Adding a little spice to my life

Some of you might remember that I love Indian food. I like spicy food (either Indian or Mexican), too.  But ... I'm not fond of Indian or Mexican restaurants.  A) Most Indian restaurants have a buffet. They food is good but ... not spicy (because many Americans seem pretty timid about spices) and B) Most buffets aren't hot.  Not talking spicy here, talking temperature.  It seems like there must be a shortage of sterno under the "warming" trays. And C) They don't have good bars. I don't want to pay $7 for a lousy martini.  (There, I said it.)

So ... the answer?

Make the food myself.  I've got a few Indian recipes that I make over and over again, but I've decided I want to do more. I'd like to make at least one new recipe a week. My only real problem is that I usually don't have the ingredients on hand, so this is going to take some planning. It's not so much the spices--I've got them and use them a lot, mostly for breakfasts and lunches (yup, I put curry powder in my omelets--garlic and cumin, too).  It's things like plain yogurt and coconut milk.

So, in my quest for new-to-me food (and I'm not adverse to eating more vegetarian, either), here's the first recipe I made. And since there are only two of us, it made a HUGE amount of leftovers.

Easy One-Pot Cauliflower Curry Recipe
Ingredients
1 medium cauliflower head cut into florets
1 tablespoon vegetable or olive oil
2 cups white onions,  chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon cumin
¼ teaspoon ground coriander
4 teaspoons curry powder
Salt and black pepper to taste
2 cups diced tomato with the juice from the can
2 cups green peas — frozen or fresh (optional)
 ¾ cups coconut milk from the can — not carton coconut milk
cooked rise

In a large pot, add 2 cups of water and place a steamer in the bottom.
Bring the water to a boil. Add the cauliflower florets in the steamer basket, cover the pot, and steam for about 6 to 8 minutes. Remove the steamer basket (with the cauliflower) from the pot and let the cauliflower cool down for 5 minutes. Set aside. (Discard water.)

Return the pot  to the stove and add oil over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic and sauté until the onions are tender (3 to 5 minutes) Add the cumin, coriander, curry powder, salt, and pepper. Stir well to combine everything. Add the tomatoes, green peas (if using) and stir in the coconut milk. Bring to a simmer and add the cauliflower back to the pot. Cook everything together for 3 to 5 minutes before serving. Serve over cooked rice.

Yield:  6 to 8 servings

Truthfully, I upped the curry and garlic, and next time I make it, I'll put in some cayenne in for heat. I also opted not to add the peas, but I think I will next time (only I might only put in 1 cup).

And how was it?

Terrific.  And it made a LOT. (Guess what I'll be having for lunch for the next few days.)

What new recipe have you made for yourself and/or your family?

It wasn't supposed to turn out this way

For years, I was able to enjoy the very best quiche in the world at The Sherwood Inn in Skaneateles, NY. It was a quiche like I'd never had before. About 4 inches high with a thick custard center, and usually with asparagus. OMG -- it was good.  And then ... one day, they stopped making it that way. What a bummer. : (

I recently got this very pretty Mikasa quiche pan at a yard sale and that made me determined to try my hand at a from-scratch quiche.  (My mother used to make them all the time back in the 80s and 90s.)

I've been looking for a recipe like that for years, and one of my readers gave me one she thought might fit the bill.  I assembled my ingredients and I figured I was good to go.

My first attempt tasted good, but wasn't at all tall.  (Very pretty pan--but too small. I ended up making omelets with the leftover egg and cream mixture.)

On Tuesday, I was all set to make a tall quiche. I bought a springform pan at a yard sale and it was at least an inch taller than the last.  One tiny problem.  I (again) decided to add mushrooms to the recipe (because I like them) and like Julia Child liked to say, "don't crowd the mushrooms." So while I was browning the crust, I was paying more attention to the mushrooms and ... (BTW, my smoke alarms work really, REALLY well!)

I ended up having a salad for supper that night. (Oh well, at least it had a lot less calories!)

Went a little overboard on the Swiss cheese.  Grated 3 times what I needed.

So Wednesday, I decided to try again.  But this time, even though I rolled the crust thinner, it didn't "take" in the pan. It shrunk. I put in as much of the cream and egg mixture as I could but ... (you got it, I'll be having an omelet for breakfast today). It tasted good, but no thick, creamy custard.

It was taller, but not by much.

I'm now in search for a taller, yet smaller (in diameter) springform pan. I'm determined to replicate that quiche if I have to eat a dozen of them to do it. One of my readers told me about a Mile-High Quiche, and I'm going to try that recipe.

Have you ever had a frustrating recipe that just wouldn't work out?

Where did it go?

My cutting board has gone missing.  It was given to me many years ago by my brother as a birthday gift. What?  You think a cutting board is a strange gift? Not if you dont have one and it costs $12 and you don't have that kind of mad money. Once upon a time, $12 was a king's ransom to me.

I bought my first house house when I was 24 years old, back when the average mortgage rate was 12%.  Yes, you heard that right. Even worse, I had an adjustable mortage and my rate went to 15%. (Good grief. today's mortgage market is sooooooo different. But that's the way it was back then.) So splurging on a cutting board was out of the question.

So, where did my beloved cutting board go?  It wasn't an expensive gift, but it meant a lot to me. I'm heartbroken that it could just up and disappear. If nothing else, it was a humble reminder of how far I've come and I'm not so ungrateful that I couldn't still love something as seemingly expendible as a hunk of wood.

