11 July 2007
We had rain the other day -- did you know? The UK has been under an almost constant storm cloud, but here in Minneapolis, we've been thirsty for a single drop of rain. But, as I said, it finally rained on Sunday, and the zucchini plants had turned it into several whomping zucchinis by Monday. How to use them all?
Yesterday, I made chips/crisps. Zucchini and eggplant crisps! I sliced them as thin as I could while still keeping them even (yes, I do need a mandoline), laid them out, and sprinkled them with salt to bring out the moisture. I made a mixture of 1 Tbsp all purpose flour, 1 Tbsp rice flour, and a pinch each of garlic salt, chili powder, and paprika.
Dipped each side of each slice in the flour mixture (was time consuming and boring, but I didn't want all the slices to stick to each other), put them on a cookie sheet lined with foil and sprayed with oil, then popped them in the oven. Five minutes at 350F, flip 'em, then five minutes more. Keep an eye on them, because the littler pieces will crisp up quickly, while thicker ones will take longer.
I thought they were rather tasty, and they made for an excellent fake-American meal, with a soya burger and vegan jell dessert.
Today I made aloo ghobi, based on Indira's recipe, of course. I left out the carrot and beans and instead added -- what? what do you think I added? -- yes, zucchini! Zucchini in everything!
I'm generally not a fan of cauliflower (unless it's paired with broccoli and baked with a large amount of cream and cheese), but I 'had' to buy some from the farmers' market on Saturday -- it was bundled together with the broccoli I wanted. And I have to say that I've been really pleasantly surprised. I've got no idea where it came from, but it was really tasty (I used it in a few different dishes).
I think my favourite thing about making Indian dishes is the tomatoes. I love chopping them up, scooping the pieces and their juice into the pan, watching them cook, and smashing them down with my spatula. I could do that all day long. I spent, oh. . . about twenty-four years hating raw tomatoes (and not liking them much even in sauces), but a switch was flipped a while back, and now I can't get enough.
I don't think my enjoyment of curries is all down to the tomato smashing, though. Just to make sure -- in the name of science, you understand -- Sara and I are going to The Vegetarian (local Indian restaurant which is in my top five favourite Indian restaurants ever) tonight, to gorge on tomatoes that somebody else has smashed. Drool.
oh i love the idea for the zucchini and eggplant chips. using the flour is a great idea.
posted by connie at July 12, 2007 02:08 AM
what is in the bowl next to the soya burger? -it looks delicious!
posted by erin at July 12, 2007 03:22 AM
That's the vegan Jello stuff. Pretty good!
posted by Anna at July 12, 2007 02:04 PM
we've not done too bad over the last couple of days here in the uk, its not rained quite as much!!. at least we managed to have sports day at school outside : )
i found your new blog site for the crafters companion the other day but it would not let me post a comment. it kept coming up with an error message. thought i would let you know in case you weren't aware there might be a problem with it.
posted by lucykate crafts at July 12, 2007 11:25 PM
Thanks for suggesting dinner last night! It was quite tasty!
posted by sara at July 13, 2007 06:00 AM