A Pie to Celebrate the Past & Present

The first American food I fell in love with is pecan pie.

I discovered pecan pie in my college cafeteria during my first semester. It was my first fall in America, an unusually (for Houston, TX) cold and gray day. I was missing my parents and home, my favorite foods, in Bangladesh, and sought comfort in something sweet.

Now, we don’t have pecans and pies back home. Bengal (the geographic areas of Bangladesh and Calcutta) enjoys a legendary reputation for sweets, but they are different: sweet orange yogurt (mish-ti doi), puffy white cheese balls in syrup (roshogolla), various pithas (winter sweets), the convoluted hot jilapi (deep fried batter that’s created into intricate circular shapes). The cafeteria didn’t offer any of that, so I had to make do with a selection of unfamiliar pies. Not wanting to hold up the line of hungry students, I grabbed the nearest one.

Since I was in the middle of a personal pity party, I started my meal with dessert. One bite and I fell in love. The whole world faded – the conversations, laughter and shuffling all around me grew muffled, the sharp bite of nostalgia that had gripped me eased and slipped away. I was only aware of the pie and its sweet taste dancing on my tongue.

So when my twitter buddies picked pie for June’s #Letslunch, the choice was obvious: Pecan Pie. But I wanted one that would recognize my roots and celebrate West Texas, a place my heart now calls home.

The first home I knew belonged to my paternal grandparents. Coming from a joint family tradition, we lived in the same house until my grandparents passed away. What I remember best about it is the luxurious garden my grandfather planted with fruit trees like mango, guava, jackfruit and coconut. I always loved the coconut. It’s broad, tall trunk swooping to the sky, only to end in a firework of leaves at the very top. So I wanted the aroma and flavor of coconut and found myself a coconut oil crust recipe.

For the filling, I went to my mother-in-law. I often tell the Cowboy that one of the reasons I married him is his mother’s Pecan Pie. He thinks I’m joking. :)

Anyhoo, I asked for the recipe and she said “Oh that’s not my pie, I got the recipe from my mother-in-law.” Then she passed it on to me.

Pie Crust: Adapted from a recipe I found on Coconut Oil Online website (I figured since they are in the business of selling coconut oil, they’d include recipes that work).

2 1/2 cups all-purpose unbleached flour
1 teaspoon salt
2 Tablespoon sugar
¾ cup chilled, unsalted butter (I ended up putting ½ cup since that’s what I had)
6 Tablespoons coconut oil
2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
¼ cup ice water

Directions:

Use a food processor to combine the dry ingredients with the butter and coconut oil. Pulse until the largest bits of butter are pea-sized.
Dump this mixture into a bowl.

Add the cider vinegar to the water. Then add this mixture a couple of tablespoons at a time to your flour mixture, toss with a fork.

At this point, the pie crust mix should be forming balls. You can squeeze and pat the mix into one big ball, but DO NOT knead.

Divide the dough into 2 equal pieces. Wrap in plastic wrap and press down to make a thick disk. Refrigerate for at least an hour before using.

Neat trick I picked up from a friend: When rolling out, place each disk between two sheets of plastic wrap (or plastic wrap & wax paper), roll it out. Remove the top plastic, then using the bottom and a pie pan flip the dough over and into the pan. Now it’s ready to be filled!

Grandma Pauline Michalewicz’s Pecan Pie filling: I love this because it’s not as sweet as some other pecan pie fillings and it’s a family tradition.:)

¼ teaspoon salt
2 Tablespoons flour
1 cup brown sugar (I replaced that with ½ cup of Splenda brown sugar)
3 eggs
¾ cup milk
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 cup white syrup
2 cups chopped pecans

Directions:

In a small bowl, mix together salt, flour and brown sugar. Set aside.

In a larger bowl, incorporate the liquid ingredients: eggs to syrup.

Mix in the dry mix. When it’s a caramel colored slurry, add in the chopped pecans.

Divide the filling between two unbaked pie shells.

Bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes or until lightly golden. Note: the coconut oil pie shells are paler than butter-only shells. But oh my, the house smells like a tropical vacation!

Here are other #Letslunch posts for you to enjoy:

FreeRangeCookie's Dirt Pie with Compost Cookie Crust

Chezus' Summer Chicken Pot Pie

Cheryl Tan's Japanese Curry Pot Pie

Hobnob's Spanakopita & Rhubarb Crisp

Showfood Chef's Nutella Hand Pies

Zestbakery's Lime Custard n Curd Pie

Step-By-Step Crepe Making

My first foodie conference --the International Association of Culinary Professionals' 33rd annual conference in Austin last week--was intense.

From Wednesday to Saturday, I attended sessions, took notes like crazy, and met people from all over the world. Sessions started as early as 7 a.m. and ended as late as midnight. I saw so many personal kitchen heroes (Dorie Greenspan, Martin Yan, Nancie McDermott and more) and writing heroes (Robb Walsh, Kim Severson)that I SQUEED myself hoarse. So Sunday, instead of rushing home, I took some much needed downtime.

The family and I woke up early and explored downtown Austin. By 8 a.m. we were ready for breakfast, unfortunately Austin is a brunch town. Then we lucked in to Le Cafe Crepe at 200-A San Jacinto, which served a multitude of sweet and savory crepes. Better still, the cafe had a glassed in kitchen. A meal and a show. WooHoo!