Do you have a humble-something you'd miss if it was suddenly gone?

Happy 100th Birthday, Julia!

Today would have been Julia Child's 100th birthday.  I must admit, I never paid much attention to her until after she was gone.  I've never been much of a cook.  But writing the Booktown Mysteries, which include recipes, has made me a fan of all kinds of cookbooks, including Julia's Mastering the Art of French Cooking.

I must admit it was the movie Julie & Julia that really caused me to look into Julia Child's life, and what a fascinating one it was. I've probably seen it about 20 times by now.  I love it on so many levels, not only because of the cooking, but the struggle of two writers to become published.

I not only read Julie Powell's book, Julie and Julia: My Year of Cooking Dangerously, but also My Life in France, by Julia Child.  And I've been contemplaing reading the new Julia Child biography, Dearie, The Remarkable Life of Julia Child, by Bob Spitz.

To celebrate her birthday, I'm going to cook one of the recipes in Mastering the Art of French Cooking and blog about it on Friday at The Cozy Chicks Blog. (And I'm not telling which one!  You'll just have to go over there and take a peek!)

And so ... Happy Birthday, Julia.  You really did live a remarkable life.

I can work while I ride!

So, last week I went to Virginia to not only visit my good buddy Ellery Adams, but to do a signing at the Short Pump Barnes & Noble in Richmond, but also to participate in a cozy mystery panel at the Virginia Festival of the book.  Both events were terrific.  I met a lot of new readers, and did many drop-in signings at bookstores in the area.  (We were pooped!)

Since I don't fly, we drove to Virginia. Losing a few days of work was out of the question, so I needed to be able to write during the journey.  The problem is, I get carsick if I try to read. I decided to give Over The Counter Medicine a try.

Can you say Bonine Motion Sickness Protection to the rescue?

I'm very pleased to say that the Bonine worked great.  Okay, I was writing longhand but I managed to get quite a bit of work done on the next Booktown Mystery.  The down side?  I was pretty sleepy.  But I got more work done with the Bonine than I would have without it.

Do you get motion sickness, and if so--what do you use.  (Anyone try those Sea-Bands?)

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I made it myself!

My publisher likes me to include recipes in my books.  At first, I thought this was kind of a pain.  But now I look at it as an asset.  Angelica is a bit of a gourmand.  Because of that, I have to make the recipes she makes (and adapt them) for the Booktown Mysteries.

Angelica was in a bit of a funk and needed a pick-me-up.  And since I had seen a saltine candy recipe in an old Taste of Home magazine (yard sale find) some months ago, it's been on my mind.

I decided last week that Angelica should make the recipe. But first, I needed to make it.

Well, it didn't work out that way.  First, I couldn't find that issue of the magazine, and then I found a similar recipe online, but then I didn't have the vital ingredient.

Yesterday, all the stars aligned and finally had time to not only write the scene, but test the recipe.  And, since I can't make a recipe without tweaking it (not even the first time), I made it my own.

Why oh why don't I think to take pictures AS I'm making these recipes (or have Mr. L do it)?  But, I did remember to take one during and after.

I think I like the after picture better.  How about you?  (BTW, these taste like Heath (candy) bars.)

(Where's the recipe?  It'll be in the 6th Booktown Mystery--Murder on the Half Shelf.  When will it be available?  I'm not sure.  But most likely sometime in 2012.)

It 'sploded, Lucy!

The other day I decided I'd like to have egg salad for lunch.  So I promptly put four eggs in a pan, set the burner on high, looked at the clock and said to myself, "Self, come back in 15 minutes."

Of course, I went back to my office (the other end of the house) and started working on emails.

About forty-five minutes later my husband said, "What's that noise?"

"What noise?"

"The cats must be up to something.  I go look."

Lorna goes back to work.

"ARRRRRGGGGGGGGG--the kitchen is full of smoke.  The eggs have exploded!  The pan is ruined!!!"

Uh . . . I guess I kinda forgot about my lunch.

And, thanks to hubby's scrubbing power, the (Farberware) pan was NOT ruined.  It's once again shiny and back in the cupboard ready for it's next adventure.

Next time I make hard-boiled eggs . . . I'll set the timer on my desk.  (Yes, I keep one there.  Otherwise I forget cats out on the enclosed porch on winter days.)

Um . . . that is, I'll set the timer . . . if I remember.

Have you had any cooking disasters lately?

How I Eat Green Beans

Since I blogged about my garden the other day, especially about how much I love green beans, I thought I might share how I cook them.

I first ate these beans at a Chinese Buffet.  In those day, they added almonds.  I haven't seen them cooked that way in quite some time, but that doesn't stop me from fixing them that way.

First, I get out a skillet and put in an inch or so of water.  Plop the washed beans in the water (I like them whole, but you can cut them in segments or French style) and bring to a boil.  Cook until tender.  Drain the water and toss in a tablespoon or two of olive oil, and a tablespoon (or more) of either slivered or sliced almonds.  Cook until the almonds are browned.

We also eat the beans boiled with dried onion and rosemary.  I put in a tablespoon or two of dried onion, and a couple of pinches of dried rosemary (fresh is always better) and boil until your preferred level of tenderness.

As you can see, I'm not big about measuring for these recipes.

(Oh, and how do I eat my green beans?  With a fork, of course!)

How do you cook your green beans?