Saturday, October 17, 2009

Soup for Today

My sister sent me this recipe. I made it today and it is positively addictive. I also added a chopped jalapeno, one of the last in the garden.

Nayana Desai's Mung Bean Soup

I c. mung beans washed
5 cups water
If cooking beans in pressure cooker it takes about 15 minutes
Otherwise soak for a couple hours and then cook til quite soft- 40min or so
( FF note: I did a little research and mung beans do not need to be pre-soaked, they are more like a lentil
in that regard.. of course you'll have to cook them longer to attain desired falling apart stage in the soup)

In small frying pan heat 3 T safflower or soy oil
Add
1 t. whole cumin seed
When they start to brown slightly add
1t. turmeric
Then add this stuff to the beans

Add remaining ingredients:
3T lemon juice
1/2 t. curry powder.
2t. cilantro
1 T. chopped fresh ginger
2T. sugar
2T. tomato sauce (you can give a squeeze
of catsup instead of the last two ingredients.)
2 t. unsweeted grated coconut if you have it.

Add water to desired consistency-
(I like it watery and makes a couple qts for me.)
Cook 1/2 hour over medium heat.

Saturday, October 10, 2009

fall-lite

So it is Saturday. And it's a little cool and could rain but has been oddly warm this week, the moist tropical air making us all discombobulated.

I want to eat something sort of fall-ish, but not totally fall: no pork, no apples, no roasted cauliflower.

So here is what I am doing. I am chopping some kale and some beat up garden tomatoes, and some onion and a medium sweet potato. And I'll cook the onions and sweet potato til golden in a little olive oil, then add the tomatoes and kale and a teeny bit of water. After awhile, I'll add two or three garlic cloves, smashed and chopped Then, as it all comes together and the kale is softening, I'll add some fresh thyme and some fresh oregano. Then I may have to add a little more water and turn the heat down to medium low and cover. I'll add a little butter at the very end. My theory is that the sweet potato will add sweetness to the bitter kale and will create body in the sauce. I will serve this on cheese mezzaluna ravioli.

Could be good.


after dinner postscript: it was very good.