The ladies behind the glass worked fast, fingers and crepes flying in a blur. As I watched, my hands itched to grab the camera. But I hesitated. Would whipping out a camera be considered a faux pas?

Then award-winning, globe-trotting photographer Penny De Los Santos spoke in my head. I remembered her sharing the story of a photo shoot in India, where she hunkered down in front of a group of men and waited "until they forgot about the crazy American woman and her camera."

I took a deep breath and decided to be the crazy Asian woman with the camera. Thanks IACP for a great conference!

The ladies working crepe magic at La Cafe Crepe.

Pour the Batter

And spread it out.

Let it cook until light golden

Flip it!

Swirl the chocolate into an artsy pattern.

Fold in half and spread the Nutella. Yum!
And fold again...

And here's the finished product:Chloe's Crepe w/Nutella, strawberries, chocolate syrup and whipped cream.

Here's the inside of what my crepe looked like ~ a feta, spinach, tomato, avocado concotion.

The Cowboy got the Norwegian: smoked salmon, boursin with herbs,tomatoes, capers.

As George, part-owner of the cafe, would say: "Bon Appetit, Y'all!"

The Cowboy & the kids loved their crepe, I had a blast, and --I'd like to think-- the gracious staff of Le Cafe Crepe (once they got used to me and the camera) had fun. Penny was right, celebrate your subjects and they will welcome you with smiles. What an honor to be able to capture the art of crepe making.

Get Figgy With It! Banana Bread w/ Figs & Caraway

The Cowboy recently had a birthday and requested banana bread for his cake. Seriously. I mean I like banana bread. It's a classic because it's good, but it's so...no-frills. That would be the same as me asking for a vacuum cleaner for our anniversary. Not in a million years. Totally anti-climatic. But the man had made up his mind and he wanted Banana Bread.

Fine he'd get his banana bread, but it'd be one heck of a special banana bread. I had some dried figs on hand that I'd been trying to figure out uses for, and figs to me are rare and luxurious ingredient. So threw in some figs.

And, I'd recently attended an amazing #Spicechat on twitter and was totally inspired about Caraway Seeds, and especially about using them in a seed cake. While Caraway seeds have an unassuming appearance, one bite can knock your sock off with robust flavor reminiscent of liquorice, citrus and peppermint. Just the kind of zing to push it out of the realm of ordinary.

To enhance the citrusy taste and add some color, in went the zest of an orange. I reserved the juice of half the orange, and ate the other half (see, I told you this Banana Bread was good for you).

Once baked and sliced, it revealed it's inner deliciousness. A surprise of color, aroma and flavor.

And yes, birthday boy did enjoy every bite...almost as much as I enjoyed making the cake. :)

Get Figgy With It Banana Bread

2 cups flour
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 teaspoons Caraway seeds
zest of one orange, juice half of the fruit and reserve for later
1/2 cup baking Splenda (or you can use 1 cup sugar)
1/4 cup butter softened
2 large eggs
3 ripe bananas, mashed
1/3 cup sour cream
1/2 cup dried chopped figs

1. Preaheat oven at 350 degrees
2. Coat the inside of a 8 1/2 X 4 1/2-inch loaf pan with a cooking spray
3. In a large bowl, combine flour, baking soda, salt, caraway and orange zest
4. Cream together the butter and sugar in the bowl of your mixer at medium speed
5. Add the eggs one at a time, beating to blend after each.
6. Add in the banana and sour cream, beat to blend.
7. Spoon in the flour mix, a little at a time, until a moist batter is formed.
8. Add the figs and gently fold into the batter.
9. Pour the batter into the loaf pan and bake for about an hour, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out dry.
10. Using the same toothpick, poke tiny holes at regular intervals on top of the hot cake.
11. Drizzle with the reserved orange juice (Use just enough to moisten, but not flood)
12. Cool and serve.

Here's another post on Caraway by a #SpiceChat friend.

Spring Pea & Mint Soup for Health & Hope

Spring, with its new leaves of bright green and show of flowers –from the fuzzy caterpillar-like Mesquite blossoms to the riot of wildflowers, is a time of hope for me.  I breathe in the cool spring air and it makes it possible for me to endure the earth-cracking, oven-dry heat of a long West Texas summer.

So when our #LetsLunch twitter group decided to host a liquid lunch to commiserate with fellow member Karen, who is restricted to a liquid diet because of cancer surgery, I wanted to wish her all the goodness of the season.

Nothing says “Spring” to me like peas growing in the garden. The soft tendrils, pretty flowers and delicious pods hiding tiny gifts packed with sweet flavor and nutrition.

Peas are a good source of Vitamin A, Vitamin C, B1, folate, iron and phosphorus.  They are low in fat and sodium, but rich in proteins, carbs and fiber.

Because this lunch is liquid, I wanted to make soup. Is there anything more comforting than a good bowl of soup when you’re not feeling 100 percent? (Hmm, maybe the Cowboy…but only if he comes with soup in hand.) 

