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Recipe: chana masala

Today, my baby puppy Kaweah turns 14 years old. And even though I call her my puppy, even though she acts like a puppy, even though so many people think she’s a puppy… she’s pretty old. So when she turns off her ears and doesn’t come when called (her hearing is perfectly fine, she can hear me open the closet door to her dog treats from across the house) or when she stumbles because her back legs are weak, we are extra patient and understanding with her the way we would be with our grandmas if they were still alive. I don’t generally make a big deal of birthdays, but this one is special, because it may be her last one.

a little salad, puppy biscuits on cheddar, and raw flank steak

kaweah started with her veggies first (good girl)

apples, peanut butter sauce, unsweetened whipped cream

such a patient pup

jeremy blew the candle out

birthday girl!!

We actually celebrated on Thursday, one day early, because our schedules are completely bonkers. The holidays really make me want to do the opposite of what is considered de rigueur. I can get away with some of it, but not the baking. Our local post office ladies ask Jeremy every November if I’ll be bringing cookies for the holidays. And I can’t not give cookies to my vet, because we love him so much. My ace #1 oncologist – he gets cookies for sure. We always gift cookies to the administrative staff in Jeremy’s department. I don’t mind the baking because this is an expression of gratitude. What I do mind is having heaps of sweets around me. Gah! Get them away! To balance out the craziness of holiday baking, I’ve been gravitating toward simple, but awesome savory dishes.

cayenne, garam masala, paprika, turmeric, coriander, cumin, cumin seeds

spices, salt, garlic, onion, lemon, tomatoes, ginger, jalapeño pepper, and chickpeas

This is a recipe that has been eating away at me for a few years – chana masala. My friend, Nicole, brought it to a potluck party in Seattle two summers ago and I loved it. It was a big party, and I never got around to asking for the recipe. By the time I remembered again (months later) I hit the interwebs which 80% of the time lead me to Deb.

grind the toasted cumin seeds

everything chopped, diced, grated, minced, ground, or juiced

**Jump for more butter**

Recipe: volcano roll sushi

My parents arrived in Boulder over the weekend. Back in September, when I learned that they were going to spend Thanksgiving week in Las Vegas, I asked them why on earth they weren’t coming to Boulder if they were already out west? I’ve only been through Vegas a couple of times, to fill gas and keep driving. Apparently they like Vegas. But they also like me, so they have a long layover in Colorado to visit and see what it’s like in non-summer here. My parents are not winter folk (I know, how did I fall so far from the tree?) and luckily for them – sadly for me, it’s hardly acting like winter around here. However, my parents do love a good party…

i can throw a party

I got their place set up for a little wine and cheese action before they arrived. My dad is all about having a plan, especially when someone else is implementing it. He is also a huge fan of drinking good wine with good people. Check and check. Jeremy was worried that they would be tired from traveling and was I sure they wanted to host a party at their place? Mom and Dad host parties like a boss. They walked into their condo, unpacked, got prettied up, tidied the place, sampled the food I was preparing, then greeted and charmed all of my friends as they arrived. It was a super fun evening and everyone had a grand time. Most importantly, my folks had fun.

My friend, Shirley, saw a picture of the food on Facebook and asked what I served, so here’s the rundown:

crudités and spinach dip
sweet onion dip and crostini
duck prosciutto, tartufo (truffle) salami, finocchietto (fennel) salami, chorizo
brie and tomato jam
manchego and membrillo
gorgonzola dulce, candied walnuts, fresh figs, and honey
pecorino
castelvetrano olives
assorted crackers and sliced baguette
ginger lemon cookies


the spread

nibbly deliciousness

and a faboo sunset from the balcony to kick it all off!

