Short Ribs With An Asian Vibe

Rosh Hashana has always been about rational recipes. These have been served for centuries >However recipes are meant to be rewritten, shaken up and revived. This  definitely applies to short ribs, long a holiday tradition. It's time to rethink this centuries old recipe.

Regular contributor and cookbook author Joan Nathan wrote about this in yesterday's New York Times Wednesday Food section. Short ribs or flanken have always a big part of the New Year;s table. It was a special treat in Jewish homes,It's always been cooked with sweet onions red wine and a savory beef broth . However Ms.Nathan looks to Shaw Fodor for a different spin.She was born Shi Xiatoxia in China;s food capital Chengdu. After moving to Beijing she took a trip to Israel where she met her future husband, Hungarian architect  Thomas Fodor. She took his religion and culture and her kitchen, designed by him is a tribute to both cultures. Her flanken reflects the good luck red of her kitchen.It si filled with warm spices.There are still the spices however they have Asian influence like cumin and a different spin such as jalapeno. There is still red wine and beef broth added to tenderize the meat  along with brown sugar and ketchup. This is just a not too radical recipe. Family and friends will like it.

This is cooked in  the traditional manner. A Dutch oven is still used and olive oil is first heated in it.The meat is seared in it for some color for only three minutes.Take the pieces out and then put the onion in the oil. This is when the "warm" spices such a as cumin curry and cinnamon.Ketchup is also added The meat is the added back along with the red wine and ginger ale(water can be added instead for less sweetness) along with soy sauce ,jalapeno and a large sliced tomato.This is also the time to add the celery ,Bay leaves and carrots.Cook for four hours until the meat is fork tender and falls off the bone .Remove and discard the celery, Bay leaves rosemary and jalapeno.It can be chilled in the fridge  for two days in the Dutch oven.Heat the oven to 150 degrees Farenheit when it;s ready to serve. Remove and discard the solidified fat .Warm for about twenty minutes and take out of the oven. Sprinkle with cilantro or parsley. Ms.Fodor serves her with a side of fiery Szechuan chili oil,. This last can be bought or made with vegetable oil,s spices, ginger and chili flakes. 

Flanken can be livened up with different spices to give out a new Asian vibe. Try it for a different take on this Rosh Hashana classic. It;ll wake up the traditional table.

Eat Like A Critic

 Imagine the life of a restaurant critic. Yes, its full of good food and trendy eateries but there is a down side.It's being overweight with all sorts of health issues thanks to rich meals and richer desserts that follow. However one critic was able to break this cycle by switching his habits. It lead to a better life and improved health.

The critic is Pete Wells who has been restaurant critic for The New York Times Food section for thirteen years. He wrote about his journey from being unhealthy to being healthy in yesterday's New York Times Wednesday section. It is tough to be a food critic, especially in Manhattan and its' boroughs (he also reviewed restaurants ion other cities throughout the country too)A blood test revealed pre diabetes as well as high cholesterol. The pre diabetes scared him the most. It was time to change his diet.He didn't count calories as so many dieters do. He did change the way he ate and what he ate.He had to rethink his relationship with food and how he ate at home. Surprisingly , he didn't;t worry about his sodium and potassium intakes Those , he felt, would be more important to someone who has kidney disease. He had a general assumption, like with anyone  about what was right to eat and what was wrong. He found that the behavioral approach has become a dominant school of thought in mainstream nutrition,

One key factor was to break up with sugar. Most Americans go   mad for it, He looked to simple carbohydrates to help him with this however its the sugars in these that drive the need for eating. He reset his sugar cravings . Gone were the mounds of white rice along with breakfasts with the base of some baked good ,from an English fun to taste  and topped with everything from honey butter to plum jam. Five months into his reformation he received good news from his doctor. He was no longer prediabetic.He also replaced refined grains with whole ones.Another interesting thing happened. His strong desires for sweets decreased. He had more clarity in his thinking.Fruits and veggies were more in his diet and their sugars and don;t increase the glucose. He gives a sweet potato recipe with chermoula,a vibrant North African relish.It calls for sweet potatoes sliced in half and then boiled in salt water for fifteen to twenty minutes. The chermoula is a blend of cilantro,parsley and Serrano Chiles. Flavoring also comes from garlic,paprika cumin and cayenne. There is also lemon juice for zing and the sweet potatoes are topped with roasted chickpeas for crunch. It makes for a nice weekend lunch or easy weeknight dinner.