I chose a recipe out of “If it makes you healthy,” the new cookbook by singer Sheryl Crow, another cancer heroine, and her chef Chuck White. I’m loving this cookbook because it’s focused on seasonal eating, quality over quantity and a healthy diet. The recipes are interesting and creative. And I love the glimpses from Ms. Crow’s life, kitchen philosophy from the chef and, the occasional, nutrition notes from dietician Rachel Beller, MS, RD.

Without further ado, I present you:

Spring Pea & Mint Soup

The brilliant color, minty aroma and refreshing taste make this lovely. It tastes good warm or cold from the refrigerator. According to Rachel, the mint not only refreshes your senses, but also helps stimulate digestion. I put a dollop of Shrimp Salsa in my soup, but you don't have to.

1 ½ teaspoons olive oil

1 medium onion, diced

3 cups vegetable broth

1 pound frozen or fresh shelled peas

1/3 cup chopped mint leaves

2 teaspoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

1 ½ teaspoon sugar

1 ½ teaspoon kosher salt

1 teaspoon freshly ground white pepper

1 ½ cups packed fresh spinach leaves

Directions:

1.       In a medium saucepan, heat the oil over medium heat.

2.       When hot, add onion and sauté until softened, about 3 to 4 minutes.

3.       Add the vegetable broth and bring to boil.

4.       Add peas and mint, cook 4 to 5 minutes.

5.       Turn the heat low and add lemon juice, sugar, salt and pepper. Whisk the soup to mix all the ingredients, and then remove from heat. Let the soup cool for about 10 minutes.

6.       Add in the raw spinach.

7.       I used my immersion blender to blend the soup right in the pot. However, you can use a blender. Just work in two batches. If using blender, you could divide the raw spinach and add it to each batch in the blender.

8.       Return soup to pot. Taste and adjust seasoning, then heat gently until warm.

9.       Serves 4 to 6. (I served it with a shrimp salsa and chips on the side).

Wishing Karen and others happy eating and good health!

Other #LetsLunch posts up include:

Cheryl Tan's Miso Bacon Corn Chowder

Linda's Crack Pie Inspired Shake

Taking Stock

At the beginning of the year, I chose a guiding mantra for myself:

"Live creatively, consciously, healthfully and simply."

About a month ago, I resigned from my full-time day job. It was a scary step, but I took it because I needed to. The bottom line being:

"Live life well and use the time I have on this earth to its full extent."

So now it's time to take stock and see what I've done in my first month of living on my own terms.

Here's the list:

1. Took early morning walks with the Cowboy & puppies.
2. Wrote a novella, and almost done with revisions.
3. Volunteered at my kids' school --a Diabetes walk, an Academic Carnival, and dressing about 80 kinder kids in caps and gowns for graduation pictures. It's amazing to observe my little people in a different enviroment, the nuance of their personalities revealed by their interactions with teachers and peers.
4. Coordinated media coverage about the Association of Asian-American Women's efforts to collect donations for Japan. A sister member, Dong Mei, who's half-Chinese, half-Japanese and 100 percent sweet, led the charge.
5. Returned to help cook at the soup kitchen every Wedneday (while I was working, I basically ended up only doing the large Valentine's Lunch and missed my weekly visits). Many of the old crew still happened to be there and welcomed me back.
6. Spent time in my garden. I now have sweet potatoes, red potatoes and a jicama plant in the ground.
7. Spent hours in our new $16 million library, just soaking it in. Read like books were going out of existence. Mailed out 52 packages of books for a contest I'm helping coordinate.
8. Went on a clutter-busting mission and had a garage sale. Continuing process.
9. Experimented in the kitchen. Pictured is a refreshing watermelon-strawberry drink with mint and lemon juice. Toss everything in a blender, bzzzz, pour & enjoy! For your poetic pleasure: Watermelons by Charles Simic.
10. Enjoyed my back porch, played more, laughed more.

Oh, I also organized my kitchen cabinets, refrigerator & freezer, which led to 3 Tips to a Well-Stocked Kitchen.

Not bad me thinks.

* What I haven't had time for: a pedicure. Sheesh!

Good @ Any Time: Sweet Potato & 2 Pepper hash with Fried Egg & Avocado

Growing up in Bangladesh, my first glimpses of America came from comics (I was tight with Archie & the gang), movies and tv shows and somewhere along the way I became enamoured with diners.

When I arrived in America, I sought out a real-live diner and there I discovered the joys of crispy hashbrowns, creamy sausage gravy over fluffy buttermilk biscuits, eggs dancing with spicy salsa. All the while, I soaked in the conversations going on all around me: men & women, young & old sharing laughs and stories over coffee and pie. It was the ultimate American experience.

Much of my college career centered around diners --early morning breakfasts after late night parties, cram sessions, dates, girl-talks. Then I graduated and landed my first full-time reporting job.

Single-Asian-Female alone in the wilds of West Texas. I love a good adventure, but I couldn't help feeling a bit lost. So I sought out a diner. The waitress called me "Honey" and all the old guys flirted with me. My first bite sealed the deal and I stayed.

Four years later, just as I got ready to leave West Texas, I met the Cowboy. One Texas-tornado of a romance later, we got married. Both history buffs, we chose the stables of Fort Concho as the venue. The director, a friend of ours, let us spend our wedding night in the restored Officer's Quarter One. Unfortunately, I'd heard one too many ghost stories about that place and didn't sleep a wink (okay, stop snickering y'all). Anyhoo, 5 a.m. in the morning we ended up in a diner sharing our first breakfast as Mr. & Mrs.

