Foods of The World - February 2009

For the month of February, we're going to bring India to our kitchens and tables and share what we discover with anyone who dares come see !! If you are not a Beans Blog author but want to participate, just post the recipe to your blog, link back to the Beans Blog (you can even use the banner above if you like) and leave us a comment to let us know you've done a post. We'll come visit and maybe even try out your recipe !!

I'm going to try and cook one Indian recipe a week. My husband will be thrilled !!

I'm going to be posting some Spanish recipes throughout the month too. I've been waiting on the recipes and they have arrived from Colorado via email this week !! (Thanks Peej !!)

Can't wait to see what you all come up with !!!

PS ... that's me and my Mom in the photo ... the year was 96 ? or was it 97 ? Can't remember and can't be bothered to try and work it out. Let's just say circa 96. We are in India ... dressed in authentic Indian garb ... eating authentic Indian food ... and having a ball !!

Edited to add ...

I've finally figured out how to add a Mr. Linky !!! Hooray !!

So ... I am going to leave this post at the top of the blog for the month of February ... and anyone who wants to participate can use the Mr. Linky !

I'm so excited about the Mr. Linky ! I just want to go add Mr. Linky's all over the place !!

I can't stop saying Mr. Linky.

ha ha

EDITED AGAIN on 22 Feb ... I can only have one Mr. Linky running at a time. And since I have a weekly meme running on my Simple Beauty blog, I'm going to have to figure out how to run both ! So for the remainder of the month, lets just leave our links in the comments !! And sorry to those of you who left links in the Mr. Linky already ... I've blown them away and don't know how to get them back !! Sheesh !!

PS ... I'm excited about next month's country. I'll be revealing it soon ! We've only got just over a week left for India ... I'll be posting an Indian recipe this evening and I am planning on cooking another dish this week so will post that too. How about the rest of you ... any Indian inspiration that you want to share ?

PPS ... I just found the links so I'm going to add them here manually ...

Trina@Frugal Dr. Mom ~ Pineapple Chutney
Mary Terese ~ What every curry needs !
Chick In The Kitchen ~ Vegetable Jalfrezi

I love gadgets ...

And this one is a beauty !!
I bought this at The Container Store in Denver.
I've looked at these often and wondered if they would be worth the $4 or so that they cost.

Every penny I tell you.
Every penny !

I use it every time I send the kids apples in their lunches, which is often.

It cuts it into 8 perfect pieces every time !
4 for each of them.

I love it.

What gadgets do you have that you love ?

Chicken and Potato Curry

I got the base recipe for this out of a magazine years ago.
Don't know which one.
Don't make it like they said to anyway ...

I didn't actually cook this the night we had it.
Rory did.

I have cooked it once, a long time ago.

1 tbls vegetable oil
1 onion, finely chopped
1 tbls grated fresh ginger
400g chicken ... we use breast, chopped
2 tbls korma or mild curry powder
potatoes, how ever many take your fancy
1 and 1/2 cups water
chicken stock cube
400 ml coconut cream
mushrooms
rice

Heat oil in large pan. Cook onion and ginger til soft. Add chicken and brown. Add curry powder and potatoes. Stir til fragrant. Stir in water, stock cube and coconut milk. Bring to the boil. Cover and simmer 20/30 minutes or til potatoes are just tender. Add the mushrooms. Simmer, uncovered about 10 minutes.

Serve with rice and Great Grandma Templin's Chutney.
That recipe will follow soon !!

PS ... I think Rory may have added carrots to this too ... there's something orange in the photo !!

Menu Plan Monday - Khrista - 02.23.09 - 02.28.09

FEBRUARY 23RD - FEBRUARY 28TH

Monday: Macaroni and Cheese with Cauliflower

Tuesday: Last Minute Lasagna

Wednesday: Caramelized Leek Quiche

Thursday: Costa Rican Tilapia

Friday: Homemade Pizza

Saturday: Mexican Chicken

Menu Plan Monday - Bonnie - 23 Febraury 2009

Monday
fish and chips with mum and dad who are visiting and staying in a hotel
i'll take some quinoa black bean salad as a side dish















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Tuesday
gyoza
udon











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Wednesday
vermicelli noodles with a bolognaise type sauce that I'm going to make up

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Thursday
mexican chicken from last week that i froze.
with cilantro, lime rice
in flour tortillas











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Friday
sushi
















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Saturday
Chicken Curry





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Sunday
leftovers or eggs on toast

Agave and Honey Oat Cookies

I got the recipe for this at Cookie Madness.net - A site well worth checking out !
I made a couple amendments so I will post my amended recipe here ...