Eat like a food critic. It worked for Pete Wells with his decrease in sugar and watching his calorie intake.It proved to be a better, healthier life for him.

The Spicy Way TO Warm Food

 It's January . It's cold. We need to be warmed up. It's easy to put on another sweater or  a pair of fuzzy socks. Yet, the warming should come from the inside. not the inside. This means having dishes and drinks that give a certain amount of heat. How todo that? Use warming spices.

What are warming spices? They are usually tropically grown spices that add heat to dishes. They're vital to warmer climates, creating dishes that produce sweat to act as a natural cooling. However, they're just as vital here in the Northen Hemishere warming up people until winter days are over.Of course  the most obvious is chili powder , a blend of dried and ground ancho peppers, paprika and cayenne. Sometimes cumin , oregano and garlic powder are added in to , for flavor. Chili powder, of course, can be used in both white and red chilies. Make yours a three alrm one or five if you can stand it. Also add plent of beef or turkey (depending on the type of chili you;re making) along with beans , onions and wither fresh or canned tomatoes. To amp up the heat try jalapemo cornbread. This is the classic that studded with tiny minced pieces of f the pepper(keep in mind that a square slathered with butter also makes a great snack). Chili powder can be added to pasta sauce to create an arrabbiata-type sauce. It can even be added to pizza sauce too and lasagna for something different and spicy.

Cumin and coriander are other warmng spices. Both are added tosavory foods like curry and sweet like the fudge like confection barfi. Cuminis great in a chicken curry.It adds flavor and colring along with giving off a warm feeling when eaten. Coriander is such more versatile.It's actually cilantro and can be used in all sorts of dishes from tacos to masalas.It can give heat to guacamole along with color to simple rice. Turmeric is another must use warming spice during these chilly days.It can be sprinkled into scrambled eggs for more flavor or added to hash browns to give them a rich ,golden hue., Chicken goes well with mostly all of the warming spices so create a dish using cutlets and a turmeric sauce.Use heavy cream and white wine to round out the saucealong with chicken broth.Cilantro and onion are used to give more flavor.It's a great fish to have with a bowl of steaming basmati rice. Of course there are cinnamon and nutmeg, two must add ins to cappuccinos and lattes. They're also wonderful in the spicy Indian tea, chai and even can be used to zing up plain hot cocoa.It's also the season to bake cinnamon buns. Add the spiciest kind of cinnamon you can for a hot morning bite.

Frigid days require hot foods. Use warming spices to zing up every day dishes and drinks. You'll feel toastier when the temps drop.

Meatballs Done Easy

 Surprisingly one of the hardest dishes to make right looks like it would be the easiest. The simple meatball is far from that. It's a complext marriage of meats cheeses and spices. SOmetimes its' recipes call for a binder. Sometimes not. Yet it's so delicious that home chefs should never shy away from making a batch of them.

Regular contributor and good stylist Sue Li gave recipes and advice on them in today's New York Times Wednesday Food section. Basically there are no strict rules for making them as she has found out from her years of being a food stylist and working with professional chefs. A meatball is nothing more than a blend of meat seasonings and in most cases a binder of sorts. There's not one single formula however but a few principles for ingredients and techniques. Once they're learned a home chef can make the perfect polpetti every time. The classic Italian-American one should be a delicate one. Ms. Li's recipe for it is a blend of fattier ground  beef and pork. It's lightened with two kinds of cheeses - Pecorino-Romano and ricotta.It adds milkiness without the milk along with tenderness . The ground beef used should have a good ration of fat - about eighty per cent lean to twenty percent fat. As for mixing  - mix the egg, cheeses  and seasonings separately and then add the meat. This will ensure that the flavors are equally distributed and it is a loosely packed ball.Mix in the meat , according to another great NY TImes chef, Kenji Lopez-Alt as if you were folding in egg whites into yolks.

What about meatball size? Try not to aim for the mammoth ones that many Italian restaurants serve. Go for ping pong sized ones using a cookie dough scoop.Sear them in olive oil, making sure to seal in the inside and creating a burnished crust There are some meatball  recipes that require a tighter texture and more mixing. Ms.Li gives a chicken meatball made with the ground meat. The tighter ones hold their shape giving them a springy texture that perfect for frying and dipping. Chicken can be bland tasting, unlike beef and pork. Ms. LI adds paprika, cumin and coriader along with mint leaves.The sauce sin;t tomato but a dipping sauce made of Greek yogurt and lemon. Then there is the other recipe, one that is rich with pork and tofu.These are Lion's Head meatball so name probably because of their large size. The tofu gives the other ingredients a lightness. These are first formed and dipped in a slurry made from water, cornstarch and soy sauce.They're then steamed for more spring, nesslater being served with cabbage and broth.

