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Showing posts from January, 2020

Garam Masala Lentils

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I've always been curious about garam masala. It certainly sounds interesting and tasty. It's similar to a curry. A blend of spices. But it's less complex than a curry blend. It's usually used as a starting point and additional spices are added. I got some as a gift and decided to try it with lentils and barley in a curry. If you like curry and haven't yet tried adding garam masala, you should. It's easy to get online. It adds a whole new level of depth. I love lentils in a curry because they need a lot of flavor and they bring texture as well as thickening properties. You don't want a loose or watery curry. I made a huge batch. This yielded 2.5 quarts of food. So you may want to halve the measurements. 1 red bell pepper, diced 2 poblano peppers, diced 2 jalapenos, minced 2 serranos, minced 5 cloves garlic, smashed and diced 2 cups fresh spinach 1 cup fresh kale 1/2 cup dry lentils 1/2 cup dry pearl barley 1 can coconut milk 3 heaping sp

Harissa Sauce 2.0

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I've done harissa before and it was good harissa, but I wanted to change it up a little bit to make it more eastern hemisphere authentic.  I added caraway seed and celery seed. This gives it a unique flavor profile that isn't typically present in western hemisphere recipes. It's still very easy to make. You just chuck everything into a blender and then pour into a a container to chill. You'll be rewarded with an intensely flavored sauce that will make anything you add it to taste way better. Harissa 2.0 1 24 oz jar roasted red peppers, including the liquid 3 cloves garlic 1 jalaepno 1 serrano 1 tbl olive oil 3 tsps salt 2 tsps celery seed 1 tbl caraway seed Puree all ingredients in a blender until smooth. Add back to the empty pepper jar. Rest in the fridge for several hours to cool and thicken.

Spicy Barbecue Tofu

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Tofu tends to get a bad rap. If it's not prepared properly it can feel like eating an old sponge and taste of absolutely nothing. On the other hand, when treated well, tofu can be a scrumptious treat for the senses as well as powerful nourishment for the body. I first fell in love with tofu through my local Chinese takeout. They have deep fried tofu with sauteed vegetables. Deep fried tofu has the perfect chewy exterior and pillowy soft center. It tastes of all the vegetables, oil and soy sauce from the wok. I've experimented with cooking tofu at home. I don't really deep fry. But there are other great ways to prepare tofu as a main protein. I like to broil it. I use a classic meat eaters method to give it flavor. I brush it with a glaze before and mid cooking. It works brilliantly both in terms of flavor and texture. It's totally vegan. Ingredients 1 package extra firm tofu 4 tbls olive oil 2 tbls hot sauce 2 tbls sriracha 1 tbl apple cider vinegar 1 tsp salt 1 tsp p