Category: Family

Indian Butter Chicken

 

Indian Butter Chicken

Delicious chicken and cauliflower. Pairs well with rice and/or naan bread.
Print Recipe
Prep Time 25 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Servings: 6
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Indian
Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients
  

  • Olive oil
  • Onion, yellow, small diced
  • 4 cloves Garlic
  • 2 tbsp Ginger, fresh
  • 2 tbsp Butter
  • 3/4 cup Chicken Stock
  • 6 oz Tomato Paste
  • 2 tsp Cinnamon
  • 2 tsp Cumin
  • 2 tsp Garam masala
  • 1 tsp Tumeric
  • 1 tsp Salt
  • 1.5 pounds Chicken diced to bite-sized pieces
  • 1 head Cauliflower chopped into bite-sized pieces
  • 2 tbsp Lemon juice
  • 1 cup Heavy cream

Equipment

  • 14+ inch skillet w/ lid

Method
 

  1. Heat a tablespoon of olive oil in the skillet until it shimmers
  2. Add onions, garlic, and ginger, and sauté for a couple of minutes, until the onions begin to soften
  3. Stir in, and bring to a simmer:
    butter
    chicken stock
    tomato paste
    cinnamon
    cumin
    garam masala
    tumeric
    salt
  4. Add chicken and cauliflower, and stir until coated
    Don’t be alarmed: the previous steps leave you with a paste, not a sauce, and the chicken and cauliflower might seem a little dry.
  5. Cover, and simmer for about 15 minutes (or until the chicken is cooked through)
  6. Stir in lemon juice and cream, and bring back to a simmer
  7. Simmer, uncovered, for a couple of minutes

Notes

A variation of a traditional Indian dish, my recipe is adapted from The Modern Proper.
This is one of those recipes where your significant other may saunter through the kitchen and compliment the fragrance; children might run away in fear and loathing.  The final product is smooth, tasty, and not nearly as strong as it seemed while you were cooking.

Cape Cod 2021

Highlights From Cape Cod

“Baba” plays the part of the matriarch and rents a house on the cape, then invites the families to come stay with her.  Our responsibilities include making dinner (plus cleaning up) and enjoying ourselves.

This year was one of the rainiest summers in a long time, among the top 5 since record keeping began, but we still had plenty of time for fun.

seals in the water
Swimming was poor for humans but great for seals on Saturday evening

We went on a whale watch out of Provincetown on Wednesday.  It was really foggy and we didn’t see any whales, or anything at all, for almost two hours.

barely-discernable boat in the fog
There is a boat in the center of this picture, less than a hundred meters away

Suddenly, out of the fog, we stumbled across some whales that really showed off for a bit.

We discovered Skaket Beach, on the bay side of Orleans, on a beautiful afternoon.

sunset at skaket beach
Sunset at Skaket Beach

The beach is very flat so as the tide retreats you can walk out very, very far.

looking back on skaket beach from the water
Looking back at Skaket Beach after walking out to meet the retreating water

There are natural tide pools that trap crustaceans.  The kids had fun hunting hermit crabs and minnows.  Tim dug up a couple of steamers to show the kids what lives beneath the sand.

Beta child made some new friends, as usual.  Baba did, too, with a couple that lives in the next town over from us.  Meghan and I had fun talking with them about local stuff, and listening to the husband grouse about local contractors and the crappy McMansions they put up.

A couple of days into our stay, a local hawk mother decided that her chicks were ready to leave the nest.  One of the three wasn’t quite ready and complained, loudly, every remaining day of our stay.

fledgeling hawk
This newly-fledged hawk haunted his former roosts while complaining, loudly, and calling for mom.

The mother hawk, to her credit, never strayed too far away.  The siblings showed up as well to coax him off his branch.  This one, however, mostly hopped from tree to tree and demanded a nest and food.

Other highlights, of which there are no photos

Alpha’s Graduation

Alpha child officially graduated from high school today!

Hot day, graduation was moved to morning to avoid 90+° F in the afternoon.  (92° as I write this, expected to top out around 94° in a couple of hours.)