Meatballs are actually pretty easy to make. Try these recipes for a new spin on a classic recipe. They're a simple dish but complex in flavor and texture.

 

Party Salads ? Why Not?

 Party and salad may not go together. One tends to pair a festive gathering with more appropriate foods, such as charcuterie or roasts. Yet a salad , done right can make a gathering interesting and delicious. It's not just a bowl of greens mixed together with bottled dressing. It's something more.

Chef and regular contributor Hetty Liu McKinnon wrote about this and gave recipes from her newest book Linger: Salads, Sweets And Stories To Savor (Knopf 2025) in today's New York Times Wednesday Food section. She recommends thinking outside the bowl. Try smoky roasted veggies or pantry friendly legumes. Add comforting noodles along with homemade chunky dips and great homemade salad dressings. One way of having a phenomenal salad is choosing make ahead dishes that only get better over time. Her example for this is a take on the classic British Coronationsalad. Usually made with chicken and left to marinate , Chef Liu McKinnon subs in chickpeas. A day in the fridge makes the flavors bolder along with bolder and more exciting. Along with chickpeas, cauliflower adds more crunch especially when the two are roasted with a sprinkling of cumin on top. The dressing is a mix of Greek yogurt, apricots (as in the original recipe(, celery and red onion that';s been steeped in water to mellow out the onion-y flavor.

Chef Liu McKinnon also includes a great dip and a salad version of the classic Dan Dan dish. For the dip she takes sliced turnips and fries them in a combo of oil butter ,garlic and miso. The dip is a combination of feta and pistachios blended together with  garlic, parsley, lemon juice, olive oil and a splash of water. Put this and salad leaves on a  large plate, then top with the turnips. Other veggies can also be used as well as crips pita or French bread. The second is a riff on the classic Dana Dan  dish, There is no meat in this one however. Ramen noodles combine with bock choi and canned corn. Toasted sesame seeds and cilantro give it more color and flavor. The dressing is a blend of pantry essentials. Chinese sesame paste or tahini is mixed with Chile oi or Chile crisp along with soy sauce and rice wine vinegar.Two to three tablespoons of non dairy milk like almond, oat or soy is used for creaminess . For all of these everything can be made the day before and assembled the day of , considerably cutting prep time. Just let the salads sit for thirty minutes before serving.

Salads can be the stars of  any party. Make all three or save them for different gatherings. They're sure to be hits.

Warming Spices

 How to make a dish even hotter? Add some heat. It could be sliced jalapenos or a heaping teaspoon of red pepper. This makes for a blood warming meal that will get you through the cold days ahead.

Of course chili is one of the hottest dishes to make. Many make it with just a one alarm rating yet it can be made to be super hot. A five alarm is a fiery change.This means adding more spices and peppers to your already established recipe. Jalapeno is added a long with teaspoons of chili powder ,cayenne pepper and red pepper. if it's too eye watering it can be cooled down with individual dollops of sour cream or guacamole. Another Mexican favorite mole sauce can also be spiked up another levelIt a dark chocolate sauce made with such cocoa .Usually made with cumin and tomatoes. it can be varied with a good kick of ground red pepper. It's usually serve with chicken or beef but can be good with vegetables too. if you want to add more heat then thick about jalapeno cornbread to any of these dishes. Add half a cup of fresh sliced one for an extreme bite or pickled ones for a lesser zing.

Pasta can be fiery too. Arrabiata sauce can bring in blood warming fire. It's a red sauce, rich with tomatoes and the extra kick of red pepper flakes. A teaspoon o them  toasted in butter should bring out the flavor and give the sauce the appropriate taste. If you want you can add any protein too to give it more oomph. Think chicken beef or shrimp. Keep in mind that pizza sauce can also be made arribiata. Add some spicy pepperoni too or ventricina ,a spicy Italian salami as topping.  for a really elegant hot dish , make lobster arrabiata . This is made with two three pound lobsters and four dry red Chiles. The lobsters do have to be roasted first and the meat and juice added to the creamy sauce. It's usually served with spaghetti but also works with any of the "long" pastas like fettucini and linguini.Indian food is also full of heat. Try a chicken curry that combines ginger - another biting spice and chili flakes to create a blood warming dish.Again ,if it's too spicy then serve with Indian flatbread like naan or roti.