My love affair with diner food continues to this day. What's there not to love? Good diner meals are simple, good and comforting. When I crave some but can't go out to a diner, I try to whip up something close in my kitchen...of course, with a Rashda twist.

Sweet Potato & 2 Pepper Hash with Fried Egg & Avocado

3 Tablespoons of oil (reserve 1 tablespoon for later use)
2 medium sweet potatoes, peeled & diced into 1/2-inch cubes
salt and pepper
2 teaspoons panchphoron (you could replace that with 1 tsp fennel seeds, 1 teaspoon cumin seeds or anything you prefer)
1/2 large onion, peeled and diced
1/2 teaspoon of red pepper flakes
1/2 teaspoon of turmeric powder
1 teaspoon coriander powder (optional)
4 to 6 garlic cloves, peeled and minced
1-inch piece of ginger, peeled and grated
1 large sweet red bell pepper, seeded and diced into 1/2-inch pieces
1 large poblano pepper, seeded and diced into 1/2-inch pieces
2 tablespoons of lemon juice or water
4 eggs
1 avocado, sliced
1/4 cup of fresh cilantro, chopped (optional)
Home-made or store-bought salsa

Directions:

1. Heat 2 tblsp of oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add sweet potatoes. Season them with salt and pepper. Try to get the potatoes in a single layer and don't over-stir so that you get nice browning. But keep an eye on them & the stirrer handy, since you don't want them to burn to black. If you're happy with the caremelization, feel free to sprinkle some water to help with the cooking.

2.When the potatoes are 3/4 cooked, take the pan off the heat. I usually put them in a paper towel lined bowl and set aside.

3.Clean off the pan with another paper towel and get ready for some desi cooking. We Bengalis call this technique baghar, Indians often refer to it as tarka, but it involves cooking the spices in hot oil and adding it to the almost finished dish for a final pop of flavor.

4.Heat remaining tablespoon of oil in the skillet.

5. Add the spice seeds and cook for about a minute.

6. Add the onions, and when that starts softening add in the red pepper flakes and ground spices. Cook for about three minutes until well mixed (again, if sticking sprinkle some water on it).

7. Toss in the garlic, ginger, red bell pepper and poblano. Cook for about five minutes.

8. Return the sweet potatoes to the pan, sprinkle with two tablespoons of lemon juice or water and finish cooking until the potatoes are done. Set aside.

9. Fry up your eggs, slice up the avocado (a big round of applause to the Cowboy for helping so we could have every thing ready at about the same time).

10. Plate up your hash, egg and avocado. Sprinkle with cilantro (if using) and serve with a side of salsa. I try to be seasonal in my food and beverage choices...and this was perfectly accompanied by a cold bottle of Shiner Spring Ale. :)

Variations: I considered adding some breakfast sausage to the hash, but decided the egg was protein enough. And I left out any kind of bread because, well, the sweet potatoe is the starch. For a heartier meal, I'd add those in.

To finish up, instead of pie I'm offering you the poem Breakfast by Minnie Bruce Pratt. Happy reading & eating!

To my #Letslunch friends: Sorry, I know I had you thinking quiche...but then I stumbled onto a #spicechat and got inspired to make some sweet potato hash instead.

Some of the other breakfast for lunch posts by #Letslunch pals:

Cinnamon Roll French Toast Sticks

Okra Coins with Fried Eggs & Biscuit

Frittata Salad

Life Changes: Giving Up on "Someday."

Sorry, I've been MIA for a bit, but I've been busy changing my life.

In this economy when most people around me are thanking their lucky stars to have a job, any job, with regular paychecks and health-insurance, I resigned from mine.

Why? Because of Eva.

Eva was a petite,dynamic woman with the energy of the Energizer Bunny and a twinkle in her eye. I met her about four years ago in a writing class I was teaching. She wanted to write. I loved having her in the class --she was enthusiastic and inquisitive, did the work, and showed up for every session.On the last day, as we said goodbye, I told her to keep writing. She laughed her trademark laugh and said, "I'll probably wait until after I retire."

Well, she retired and actually helped me get the job. She'd already retired as a teacher, and now she hung up her hat as a nutrition educator. I wished her well and told her to buckle down and write. Unfortunately, her mother who'd been ill all along took a turn for the worse and Eva transformed into a full-time care-taker.

This January Eva's mother died. When I saw her, I gave her a big hug, offered her my sympathies. I made a silent wish for her: Now, now she would write.

Two weeks later she got diagnosed with Stage 4 throat cancer. And earlier this month, Eva died. Even though I knew her only a short while, Eva managed to touch my heart and bring change into my life.

Thanks to her, I had one of the best day jobs ever. For about three years I got to teach people about food and how to cook. Not only did I have fun at work, but at the end of the day I knew I was helping people improve their lives. I have had enough jobs where I wrote fluff to make a product sound like the greatest thing since sliced bread, or a news story to boost the publisher's pal. They paid the bills, but left me empty.

So, why leave my great day job? Because even in passing, Eva managed to touch me and bring about a change. She made me think.

Yes, I enjoyed the job, but did I want to retire from it? No.