Did I mention that I know nothing about cheeses? Because I don’t. I don’t eat cheese unless it is part of a recipe, but it was fun harassing the cheese experts around town to help me select and plan my menu. Now sushi is another story altogether. I know a little something about sushi. I know that I love that sushi in my belly… We had leftover crab from Thanksgiving – or rather, I saved a crab leg from our Thanksgiving dinner to make this sushi roll I had while I was on the road, from a grocery store, in middle-of-nowhere Colorado. Risky, I know, but it was awesome for grocery store sushi and the little lady preparing it was a total darling. Besides, I am drawn to foods with geologic names.

sushi rice (raw), mayonnaise, wasabi, maguro (sashimi-grade tuna), king crab, avocado, cucumber, masago (flying fish roe), nori, and sriracha

peel the crab, chop the tuna

mix the spicy tuna (tuna, mayonnaise, and sriracha)

mix the crab salad (cooked crab meat and mayonnaise)

A lot of things that are obvious to me may not be obvious for people who don’t eat sushi, don’t prepare sushi, or don’t know how to cook. So let’s be clear: only use sashimi-grade tuna from a reputable and trusted source. Why sashimi-grade as opposed to random slab of raw tuna? Because sashimi-grade has been inspected and also frozen to a temperature low-enough to kill any parasites. If this makes you squeamish and uncomfortable, don’t make this roll. Also, the crab is never raw. We use cooked crab. In fact, I don’t know where I can source uncooked king crab legs. If your search fails to come up with crab meat, then you can always use surimi or fake crab or krab or as we pronounce it in the House of Butter, kay-rab.

mix the wasabi mayonniase

then mix the sriracha mayonnaise

greenish and orangish

long and thin slices for making maki

**Jump for more butter**

Recipe: shiso spicy tuna tempura (dragon scales)

It was getting a little ridiculous. My friends had moved into their new house in Boulder several months ago and I still hadn’t been by to pay them a visit. Summer was pretty cray cray and fall is even more so. If not now, then when? It’s not like I’m the only person who is busy – they are busy too. Everyone is busy. I guess what makes friends so special is that an hour spent together in the midst of all the busy recharges you and leaves you with a warm fuzzy glow for several days.

beautiful family in their wonderful new home

Their adorable baby is no longer a baby but an adorable little boy. Nichole and Luke have put so much work into their house on their own (like laying new plumbing to rearrange their kitchen – whoa!). It was really exciting for me, a DIY-wannabe, to see what two resourceful and creative DIY people can do! Then Nichole said, “Wanna see the garden?” How she finds the time to work, raise Mr. Cutiepie (my nickname for him), remodel the house, AND garden, I just do not know. All that while remaining her hysterically funny and sassy self to boot.

nichole picks red shiso for me

When Nichole said she had red shiso, I did a blink-blink and then a double take. Shiso? Ever since Jeremy and I went to The Lobar in Crested Butte for my birthday, I’ve been wanting to recreate the dragon scales appetizer we enjoyed. It was made with shiso leaves, and the only place I knew of to purchase shiso leaves is on the far side of Denver in Aurora (H-Mart). That’s a drive in sucky traffic that I didn’t want to make. And here was my friend asking me if I would like some red shiso from her garden! Love that girl.

lovely shiso without driving to denver

I’ve only ever had shiso in or with sushi. My favorite sushi chef, Fumito, in South Pasadena would tell us that it is good for your health. When I’ve purchased shiso leaves at H-Mart in the past, they were labeled as sesame leaves or Perilla and they were huge, like as big as my extended hand. These shiso leaves were smaller and a gorgeous purple color, and talk about local sourcing. Now we’re cooking with gas! Here’s what you’ll need to make dragon scales:

shiso leaves, maguro (sashimi grade tuna), mayonnaise, sriracha (not pictured: masago and togarashi)

tempura batter: flour, egg, ice water, baking soda

tempura dipping sauce: mirin, soy sauce, dashi, sugar

The reason the masago (capelin roe) and togarashi (Japanese chili seasoning) aren’t in the picture is because I forgot to buy them. I wasn’t expecting to make this and scrambled at the last minute to get what I needed based on memory. But I do recommend including those in your recipe should you decide to make this (and really, you should).

mixing the tempura batter

make the spicy tuna

stir in the sriracha

**Jump for more butter**