151: Spicy Braised Eggplant and Tofu

No Baignan this week. It's ok. I'm enjoying this. I used this recipe from Macheesmo, though instead of rice noodles I used sweet potato / buckwheat noodles (someone felt like being fancy at Whole Foods this week. That person is me by the way). I'd probably recommend something less strong, as you really want the star to be the eggplant and tofu. Oh, I also used portobello mushrooms instead of shiitake. I even have an extra for snacking/scrambling.

My only complaint that it was a bit salty, to be expected with lots of soy sauce and sriracha, but it was tasty. Super simple to prepare, and I have a ton of leftovers, which will be nice for lunches.

Oh and apparently it wasn't spicy enough, so of course this happened.

Delivery 15

Bright Lights Swiss Chard - 1 bunch

Winter Squash - 2

Orient Express Eggplant - 2

Sage-1 bunch

Mustard Greens - 1 bunch

Bok Choy - 1 bunch

Shallots - 4

Cabbage - 1

Potatoes - 2 pounds

Peppers - 2

Hot Peppers - take if you like

Bok Choy

Not my favorite, but happy to have greens again. May give this away (I know one of my roommates is a fan) or will do something simple. Like a stir fry or roast. Here's a little roundup.

Chard

Have a dinner, so may remake that dip I forgot to take pics of. Also this comic is lovely and has a few ways of cooking the veg (and I'm starting to get a little obsessed with Dirt Candy). It'd also be a good mix with the squash and sage. Here it is creamed from smitten kitchen- a preparation I haven't tried yet.

Sage

Excited, as it means I get to buy chicken liver again. Liking the looks of this recipe, especially that it includes a recipe for shallot jam! I may have a little thyme in the fridge as well. Beyond that: a huuge roundup of recipe ideas. Also: biscuits.

Shallots

The aforementioned shallot jam, but otherwise using in everything, as shallots are so tasty.

Orient Express Eggplant

I'm considering something beyond Baynan Bharta. I think it's time for a longer break until I can taste the original. I have a cool recipe for jam from the Dirt Candy cookbook, or maybe babaganoush. Here's a stir fry, and a few from Macheesmo. More roasty from Bon Appetit.

Cabbage

Peanut Slaw from Cook's Illustrated (via Martha). I'm continuing to run low on ideas haha. Also the swap table was ENTIRELY cabbage, which was fairly hilarious. Here's a roundup (these are my favs, skimming). Also: fritters.

Potatoes

I have a ton of recipes from potato's earlier appearances in deliveries. Here's some bread (tired Kelly is a carb-craving Kelly)

Squash

Roasty toasty. These are most likely carnival squash. These would be good stuffed. Oh hey here's a pinterest board of recipes! Fav, skimmin: stuffed with spaghetti (sucker for an egg yolk!). Here's a preparation for acorn that I'd totally try out with this.

Peppers

Happy I remembered spicy peppers this time- not 100% sure what the big peppers are, but will probably just dice them and throw them into something.

Mustard Greens

Yay! So happy to see this guy again. I love this spicy green, may just do a raw salad. Here are a few from Martha. Here's an Indian dish! Salad with bulgur, another with garlic mayo, and another Indian preparation to round out the ideas.

131: Baignan Bharta V6

Used the recipe in V4- cut in half as my eggplants were much smaller this week. From what I remember this was a little less sweet than the white version, which is good. I think it was a little heavy on the onions, though. 

Overall this batch ended up...chunkier. There was a little accident in the kitchen earlier this week that took out a pot lid, so I couldn't let everything simmer and break down. But I did realize two  important things for the next attempt:

• I've been putting in way too much cumin.

• Cinnamon, with a light touch, is very essential.

Though at this point it's been so long since I've tried the goal version- I'm very much overdue for a trip, but won't have the free days until December. I may take a little break from this dish if I get more eggplant. There are a few other recipes I'd like to try.