If you asked me what was the one thing I wanted to do in life, the answer would be to write. The elementary school me, the college me, the today me would all answer the same way. For the longest time, I've wanted to write and be a writer. Not write a bit on the side, but be a full-time, wholly-committed, creative writer.

So, yes, the money was good, the health insurance a blessing. But the cost was most of my waking hours spent not writing. Some of the other costs were missing out on kids' programs that conflicted with work, travelling, spending time with my parents. Time.

So, while lots of people are digging in their heels to hold on to their jobs, I walked away from mine.Because "someday" sometimes just doesn't come.

I know my decision doesn't make sense to a lot of people,and that's okay. I arrived at my decision through much thought & reflection, and, yes, after many discussions with the Cowboy. It wasn't an easy decision, but it's the right one for me.

The key now is to live life well, and use the time I've gained.

My Adventures at the CIA

I recently got up close & personal with the CIA. No, not the hush-hush agency, but something even cooler: the Culinary Institute of America. I've been wanting to go visit CIA, take a class, for sometime now...but both the New York and California campuses were too far away. However, now that they've a San Antonio, Texas campus...a mere three and half hours drive away...yes, I finaggled the Cowboy to take me to San Antonio for our 10th anniversary. He really is a keeper because he put up with two-day's worth of CIA on our weekend.Of course, he ate well and that did help.

One of the first places I checked out was the new CIA Bakery Cafe. Oh the desserts were works of art. Don't take my word for it, check out the pics.

They also had rustic loaves of bread, coffee and teas from around the world, and an uber cool light fixture made of wooden spoons...

But the desserts wowed me and the Cowboy & I splurged...

The chocolate dome thing was called "Chocolate XS" and it was...but my favorite ended up being the light and luscious Mango Mousse Cake. Yum. A sweet first day of vacation.

The CIA Bakery Cafe hours are: Tuesday through Saturday, 7 a.m.–5 p.m. and 8 a.m.–5 p.m. on Sunday. The Café will be closed on Monday.

The next day, I participated in the Spain and the World Table cooking class that CIA was kind enough to let me cover. You can read about that adventure and find some Spanish recipes at this link. Enjoy!

All About Beans

So, I loved the San Angelo Standard-Times food section today. For one thing, they created a great package with my stories and pictures. Being a freelancer, I've no editorial input in the headlines, or page design...so I'm uber grateful when every element comes together in a nice package. And I was featured both on the front and the back. And I got color. WooHoo! Yes, pretty excited.

Funny thing about beans, I grew up eating chickpeas as they are pretty popular in Bengali cuisine. However, my Cowboy had never tried them before he met me. Now they are a staple food for him...especially as hummus.

In return, he introduced me to pinto beans. In West Texas, they use the colorful pintos in everything from refried beans to chilis (yes, even real Texans sometimes put some other protein in addition to meat in their chilis).

During our dating period, we explored other cuisines. We tried black beans in Southwestern and Latin dishes, fava beans in Middle Eastern restaurants, and baked beans in Boston, and creamy cannelinis in Italian concoctions. Ah, beany good eats!

Want to know what to do about the gassiness of beans?

Here's the link to my article.

Want a primer on how to cook with beans?

Here's another link. Enjoy!

Celebrating 10 years of Marriage

Ten years ago on February 24th, the Cowboy and I tied the knot, became Mr. & Mrs.

To remember and celebrate, here's Susan Marr Spalding’s poem FATE, which was read at our wedding:

Two shall be born, the whole wide world apart,
And speak in different tongues and have no thought
Each of the other’s being, and have no heed;
And these, o’er unknown seas, to unknown lands
Shall cross, escaping wreck, defying death; And all unconsciously shape every act
And bend each wandering step to this one end—
That one day out of darkness they shall meet
And read life’s meaning in each other’s eyes.

The Cowboy & I Cook for Valentine's

The Cowboy and I have a special tradition: we celebrate Valentine's by throwing a party at our local soup kitchen.

Love and food are basic human needs. So what better way to celebrate our love than working together on a project to bring love and food, served with joy and verve, to more than a hundred of our homeless and working poor.

The plus side is we avoid the stiff competion for reservations and long waits at crowded restaurants.

Yes, we do fall into a bone-tired heap at the end of it all...but it's usually in the hot tub with glasses of wine or bottles of beer and each other. A pretty happy ending, by all accounts.

And, best of all, our love grows stronger, deeper, having worked side by side at the soup kitchen and being surrounded by love all day.

You can read about all the great plans for the 2011 Peace Ambassadors' Valentine's Lunch (our sixth) in this article.

To see pictures and stories from last year, click the San Angelo Standard-Times' link.

If you're able to help out in any way, we'd love to have you join us!
Happy Valentine's Y'all!

The Cowboy and I dance & feast in medieaval times

The Cowboy and I came together thanks to dancing. I was getting ready to leave West Texas with one regret: Not having learned the Texas Two-Step. A friend of mine heard my whining and invited me out for a night of dancing with her friends. She assured me there'd be plenty of guys to teach me. Well, the Cowboy was there and he took me for a spin, then another...and I ended up learning the Two-Step, falling in love, and never leaving West Texas.

