use real butter

I’m hella busy. Hella. Too busy to cook, shower, whatever. But I’m a lucky lucky girl. I have friends who are not only willing to feed me, but are stellar cooks to boot. Last Friday my dear Manisha invited some ladies over to feast on her homestyle Indian cooking.

she made idlis

Idlis are little pillows of steamed fermented batter made from rice, lentils, and water. Manisha piled them into a large serving dish – delicate and soft. I wanted to dive right into the bowl and take a nap. Here’s what the batter looks like.

see the bubbles?

Manisha had sambar (vegetable and lentil stew) simmering on the burner and Nichole brought a batch of her homemade aloo masala. The aromas in that kitchen were heady.

nichole ladles the sambar

heavenly aloo masala

I can’t recall what the chutneys were other than amazing. I have a problem with Manisha’s cooking… I get so excited and overwhelmed with all of the newness and flavors that it’s all I can do to photograph the food and eat it. I’ll shoot one dish and see her stirring fried spices into a chutney out of the corner of my eye – I can’t keep up. She promises me a lesson in proper Indian cooking when my schedule eases. I cannae wait.

chutney, chutney, idlis

What I learned that day was something utterly wonderful: that the batter for idlis is the same batter base for making dosas. DOSAS?! I am crazy for dosas. I had two dosas and if I hadn’t been sampling every other fantastic dish (along with two fabulous virgin mojitos courtesy of my dear Kitt) I probably would have stuffed myself with a couple more dosas before blissfully passing out on a plate of idlis – soft pillows, you know.

the dosas are crack

My brain was mush. I was exhausted. But I was well fed and feeling drunk on the love and laughter of my dear friends if only for a couple of hours. Priceless. (Thank you, Manisha! xo)

Recipe: chinese sweet mung bean popsicles

When I posted last week about Chinese sweet red bean (adzuki) soup I got a few comments from people about mung bean soup. Mung beans are green and slightly smaller than adzuki beans. They are another favorite of mine, although if red beans and green beans went head to head, red beans would win 9 times out of 10 for me.

pictures always help, because the word “beans” is a little vague

beautiful little green beans

So yes, you can make a sweet mung bean soup just like you make the sweet adzuki bean soup although you don’t need to soak these beans since they’re smaller. You want an 8:1 ratio of water to beans. Bring to boil, reduce to a simmer, and simmer simmer simmer until the beans are soft (about 90 minutes for me).

add plenty of water

the beans are practically falling apart

**Jump for more butter**

Recipe: blue cornmeal-crusted green chiles

On the way into the house the other day, Jeremy and I paused to admire a salsify puffball in our yard. It’s a weed. People always call them giant dandelions, but they are salsify. I like the weeds that grow in my yard. Sometimes I think people worry so much about things they want, things they don’t have, that they overlook those wonderful, simple gifts that are right under their noses.

a gift

My freezer is no different. In the heat of summer, that door opens and closes – a parade of liquids marching in and frozen treats marching out. Every time I have to make room for a new batch of frozens, I engage in the nontrivial task of rearranging the contents of the freezer. Sometimes I’ll delve into the depths of the freezer and unearth (read: rediscover) amazing finds. Delightful little gems… This week?

roasted hatch green chiles

topped, skinned, deseeded

I covet these green chiles. Each October the state of New Mexico goes gangbusters with the chile harvest. Yeah yeah, I’ve seen peppers roasting at farmer’s markets in California and in Colorado, but with the exception of Pagosa Springs, they were roasting Anaheims and Poblanos, NOT Hatch green chiles, and there is a difference. My aunt lives near Santa Fe and scores me several bags each year. I usually break into one bag immediately and then squirrel the rest away. It isn’t until summer when I realize that October is not that far off and I’d better make some headway into these green chiles so I can make room for MORE come autumn.

dredge in blue cornmeal

pan fry

**Jump for more butter**