If you want to be toasty hot during these cold days, then cook with heat. These dishes will keep you warm .They're not only not but also delicious.

Zesty Zucchini Fries

 Mid August is the season for zucchini.It graces gardens and farmers markets. Its also on e of th e more versatile squashes and can be used as ingredient in ratatouille as well as turned into crunchy fires. If you haven/ yet then do so. It;s time to enjoy zucchini fries.

I made them for a fun Sunday lunch yesterday.It;s more about prepping them.It starts with a vegan batter.

I used the recipe I found on Nourished By Nic site and modified it. There were no measurements so I had to figure them out myself. One cup of flour beaten with a half of cup of almond milk makes for a pancake like batter. I added pinches of salt ,pepper and garlic powder. The sticks would be dipped into this first them rolled in bread crumbs for a really crunch coating.

These are the spices .If you want some zing, the add a pinch of cayenne pepper.You could also try cumin or turmeric too 

It was then slicing the zucchini.First slice it in half.

Then cut in half again

/

Now cut those in quarters .They'll look like pickle spears.

It's then dipping and rolling until they're all completely coated.

Fry in small batches (about six to eight ) for fifteen minutes at 380 degrees Farenheit. Cook for seven minutes first , then flip them over and cook for another eight. They should be golden and crispy.

These were way too good and all five batches went quickly I would add more garlic powder  though for more flavor along with more salt and pepper. I plant on making these again very soon.

It's zucchini season . Make these crunchy fries for a fun meal, side or even snack. They 're good for you while being deliciously crunchy and crispy.

Customizing Rubs And Sauces

We're in the full swing of barbecue season> That means delicious meats and veggies on the grill, sizzling with all sorts of flavor. How do they get to be so tasty ? Rubs and sauces but not just any rubs and sauce . Ones you make yourself.

Many novice grillers will ask what's the difference between a rub and a marinade. Rubs can be wet or dry an marinade is always composed of liquid materials. Rubs are usually just added just before grilling. Meats and veggie are usually marinated for a few hours before cooking. What makes a good rub?  A combination of sugar ,salt , herbs and spices. As for the sweet, brown sugar is always used.It gives the rub and meats a mellowed, earthy flavor. As for the salt. a good sea salt always works. The spices can be what you want. Many use paprika for kick and color . Cayenne can also be used, mainly for fire. You can add a lot or a little of this, depending on how you like heat. Cumin, a spice used mostly in Mexican and Indian cooking, can also be thrown in . Dried garlic and onions powders give a rub more flavor but use these sparingly. The flavors can be overwhelming in generous quantities. Are rubs different from meat to meat? Not really. What makes a good wet rub? Any liquid from an oil like avocado or olive to juices such as lemon or lime. This is combined with the other ingredients to make a paste to rub onto the meat. With these you can add minced garlic or freshly chopped onions.

A marinade is no different than a rub because it , too, flavors meat or vegetables.They're different, however in that not one marinade is for all meats and veggies.  A good steak one has Worcester sauce in it mixed with lemon juice and olive oil. It's spiced with dry parsley flakes, garlic powder and dried basil. You could add some hot sauce for kick if you want. As for chicken think sweet.  Soda such as Pepsi, Dr, Pepper or Coke can be used for this as it offers the perfect balance for  balsamic vinegar and soy sauce.Lime or lemon juice can be added for some zing . Crushed garlic and cumin give it more flavor and more of an unami taste. Orange juice is a must for  marinating chicken. You can use fresh squeezed or already juiced. Try it in a combo of olive oil and soy sauce. Chop in garlic if you want or onion for more flavor and sprinkle in rosemary and oregano. if it's a little to tart, then add a drop or two of wildflower honey to balance it out. Veggies can also benefit from a good marinade. Start off with olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Add a quarter teaspoon of maple syrup or honey . These caramelize the veggies giving them a nice glossy finish. Garlic and onion powder can be added. Stir in a few hot pepper flakes for some zing.

Grilled meats and veggie always can benefit from a little more flavor and zest. Any good rub or marinade can do this. Try one or the other for a truly delicious barbecue.

