Food Lush

Chana Masala and Indian Spiced Vegetables

Editor's note: For our last week at Food Lush, I've asked the writers to share both a favorite post by another writer, from over the last three years, and a favorite post of their own. You'll see these posts linked to at the top of their new post for the week. Enjoy a stroll down Lush memory lane!

Jess M.

I have been a faithful Food Lush reader from the start, having been a Style Lush reader for a long time. So, when it comes to choosing a favorite post, it's just so hard! I love how reading Food Lush has always seemed like sitting around with friends and talking about what we're all making for dinner or what great kitchen gadget someone found. So, I have to list the two Food Lush Gift Guides, 2011 and 2012, as my favorite posts. Even today when I looked back at them I was newly interested in things on the lists. They have given me plenty of ideas for my own Christmas list and ideas for others. I also really enjoyed this post about owl-themed kitchen things. I bought the mugs right after reading that post!

As for my favorite of my own posts, it has to be the one where I talked about my cookbook collection. I am so attached to certain cookbooks and I try and give a lot of thought to which ones I buy, so it was fun to show my cookbook-nerd side and share these with my friends.

And I know that this is Food Lush, but I cannot let it go without mentioning just how many things I bought for myself after they were mentioned on Style Lush: this coat, a bunch of these shirts, and BB Cream to name a few.

***

When we try to eat healthy it always involves a lot of beans. And when we discovered Indian food from a local restaurant we were instantly in love. Beans! Vegetables! Spiciness! Many vegetarian dishes! Unforuntaly the Indian restaurant in our town isn't convenient to us at all. We almost never happen to be near it to just pop in and bring home carryout. And when we discovered that our son would eat Chana Masala, I knew I had to find a way for us to have this dish more often. I didn't have to look very far because Smitten Kitchen has a great and easy recipe.

Chana Masala and Indian Spiced Cauliflower and Potatoes from Smitten Kitchen

Both dishes use overlapping spices, so when you measure them out for one, measure out for the other. They both also start with sauteeing some onion, so I just start them at the same time. Both reheat very well and when we put away the leftovers we often just combine it all into one big delicious bowl.

(Photos: me)

Fried Egg Sandwich from Smitten Kitchen

by Jess M

I like to do something special for breakfast on the weekends, and sometimes that consists of a package of bacon and cinnamon rolls out of a can. But sometimes I go to the extra trouble to make something so super delicious:

Smitten Kitchen’s Fried Egg Sandwich with Bacon and Blue Cheese

Based off of a salad, this runny yolk and warm bacon dressing topped sandwich is nothing short of perfection. My Wegman’s usually has baby frissee and some great artisan-type rolls.

(Photo from: me)

The Wednesday Chef's Amazing Pork Chops

by Elissa

I hope you all read Luisa Weiss's terrific blog, The Wednesday Chef. It has everything that I love about food blogs: great recipes, mouthwatering photographs, and excellent writing. I've been a regular reader for years now, and Luisa has never steered me wrong in the kitchen. Recently, she taught me an easy and delicious way to make pork chops.

This recipe solved my problems with dry, blank pork chops. The amazing thing? The recipe only has 3 ingredients: coarse salt, pork chops, and lemon. Go read what Luisa has to say--she explains the method (and the recipe's Italian provenance) much better than I could. But if you are looking to spiff up your pork chops with a recipe that's as simple as possible, you need to try it.

On a related note, if you like food memoirs you should definitely check out Luisa's book: My Berlin Kitchen. It's a really good read and includes lots of original recipes.

Digital Recipe Organization

by Jess M

Now that the digital age is upon us (cue: Conan O’Brien’s “In the year two-thousaaaaaand...” anyone?) I have moved my recipe organization away from a giant binder and little scraps of magazine cut-outs to an almost all-digital collection. I save them in Google Docs, which is now called Google Drive.

When I find an online recipe that I want to save, I click on the “Printer friendly” link, since it usually brings up the recipe in a nice, neat new page without all the extraneous sidebars and stuff that websites have. Then I “Select All,” copy it, and paste it into a new Google Drive document.

One of the things that I like about using Google Drive is that I can search for an ingredient or other key word and it will pull up any recipes that contain that word, not just those with that word in the title. The other thing I like about it is that I can pull the recipe up on my iPad, set it up on my kitchen counter and read it as I cook. It also makes it easy to share recipes with my husband as we both can contribute and search our “recipes” folder. 

Do not put your iPad this close to the stove. I'm not actually cooking anything here. 

Have you switched to digital recipes? How do you organize them?

(You can also look back and see how Natalie and Carrie have talked about the way they organize their online recipes)

Easy Crock Pot Beer Brats

by Jess M

This time of year always has me yearning for some nice, heavy, delicious German food. And some nice, heavy, delicious German beer to go with it. So, with football on the TV (Baltimore Ravens!), I wanted something easy and fairly hands-off. I didn’t want to spend my Sunday standing over a pot frying schnitzel.

Last week we made Cook’s Country’s Slow-Cooker Beer Brats. The recipe is pretty simple and doesn’t require a whole lot of prep work. Onions and brats go in the crock pot with a simple mustard mixture and beer. At the end you remove the brats and heat up some sauerkraut. The Test Kitchen recommends you use a light-bodied American lager, but we used a heavier Marzen beer for fuller flavor.

After 4 hours on high, by halftime we were enjoying brats with sauerkraut and mustard and a side of soft pretzels.

(Photo from: Cook's Country)

Kitchen Tip: Fresh Ginger

by Maura

I often avoid recipes that include specialty ingredients, like fresh herbs and fresh ginger, because I cannot buy small amounts economically. Although this is not what you would call a first world problem, I am always looking for ways to extend the life of my ingredients and increase the number of recipes in my repetoire. 

{image credit: wikihow.com}

A few days ago I was watching the Food Network and Melissa D'Arabian's show, Ten Dollar Dinners. She was making a recipe that called for fresh ginger and gave a tip that I see myself using. Ms. D'Arabian suggested keeping peeled, fresh ginger in the freezer and taking it out when you need it for a recipe. She said that it is actually even easier to grate with a microplane grater when it is frozen. What a great idea! I don't usually watch this show, but I am glad I was tuned in when she shared this helpful tip.

Do you have any tips for storing infrequently used ingredients? Have you heard about a particularly good tip lately? 

Waffle Irons: They're Not Just for Waffles Anymore

By Tara C.

Here at Food Lush, we appreciate a good waffle. Evidence can be found here, here, and here. But did you know you can cook your grilled cheese sandwich with your waffle iron, too? I didn't until I saw this post on Dinner a Love Story. Brilliant! The waffle maker acts as a panini maker and creates lovely, crispy waffled sandwiches. For a while there, I was putting all of our sandwiches in the waffle iron. My husband loves his peanut butter and jelly sandwich waffled--he claims it "carmelizes" the jelly. Personally, I prefer giving my grilled cheese the waffle treatment. All you need are two slices of bread and some cheese. Any bread will work as long as it's not too thick. You may need to hold the waffle iron down if it won't close.

There is a chance that the cheese could ooze out of the waffle maker, but don't worry. It's worth it.

See that crispy cheese on the outside? That's the best part.

It turns out that sandwiches are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to things you can waffle. In a previous post, a commenter mentioned that canned cinnamon rolls can be cooked with a waffle maker. It's true, you can do that!

And then I found The Waffleizer, the website that provides 30 answers to the question "Will it waffle?" You have got to see these gorgeous creations.

Behold the waffled chocolate chip cookies:

The waffleburger:

Holy moley, it's a waffled egg! It's the croque madame:

All this waffling of non-waffles seems a tad rebellious to me. What are my other appliances hiding? What hidden potential is lurking in my kitchen? What about you? What off-label uses have you found for your waffle iron? Or any other kitchen appliances for that matter?

(photos from: me, The Waffleizer)

Mascarpone, Strawberry & Basil Toasts

By Tara C.

Inspired by Pinch My Salt's Strawberry Bruschetta, I made these little appetizers last weekend. The biggest change I made to her recipe was the addition of mascarpone cheese. They were tasty, summery, and very simple to make.

You need:

• Baguette bread
• Mascarpone cheese
• Strawberries, sliced
• Fresh basil, chopped
• Balsamic vinegar

First, slice a baguette 1/2 to 3/4 inches thick and toast the slices. I simply toasted them in a toaster oven, but you could also put them on a grill or toast them under a broiler for a minute or so. Next, spread each slice of toast with mascarpone cheese and top with sliced strawberries. I used an egg slicer to slice the strawberries. Finally, sprinkle chopped basil over the top and drizzle them with balsamic vinegar.

Ready to eat!

(photos from: me)

Choosy Beggars: Your New Favorite Food Site

By Julie

Last weekend, I threw a tea party for my daughter’s fourth birthday. I wanted to make sure both the girls and their mothers enjoyed the day, and I decided the best way to do that was to supply copious amounts of food. In putting together the menu, I found myself heading back to a site I love to frequent anyway, Choosy Beggars.

Written by marrieds Tina and Mike, Choosy Beggars celebrates all things food and drink, from step by step recipes for a vast array of international cuisine (and teaching about said cuisine along the way) to history lessons on spirits and cocktails. It’s always fun to see what Tina is whipping up in the kitchen, and her picture-filled guides always make me feel like I can succeed as well, even if I don’t always recognize each and every ingredient. She’s taught me not to be afraid of working with yeast and that it’s easy to make your own yogurt. And Mike makes a very strong case for staying away from Jack Daniels cocktails in a can and Smirnoff Tuscan Lemonade. I appreciate the warnings, Mike.

For the party, I made their blueberry and white chocolate sweet rolls (I made miniature rolls to feed more hungry people), which turned out to be the biggest hit of the day. In fact, one friend told me, “You should blog about these.” And so I have. Thank you, Choosy Beggars, for helping me impress my guests. Now, all of you, go now and see what you can make for dinner tonight. Also, congratulate these guys on the new little beggar on the way!

{Photo Credit: Me, but the credit for the recipe goes to choosy-beggars.com}

Peppermint Candy Cane Brownies

By Elisabeth

Now that it's officially December and Thanksgiving is SO last month, the theme of peppermint has definitely filled the air! I am feeling the need to bust out the holiday treats, STAT. Luckily for me, my nearby dear friend Allie enjoys making such desserts!

Enter the Peppermint Candy Cane Brownie...

If you have a love of peppermint, which we clearly do at Food Lush!, then these brownies will definitely hit the spot. Thanks Allie, for keeping us in the holiday spirit and our sweet tooths satisfied to boot!

{photo credit: eatatallies.com}