Afterwards, lunch with the grandparents at the Emerald Rose.

I’m very proud of Alpha.  I’m also very proud of myself and @mom that we successfully launched a tiny human to adulthood.

Heatwave

tonight will be 72 F, tomorrow will be 94 F

I think this is the earliest that I’ve ever put air conditioners in the windows.  Most years we make it until July.  We used to go entire years without putting them in.

Saint Patrick’s Day, COVID-19 Edition

We’re just over a year into the COVID-19 pandemic.  Most years past we would simply go to Meghan’s mother’s house, and she would put on a traditional dinner: boiled corned beef, boiled potatoes, and boiled cabbage.

Last Year Was Different

Last year we ate a sad dinner on our own, as I had never made corned beef and cabbage before.  I tried it in the slow cooker.  It didn’t turn out very well.  Lesson learned.

This Year Is Different

Due to the wonders of science and concentrated efforts, the world has vaccines in record time and we see the light at the end of the figurative tunnel.  My mother-in-law has been vaccinated and graciously agreed to come to our house.  And I’m taking another stab at making traditional Irish-American dinner.

dutch oven with corned beef and vegetables
Just finished assembling the raw ingredients for a traditional Irish-American dinner: corned beef, potatoes, cabbage, and onions

Recipe

Taken from How To Make Corned Beef:

Stovetop method: For a 5 pound brined corned beef brisket. Place the corned beef in a Dutch oven. Sprinkle with one tablespoon of pickling spice blend and pour in 4 cups beef broth. Add potatoes, carrots, and cabbage. Bring to a boil on high heat. Reduce heat, cover and cook for about 3 1/2 hours. Add water if necessary to keep brisket covered. Slice across the grain.

The Aftermath

I don’t mind saying, it was delicious.  But it might have been a side-effect of having company for the first time in a very, very long time.

after dinner table

We made two exceptions from tradition: I added garlic mashed potatoes, and we didn’t have Irish coffee after dinner.

Korean Beef Rice Bowls

 

Korean BBQ Beef Rice Bowls

Savory beef with a tiny bit of bite
Print Recipe
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 25 minutes
Servings: 4 people
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Asian
Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients
  

  • 1 pound ground beef
  • 3 cloves garlic minced
  • 1 bunch scallions sliced (for garnish)
Sauce
  • 1/4 cup brown sugar
  • 1/4 cup soy sauce reduced sodium is better
  • 2 tsp sesame oil
  • 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
  • 1/4 tsp black pepper

Equipment

  • 1 Skillet
  • 1 mixing bowl

Method
 

  1. Brown the hamburger and garlic in a pan. Break it up into crumbles as it browns.
  2. While the hamburger is cooking, whisk the sauce ingredients (brown sugar, soy sauce, sesame oil, red pepper, black pepper)
  3. When the hamburger is browned, drain off the fat and mix in the garlic. Simmer for a minute.
  4. Pour in the sauce. Simmer for another couple of minutes. Mix in the scallions and serve.

Notes

Serve over rice with a side of broccoli to round out a complete meal

This recipe was an instant hit.  I have to make a double batch if I want leftovers for the next day.

Adapted from therecipecritic.com

Lentil Soup

When I was a kid I disliked soups and stews, and hated even the idea of lentil soup. (which, as a child, I somehow equated with Barbara Streisand – probably due to the publicity of her movie Yentl.)  Fortunately I became more open-minded as an adult, and found that I absolutely love lentil soup.  It’s very healthy for you, to boot.

The red lentils in this recipe break down and make a very creamy soup.  Green and brown lentils may be substituted, but black lentils don’t work out well.