Taco Bell Chili

 Surprisingly enough Taco Bell doesn't make chili. It makes everything else Mexican, from chalupas  to burritos to tacos. For some reason chili has always been off the menu. This is odd because they probably could come up with a delicious one. However the average home chef can, using their sauce packets and the usual ingredients and come up with a tasty variation.

This was something I wanted to try. I have tons of Taco Bell sauce packets in my house , thanks to a tendre for their burritos. I used my Mom's chili recipe, and tweaked it. 

I used ten  packets of the mild hot sauce packets along with kidney beans and tomato sauce.

These actually gives the chili a spicy flavor but not overwhelming Ten packets work, You could try less or more. You can also try their extra hot or Diablo strength if you want a two or three alarm chili.

Then there was the usual Morningstar Farm soy beef crumbles

Water, olive oil and a tiny drop of maple syrup were added. I usually use honey but found that maple syrup also works if added in a tiny  amount (think one drop).

Cumin, onion and garlic powders are the spices used. A good dash of each  flavors the chili.

I decided that the kidney beans and crumbles weren't enough so I also added some red beans for more protein and to fill it out.

Everything was cooked in the crockpot on high for two hours. The end result was a flavorful chili, one of the best I've made.I am definitely making all future chilis with the  hot sauce packets from Taco Bell. 

Taco Bell could probably make a great chili but they don't  - and should. we can using their sauce packets to create a tasty variation that's rich in flavor. Use those leftover sauce packets and make it today for a yummy version on this Mexican classic!!!

The Kwanzaa Feast

 Kwanzaa is a relatively new holiday yet it's packed with centuries of tradition. It centers around seven principles  such as faith and  purpose that should be practiced year round. with this holiday comes the rich tradition of food. Families are celebrating and cooking at home. Their tables will be filled with good food and good deeds.

Nicole Taylor , chef and author of The Up South Cookbook interviewed five families around the country for today's New York Times Food section. The holiday starts Saturday , December 26th with families eating and free thinking. The holiday itself began in Los Angeles in 1966 by Maulana Karenga, an African American professor who taught African-American studies. Dishes are plentiful and some include slow cooked meatless collard greens Trinidadian grilled fish and bread puddings. The special meal, karamu is held on the day ,kuumba dedicated to creativity. For the Orr-Frasier family of Portland ,Oregon, the meal will be a nod to parents, Rashad and Keita  North Carolingian roots. There will be jelly cakes along with pineapple upside down and red velvet ones. His recipe for coffee rubbed branzino is also featured, highlighted with a rub of medium ground coffee,onion and garlic powders and cumin. There's also brown sugar to even out the spiciness and then it's grilled for five to six minutes on each side.

Folami Prescott-Adams, of Atlanta Georgia gave her BBQ tofu recipe which are slabs of tofu slathered in a mix of melted butter, tamari and barbecue sauces. They're broiled for a couple of minutes in the broiler for a crisp on the outside , tender on the inside main course. Ms. Prescott-Adams cooks ten(!) pounds of it along with nut based meatballs and a vegan Southern stringbean recipe. For Maati Keprimeni Angaza  it will be vegan foods in her Brooklyn apartment. The young dancer will have curry potatoes and black eyed peas along with her step-mother's bread pudding rife with sweet potatoes and raisins. In Richmond Virginia, Janice Bell will have her grandparents recipes of sweet potatoes and corn pudding. she is a pescatarian so there will be fish on her table. Sisters Kerry Coddett and Krystal Stark Kwanzza will be vegan pancakes, shrimp and a mushroom lasagna(made with homemade vegan ricotta) shared with their younger brother. They'll also take out from Sugarcane with such dishes as callaloo, roti and plantain. They will also drink champagne too.

Kwanzaa is a time of thought and creativity. It's also a time of food. The holiday will be different this year but the food will be homemade .

Nacho Bowls Layers Of Flavor

 Pati Jinich's New York Times Food  nacho article inspired me to create my own nacho dish. Her bricklayer nacho dish gave me an idea. Supposed the nachos were layered in individual bowls with  the meat and veggies cooked and the rest of the ingredients put on in bright tiers? I gave it a shot.

Bricklayer's nachos have three kinds of meat, I made a vegan version using Morningstar Farms, vegan beef crumbles.

It was just skillet sauteing them with about two to three tablespoons of olive oil. It was then adding the holy trinity of Mexican cooking.

Heady dashes of onion powder, chili powder and cumin were sprinkled in along with garlic powder.

It was then adding one  chopped yellow pepper.

along with one  sliced vine ripe tomato.

Cook all this for a few minutes then start layering.

It's first taking the nachos. I used Late July's . They don't have an oily aftertaste like some other tortilla chips and they are extra crispy.

Layer these evenly, then spoon on the meat and veggies.

Another layer of chips.

Then it's the toppings.

I used Acme's brand of salsa, the mild O Organics and Go Veggie Mexican soy cheese mix. You can add what you want here to suit your tastes.

                                          Sliced avocados topped this. You can also add jalapenos and sliced                                                        black olives too if you want.

I loved this version of bricklayer nachos. They're a fun crunchy dinner, stacked with all sorts of flavors and textures. I would definitely make this again. It's that good. Variations abound here. Use real meat whether beef or chicken. Top with bacon crumbles or use salsa verde instead of the tomato salsa.

Nacho bowls are a fun dinner. They 're filling while being healthy and delicious. The flavors and textures are the perfect antidote to livening up the week or weekend.

Lentils The Truly Versatile Legume

 Lentils are one of the most basic legumes. They're also one of the most versatile, lending themselves to all sorts of dishes. Home chefs can try them with a variety of different recipes, all good for you and good tasting.

David Tanis knows this and loves them so much they were featured in his column in yesterday's New York Times Food section. He gives such diverse recipes as lentil loaf a type of bread along with a smoky lentil stew with leeks and potatoes and spaghetti with lentils, tomatoes and fennel. What is interesting is that there are many different kind of lentils, He suggests that if the meal is heading into the Spanish direction then use Pardina lentils, a small brown variety good for stews, soups and salads.For an Italian based dishes use Castelluccio ones from Umbria, Turkish dishes need split red lentils which are also the base of the Indian daal. There are also yellow ones ones and black or Beluga lentils that resemble caviar roe.Lentil soup requires a sturdier kind, namely the Lentille de Puy or French lentils. These are a greenish blue color and have a thick skin which makes them pop in the mouth when bitten. This also makes them ideal for hot soup, because they don't become mushy.  Keep in mind that olive oil brings out the flavor of any kind of lentil so drizzle extra fruity olive oil on the dishes.

One of the most intriguing dishes Mr. Tanis gives is the lentil loaf. This is made with red lentils along with sauteed onions  which are mashed in a food processor. Eggs and rolled oats are also included to give the loaf shape .It's a flavorful one , zinged up with cayenne, garlic and cumin along with cilantro. Cucumber slices in sour cream are the side dish with it to cool off the heat from the spices used. A different dish and perfect for the fall is the smoky lentil stew with leeks and potatoes. The Spanish Pardina lentil is used here cooked with potatoes and leeks along with onions and garlic . Saffron and pimento dulce or sweet smoked paprika give it a Spanish vibe. Also adding to this is canned chopped tomato with  its' juice, There's also sherry vinegar to give it some tang. Another idea is putting the lentils into a pasta sauce. Mr. Tanis has them boiled with a Parmesan cheese rind. For the tomatoes, you can add passata - an uncooked tomato puree that's been purged of skins ans seeds or crushed canned ones. There's also fennel bulbs, fronds and crushed seeds added as well as a small onion and red pepper flakes. The pasta used is spaghetti and its' cooked al dente for some texture.You could also use the heartier bucatini, the thicker drinking straw kind too.

Lentils are perfect in any dish. Try it in a loaf for an entirely different spin or in traditional stews and pasta sauces. They are flavorful and versatile, the perfect ingredient for any kitchen.

My Ethiopian Stew Adventure

Ethiopian food has been on my radar for a long time. I was all set to try it at an Ethiopian restaurant  in Montclair North Jersey. Unfortunately quarantine happened and that idea was shut down. I recently found a lentil rich Ethiopian stew on this website Immaculate Bites. I decided to give it a shot.

Unfortunately, since this is quarantine, I had to make do with what was out there. I could not find ANY lentils at my local Stop & Shop. I decided to use kidney beans and pinto beans. They won't have the silky taste of lentils but they will add a robustness to it.

I also used a yellow onion and fresh vine ripe tomatoes. The last isn't included but I felt they would add more flavor.

