cumin – The Kitchen Illiterate

Kale Paneer

One thing about moving back to California that has been really amazing is living close to my family again. I grew up in San Diego, and my parents, my oldest brother, my sister-in-law, and my niece (along with aunts and uncles and cousins) still live there. My youngest brother, as well as aunts and uncles and cousins, live here in the Bay Area. So I get to see family a lot more often than I did when I was entrenched in the snow on the other side of the country. About a month ago, my youngest brother graduated from college, and a mess of family drove up to celebrate. We had a weekend full of laughter and, as always when Kriers are involved, great food. Including this home cooked Indian food dinner on Saturday night.
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Arroz con Pollo

There is something about the combination of chicken and rice that makes me happy. And I’m sure I’m not the only one. In fact, it seems that every culture has its version of a chicken and rice dish, from the cream-of-mushroom chicken rice casseroles of the midwest, to Hainanese Chicken dishes, made in various regions in Southeast Asia, to India’s Chicken Biryani. I just saw a new (to me) recipe for Halal-cart style chicken and rice that I can’t wait to try. Of all these various permutations of chicken and rice, though, arroz con pollo remains my favorite.
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Shakshuka!

When I was growing up, eggs for dinner were usually a sign that money was tight. Maybe my brothers and I needed dental work that month, or we’d just had to go shopping for new clothes and school supplies, or the car has broken down. As a child, I wasn’t completely aware of my parents’ financial situation, but I could usually read the dinner table to to get a sense for how comfortable we were at any given point. And even more so by whether my parents were joking about it, or serving us pancakes at night with grim faces. We weren’t by any means poor, but my parents were young, and just getting started out in life. There were times when eggs for dinner were a necessity.
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Sweet Potato Black Bean Enchiladas

I’ve made many enchiladas in my life, but I always make them the same way. There is usually chicken, and definitely refried beans. There is always cheese. And the enchilada sauce comes from a can. These are terrific enchiladas.

I’ve also cooked many sweet potatoes in my life. They are almost always roasted, either whole or cubed, tossed with oil and salt. They get stirred into rice, or baked in gratins, or mixed into soup. They find their way to salads. I love me some roasted sweet potatoes.

I have never thought to combine these things. But last weekend, I did. And I did not regret it. The enchilada became something wholly new, something a little bit healthier, and full of flavors I never thought I would find there. Sweet potatoes love enchiladas. They love beans and chiles. How have I kept them apart for so long?
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Moroccan Lamb Stew

I spent the last five days with my family in San Diego, not for any special occasion, but because I live in California again, and I could. We had a full weekend, including a wonderful dinner at Bankers Hill Bar and Grill, a trip to the farmers’ market, a soccer game, some shoe shopping, and a visit to a very overwhelming pumpkin patch. We cooked a lot of great meals and drank some fantastic wine and had excellent conversation and lots of laughs. But the best part? I got to spend my week immersed in life with my totally awesome two-and-a-half-year-old niece, Eliana.
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Spicy Shrimp Causa Bites

I love potlucks. They give me an excuse to experiment with dishes that are time consuming or complicated or involve unusual ingredients, or all of the above. I love to feed people, and even better, I love it when I make something that makes everyone in the room excited. These spicy shrimp causa bites did the trick: I made these for a Fourth of July party (and yes, I’m aware that was over a month ago. I’m a bad blogger). People loved them: They’re unusual and full of flavor and are fun to eat. Sure they’re a little time consuming, but they’re totally worth it.
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Spicy Shrimp with Buckwheat Soba Noodles

It’s always amusing for me to go back to the early archives of this site and realize how little I knew about cooking. And I posted everything, no matter how lackluster the final product. A lot of these early culinary endeavors, despite being executed poorly, do hold some promise, and I’ve been having fun re-creating them and trying to improve where I went wrong back in the day. One of these improvements turned out so much better, and was so easy, that I suspect I’ll be making it more often: The Spicy Shrimp and Red Onion Pasta of 2007 became the Spicy Shrimp with Buckwheat Soba Noodles you see here, and they were much more palatable this time around. It was all about the balance of ingredients, and using the right kind of noodles.
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Happy Pigs and Tasty Potato Salad

When I decided to move to Walla Walla, I started doing my research, and was pleased to discover Thundering Hooves, a local farm and butcher shop that sells humanely- and sustainably-raised meats. It was surprisingly difficult to find pastured meat in Boston, and when I did find it, it either had to be ordered way ahead or bought in large quantities. The possibility of walking into a butcher shop and walking out with something for dinner that night, something I knew had been raised and fed humanely, well, it was pretty exciting.

For some reason, though, it took me over six weeks to find the time to go check it out. But finally, this week, I left work a little early (the place closes at 5!) and bought me some happy meat.
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A new kind of Rice and Beans

This post is especially for my brother, Patrick, who is newly independent, and who loves cooking as much as I do.

I have been making and eating rice and beans for a long, long time. It’s probably the first thing I learned to cook. It is comfort food, it is day-before-the-paycheck food, with a little meat thrown it is day-after-the-paycheck food. It can be healthy or over the top and indulgent. I suspect it is the endless versatility of rice and beans that makes me love it so, and come back to it at least once a month.

For a long time I made rice and beans using packaged mixes, like Goya or Mahatma. And I’ll be honest, sometimes I still do. But making rice and beans from scratch is one of the least expensive, easiest dinners around, so the box mixes aren’t really worth it, unless you need the sodium fix. And it is great for college students. You can make a big pot for about $5 and it will last you all week. The rice and beans together make a complete protein, so you don’t need to splurge for meat. And you can add all kinds of vegetables to be sure you’re getting your greens.
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Squash and Pepper Enchiladas

I knew I had found my Walla Walla grocery store when I stumbled upon the Mexican food aisle in the Super 1 Foods. Queso Fresco, Mexican-style chorizo, Jarritos soda: I am definitely back on the West coast. I almost squealed aloud with glee when I spotted the nopales and chayote squash, and then again when I saw my favorite brand of refried beans, unavailable to me on the East coast (though now that I know they’re made by ConAgra, my affection is wearing thin).

I had been craving enchiladas for weeks. I have a pretty standard enchilada recipe that I usually swear by, but I thought perhaps this time I would try something different. And I am glad I did. These squash and pepper enchiladas might just supplant my stand-by chicken enchiladas in the roster of recipe favorites.
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