Delivery 13

So it's come to this, then: I had a dream the other night about picking up my CSA share. The crates the veggies come in were stacked high on tables, so you had to climb up to reach anything. I couldn't find any good tomatoes. I think we were also getting kabocha squash and maybe corn. No zombies...yet.

Tomatoes - 8
Summer Spinach - 1 bunch

Peppers - 4

Eggplant - 2 orient

Cilantro - 1 bunch 

Broccoli - 3 heads

Tomatillos - 10

Garlic Chives - 1 bunch

Cabbage - 1 head

New Red Potatoes - 2 pounds

Hot Peppers - a couple

This week is going to be the death of me. Half of these things just beg for roasting, so it's gonna be soo hot in my kitchen.

Eggplant

These are small ones but: Baignan Bharta! I was worried I'd reached the last of the eggplants but I've got at least one more go. I'm probably going back to redo V4 as that was closest to what I'm looking for, flavor wise.

 
Tomato

My dream was fairly accurate about tomato quality. It was tough finding eight that were good (though I'm picky with produce). Beyond using some for Indian I want to do more remakes or varations. Salsa? More stuffing? Or shakshuka, which I've made for myself but not for ages.

Peppers

I'm giving up on that pepper jelly- if I haven't made it thus far I doubt it's happening. I have a blacklog of hot peppers from the past few weeks, may try making pickles. Not that I eat dips a ton but this Muhammara looks tempting (there are a few other cool dips on that page, too). Or I could stuff them and do a little test on how much flavor it imparts to the final product.

Tomatillos

Flooded with recipes for green salsas, mostly roasted. Some enchiladas if I get tired of dipping chips in it. Haven't used these at all before so I'm going simple.

Broccoli

I will probably just end up roasting this, with or without the accoutrements in that link (not that I really need a recipe to roast). There are a few other options though: stir fry, fritters, or slaw! 

New Potatoes

I'm psychic for share ingredients- in that I buy them a week or two before they come in the deliveries- first the beets now potatoes. Don't think I'll remake that gratin, though it was delicious. I found about a million recipes to roast. This one's a little more interesting (and uses a few things I have leftover from other recipes). Or, you know, fritters.

Cabbage

I'd like to remake the marmalade, even though I still have leftovers. It's delicious, no doubt I'll finish it, and I really want to go for that buttery texture and golden color. For the rest: salad with tuna, here's a roundup from Bittman (though it's mostly napa), pancakes, or hey a simple slaw.

Spinach

The bunches weren't looking so great this week, but I'm always happy to see spinach. Bulgur is a grain I've really wanted to try, so there's that. Here's some saag paneer (looking for an excuse to go back to Kalustyan's), and another roundup from Bittman.

Cilantro 

Between salsa and Baignan Bharta- this is a tiny tiny bunch that I have a feeling will be used up very quickly.

Garlic Chives

I was very close to just trading this in at the swap table- there were tons of cabbage and even a spinach bunch that would've been more useful to me. But I'm already unsure I'll have enough time to cook what I did get, so here we are. I'll most likely just try to incorporate it into dishes, but here's something simple with eggs from Serious Eats.

113: Baignan Bharta V5

This weeks baignan was all about whole spices. I liked how the last batch turned out so I decided to attempt with the coriander as I had with the cumin- putting the whole seeds in the beginning to fry a bit. I also (on a whim) added a "lipstick" pepper I'd had considered adding to my salsa. It was already charred, it needed to be put to use.

The end result, tasted good, just, again, not what I'm looking for in my Baignan Bharta. A little dissappointing after how close I was with V4. Overly salty and too... smoky? The cumin appears to have broken apart and dispersed, flavor-wise, but I'm not getting that bright coriander flavor.

Honestly I'd been so busy the last few days I'm happy I got around to using the eggplant at all. It was white, which again worried me that this would be too sweet, but I think the things I mention as being issues above actually took care of the sweetness well. Once I have a grain at home to mix I'll see how it is when a little less intense. It also seems to improve in the fridge after a day or two.

I'm not against trying the whole spices thing again, but it may be a dry toast/grind/then use situation as opposed to keeping them whole. Good to try though, just so I know it doesn't work.