It also requires oil and spiced butter. I used olive oil, richer in taste and Country Crock. Spiced butter is butter mixed with Berbere spices which I will have the second time I make it.

The onions and tomatoes were roughly diced and added as were the beans. The recipe also calls for two teaspoons of minced garlic. I used two cloves, sliced.

I feel it adds more flavor than the minced.

There are also the spices. I didn't have the Berbere spice mix so I created my own, more or less according to the recipe.

As you can see , there's crushed red pepper for bite along with cumin,turmeric and curry powder. The recipe called for smoked paprika, I didn't have that or ginger for that matter. I used a heaping tablespoon or two of Pereg's Spanish paprika.

Also added to the mix were three cups of vegetable broth (I used Knorr's) cooked quickly in the microwave.

This is the beans added.

I realized it needed the tomato paste required.It was too soupy  without it.

I cooked it for half an hour and it came out perfectly. The texture was satiny and the taste was a well blended mix of tomatoes , onions and spices .I liked it a lot and served with with brown rice. I would have liked to have served it with the Ethiopian bread, injera. Another recipe I have to try.

Will I make this again? Most definitely and with lentils and ginger for a more authentic taste. I like this and will serve it again.It's a great week night dish that easily translates into leftovers. I can't wait to try more Ethiopian dishes!

My Take On Keema

Yesterday I wrote about Tejal Rao's variety of Indian dishes she had published in The New York Times Food section. One stood out to me -keema, spiced meat. I had to try it but I added my own spin on it.

Ms. Rao's recipe called for a variety of spices including garam masala and chopped ginger. i modified it to just curry powder, cumin and chili powder.

As far as adding onions, they're really not liked in my house  so I subbed in chopped scallions.

These were cooked with olive oil and the spices. I used four Better Boy tomatoes instead of the called for Roma kind.

The recipe calls for pureeing these ingredients in the blender after cooking for a few minutes. I felt it would be too soupy so I just mashed everything with a potato masher which worked nicely.

I used only two cloves of garlic instead of the recommended five, finely mincing them.

Then it was adding 13 ounces of Gardein'

s meat crumbles and a cup of water. More curry, chili and cumin were added along with a good dash of salt and freshly ground pepper. Ms. Rao recommends

serving it with rolls or the Indian bread roti. I made brown rice which worked with it.

I would make this again , possibly using the Hyperabadi recipe that calls for peas along with adding the fresh ginger for heat. Maybe I'd also add potatoes and lentils too. You can also sub in ground beef, turkey, chicken or lamb for a more traditional taste.

Keema or spiced meat is a great way to introduce yourself and your family to Indian cooking. It's tasty and can be adapted to your tastes and likes. Try it today.

The Taco Bell Bean Burrito Challenge

I've been fascinated with Taco Bell's bean burrito lately. It's a tasty marriage of kidney beans, onions and cheese stuffed into a hot chewy tortilla. Tasting it , I realized this is pretty easy to replicate. After all the homemade version is sometimes better than the original.

It was.

It's an easy recipes with these ingredients for the filling, Two cans of red kidney beans, one  small , yellow onion and one small can of tomato sauce.

The onion was quartered and put into my chopper ,

Then sauteed in olive oil for a few seconds.

The beans and tomato sauce were then added. Most recipes for the Taco Bell bean burrito call for refried beans but I wanted texture.

Two teaspoons of red wine vinegar are added for tang as well.

The spices were garlic salt and a must have in Mexican cooking -cumin.

Add a good dash of both along with a healthy dash of chili powder too.

Then it comes time to mash

Use an old fashioned potato masher for this and someone with a strong hand (Like a brother) This give the filling a new textured mouth feel. Cheese is also a big flavor booster in this, 

I used Lite Life vegan cheddar and just shredded in the pieces.

It's mashed more to get the cheese integrated and gooey.

It's also the time to get the tortillas ready. I used Old El Paso.

Each side was painted with water. They'll steam better in the microwave if you do this. Cook for 15 seconds.

This is unrolled.

This is rolled.

How was the taste? Exactly like Taco Bell's but better. This is definitely going to be one of my new go to recipes. It's easy to do and very flavorful. I like how all the spices came together and added so many dimensions to just a simple beans, onions ,and tomato sauce dish.

Try the Taco Bell Bean Burrito challenge. It's just a fun way to reinvent a classic and enjoy a tasty dish. It's sure to be a family favorite.