So when friends in the Santa Angela Renaissance Guild asked for volunteer dancers (who could bring their kids to the practices)for the Feast of Santa Angela, a community event, we jumped in with both feet. It's amazing how much flirting goes on in the dances. I guess somethings never change. Needless to say, the Cowboy and I have been diligently learning medieval-era English country dances, such as the Rufty-Tufty.



I also ended up writing my weekly column on the Renaissance-style dinner that will be enjoyed at the feast.

For research I used:

The informative website Gode Cookery

The Santa Angela Renaissance Guild

and A Fifteenth Century Cookry Boke

Tea Time for the Soul

Sometimes life knows better than I do about what I need.

Recently, I came home to a phone message from my Turkish friend, Saleha, inviting me to an afternoon tea the next day. I called her back to decline. I love Saleha and I love her cooking, but I had a hectic weekend scheduled.

When Saleha mentioned the tea was at 1 p.m., my food loving self piped up: ha, you’ve to drop the kids off at art class about that time anyway. How often do you get Turkish food? My writing self countered: you’ll actually have some peace and quiet, and you planned to write. How often do you get that chance? So they negotiated down to: just go for a little while.

Since the invitation was just for ladies, the Cowboy ended up taking the kids to art class and I went to tea (yes, I brought back goodies for the wonderful man). Saleha had prepared a feast: a red lentil soup, bulgur salad, and two different types of breads. One lady had brought a chocolate-covered Hawaiian bread and another had bought carrot cake. And of course there was hot tea, a beautiful, translucent burnished orange tea. Mine came in a traditional short glass with its tiny metal platter and spoon. I added my sugar and stirred, took a sip. One taste of that sweet, warm tea and my entire being relaxed.

Now I’d chosen my seat specifically to be able to keep an eye on the clock Saleha had hanging on a wall. But then the eating and talking began. I reached for a perfect round bun, shiny and brown, decorated with a sprinkle of black nigella seeds. I bit into the soft, buttery bread and discovered a delicious surprise: cheese and parsley hidden deep in the heart. The Turkish pogca (pronounced poh-cha) is a perfect treat.

Saleha shared the good news of her son’s engagement. Hearty congratulations rang out and more tea was sipped. We teased her about how worried she’d been about finding someone to take care of her son. We talked about our respective countries – Turkey, Jerusalem, Bangladesh, commiserated over bad politics and the expense of air travel.

We spoke of our new year celebrations. A friend spoke of her disappointment when ill health kept one of her children from travelling, but her other children rallied the family and off they escaped to the serenity of Big Bend. They hiked, they laughed, they celebrated family.

Somehow talk turned to fears. One lady treated herself to a spiritual retreat to celebrate the new year and drove to a hill country resort all by herself, terrified that she’d get lost. Well, she made it there and back. We told her, “You did it” and drank more tea.

My friend, Ara, told us about jumping off a cliff to paraglide. I think all the eyebrows around the table jumped to the ceiling and back. Why, we asked her.

“I didn’t have much choice,” she said, adding that she’d been in the company of her youngest daughter and so had to think about what message she wanted to communicate, what kind of example she wanted to set. “Plus,” she added with a shrug, ”all my kids are grown, I had a good life and so I decided what happens, happens.”

I shared my fear of heights and a story about a terrifying car trip to Aspen, where we had to travel a narrow and steep winding mountain road with no protective barriers. And Ara said, “But you’re a journalist and you’ve done so much.” Yes, but I’m also human. And part of being human is being afraid. What we are afraid of is as different as the different shades of human skin –some could be afraid of something as small as a common spider or something as big as death. Do we let fear stop us, or change our course? Do we face it down and work through it? Or do we thumb our noses at our fears and become daredevils? How each of us deals with our fears is what defines us.

Of course, talk turned to tea. The process of tea making, the different types of teas, the use of loose-leaf teas vs. tea bags. I’ve since learned that green tea, oolong and black tea are different classifications determined by how the leaves are processed. However, there are many sub-species of the tea plant and white tea is produced from the mature buds of a rare tea bush found in China.

Saleha shared that in Turkey women often come together for tea parties and wished her friends in San Angelo could visit more often.

Her words reminded my childhood home in Bangladesh. Tea was served at least twice– at breakfast and at tea time (4 p.m. precisely). Tea was made whenever guests dropped in, whatever the time. The Bengali’s tea-drinking habit is one of the few positive leftover legacies of British colonialism and we brew it strong and take it with milk and sugar. With garam cha (hot tea), there had to be some nashta (nibbles) and, of course, adda –a discussion that covered any and every topic under the sun.

So an impromptu invitation to tea by my Turkish-American friend took me half-way across the world and back in time when life was as sweet and nourishing as a cup of hot tea. I left Saleha’s house hours later than I’d intended but full of stories, full of good food and full of happiness. On the drive back, I made myself a promise: I must have more tea parties.

Ginger Tea

Whenever my mother heard any of us sniffle or cough, she’d rush into the kitchen and brew us some ginger tea to sooth the throat and chase off the cold. As a child, I thought it vile. But as I grew up, I grew to enjoy it. Now I make it if either Alvin or I are feeling under the weather or just to warm us up on a cold, gray day.

