leafing through

Dining at Thai House can be described as consistently inconsistent. Some days, the food’s the BEST THAI I’VE HAD IN THESE HERE PARTS!!!, the service is attentive too. Other days, the chef doesn’t show up and you go next door for Greek food instead. Last night was another evening of surprises. The food was wonderful.
We tried curry fried rice noodles for the first time and we couldn’t decide if this was better or the stupendous pad thai.

I would’ve loved their green curry too I’m sure… had it arrived at our table. As it were, the owner/sous chef/busboy/waiter was so swamped with in-house business and carry-out that he delivered our check forgetting about the green curry. 2 hours after we arrived for dinner. Coming here is always a treat for my taste buds but you have to have time and patience to enjoy this place. A family of four came and almost left but the owner told them it was almost ready and to just hang tight. A table of three got wonton soups and decided that was enough for their evening. I love that they’re getting enough business to stay afloat in these tough times, we saw 2 or 3 shuttered businesses in that stripmall, but this barebones business operation is hard on customers. Luckily, their food is just too good to resist.

Yesterday night, we had big plans! Plans to go out to dinner, see a comedy show, stay up late and maybe even meet up with pals. Alas the convivial evening out was not to be. The chinchillas wore us out and we had our convivial evening in. I did taxes (a first try), and made granola (a second try). Then off to sleep where I dreamed about, wouldn’t you know it, food.

This morning we headed off to the Kettler Iceplex to watch the Capitals practice before their game against the NY Rangers. Incidentally, it’s playing right now. The rink looks a lot smaller than on TV and so do the guys. Without all that gear, they’re pretty skinny. It kinda’ gave me a nice feel for what a live game would be like, especially if you had front row seating. You can feel the cool air as they skate by and the puck thuds pretty loudly against the walls. After they finished, you could see Coach Boudreau giving a television interview. He wasn’t actually on the ice coaching, that was left to the assistant coaches.

Then it was off to Raaga for all you can eat Indian food. And believe me, I ate all I could, and then some. Still feeling full. Raaga’s naan is so good. They don’t leave it in the buffet line, rather they bring it out to you as you’re eating. It’s one of the few naan’s I feel like are good enough to eat alone. Crispy on the bottom, chewy on top. All the dishes pictured here were tasty enough to end up on my round two plate.

After that, it was off to go grocery shopping. I can skip one week, but there’s no way I’m going to go 3 weeks without grocery shopping.

Look what I made!! Hamantaschen! They’re little triangular cookies with fillings in them. I made two kinds, almond, and prune. Baking for me is a bit challenging because it’s so labor intensive and requires attention to detail and some amount of precision. You actually have to measure!! I whipped out the measuring cups and spoons for this one. The cookies came out well though. Crumbly and still triangle shaped after baking. They go well with wine. As do many other foods.

Last weekend, my mom remarked that her pantry had cleared up considerably since I’ve moved out. That’s funny, cuz my pantry is now stocked to the brim. Ok, I know I like to eat, but really!? So yeah, I’m the common denominator. Where ever I go, stockpiles of food appear. Two weekends ago, I went grocery shopping at Costco and the Asian market. I didn’t think I got that much stuff but even after skipping a shopping trip this past weekend, I’m still working through the food we got 2 weeks ago. Towards the end, I generally wind up with a few random ingredients. I even ran out of eggs, bread, and milk! Don’t worry though, that was quickly rectified this evening. Phew! So this week, I’m trying to creatively cook through what I have in the fridge and pantry. Tonight, in the slow cooker (which is probably one of the most used and versatile gadgets I have in the kitchen), beans, onion, carrots, tomatoes, ground turkey. I have no idea what it is or what it’s supposed to be but I’ll find out tomorrow at dinner. It’s the dish I never planned for but somehow I concocted it in my noggin’ based on chili recipes. Only there’s no chili pepper or cayenne. Maybe I’ll add that too.

We got our GSC’s on Saturday night. By Sunday a box and a half – Gone! I don’t know what happened. It’s like I had a cookie, or six, or whatever, and then wham-o! They disappeared.

