26, Oct 2009
Red Kidney Bean Curry

This is adapted from Smitten Kitchen. The changes are more because she used inconvenient unit sizes (I had 25oz and 15oz cans of kidney beans, not 30oz, and 14oz of diced tomatoes, not 8oz of tomato sauce) than any big change in the essentials. It came out all right. I…

22, Oct 2009
Deep Brownies

Another variation on the standard “one bowl” brownie recipe. The extra cocoa deepens the chocolate flavor and the small amount of cayenne adds a nice heat but nothing overwhelming. The salt kind of disappeared — next time, I’ll probably use coarser salt, maybe a little more, maybe just sprinkled on…

18, Oct 2009
Chana Masala

We’ve made chana before but I didn’t record the recipe. I made a batch today based on this recipe, doubled, and with half the chickpeas replaced with northern beans (we didn’t have as many chickpeas as I thought). I also left out the cayenne and jalapeno, since I’ve been working…

11, Oct 2009
Blondies

Made the butterscotchy blondies again. E has been making a recipe with chocolate chips and other stuff nicknamed “crack bites” because they’re so addictive. I like those, but I like these better for their simple butterscotch flavor. Only differences this time: walnuts instead of pecans (still good!), an 8×8 pan…

11, Oct 2009
Tandoori Chicken

I tried essentially this recipe, in the oven with boneless breasts. It came out fairly juicy but not with a whole lot of deep flavor (and not looking tandoori red either, for that matter). Probably I should have more completely rinsed off the marinade, patted the chicken dry, and then…

8, Oct 2009
Pan-charred long beans with shrimp and garlic

I’ve been trying to do dry stir-frying lately. The problem is I always chicken out and think I need some oil or liquid of some kind in there and end up with the more typical saucy stir-fry. I’ve also been wanting to master the long bean, which I like but…