| Eggplant and Potatoes in Cashew Curry |
[13 Apr 2009|10:18pm] |
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mood |
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 pleased |
] |
3/4 cup raw cashews
1 cup water
1/4 teaspoon turmeric
1 Tablespoon canola oil
1 teaspoon black mustard seeds
15-20 curry leaves
pinch of asafoetida
1 clove garlic, minced
1 small or medium onion, chopped small
2 inch knob of fresh ginger, finely chopped
1 long hot chili pepper (or 1 jalapeno), minced
2 small japanese eggplants, cut on the diagonal
4 small red potatoes, scrubbed and cubed (about 1/2" thick)
cayenne to taste
salt to taste
Place the cashews, water, and turmeric in a blender and blend for as long as it takes to turn this mixture into a smooth, thick cream. You may need to scrape down the sides of the blender a bit. Set this aside while you prepare the vegetables.
In a large wok or pot heat the oil over medium heat. Add the black mustard seeds, and allow them to heat until they begin to pop. As soon as they do, add the curry leaves, asafoetida, garlic, onion, ginger, and chili pepper to the oil (or those seeds will pop and shoot everywhere...) and begin to stir fry until the onion is shiny and slightly softened.
Toss in the eggplant and continue stir frying for a minute or two. Add the potatoes and do the same.
Pour in the cashew cream, along with about a cup of water or broth (I just used water. If you use broth, make sure it's diluted or not too strongly flavored or it will throw off the balance of the spices used). Mix well, and then cover. Reduce the heat to med-low and let the vegetables cook through. You will need to baby this and check on it every few minutes to stir and make sure the cashew cream isn't burning/sticking to the bottom of the pan. If it does, lower the heat some more and/or add more liquid. I added a lot of liquid to keep the gravy-like consistency as the potatoes absorbed some while they cooked.
When the potatoes are tender, season with salt and cayenne to taste.
Serve over basmati rice (mine was cooked with cloves and a piece of cinnamon stick).
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| Lunacy hurts. |
[03 Apr 2009|09:35am] |
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mood |
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 cranky |
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I woke up with a claw piercing my back, just a few minutes before the alarm went off. This has become Luna’s new morning routine, to attack me in the early hours while I’m too dazed with half-sleep to properly defend myself. This cat is creative enough to come up with new strategies regularly. Just when you’ve learned how to block one type of assault, she’s got a new one for you to work on. She’ll focus on knocking down the items on the shelves in the back room until you feed her in the morning, until she realizes that you’re willing to close off one of the litter boxes back there and shut that door upon rising each day. Then she will pick fights with the other cats when they try to use the litter box in the bathroom (where you’re showering) and manage to destroy that room and even fall into the shower one day, claws and teeth still firmly gripping her opponent (poor, poor Simon). So when you start closing the bathroom door (with her inside so she doesn’t just go back to breaking things in the back room) she whines and whines and whines and attacks her own tail until she’s screaming and you think (from inside the shower) that she’s in the process of ripping a leg off or something. I seriously don’t know what to do with this cat anymore, short of buying her a nice comfy cage with a bed to put her in from time to time.
Do they make an OTC version of kitty valium? I really think drugging her is a good idea, for her own safety, ours, and the sake of the other two battered kitties!
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| I've been SEARCHING |
[12 Dec 2008|09:02am] |
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mood |
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 excited |
] |
for the name of this movie for years!
All Summer In A Day
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0195517/
if anyone ever finds this for sale in ANY format - please let me know!
it was such a beautiful and sad film.
EDIT: it's on you tube in three parts! WOO HOO!
Does anyone know if it's possible to download material from you tube to your hard drive? i would love to have this film.
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| i miss my friends. |
[08 Nov 2008|07:56am] |
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mood |
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 depressed |
] |
I am thinking of my high school friend DeVaughn, who always swore that he would be the first black president of the United States. I'm wondering - is he still out there, jealous as can be? I must admit that as well received as Obama was at the polls, it may have been a little tougher for Americans to elect a black, Jewish, gay man. (Sorry DeVaughn!) But wherever you are, I hope you're as proud as I am that we've made it this far.
Where are you? It's been years.
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| Lazy |
[22 Sep 2008|10:11am] |
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mood |
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 Monday |
] |
This past weekend was such a lazy one for me. I know that relaxing is not a crime, but I actually feel somewhat guilty about not getting things done that I ought to have. My allergies are acting up, too. Bah.
Friday night Chris and I had a nice dinner at Upi Jaya in Jackson Heights. It’s a fairly small place, very casual, serving Indonesian food. I was preparing myself for a volcanic shock type of experience, after seeing the chili-covered tastiness served to the group seated next to us, but I had ordered probably the mildest thing on the menu, gado-gado. It was tasty. Chris enjoyed his rendang padang. I love trying all these tiny little gems hidden in Queens. Has anyone tried the mysterious Desi Diner on the corner of Metropolitan and Hillside? I’m so curious. Is it a diner? Is it Indian food? Is it worth checking out?
Simon got the shits again. Either he keeps eating stuff he shouldn’t (bog only knows WHAT. He gets into everything) or he’s got the most sensitive tummy a cat could ever have. He spent a good portion of the weekend in the bathroom, to prevent major poop cleanups on the carpets, and eating rice gruel.
I finally got my baking fix Sunday morning. I made a cinnamon coffee cake from this book: http://www.joyofveganbaking.com/ Look at pretty cake!
Pretty jebus-lovin’ cake!
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| Guyanese Water Spinach |
[16 Sep 2008|10:59pm] |
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mood |
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 smart |
] |
(with baked tofu and brown rice!)
1/2 large bunch water spinach, leaves removed and washed well
3 medium shallots, chopped
3-4 cloves garlic, minced
2 small hot green peppers (from indian market-not sure what kind), minced
2 scallions, green ends cut into 1" pieces and the rest chopped
4 curry leaves (my addition)
splash of vegetable broth
1 Tbs canola oil
salt/pepper to taste
in a large wok heat oil over med-high heat. add the shallots, garlic, peppers, and curry leaves along with some salt/pepper and quickly stir fry for about a minute. add the scallions and mix, then toss on top of this mixture the greens. pour a splash of veggie broth on top of this and cover the wok. reduce the heat to med and let steam for a few minutes. check to see if the greens have wilted (they cook quickly) and then stir everything up together in the pan. check for seasoning and adjust if necessary.
thanks Jay!
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| new vegetable experiment |
[16 Sep 2008|10:39pm] |
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mood |
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pleased |
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the other day i stopped in at the asian supermarket on my way home from work (it's only a few blocks away, aren't you jealous?)
i always have a problem leaving that place with only what i came for, but this time my list was short: soy sauce, silken tofu, and scallions. of course, i walked out carrying pocky, japanese peanut mochi, and this:
meet water spinach, a.k.a. kang kong, a.k.a. ong choy. the bin i picked it up from actually was marked "on choy", but i'm assuming this is the very same vegetable. the bunch was bigger than my head. i could not resist. it's been a while since i've tried a new vegetable to mess with in the kitchen.
a little googling unearthed recipes from all over the globe. among the best looking were recipes from Thailand, the Philippines, China, Sri Lanka, and East Timor. i was trying my best today to decide on which one to try, when a co-worker whom i ran into at the asian market that same day asked me what i ended up buying there. when i told him about my mystery vegetable he knew exactly how i should cook it (he's from Guyana) and promptly wrote out a basic recipe for me. *yay*
so i cooked it tonight, and they are delicious! i thought it would taste like spinach, and it almost does - but it's a little more bitter, and the flavor is a little more complex. i only used half of the bunch, so tomorrow maybe i'll try the Thai recipe. :)
next up: pictures of dinner
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| Sweet Potato and Eggplant Curry |
[14 Sep 2008|08:22pm] |
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mood |
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 full |
] |
ingredients:
2 shallots, minced
2 small cloves garlic, minced
2-4 small green chili peppers, minced (seeds and all)
1 1/2 Tbs finely chopped fresh ginger
1 Tbs vegetable oil
2 1/2 tsp black mustard seeds
1 tsp cumin seeds
12-15 fresh curry leaves
1/2 tsp turmeric
1 large sweet potato, cut into 3/4" cubes
1 medium carrot, cut into 1/2" cubes
about 6 baby eggplants (2-3" long), cut into chunks
1 bunch spinach leaves, washed well
juice of 1/2 lime
handful of cilantro, finely chopped
1 can coconut milk
about 1 1/2 cans worth of vegetable broth
salt to taste
in a large pot heat the oil over med. heat. add the mustard seeds and stir to coat them with the oil. when they start to pop add the curry leaves, cumin seeds, shallots, garlic, chili peppers, and ginger. fry for a few minutes or until softened and fragrant. if it starts to stick to the pan add a splash of broth to keep the chonk from burning.