Delivery 11

My birthday is Sunday, some people are coming over this weekend to hang out and see my new place. I don't usually do anything too special for my birthday, so I'm freaking out a little. While I should probably make meals for myself with these veggies, I'm keeping an eye out for party food.

Green Beans - 1 pound

Red Onions - 2

Peppers: 1 Bell, 1 Lipstick

Bright Lights Swiss Chard - 1 bunch

Eggplant - 1

Basil - 1 bunch

Tomatoes - 2 slicers and 4 plum tomatoes

Sungold Cherry Tomatoes - 1 basket

Serrano Hot Peppers - 4 if you like

My favorite part of this is the "if you like" for the hot peppers. There is a swap table, people.

Chard 

I'm feeling something warm and savory. Here are few gratins that look tasty. Though here are some dips that use chard: healthy and not so much. I could probably use chard in spinach dips as well.

Eggplant

Do you need to ask? Baignan Bharta! I wish these had been purple, the white ones are so sweet.

Tomatoes

I said I'd make more candied tomatoes for a party and I probably will, though I'll most likely need to buy more to get a reasonable amount for people. Bruchetta topping would work well again as finger foods...or maybe I can make a salsa? Here are some a few sources: Alton Brown, Martha, Macheesmo, The Kitchn (cooked), The Kitchn (pico).

Green Beans

I've never made a green bean caserole, is it bad that I really want to? Beyond that the trend seems to be to roast them: honey mustard glaze, balsamic glaze, lebanese, with parmesan, with onions and nuts, oh hey- a slaw!

My habit is to eat them raw, maybe with a little hummus. It's tempting to just use them in a crudite platter.




Red Onions

A few recipes I have so far use red onions. I'm generally not a fan, as they have such a strong flavor, but I think cooking the hell out of them helps. We'll see.

Peppers 

I still have a pepper left from last week- gonna make that jam, I promise. Also still haven't used up those hot peppers from last week, so anything not put in a salsa will most likely be sprinkled throughout recipes for heat.

Basil

I say this every week, but pesto. Promise. I'm storing it better, so hopefully it'll last longer, too.

100: Baignan Bharta V4

Ok. So. Don't want to jinx it, but I'm nearly there. This smells spot on and it tastes very close. Looking at more and more recipes I've been noticing the general shape of baignan bharta, which ingredients are common and which aren't, so this time I didn't so much use a particular recipe as my favorites from each.

Things that still need adjusting:

- correct eggplant type: got a white eggplant from my csa, sweeter/lighter than the regular purple

- spice level: used just one small chili I'd picked up at Kalustyan's. No seeds. Still a little on the spicy side. Kamal's has a nice slow burn, may move back to jalapenos next time.

One benefit to this method is I more or less kept track of my ingredients. I'm listing them a bit weirdly, as the spices are especially iffy, but I think you can still follow along at home if you'd like.

Ingredients:

- 1 eggplant, roasted and mashed

- juice of one lime

- 3-4 Roma tomatoes, diced

- 2 medium onions, diced (one sweet, one regular)

- 2 cloves garlic, minced

- 1 green chili, minced

- 2" knob of ginger, grated

- 2 tbs cilantro, chopped

 Spices:

- pinch of hing

- 3/4 tsp cumin seeds

- 3/4 tsp coriander

- 1/2 tsp black pepper

- 3/4 tsp turmeric

- pinch of cinnamon (needed?)

- pinch of red pepper flake (needed?)

- salt to taste

Here's the game changer, people: Hing (so much easier to spell than asafoetida, and less threatening, too)

This is how I need to store hing. It's in its plastic container (from india, it looks pretty cool), in a plastic bag, in a mason jar on top of my fridge. No enclosed shelf spaces for this guy- I had it just in the plastic bag in my cupboard and overnight it was reeking up the place.

It's a very subtle but important flavor, very happy I picked it up the other day. Not sure how much importance to give it- as my last attempt was too spicy to really discern the flavors- but I don't think I'll try baignan bharta again without it.