Here’s how we’d rate the 3 types we got this time:

1. Lemon Chalet Cremes
2. Thank U Berry Munch
3. Tagalongs

Tagalongs use low quality peanut butter and chocolate. You’d think for $3.50 a box, they could use gourmet organic free range fair trade peanut butter, but no. They use the kind with 20% rat poop in it. It was hard to decide which was better, Lemon Chalets or Berry Munches. The Lemon Chalets have partially hydrogenated oils which make them crumble nicely whereas the Berry Munches don’t have those oils, so they’re a bit dry/crunchier. But the chewy cranberries went perfectly with that hard crunch texture. For someone who dislikes white chocolate (they have white chocolate chips which almost made me not get them but Special K raved and raved about them) these cookies were tasty. That’s an empty box in the photo. The creme in the Lemon Chalets were tangy with lemon flavor and there was a hint of cinnamon. So tasty! Next year, I’ll want both of these again.

About the hardest part of making baba ganoush is finding tahini. That’s to say, this dish is very simple to make.

• 2 big globe eggplants
• 3 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 3 Tbsp tahini
• 3 or 4 cloves of finely grated garlic paste
• Juice of 1 lemon (I didn’t have any and used 2 limes instead)
• 1 teaspoon of (Kosher) salt
• cayenne pepper
• 1/2 cup cilantro
• 1 teaspoon of ground cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon

Prick the surface of the eggplants all around with a fork.  Under the broiler, char the eggplant for 20 minutes on each side.  You want it to be shriveled and mushy.

In a vessel big enough to mix the baba ganoush,  (I love saying that, baba ganoush), throw together all the dry ingredients: salt, cayenne (to taste), cumin, cinnamon.

Then scoop in the tahini, add the chopped cilantro, garlic paste, and olive oil.  I forgot the olive oil this time but it tasted delicious anyway.  To make up for it, I poured it over the top to keep it from drying out.

Mix it all together and there you go!

It’s great with pita bread, crackers, by itself.

I got this recipe from Pioneerwoman.com and Simplyrecipes.com and just changed it a bit combining both of their ideas.

So in making this dish, I learned something new.  Pyrex glass, though heat proof, isn’t broiler proof.  I laid two eggplants in a Pyrex dish and the broiler shattered it.  Luckily, the eggplants were unscathed.  It just made cleaning the broiler a big pain in the butt.  I think at least once a month, I’m cleaning up glass in the kitchen.  I’ve broken so many dishes, jars, whatever left and right I’m kinda’ getting good at cleaning up glass now.  That’s how I make more space in the cabinets and fridge.  I break shit.

Left the house today at 9:30 AM and returned at 7:30 PM. It’s now close to 12:30 and I am plumb worn out. Started the day with brunch at a friend’s house to meet her family and have lunch with them. We had bagels and cream cheese, something she made called “Christmas Bake” (bacon, eggs, cheese… need I continue?) and spinach kugel. They have a mean cat, a super affectionate dog, and 2 cute little boys, 4 and 1. The 1 year old is a cuddlebug and couldn’t care less if you were a stranger or not, he’ll come up and cuddle or hug you. After that, it was shopping from one store to another. Balducci’s. Costco. An Asian market. Dinner at Cava (delicious!). Home Depot. Office Depot. Then after I returned it was Olympics and cooking. I have to shorten the description of my shopping because reliving it is tiring. As much as I enjoy cooking and shopping most of the time, doing these marathon shopping trips can be tiring. Especially the part about Costco on Saturday.

I wanted to make a few dishes tonight so they could marinade in the sauce over night. I’m hoping the flavors will have a chance to absorb and blend better.

The first was a bean salad. Canned beans (any kinds you like), chopped red onion, lime juice, salt & pepper, Adobo (optional), cilantro, olive oil. The recipe had called for edamame but all the ones sold at the Asian market were from China and you know I’m not gonna eat that.

The next dish was this curry which started out small and wound up being a potful as most of my dishes generally turn out. This came from desultory thoughts.
In a blender: ginger, onion, coconut milk, garlic, lime juice, salt, and curry powder. Or food processor. Add cayenne too if you want a bit of spicy.
Cook the chicken until it’s just done, set it aside, saute some onions, add curry sauce and more curry powder, then add carrots and peas, any other vegetables then chicken. Simmer.

Being the lazy cook that I am, I didn’t set aside the meat. I just pan fried it in oil. Then added onions, then the vegetables, then poured in the food processor sauce.*

Oh, look. From Home Depot. Them chinchillas are chewing on the wood around their room! But it was either the painter’s tape or …
This! Do I hear a collective “Awww…”? The wooden house chew toy has cut down on the chewing a bit but Marco is unstoppable, as shown here.

*Update on the curry: Veggies in the curry will add a natural sweetness to the sauce. Add some cayenne to balance it out. I like a bit of spicyness to my curries anyway. If you like a thicker sauce like I do, use some corn starch. Also, next time I might add lemongrass. And go ahead and make a ton of curry for extra leftovers. It seems to get better the next day, and the next day, and the day after that. The flavors just meld and absorb more.

Happy Lunar New Year! I come back from Florida and what do I see? More snow! Not enough to keep me from going to work tomorrow though. Durnnit. Ah well. I guess 10 days off was a good run.

Where do I start with this trip?
Food.

Manatees.

Food.

Olympics.

Cruise. (This is Thomas Edison’s house, tucked in the trees with the red roof.)

Parade.

Food.

The amazing view.

Wonderful!

There was tons more food but these were all I captured. The rest flew into my belly before the shutter even had a chance.

Just kidding. Too much food is more like it. Busted open a huge hulking leg of ham yesterday. Already I’ve eaten too much of it and feel ill. I’ve OD’d on ham!   It’s so tasty though.  The hardest part about planning a menu while being trapped indoors is trying to keep fresh produce on hand. Fresh fruits and vegetables ripen or rot. So I had to eat all of that first. I’m down to a few apples, half a cut up pineapple, frozen vegetables and onions. Hence, fried rice for dinner yesterday. Besides, there’s no way I’m going to finish an entire ham without changing it up a bit. Today, ham and bean soup. I can tell I’m going to be hammed out. Oh wait, I already said I already ham. Ahh-hahaha!  This is going to be like Iron Chef, the secret ingredient is: HAM!

Recipe for the Slow-cooker ham and beans:

• The bone of the ham with most of the meat carved off and some chopped pieces of the meat.
• Soaked beans (you can pre-boil them) – any dried beans will work
• Black and white pepper
• Ground mustard
• Garlic – fresh or dried.  I used dried because my garlic press broke and I’m too lazy to chop.
• One chopped sweet onion
• A drizzle of maple syrup or brown sugar (whatever you have on hand)
• Broth or water or a combo

I soaked the beans for about 5 hours and I put in all the ingredients except for the onion and chopped ham pieces into the slow-cooker last night.  This morning, I added the ham and onions and I plan to let it cook until dinner time.  I may or may not add salt once it’s done cooking.  I mean, ham is salty enough isn’t it?

Update: Don’t add any salt.  The ham and ham bone makes the soup plenty salty enough.

Now on the one hand, I don’t want to write a raving review, set your bar way high, and then you wind up disappointed. That happened to me before at Morimoto’s and Volt. The food was great, my bar was just out of bounds. On the otherhand, this place? Thus far, in my limited experience of fancy dining in this DC metropolitan area, it is at the top. The food is Indian/Indian fusion/Indian wonderful! I am ready to take all my non-Indianfood-loving people to Rasika to change their minds! If you have a vegetarian in the group, this is also a great option to choose.

If you read any review of this place, you will invariably hear about Palak Chaat. Fried crispy baby spinach leaves with yogurt and sweet tamarind and dates chutney. It’s the texture, the flavors of salty sweet. It is as good as everyone says.

The six course tasting menu gives you smaller sized versions of four of their entrees. In the non vegetarian tasting menu, there was Bindi Amchoor (okra), Tamatar Rassa (seasonal vegetable dish), Lamb Gucchi Korma, and Chicken Mahkani. The chicken mahkani was flavorful but not too spicy. I loved the okra dish, and the lamb pieces were fork tender. What I like most in all their dishes is the nice balance of spices. They don’t overpower. In fact, when I first walked in, I didn’t smell the typical overpowering Indian curry, rather it was more of an aromatic fragrance.

I also ordered a Chicken Green Masala entree which they recommended for people who like spicy. At first taste, it’s not spicy. Let it roll around your mouth a while longer, chew, and you’ll be blowing your nose and drinking water.

One small pick is the food is very rich. The curries taste of coconut milk and ghee (clarified butter). I mean, I’ve never had ghee straight, but I could taste the buttery deliciousness in the Chicken Makhani. If you feel full, stop, or you will make yourself ill.

Also, I’m not a fan of Indian desserts but I did enjoy the carrot halwa and gulab jamun here. Really, if it weren’t for the tasting menu dessert, I would probably skip it. If I had room for dessert, I’d just order another appetizer.

Since Rasika is rather fancy schmancy, it’s worthwhile to mention the ambiance and service. The decor was pretty. The bathrooms were clean. The service was not your typical DC area hoity toity type. Dylan was knowledgeable, attentive and relaxed/approachable. The dining room is noisy though. Some folks may not like that. I had to lean in to be heard. But I enjoyed it. I like the hustle and bustle and drone of a noisy restaurant. It makes me feel like I’m out amongst people. It’s also good they don’t bother with tablecloths. Hello, waste of water and other resources.
Clam Caldine appetizer. I wish they had a naan basket because I wanted to soak up the sauce. They didn’t. I drank the sauce.

As a first timer there, I would recommend one person ordering the six course tasting menu for everyone to share and however many entrees (or other appetizers) for the rest of the diners. The six courses vs. the four is a difference of additional appetizers, and you want to try as many as you can. That’s where they get creative with the Indian fusion and that’s where they shine. Go!

If you can make rice krispies treats, you can make granola bars. They’re that easy. I’d been stocking my desk at work with Kashi granola bars but I wanted to try making my own. Again my measurements are imprecise but it’s the ingredients that count. For this recipe, even the ingredients list doesn’t count for much because you can add almost anything you like. Almost… I kinda’ messed these up because I substituted a very important ingredient. Still, it’s tasty and I’ll just have to try again!

• 3 cups of oats
• 1/2 cup of flax seeds
• 1 cup dried fruit (raisins, cranberries, mango, chopped dates)
• 1 cup nuts or seeds (pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, crushed peanuts, almonds)
• 1/2 cup honey, molasses (your preference)
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon (nutmeg, pumpkin spice mix)
• 3 tablespoons (unsalted) butter
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

You want a decent mixture of nuts and dried fruits for added variety.  Also you can control the sweetness depending on your preference.  However, you do need to have enough sticky liquids to hold the bars together.

In a large shallow pan, toast oats and any raw nuts in a 300 degree F oven for 15 minutes.  Stir every 5 minutes to keep it from burning.  Be careful not to burn the nuts.  Some of the nuts I got came pre toasted or roasted.  I left those out of this cooking process.*  Once they’re done, toss together the toasted oats, nuts, and dried fruit in a buttered a mixing bowl.

Melt the sugar, butter, vanilla, salt, spices and honey in a saucepan and pour the syrupy mix over the dry ingredients.

Stir well to combine, then lay out the mixture on a flat pan.  I would’ve preferred the flat glass pans but one’s in the freezer holding a lasagna and the other was in the dishwasher.

Take a rolling pin, or two buck chuck and compress the granola.  You want them to hold together.

Once cooled, cut them into bars.  You can individually wrap them or store them in a sealed container.

*Option: Mix everything together then bake the bars after.

Oops!  Generally, substituting ingredients is fine.  But with granola bars, it’s necessary to have something very sticky that can bind the ingredients together.  In this case, honey or molasses.  I didn’t have either so I used maple syrup.  Needless to say, maple syrup can’t bind worth shit.  So I got a lot of crumbly granola bars and essentially, it works out better as cereal.  Now I know, so you know too!