Red Lentil Soup

My favorite lentil soup recipe
Print Recipe
Prep Time 15 days
Cook Time 35 days
Total Time 50 days
Servings: 6 people
Course: Soup
Calories: 250
Ingredients Equipment Method

Ingredients
  

  • 2 whole Carrots diced or sliced
  • 1 whole Yellow Onion, medium-sized diced
  • 4 cloves Garlic
  • 1 tbsp Curry Powder
  • 1 tsp Cumin, ground
  • 1 tsp Thyme, dried
  • 1/2 tsp Salt
  • 15 oz Tomato Sauce
  • 6 cups Chicken Broth, low sodium substitute vegetable broth to make a vegan soup
  • 1 lbs Red Lentils, dried
  • 1-5 cups Baby Spinach Optional, stir in at end

Equipment

  • 1 Dutch Oven or any large stock pot

Method
 

  1. Rinse lentils under cold water, until water runs clear (about 1 minute)
  2. Sauté carrots and onion until softened (about 5 minutes)
  3. Add garlic, curry powder, cumin, thyme, and salt
    Cook until fragrant (about a minute)
  4. Stir in lentils, tomato sauce, and broth
  5. Bring to a simmer and cover
  6. Cook for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally
  7. Remove from heat, and (optionally) add baby spinach

 

Alternatives

You can try other vegetables as substitutes or additions, including sweet potatoes, butternut squash, mushrooms, celery, or whatever you have on hand.

Adapted from The Absolute Best Lentil Soup.

Hello, My Name Is…

This is our family dog.  She is waiting for me to take her for a our regular after-dinner walk.

Butter looking expectantly at me

I am changing her name from “Butter” to “Aka Lana Lana” (“Hopeful Shadow” in Hawaiian) as she closely follows me around the house from the moment we finish dinner until I actually take her for a walk.

Stars

Last night, Beta spent half an hour out on the deck. She was wearing the wool cape I got her last Christmas. She had her new noise-cancelling headphones that block so many of the sounds that bother her. She used the new family telescope to check out the Pleiades.

That was pretty awesome.

Beef Kebabs

I am shocked, shocked I tell you! that my children actually enjoyed this recipe.  I’m not sure why, perhaps they have given up all hope of enjoying a decent meal from my kitchen and now sullenly submit to my demands that they eat the goddamn food that I paid for and worked hard to put in front of them and it’s not like you do any chores around…  Ahem.  I got a little off track here.

Whatever the reason, they ate this one on my first attempt.

These are basically middle-eastern meatballs.  You can cut in other things with the meat, serve them in a variety of ways, whatever floats your boat.  (I rather enjoyed wrapping them in some naan with rice.)  It’s a meatball.  It’s the spices that make it.

The oven instructions are below.  We haven’t grilled them yet, but they should do great, just use a little grill-sense.  It’s a reasonably easy and fast recipe, ~20 minutes to prep and ~20 minutes to cook.

The recipe plus rice and other sides makes enough for 6-8 people.

Ingredients

  • 2 pounds of ground beef – don’t get a lean mix!  80-85% seems good
    • mix in other ground meats as your fancy takes you, but you need some fats – don’t go too lean
  • 1 egg
  • 1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley, or 1/4 cup dried
  • 1/2 small onion, diced fine
  • 1 red bell pepper, diced fine
  • Garlic, 3-4 minced cloves
  • Paprika, 1 tsp
  • Salt, 1 tsp
  • Cumin, 1/2 tsp
  • Pepper, 1/2 tsp

Directions

If you plan on skewering the meat, and you’re using bamboo or wood skewers, soak them in water for ~30 mins.

  1. Preheat oven too 350°
  2. Mix all the ingredients in a bowl (don’t overmix)
  3. Form the mix into oblong patties, about kielbasa-thick
    • If you’re skewering, shove in the skewers now or form the patties around the skewers
  4. Bake in the oven for 20 minutes, or grill for ~20 minutes, flipping at least once
  5. For the last couple of minutes turn on the broiler to brown the meat

Usual disclaimer with ground meat dishes: make sure the internal temp is at least 160° before serving.

Serve with some traditional middle-eastern sides, like:

  • Naan bread
  • Tabbouleh
  • Cucumbers and cherry tomatoes
  • Rice

kebab with rice and naan