30.11.08: Channa masala and cucumber & poppyseed salad

She took a hint and tried out this channa masala recipe b/c it seemed so easy and eager to please. The debut recipe from our spankin' new Ottolenghi cookbook, cucumber and poppyseed salad, also took a pretty, chili-topped bow.

SHE SAYS: I'm pretty disappointed in this channa attempt, tho' it's probably my own fault for being shy about doubling spices when doubling the chickpea count. (I went for half again, and then nearly triple garam masla at the end upon tasting). The spices simply vanished along the way, leaving me with a pile of velvety but fairly bland chickpeas to spoon thru. Also, I find the high-heat cooking time too long for the spice/onion mix; mine simply started burning. I rescued it more or less in time, but still. The cucumber salad perked me up somewhat with its pickledy sweet-n-sour kick and delicate crunch of both cuke and blue poppyseed.

HE SAYS: I think I was less disappointed in this batch of chickpeas then Her. I enjoyed the spice quota, pretty much, although the garam masala was a little overpowering. I added some homemade tomato chutney to mine which livened it up with a juicy, slightly sweet and tangy element. The cucumber salad was a great fresh and vinegary opponent and a fantastic introduction to a book which I think we'll be using a lot in the near future.

03.01.07: Magic lentils

So easy and so good: Coconut dal mixed with spinach and fresh coriander, served with a brown, wild, and red carmargue rice mix and watercress/cocktail beetroot salad. Thanks many times over to lechatlunatique for passing on the coconut dal recipe; it's a weekly guest star at the moment.

HE SAYS: Dal was heavy on the ginger this time, which is a good thing.
SHE SAYS: Always deeply satisfying.

01.01.08: Black-eyed peas and greens

Black-eyed peas for good luck and greens for money: we didn't dare forgo the superstitious New Year's meal. The peas were pepped up with bourbon and maple syrup, adapted from Joshua Ploeg's vegan adventure Something Delicious This Way Comes. The greens got a few quick shakes of liquid smoke before being boiled to pieces with a chopped onion. On the side: fennel, watercress and pear salad from Nigel Slater's Kitchen Diaries.

HE SAYS: Tasty!

SHE SAYS: Greens yummy, avoided smoke overkill. Salad was a nice palate cleanser. Beans were sweeeet.