½-inch piece of ginger, peeled and crushed
1 cup water
1/8 teaspoon of black tea leaves or a tea bag of your favorite tea (a fruity flavored tea works good)
Sugar to taste
Lemon slices (optional)

Directions:
Place water and ginger in a small non-reactive sauce pan and bring to a boil, lower heat and simmer for about 2 to 5 minutes. Take off heat and add tea leaves and brew to desired strength (I prefer a bright rich color). Using a strainer, pour into a cup. Add in sugar and a squeeze of lemon (if using), stir and serve.

The First Dinner of January: Curried Black-Eyed Peas, Brown Rice & Beer

My parents always threw a New Year’s Eve bash. The furniture would be removed, music and drinks would flow, and tables would totter under the weight of food. Yes, my parents liked a good time, and yes this party was to celebrate their wedding anniversary (December 30) as well as the new year. What was not commonly known was there was also another, more superstitious reason.

The first day of a new year isn’t just another day for most people. It’s weighed down with significance and superstition. What you do in the beginning sets the tone for the entire year, determines the course. My mother, a steadfast believer of this, refused to spend money or cook on the first day of the year. So she was always made sure to have plenty of leftovers for January 1.

When I married the Cowboy and got initiated into Texan ways, I learned the importance of black-eyed peas. He insisted on eating them on January 1 to insure good luck and prosperity for the rest of the year. For this tall, dark and practical man of few words to admit to a superstition simply endeared him to me. Made me smile and give him a big hug (yes, it’s got to be love), then cook him those beans.

Unlike a lot of people, I don’t consider cooking a chore. There is a certain kind of peace in chopping and mincing, measuring and mixing. The heady scent of garlic, onion, ginger or the softer scents of cinnamon or vanilla are like aroma therapy. So come January 1, I insist on cooking dinner together (hey, with a superstitious mom and hubby, some of it had to rub off on me).

My 2011 mantra is: Live creatively, consciously, healthfully and simply. And black-eyed peas, an excellent source of Calcium, Folate and Vitamin A, dovetailed beautifully with that philosophy.

I’ve been hearing about the Meatless Monday movement for a while and this year I want to make it a part of my life. The goal is to reduce meat consumption by 15 percent for better health for yourself and the planet. The strategy is simple: Go Meatless once a week. Now I understand the organizers’ reasons for choosing Mondays –Monday is the beginning of the week and helps set the intentions for the rest of the week (again, the importance of the 1^st day). Also, Meatless Monday sounds a whole lot more poetic than Meatless ANYOTHERDAY. I tried them all out. 

I love the idea, but couldn’t commit to Monday. Part of living consciously is to pay attention to your body and emotions. So if I happen to crave steak on a Monday, I’m going to let myself enjoy steak that day. Instead, for me, Meatless One Day works better.

So for our first dinner of the year, on January 1, Saturday, the Cowboy & I enjoyed black-eyed peas cooked in a curried yogurt sauce served over brown rice and accompanied by a beer. Okay, so the beer didn’t quite fit the healthy part, but it was Shiner Cheer, an enjoyable nod to end of the holidays.

Continuing the pattern of firsts, this seemed to be perfect for my first 2011 #LetsLunch post.

So, what was your first dinner of the year?

Curried Black-Eyed Peas

2 tablespoons canola oil

2 bay leaves

2 large red potatoes, washed and cubed (I leave the peel on)

1 jalapeno minced (deseeded if you don’t like it hot)

1 small onion, finely sliced

6 garlic cloves, peeled and minced

½-inch ginger root, peeled and grated

1 ½ teaspoon garam masala

½ teaspoon turmeric

½ teaspoon ground cumin

2 tablespoons tomato paste

3 Roma tomatoes, chopped

1 small green bell pepper, cleaned and diced

1 can of black-eyed peas, drained and rinsed

2 cups of water

½ cup whole yogurt or Greek yogurt

A handful of cilantro, chopped

Directions:

1.       Heat oil in a skillet over medium high heat.

2.       Add the bay leaves and potatoes, and cook until the latter is turning golden brown

3.       Add the jalapeno, onion, garlic and ginger and cook until the onion has softened.

4.       Toss in the spices and tomatoes and cook for about 5 minutes.

5.       Add the bell peppers and black-eyed peas, cook for another 5 minutes. Add the water, bring to a boil and simmer for about 15 minutes (the potato should be done). Turn off the heat.

6.       Temper the yogurt with some of the cooked peas, then fold in the yogurt mixture into the rest of the curry. Stir and sprinkle with cilantro.

7.       Serve with rice and sliced lemon. Serves 6 to 8

If you'd like to join Let's Lunch, go to Twitter and post a message with the hashtag #Letslunch -- or, post a comment below.
And don't forget to see other Let's Lunchers' healthy dishes below:
Cheryl’s Watercress Soup at A Tiger In the Kitchen
Emma's Quinoa with Grilled Veggies at Dreaming of Pots and Pans
Linda's Mesquite Date Muffins at Free Range Cookies
Mai Hoang's Spicy Cauliflower at Cooking In The Fruit Bowl
Steff's Frittata attempt at The Kitchen Trials

Comfort Foods From Different Corners of the World

Recently I was so stressed that I ended up cooking all kinds of comfort foods. Our favorite comfort foods are like warm hugs, they bring out all the contentment of childhood. One bite and you’re smiling from the inside out and all the chaos of the world subsides for a few moments.