Begin by roasting the eggplant under the broiler until the skin's nicely charred and the eggplant is soft. I usually cut mine in half and place it cut side down, then piece it all over with a fork. Once it's soft I put it in a pyrex tupperware container to steam and cool. Remove the skin (I find it easiest to lay it skin side down then scrape/scoop the contents out with a spoon) and mash with the lime juice. I'm thinking of cutting back on the lime juice next time- it mixed in with the rest of the flavors eventually but was very strong for a bit.

Sometimes I do the eggplant a day (or two) before, grouping it with another thing that needs to happen in my oven, but this time it was the same day. I don't think that makes a difference.

I started a little oil in a pan, added my cumin seeds and a little sprinkle of hing (you pierce a hole in the container and sprinkle the contents out, no measuring here). Let those sizzle a bit then added my onions.

Once those got soft/translucent added the garlic and chili, as well as the grated ginger. Next time I'll wait a little on the ginger, it can burn/stick pretty quickly. 

Then added the tomatoes and spices. Speaking of spices those are, at best, iffy amounts. A lot of the 3/4 tsp levels started at 1/2 tsp then I added (without measuring) to nudge the taste a bit one way or another.

I'm undecided if it needs the cinnamon. There was a flavor level missing, which it hit, but last night it smelled so strongly of it. I think it mellowed out with a night in the fridge, maybe cut that back a touch. It's best when you don't really know its there.

The red pepper flake, too, may not be necessary, given how hot those chilis are. Or maybe I could try just using the red pepper flake with no physical chili?

Anyway, after the tomatoes have been going for a bit (recipes usually say to wait until the oil separates- I've seen that once making this, maybe I'm not adding enough oil ha), I added the eggplant mixture, and let that go for a while as I did dishes, stirring occasionally so it didn't burn.

Turned off the heat, stirred in my cilantro and served on a little quinoa.

I'm really excited about this.

Too excited? Maybe. But given how much work I've put into this dish it's great to see it coming together.

Delivery 10

Beets - 1 bunch

Walla Walla Onions - 2

Sweet Peppers - 3

Red Russian Kale - 1 bunch

Eggplant - 1

Thai Basil - 1 bunch

Tomatoes - 6

Sun Gold Cherry Tomatoes - 1 basket

Leeks - 1 bunch

Hot Peppers - 4

Beets

No greens. Boo. Trying to be ok with that, but it's hard. Anyway, cake was fun the other week, but I don't think I'll make that again, even if there are recipe variations I can try. Still in the mood for something weird though- how about a burger? There are recipes from the NY Times or Macheesmo. OR, to use up a few ingredients, a salad with tomato.

Thai Basil

So much with the basil. I think I've used up more of the Genovese than I tend to, but still, man, I wish it weren't so tough for me to use up that much herbage. Thai basil will be a little tough, as it's got an anise-y flavor that, well, you remember fennel. Not the biggest fan.

Here's a recipe with kale and tofu. Oooh and basil pepper jelly (using sweet and hot peppers)- here's the same recipe on a site that'll scale for me (yay for no math). It's a shame they want me to steep the basil for two weeks in vinegar- maybe I'll do a batch after a week and (fingers crossed) if I get more peppers I'll try another at full strength. here's hoping I like it.

 

Red Russian Kale

In addition to the above: risotto with beans, bread pudding (the pic is KILLING me), or do something new (to me): kale chips. Busy week this week- going camping over the weekend- so maybe keep it simple and do another salad, or just cook it up with some spelt I bought on a whim.

Leeks

I loved the things I did with leeks the last time I got them, but definitely want to try something new. This would require a good bit of extra shopping but I am missing brussels sprouts. Leek fritters, modeled off the zucchini ones I loved from smitten kitchen. Leek confit, nom. Roasting with cheese if I want to turn on the oven.

Eggplant

Earmarked for baignan bharta. I made the trip to Kalustyan's and, well, it's surprising they didn't have to drag me out. So much variety. