Mexican Pepper Success!

Yummmmmm. So yummm I forgot to take pictures before eating oops. This was so delicious, the custard thing worked out really nicely. I also forgot to cover it while cooking and did not have flour to throw in (for texture I imagine?) but neither seemed to effect the casserole structure. I imagine you'd be safe getting rid of the two tbs. of butter and replacing it for some extra oil. And with out the flour, I ended up draining the peppers after sauteing them because there was lots of leftover oil and continuing to cook them would have made them too soggy (I imagine a range stove opposed to my electric would have helped this factor...)

Anyways, the meal was delicious after having a fulfilling day filled with planting trees and reading permaculture books (my two new favorite things.) Can't wait until we're together again and I can talk more about how amazing permaculture is and everything involved, yay December is coming soon!

Also, the next two days will be busy for me, but once I get through them I'll have this week's recipe up!

Mexican Pepper Casserole

6 medium bell peppers

1 1/2 cups of thinly sliced onion

2 tbs each butter and olive oil

3 medium cloves crushed garlic

1 tsp salt, cumin, coriander

1/2 tsp dry mustard

1/4 tsp each black and red pepper

2 tbs flour 

1/2 lb medium sharp cheddar thinly sliced

paprika

for custard

4 large eggs

1 1/2 cps sour cream (you can use some yogurt)

Slice peppers in thin strips.  Heat butter and olive oil together in a heavy skillet.  Sute onions and garlic with salt and spices.  When onions are translucent, add peppers.  Saute over low heat for about 10 minutes.  Sprinkle in the flour.  Mix well and saute until there is no extra liquid.

Butter a deep casserole.  Spread half the saute, topped with half the sliced cheese.  Repeat these layers.  Pour custard over and sprinkle with paprika.  Bake 40-45 minutes at 375.  Uncover for last 15 minutes.

Recipe from Mollie Katzen's Moosewood Cookbook

For dining this week.

Garam masala

Also from the Vegetarian Epicure

1/4 cup caradamom pods
2 tbs peppercorns
2 tbs cumin seeds
2 sticks of cinnamon, each 2 inches long
2 tsp whole cloves
1 tsp ground mace
2 tbs ground coriander
1 bay leaf

Spread spices out on a large metal pan and roast them in a 200 degree oven for about 20 minutes, stirring them often and making sure they don't scorch.
Remove them from the oven and shell the cardamom seeds, discarding the pods.  Crush the cinnamon sticks by wrapping them with a wooden mallet or other blunt instrument.
Combine all spices and grind them in batches if necessary in an electric blender or food processor, until they are a powder.  If you don't have a blender, you can grind the spices in a stone or ceramic mortar and good luck to you.

Keep the masala in an airtight container, at room temperature.

Here it is! Aren't you proud? Rachel finally read the blog. Made it with some lentils (kind of Dal like...as close as I could come with my cupboard), some parmesan toasted on tandoori bread, as well as some slice heirloom tomato to add to the bite. I made this for some friends, one of which who'd been hopping couches for the past week, you should have seen their grateful faces, like they were eating the first home cooked meal in their lives.

Next time I'll probably use smaller measurements of the spices, the sweet potatoes helped on the spiciness but we all agreed the spices were a bit over kill...I have yet to understand this Garam Masala thing. I'm trying to decide on a recipe for this week, either a good veggie crock pot chili or a green chili corn chowder? Something warm, but also I'm poor so something cheap. Any ideas?

This was successful, I'll attempt to keep it up!

Laura's Smothered (Sweet) Potatoes

Smothered sweet potatoes

So this was the last of 3 portions...I got a little too excited and completely forgot to photograph the food! Yum!

Also, here's a picture of what the storm did to a tree up my street while I was either a. battling the torrential downpour/hail on the highway or b. making garam masala.

Tree down! It's actually leaning on the Governor's Mansion fence.

And for you momma...

Nearby community garden's eggplant

What's this week's recipe? I have sooooooooo many French breakfast radishes and about as many poblano peppers.

Smothered potatoes

Smothered potatoes just out of the oven

The happy cook

s

Smothered Potatoes

2 lbs potatoes (sweet or not)
2 tsp turmeric
1 TB Garam Masala
2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/3 cup yogurt
3 TB butter
2 bay leaves
1 tsp crushed dried red pepper
1 tsp sugar

Peel potatoes, cut in one-inch chunks.
Boil in salted water until they're half down, 8-10 minutes. Drain them, prick them with fork.
Make a paste of turmeric, garam masala, salt, cumin, black pepper and yogurt. Roll the hot potatoes in the paste until they are thoroughly coated. Melt butter in a medium-sized, shallow, fireproof casserole and add bay leaves and red pepper. Stir over low-heat for a few minutes. Add sugar. In a few minutes, when the sugar begins to caramelize, add the potatoes. Stir and toss gently for a few minutes. Cover casserole tightly, bake in preheated, 350 degree oven for 30 minutes.

From The Vegetarian Epicure Book Two by Ana Thomas.

Rachel--
Assignment: make this dish. Before Sunday (Halloween--31 October). Obviously you need to photograph the dish before eating it all.