Back in culinary school I took an elective in Indian cooking. One of the dishes we made along the way was dal makhani, a stew made of urad dal (also known as Indian black lentils or black gram), kidney beans, ginger, garlic, garam masala, tomato and plenty of butter and cream. (There’s something quite satisfying about being able to unwrap a whole stick of butter and just drop it into a pot of stew.) The recipe was simple, rich and easy to make in bulk. Definitely a keeper.
(more…)
A few days ago, I had hands down the best winter squash I’ve ever had the pleasure to eat. I don’t have such hubris as to talk about my own cooking that way (although my preparation was pretty damn good.) Just the squash itself was amazing. Eating the steamed squash plain with nothing added was phenomenal…rich, earthy and sweet in much the same way as all winter squash, but somehow moreso. Have you ever tried to cook or eat a carving pumpkin? They taste like someone took the flavor of an acorn or butternut and cut it in half. This tasted like someone took the flavor of an acorn or butternut and doubled it.
One of the things I’ve really enjoyed about subscribing to the CSA this year is that I get a box of random produce every other week. It makes dinner every night a bit like mystery box cooking…open the fridge and see what’s there to work with. There are also things I haven’t enjoyed about having the CSA, mainly that I haven’t made it to the farmers market much this year because I don’t want to go get more produce when I already have a fridge full at home. I’m trying to figure out how to balance the two so I can continue getting my myster box (and supporting the farmers) without losing those trips to the farmers market. So far my main idea is just to cook more at home…but that has its own problems.
These lentils are one of my standbys. They’re good cold in the summer, hot in the winter or room temperature any time. I usually make a big batch of these along with something else for dinner, then eat the leftovers for lunch for the rest of the week. They go wonderfully with a salad for a light summer dinner or as a side dish for a heavier winter dinner. In short, they’re great no matter how you eat them. And when they’re cheap and easy on top of that…
(more…)