2 eggs, lightly beaten
2 tablespoons agave nectar
2 tablespoons honey
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1 tablespoon wheat germ
1/8 teaspoon EACH baking soda & baking powder
1/4 scant teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
3/4 cups old fashioned oats
1/3 cup raisins (next time I'm going to try adding dried apricots as well) (and the time after that I am going to try adding just fresh blueberries ....)

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Mix egg, agave, honey, oil and vanilla together in a bowl. Stir very well.

Combine flour, wheat germ, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon in a bowl. Stir very well, then add to agave mixture and stir until blended. Stir in the oats and raisins. Let batter sit for about 5 minutes.

Using a tablespoon measure, scoop up dough and arrange on parchment lined cookie sheets spacing 2 inches apart. Bake one sheet at a time for about 10-11 minutes. Let cool completely.

Makes 8 cookies.

I doubled this recipe. The cookies were good for days. So filling that you only needed ( or even wanted ) one at a sitting ! Fantastic. Perfect for school lunches or a Mommy's breakfast on the run !!

Menu Plan Monday - Bonnie - 16 February 2009

.... this post is just to inform you that I am in a bit of a slump. I have an Indian Curry recipe to post. About 6 dishes from our tapas night to post. There's the delicious salad that we had for dinner just a couple night ago and the cookies I baked last night. I did plan a menu but I can't be bothered to post it ! I will get my groove back ...

I hope.

But right now ...

The crock pot and rice cooker are doing the work for dinner so my book and I are heading to the tub for a nice long soak !

See you soon ...

If you are desperate for something to read you could pop over to my other blog and see what the kids and I got up to yesterday ...

Oops ... almost forgot a title !

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How cool is this ?

Heidi at Carolina Dreamz popped over from Menu Plan Monday and when I went by to see her place, I found that she'd mentioned The Beans Blog in her most recent post ! Wow !

Go stop by and see what she had to say about our Beans Blog ....

The Disaster Meal

Tonight I made a disaster meal. Originally, it was hamburgers with fried potatoes.

Step 1: Form ground beef into patties and place on a rack sitting in a foil lined cookie sheet

Step 2: Swear in 3 different languages as stupid patties keep falling apart and falling through the rack. Stick in broiler.

Step 3: Look in cupboard for the potato (the using up of which was the reason this was even on the menu plan) and realize you have already used it in something else.

Step 4: Get out a bag of chips.

Step 5: Set your hot pad on fire while flipping the crumbling burgers over. Make sure to lose about 1/4 of your meat.

Step 6: Get out rolls and discover that even though you bought them YESTERDAY, they are harder than rocks.

Step 7: Weep.

Step 8: Cut up some jalapeno slices, spread over one side of a tortilla, add a handful of shredded cheddar cheese. Microwave for 30-60 seconds or until cheese is mostly melted.

Step 9: Carefully lay hamburger patties onto melted cheese, being careful to drop as many pieces of meat on the floor as possible. Squirt on some ranch dressing. Fold the tortilla.

Step 10: Serve.

Menu Plan Monday - Bonnie - 9 Feburary 2009

It's Monday again already !! The weeks sure do seem to be flying by !! What's on the menu at your place this week ? Here's what's on the menu at ours ....

Monday

Rory's Carbonara


Tuesday
Make Your Own Sushi



Wednesday (oops ... this didn't get made last week !)
FIRST INDIAN RECIPE FOR THE MONTH !!
Chicken and Kumara Curry
Spicy Potatoes ?
Naan ?















Thursday
Baked Potato Bar

Friday
Stir Fry over Sweet Potato Noodles - I'll be making this recipe up !

Saturday
leftovers

Sunday
scrounge around and see what we can find with what's left from the week ...

Baking ... Quinoa Muffins I was planning to add blueberries to these but instead, I spilled the blueberries all over the grocery store.
Agave and Honey Oatmeal Cookies.

Garlic and Coriander Chicken

I got the original recipe here. I've changed it a fair bit as the chicken was deep fried in that recipe ...

Chicken Breast (chopped) - 200g
corn flour - 3 TBLS
Black pepper - 1/2 tsp
Oyster Sauce - 2 TBLS
Soy Suace - 1 TBLS
Sugar - 1 tsp
Coriander (Cilantro) - 1 bunch - chopped
Chicken Stock - 10ml
Garlic - 3 cloves, finely chopped
Oil (for frying)

Coat the chicken with the corn flour. Cook in a fry pan with a bit of oil. Set aside. Stir fry the garlic and coriander til brown. Add remaining ingredients. Mix in chicken and serve over rice.

I also added chopped bean sprouts. And served with steamed bok choy on the side.

Serves 2

Pimientos de Padron - aka "Dancing Peppers"

Ok ... here we go.