add the sweet potato and carrot and fry for a minute or two. add about 1/2 cup of broth and cover to cook the vegetables. when the sweet potatoes are almost cooked, add the turmeric, eggplant, coconut milk and broth. bring to a light boil and then reduce the heat. cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until all of the vegetables are tender but not crumbling.
add the spinach and stir until they're all wilted into the curry. add the lime juice, a few pinches of cilantro, and turn off the heat. stir, adding salt and cilantro to taste until it's just right - then serve over brown basmati rice.
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| Spicy Cucumber Salad |
[30 Jul 2008|09:43pm] |
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mood |
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pleasantly surprised |
] |
please excuse the worn tupperware presentation.
this was a salad i made up for dinner tonight. chris claims that my last minute improvised meals usually are his favorites. this is going to be one of mine, i think.
one large cucumber, peeled and chopped
one small red onion, quartered and thinly sliced
2 small cloves garlic, minced
3 Tbs apple cider vinegar
1 Tbs finely minced dill
1/4 tsp paprika
pinch cayenne
salt/black pepper to taste
toss all of the ingredients together and allow to marinate for at least 10 minutes before serving.
yay for easy.
i envision this someday being served in a pita with some kind of grilled seitan chunks and a soy-yogurt tzatziki sauce.
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| we're off to a good start, i think? |
[19 Jul 2008|09:21am] |
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mood |
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 silly |
] |
i'm taking a quick break from party preparation. i started out by cleaning the kitchen a bit, to prepare for cake-making and general snack-producing. i figured while i was at it i would weed out the nasty looking dead lilies from the HUUUGE bouquet that criss gave me for our anniversary. so i took the whole bouquet out, snipped off the dead lilies and recut the stems, and started arranging them back in the vase. as i was doing this, i started noticing that they were bleeding nasty red residue all over the table (they're a deep magenta color). i wasn't sure why they would do it, i thought maybe it was moisture mixing with the pollen or something. halfway through i noticed that it was actual blood and that it was coming from me! i must have gouged out a little bit of skin from the tip of my finger with the scissors without even realizing it. there was blood on the floor, on the garbage can lid, on the table, and in the flowers. i looked at my hand and it was covered in blood. jebus!
i patched up the little cut and cleaned up the mess, finished with the flowers. everything's cool now. but some of the blood got into the vase...
will i end up with audrey 3?
in other news - there is a mexican hot chocolate cake baking in my oven which is creating the most heavenly scent all throughout the apartment!
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| oh god, these were good. |
[16 Jul 2008|09:44pm] |
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mood |
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 accomplished |
] |
and really, really easy to make. i love both fatfreevegan.com and my foreman grill.
i was feeling all stressy-like and was not in the mood to cook at all. (since starting ww i've been religious about cooking during the weeknights. but one gets tired!) however, i figured out the point value of these and thought, hmmmm. BBQ might be nice right now...
( Here's another shot: )
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| hoo boy. |
[13 Jul 2008|11:00pm] |
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mood |
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 sore |
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it's been a lovely weekend.
friday night we celebrated our three year anniversary with a dinner at hangawi - complete with a bottle of sake that seemed bottomless! divine. i took a million pictures, mostly because i was very tipsy and enjoying myself. will post some when i have uploaded them.
saturday we spent the day walking around the city (starting point was the LUSH near penn station, end point was kate's joint for dinner. a LOT of walking!) it was hot, and i got overheated and cranky a few times, but it was a fun day.
today we spent the day with kim and mario at the whitney and then had dinner at candle 79 on a whim. this was a bad weekend for weight watching, lemme tell you. but miraculously, i was within range. i still feel slightly guilty, though. :-p back on track tomorrow, eh?
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| feeling inspired |
[08 Jul 2008|10:15pm] |
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mood |
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 chipper |
] |
by the diet thing. some good cooking going on. tonight i made a lightly spiced brown rice with jerk tofu and a mango salsa. it was delicious!
lookit:
i'm so excited that today i was well under my allowed points. (and yet ate a decent amount of food!) to celebrate, i am having a shot of whiskey. :-D
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| here we go |
[06 Jul 2008|11:06pm] |
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mood |
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 optimistic |
] |
tomorrow i start weight watchers.
i calculated my points for today, just for shits and giggles, and i was over by 7 points.
