A Peek in My Cart - May 18 - 24

This was a great week for local foods - the summer bounty is picking up speed! We prioritized cooking at home. Together it made for a delicious week!

Monday - Frittata with salad. For the recipe see the previous post. I bought a HUGE head of lettuce at the farmers market on Saturday so there's going to be a lot of salad this week!
We enjoyed the leftovers the next day

Tuesday - Chickpea curry with rice and salad. The curry is from Sarah Brown's World Vegetarian Cookbook. I have a shelf full of cookbooks but I consistently use only a couple of them. And, this is one that I turn to again and again. By mistake I used cloves instead of the cardemom - D'oh. It was still tasty - but I highly recommend using the cardemom as the recipe indicates. This recipe makes enough for leftovers the next day.

Chickpea Curry with Ginger

1 can chickpeas or 8oz (250g) dried chickpeas, drained overnight.
1 - 2 medium onions, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic
2 tablespoons grated fresh ginger
1 tablespoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon ground cardemom
1/2 teaspoon dried chili flakes
4 - 6 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 tomatoes (I substitute bell peppers), finely chopped
125-150ml stock or water
juice of 1 lemon
salt & pepper

1. If using dried chickpeas, drain them and cook in plenty of fresh water for 45 - 50 minutes or until soft. Drain.
2. Using a food processor or blender, process the onions, garlic, ginger, coriander, cardemom and chili flakes to a paste adding a little water if necessary.
3. Heat the oil in a large frying pan and cook the onion paste over low-medium heat for 10 minutes allowing to brown slightly.
4. Add the tomatoes or bell peppers and cook for a further 2-3 minutes.
5. Add the chickpeas and stock or water and lemon juice.
6. Bring the mixture to a boil and simmer uncovered for 20 minutes. Season with salt & pepper.

Wednesday - Pasta. W's turn to cook. He has really mastered the fridge-clearout pasta. I think his secret is that he cooks the onions for a really long time on low heat so that they are really sweet. Today's pasta has a tomato sauce and I notice mushrooms, bell peppers, gai lan, artichoke hearts and capers. He makes enough for leftovers.

Thursday - Spot Prawns with salad and rice. I finally made it to the Fisherman's wharf near Granville Island and picked up spot prawns. I always miss the season so I'm super excited that I made it this year. I bought three pounds. To freeze them the guys working the boat recommended removing the heads and bagging them with some salt water. Which W and I promptly did. Don't worry - around here the heads don't go to waste. Our little seafood-loving dog goes crazy for them. She'll have treats for many days to come - I froze them too! Perusing the internet for a recipe, I find one from Rob Freenie in March 31st's Globe and Mail. It's amazing! The prawns are truely sweet. I can't wait to eat the ones that we froze. There sure aren't any leftovers from this meal.

The recipe calls for 3-4 pounds of prawns. I cooked just 1 pound for the 2 of us and adjusted the recipe accordingly (OK, maybe I didn't cut back all the way on the butter). We also had frozen hot peppers from last summer's bumper crop - so we used those instead of the jalapenos. And, while I made the mayo (with Tobasco instead of the Sambal Oelek), I don't think that the recipe required the dip at all.

Sauteed BC Spot Prawns with Garlic, Jalapenos, fresh herbs and a Spicy Mayo

3-4 pounds spot prawns

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 tablespoon butter

4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced (I used my garlic press)

2 red jalapenos, thinly sliced

1/4 cup flat leaf parsley

1 cup dry white wine

1 whole lemon

freshly cracked black pepper

Spicy Mayo:

1 cup mayo

1 tablespoon Sambal Oelek

1. In a saute pan, on medium heat, add olive oil, butter, garlic. Lightly saute.
2. Turn up the heat, add prawns and jalapenos. Toss for 1-2 minutes.
3. Turn heat back to medium, add wine and cook for another minute.
4. Add parsley, lemon juice, and pepper. Serve immediately.

Friday - Ate out at the District Social House on lower Lonsdale. I highly recommend the olives.

Saturday - green salad with canned tuna and leftover rice. We buy canned tuna from a local fisherman. It makes a simple green salad and canned tuna an elegant meal.

Sunday - Tandoori chicken and tofu with rice and cabbage. I buy the packets of tandoori paste and follow the instructions, substituting half the chicken for tofu (becauseI choose not to eat mass-produced meat & poultry). I turned to Sara Brown's cookbook again for a favourite cabbage dish.

Red Cabbage with Apple and Cloves

1 pound red cabbage

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

1 onion, finely chopped

2 apples, peeled and grated (I don't peel them and simply chop them)

3 - 4 cloves

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon sugar

1 tablespoons red wine vinegar or cider vinegar (I use apple cider vinegar)

salt

1. Finely shred the cabbage by hand or with a food processor (I use my cuisinart)
2. In a large pan, heat the oil. Fry the onion until just soft.
3. Add the cabbage and apple and mix in well. Then add the remaining ingredients, except for the sugar.
4. Cover the pan and simmer the mixture for 35 - 40 minutes until the cabbage is soft. Stir frequently to prevent the mixture from burning at the bottom of the pot. Add the sugar part-way through the cooking process.