Both kids and husband got sick. The littlest one had 102 degree fever. All three were off their food. Now I’ve been a mom long enough that I don’t panic easily, but my first-born was born at seven months and weighed one pound 11 ounces. Imagine a coke can with arms and legs. He fit in the palm of one my husband’s hands. It’s an image that will be with me forever.  Now my son is almost 9-years-old and he’s on the scrawny side but healthy. However, when he almost stops eating, yes I do panic.

So I called the pediatrician, only to be told the stuff was going around and to do the usual –plenty of fluids, rest and monitoring.  Watch and wait. Patience has never been one of my virtues, and add to that a feeling of helplessness...bad combination.  I did what I always do in such moments: went into the kitchen and cooked. 

 I chose to make a pot of soft khichuri, a comfort food from my childhood. It has all kinds of good stuff in it: chicken stock, rice, lentils, veggies, tummy-soothing spices like cumin and turmeric.

My mother always made this rice and lentil porridge when I was sick and whatever the ailment –a sniffly cold or a sensitive tummy – a bowl of this would make me feel a whole lot better. I served the khichuri with stories from my childhood and the kids almost cleaned their bowls.

Of course, like all good conversations, this one meandered over to include the other parent and we asked the Cowboy what his favorite childhood comfort food was. The answer: Gravy Meat.

I was confused. “You mean meat gravy?”

“No,” he was adamant. “Gravy meat.”

This isn’t an old German or Polish recipe, but an army one. “It’s a dad recipe,” the Cowboy said. My father-in-law served in the army during World War II and didn’t much like the food. The only exception was “Gravy Meat” or the less-polite "Shit-on-a-Shingle." Whatever the name, he liked the dish so much that when he returned home he had my mother-in-law recreate it. And so the Cowboy enjoyed it growing up.

It doesn’t matter where in the world you’re born or where you end up, every culture has its comfort foods to soothe a sick child and/or a worried parent. You grow up with this food and when things are not perfect in your world—you yearn for it.

Cooking all these wonderful foods definitely helped calm me down. The best part though was to curl up on the couch with a bowl of Khichuri and watch the twinkly splendor of my Christmas tree on Sunday night. I’m glad my children will have so many different kinds of comfort foods, and their associated stories, to help them through life.

 So what are some of your comfort foods?

Recipes:

Soft Khichuri – As far as comfort foods go, this one is actually on the healthy side.

½ cup white, short grain rice (or whatever rice you have)

¼ cup red mushur lentils

¼ cup pale yellow mung lentils (I’ve seen this in H-E-B, or if you want substitute both these lentil varities with ½ cup green or brown lentils)

2 tablespoons of canola oil

½ a medium onion, finely sliced

A thumb-length of fresh ginger, skin scraped-off and coined

1 bay leaf

6 to 8 garlic cloves, peeled and smashed

¼ teaspoon of turmeric

¼ teaspoon of cumin

½ teaspoon of coriander powder

¾ teaspoon of salt

¼ teaspoon cayenne (optional)

1 cup of pumpkin puree (my mom used a traditional Bengali gourd called lao, but she suggested the more readily-available pumpkin would have a similar tummy cooling effect)

1 cup frozen mixed vegetable

5 to 7 cups of liquid (I use a mix of chicken broth and water)

Directions:

1. Mix the rice and lentils together, wash several times until the water runs clear. Drain and set aside.
2. In a large heavy-bottomed pot, heat oil over medium high heat. Add onion, ginger and bay leaf and cook until onion has softened.
3. Add the rice and lentil and fry for two minutes, then add the garlic and spices (turmeric to cayenne) and cook for 5 minutes.
4. Add 5 cups of liquid and pumpkin puree, stir and bring to a boil.
5. Cover and cook on low heat for about 25 minutes. Check on it. Most rice is cooked by now, but at this point you probably can see rice and lentils as separate ingredients. You want them to meld together and give you a creamy, porridge-like consistency. So cook for another couple of hours. If it thickens too much, add more liquid, stir. Keep an eye on it.
6. When you think it’s coming together, add in the frozen vegetables and simmer for 15 minutes more.
7. Serve with sliced lemons on the side. Remember to remove the ginger chunks if you don’t like to bite into their intense flavor.

Rashda’s version of Gravy Meat (Now that I think of it, this is similar to the Southern breakfast food sausage gravy and biscuits)

2 tablespoons oil

1 pound ground meat

1 teaspoon dried thyme or Italian spice blend

½ teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon pepper

4 garlic cloves, minced

½ a medium onion, diced

1 green bell pepper, diced

¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes (or more if you like heat)

½ cup white flour

4 cups of milk

Directions:

1.       Heat oil in a skillet over medium-high heat, add meat and spices. Cook until meat is browned.

2.       Add garlic, onions, bell pepper and red pepper flakes and cook until the vegetables are soft.

3.       At this point you can either spoon out the meat mixture and set it aside, or leave it in the pan. Stir in the flour until dissolved. Gradually stir in the milk. Cook until the gravy is thick and bubbly. Taste test, and add more salt and pepper if needed.

4.       Serve with toast, biscuits or mashed potatoes.