(of course, we don't often do diner brunches these days. and i certainly will be cooking healthier starting tomorrow. but sheesh!)
wish me luck.
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| there's a mushroom in my plant, and it does a song and dance... |
[06 Jul 2008|12:29am] |
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mood |
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 amused |
] |
these were growing in our schefflera plant's soil. i found a larger specimen on the floor of the living room earlier this week. were the kitties eating these? could they be the culprit in the recent poop epidemic? who knows. they're all growing right around the base of the plant itself, which makes me wonder if there's some kind of root rot going on or something. one thing is for sure, if they continue to pop up i may have to either ditch the plant or do a complete soil replacement.
spores, spores, everywhere!
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| *sigh* |
[22 Jun 2008|08:34pm] |
| [ |
mood |
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 worried |
] |
we were having a perfectly lovely weekend until we got home from the jonathan coulton show last night. we opened the door to a horrorshow of poop smeared just about everywhere. the smell was overwhelming, and the carpets had to be cleaned in a million spots. blankets were laundered this morning. it was as if a poop monster was brutally murdered in our hallway and it flailed about in every other room before it died. the best part? we didn't know who was sick. today it is clear that simon is the poor sick kitty. i'll probably need to bring him to the vet tomorrow. i hope dr. engel's office is open. tonight we're feeding him rice gruel with some chicken baby food mixed in. poor baby. :(
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| :) |
[23 May 2008|01:12am] |
 |
Which sci-fi crew would you best fit in with? (pics)
created with QuizFarm.com |
| You scored as Serenity (Firefly) You like to live your own way and don't enjoy when anyone but a friend tries to tell you should do different. Now if only the Reavers would quit trying to skin you.
Serenity (Firefly) |
| 81% | Moya (Farscape) |
| 81% | Heart of Gold (Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy) |
| 75% | Galactica (Battlestar: Galactica) |
| 63% | Deep Space Nine (Star Trek) |
| 63% | Babylon 5 (Babylon 5) |
| 63% | FBI's X-Files Division (The X-Files) |
| 50% | SG-1 (Stargate) |
| 44% | Millennium Falcon (Star Wars) |
| 44% | Bebop (Cowboy Bebop) |
| 44% | Enterprise D (Star Trek) |
| 38% | Nebuchadnezzar (The Matrix) |
| 38% | Andromeda Ascendant (Andromeda) |
| 31% |
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| if there were gods, they would be laughing. at me. |
[09 Apr 2008|06:13pm] |
| [ |
mood |
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 so very tired |
] |
this morning i awakened from a dream that there was a zombie epidemic. i was in my mother's house, and locking it up as tight as i could. the one weak spot, i figured, was the inside basement door. there never was a real lock on it, only a hook and latch. so i drove nails around the edges into the wall and frame to try and make it more sturdy (oh the dream logic!). of course, it wasn't sturdy enough, and i thought that the zombie hordes would eat us all (i never did see anyone else in the house with me, mind you). instead, one of them sat down with me and offered me something to smoke that looked a lot like a smudge stick. i took a puff and then woke up. zombie spliff!
anyway, today i was remarkably productive at work. it's been such a nightmare lately, but i knew that i had a short day because of a planned doctor appointment, and actually managed to complete all of the most important tasks by 1:30. when i got to the doctor's office, i found that they had cancelled my appt. because of non-confirmation. bullshit. they called the previous evening and gotten chris and he had confirmed for me. so i took four hours off from work for nothing, and would probably have to do so again in the near future, possibly pissing off mgmt. not that that really bugs me. they suck anyway and i'm looking for something better.
so normally i'd say to hell with it and enjoy the rest of my day off with something enjoyable, like a walk in the park or a nice cup of coffee somewhere i could people watch. but not today, for somewhere along the way i recently lost my front license plate. i didn't know that i had lost it, but a friendly police officer in flushing had noticed it for me. i received a nice little ticket today. so my time off was spent sitting in the college point dmv getting new plates and trying to put them on with a pocket screwdriver and old rusty screws.
ironically enough, i got home around the same time i'd normally get in from work. *sigh*
P.S. it's a little disturbing that LJ's spellcheck thinks that cancelled is not a word...
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esoterikgardin's journal
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