Chana Masala & Zucchini Curry

London opened our taste buds to amazing Indian dishes, especially classic British-Indian dishes (although finding reputable sources on what truly originated in India is difficult versus what started in an immigrant kitchen in England and spread out from there...) and so my ongoing Indian food quest continued with two dishes: Chana Masala and Zucchini Curry.

I've been hitting the Sunset Valley Farmer's Market weekly for a few months now - even through the dead of summer, there was good produce, fruits, and more to be found. Some weeks I buy a ton of items from my list, other weeks only a few things. I do try to stick to my shopping list, since I definitely have my Mom's gene to stock immense amounts of food...for me, it's less about "what if we get hit by a hurricane" and more of "what if it strikes me to make Lemon Bars or add a Broccoli Rabe side dish?"

But, I do love my Saturday morning ritual and with it comes neat surprises - I had to buy some Zucchini and ended up with too much, so I decided to try two Indian dishes and add the Zucchini Curry onto the existing menu of Chana Masala. Surprisingly, they both have very similar sauces: tomato based, barely spicy, great onion, turmeric, coriander, garam masala, and more. The Chana Masala has grated ginger added, such an underrated flavor, and they work very well on the dish together.


"Chana Masala and Zucchini Curry"

Fall is upon Central Texas - thank god, this Summer was very rough. We tied the record for the most days over 100 and with no vacations, I think we were both drawn into a few mirages here and there. Promptly after we returned from England, it dumped. Poured. A good Texas storm. We all knew it was going to come...but when?


"September Rain in the Backyard"

This started a week of beautiful days and even though it was fairly warm yesterday, in the low 90s...just in time for Oktoberfest! While the real event is going on now in München, next weekend the Central Texas version kicks of in Fredericksburg and we're ready for take Vivienne (the convertible) out for a joyride. (Yes, there will be a designated driver Mom!) Last night, we had a vegetarian german feast with our friends Melissa and Robert...more on that later!

Tschüß!

Summer Adventure #1: Hill Country Road-trip!

Road trip through the Hill Country! We took off early on a Sunday up Highway 71, a direction we hadn't gone before, and followed the Lower Colorado river lake chains all the way up...past Lady Bird Lake (in downtown Austin) and Lake Austin...up past the way-low Lake Travis and stretchy Lake LBJ up to Lake Buchanan. I never realized how close these lakes are together, only thinking Lake Travis was the nearest lake.



Overlooking Lake LBJ


We took Nigel on this adventure - he did well


Stopped to check out and test-drive a vintage MG


Didn't find any Marble Falls in Marble Falls, TX, but found where lots of our granite countertops come from!


Literally, a train hotel.


If we were to "go country" we found Ryan's hair salon...

We ended it all back in Austin with a beer and pizza at Homeslice (click here for our view). So great to see what's right outside your own door!

Tschüß!

Chicken in Cashew Nut Sauce (indisch essen)

Indian Food. Ahh...nothing quite like it and I know it's found throughout Germany. (Yes that was my attempt to keep the blog relevant and "on topic.") We were at Barnes and Noble and Ryan found a Indian Food cookbook in the discount area. Why not? Let's try! After buying it (along with an espionage spy novel for moi) we sat in our car and picked a dish to make. Chicken in Cashew Nut Sauce.



We rushed to Central Market and quickly bought the rest of the ingredients, cookbook planted firmly in the cart. We had a bit of confusion trying to find Gram Masala (is it a sauce? powder? ahh...blend of spices...) but finally returned home and I started cooking. The food processor was a Christmas present from Ryan and I've used it a ton -- this night was no exception and it did so well.



Yes, it tasted as good as it looks. I didn't know the Indian food has so much Cilantro -- I've always associated that with Mexican food.



It surprised me how easy the dish was - we're moving on to a Chicken Korma, one of my FAVORITE dishes. But I couldn't find Curry Leaves or Onion Seeds at the store...so maybe an Indian Foodstore might be open tonight to help me out.



Bliss. Last night we hit Ranch 616, one of my favorite restaurants in Austin; we've eaten there on my birthday for the past two years. The food was spectacular and the city was abuzz. We hit Molotov to watch the cars and bikes putter on by...it's the bike rally. Most of the time they're nice...but on my way to watch the soccer game yesterday I was crossing the street with a "WALK" sign protecting me...and some turning yuppie roadpigs told me to "Fucking go man!" as in walk faster. Eat shit -- you and your wrinkled broad are nothing but posers and next time we meet at Whole Foods and you're in your dry-cleaned white button-down picking up a Vouvray to go with your take-out pizza from Homeslice...I will still kindly put the rubber "Thank You For Shopping" stick down between your wine and mine.

Tschüß!

Schwäbische Rühreier

I love the name of this fairly simple but rewarding dish -- "Schwäbische" points to a regionality of food, much like "Southern Biscuits" means its biscuits done like the Southerners do it. Schwaben (Swabia auf Englisch) is a regional area with quite a fascinating history and culture. Technically, my Baden Baden ancestor falls in the area of Swabia but I don't know if we have any true roots with the Schwaben people. They originally started near the Baltic Sea and migrated during the times of the Romans to settle in present-day Baden-Württemburg and Schwaben. All I can say, is I love the dishes from this region - especially the Schwäbische Spätzle.

This is an egg/breakfast dish that translates as "Swabian Scrambled Eggs with Onions and Croutons." You dice up some bread into little cubes, then fry that slowly with onions in butter. Then on ultra low, pour on the eggs (with a dash of milk) and fold it around until the eggs are done. I like them a little drippy with this dish to be honest!



The recipe calls for salt and pepper to be added before the egg cooks, but I learned from Gordon Ramsey that it may cause the egg to go gray...so add it afterwards. Makes sense to me. And the salted butter helps make sure there is plenty of salt around anyway.



My serving style, which was to just put the pan on the table, was a bit rustic but you can't see the yummy pancakes, turkey bacon, and the rest of the spread.

Last night, we watched The Science of Sleep, which was a fantastic movie - a bit trippy - I loved the fact that part of the movie was in English, Spanish, French. See it all play out does make you think about identity. While I know I'm Utahn (even though I like to proudly say I wasn't born there) I really don't have an identity from there. No regional dishes (Funeral Potatoes?) that I cling to...I know a lot of our recipes come from my Mom and her family's days in Southern California. So is that the identity? Oh boy, too much to analyze with only 1/2 a cup of coffee in me.

We are off to Lockhart this afternoon to try a hand at beautiful BBQ -- and see a stop on the Chisholm Trail. This isn't a historically "german" town but was founded by some Anglo and is the site of the Texans' victory over the Commanches. Of course, the Germans instead made a treaty which has lasted to this day. Ah, love them.

Tschüß!!!!