Recipe number one for Spain ... a month late but too bad ... I should get through all of them before the end of Feb. Don't worry, I'll be doing Indian as well ... I'm cooking the first one on Sunday !

So ... here's what you need for this simple and delectable dish.

Olive oil
Little Peppers (see photo !)
Coarse salt - I used Himalayan Rock Salt

1. Heat oil in large skillet over high heat until very hot.
2. Add whole peppers (I chopped the stems off) and fry until browned on all sides.
3. Remove from skillet; drain on paper towels.
4. Sprinkle with salt.
5. Serve.
6. Try not to eat the whole plate without sharing ! I dare you !!

Have you got a great Spanish recipe you'd like to share ??
Post it to your blog and then come back and leave us a comment - we'll stop by and check it out !

Or if you'd prefer to share Indian ... we've got a Mr. Linky up for the month of Feb !!

Menu Plan Monday - Khrista -

• Coconut Curry Stir Fry is carried over from last week...
• Avocado salsa for the Boca Burgers can be found *HERE*
• Curried Lentils & Cauliflower is a recipe we're trying for the first time, as well as Healthy Hodgepodge Soup. If they're any good I'll share!
• I'm taking this chili to the Chili Cook-Off at church this week...

I did pretty good with our food budget for the last two weeks. I only went over $20 and if we had not eaten out one Sunday with a bill of $45, we would have been under budget!...
Dually noted... this two week perios I am DETERMINED not to go over! :)

Menu Plan Monday - Bonnie - 2 February 2009

Monday
Garlic and Coriander Chicken
(This was so delicious ! )
Steamed Bok Choy

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Tuesday
Quinoa Black Bean Salad
Crock Pot Roast Chicken

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Wednesday
Cold Somen
Gyoza

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Thursday
Trina's Chicken Casserole
Pimientos de Padron (recipe to follow this week)

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Friday
Make Your Own Sushi

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Saturday
FIRST INDIAN RECIPE FOR THE MONTH !!
Chicken and Kumara Curry
Spicy Potatoes ?
Naan ?

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Sunday
Leftovers

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Sorry there's no photos today.
I'm in a hurry !!
I've got laundry to hang, a kitchen to clean (just lunch dishes but still),
dinner to cook and company coming to eat it !!

Oh yeah ... I'm also going to bake some poppy seed muffins.
I'll share that recipe with you during the week !
I've made them before and they are so yum ...

you're gonna love 'em !

Tapenade

Years ago, my friend Dawn gave me these two delicious tapenade recipes. I've been making them ever since. I like the olive one best but I'll give you both recipes ...

The one I made tonight isn't either. That's one thing I love about these recipes ... they are so flexible and taste good pretty much regardless of measurements or forgetting to put things in or not having the right ingredients ... my sister in law Gina's kind of recipe !! :)

Last night at dinner, my brother in law Steve mentioned that he'd like this recipe. I don't know why I don't have it on the blog yet but I don't so I had intended doing it soon to put it up.

Tonight, I was trying to figure out what on earth to feed the kids for dinner since tomorrow is shopping day and the fridge is close to empty !! Rory and I are having aliolio later, after he gets home from church ... but it's not really good leftover so I didn't want to cook that for them and .... oh, never mind !! Boring details !!

I had some leftover plain pasta in the fridge. I had some olives and sun dried tomatoes and so I whipped up some tapenade, mixed it through the pasta and topped with a bit of Parmesan cheese.

Here's how you do it.

Sun dried Tomato Tapenade

Sun dried tomatoes in oil ( large jar )
1/2 bulb fresh garlic ... crushed
2 TBLS pitted black olives
1 tsp salt
Blend in food processor until smooth

Olive Tapenade

Black Pitted Olives (large jar or can)
1/2 bulb fresh garlic ... crushed
2 TBLS capers
Sun dried tomatoes in oil (small jar)
1 tsp salt

Use some of the vinegar from the olives and some of the oil from the sun dried tomatoes, blend all ingredients in food processor til smooth.

The Tapenade I Made Tonight

Black Pitted Olives 1/2 jar
Kalamata Olives 1/2 jar
2 TBLS capers
Sun dried tomatoes in oil 1/2 jar

I forgot to put in garlic and salt. I'd normally do the garlic but not the salt. I think the olives make it salty enough !!

Use some of the vinegar from the olives and some of the oil from the sun dried tomatoes, blend all ingredients in food processor til smooth.

Delicious !

I have packed all of our lunches for tomorrow with some tapenade and crackers ... and I even had a snack since I am waiting for Rory to get home before we eat.

Did the kids like the pasta ?

I'll let the empty bowls speak for themselves ...