in a box
small bunch of Arugula, washed
1 ripe firm tomato, diced
1 large zucchini, sliced into thick slices
1/2 small red onion, sliced
juice from 1 lemon
olive oil
coarse sea salt
ground black pepper
generous sprinkle of "Nigella Sativa"*
(Ah Ha! I am not cursing you, in case you were wondering. This is one instance where it would be a lot easier if we were doing this in Hebrew, in which case I would just say קצח - or Ketzach for those of you who think I am foul-mouthing again- and call it a day. unfortunately my attempts to discover this little black seed's name came up with the above mentioned botanical name, plus this wikipedia page which led to the notion that you are most likely to know this as "Black Cumin". In any case, it is delicious, and you want to get your hands on some. Sprinkle it on top of any salty baked goods and you too shall be singing the praise of Nigella Sativa. End extremely long side-note)
in a hot skillet with some olive oil fry zucchini till golden on each side. you should get your skillet really hot so they stay crunchy on the inside. remove from skillet to cool
in your plastic box of choice/ plain old bowl combine arugula, tomato, onion, zucchini ,olive oil, salt, pepper and black cumin seeds. if you won't be eating this right away, don't squeeze your lemon in now so the arugula doesn't turn soggy.
This would have been super with cubes of feta or Bulgarian cheese, or Tzfatit for you Israelienes.
Now, I feel a little silly giving you a recipe for this one. but it was so very tasty, and so very easy to make, and that's what I'm always looking to have more of. so let's just go for some general guidelines.
Warm Quinoa Salad with chard, red onions and zucchini
In a hot skillet with olive oil, black pepper, salt and chilly flakes fry 1 small red onion that has been cut into wide strips. fry it very lightly, then add sliced zucchini and fry for additional minute or two, stirring occasionally. add about half a bunch of chard, cut into strips. fry just till wilted.
serve over quinoa with a generous amount of lemon juice, splash of olive oil, and more salt-pepper-chilly to taste. I had a box of cooked plain quinoa sitting in the fridge so this was extra fast- I had been using it as a base for various veggie salads such as this one throughout the week. another good combo was zucchini-red onion-scallions.
Oh, and one last image:
Look at those tiles!!!!
Ahhh!! they were almost as delicious as the late night breakfast, complete with champagne cocktails, that I shared with a dear, dear friend last night. Thank you, Darling :).
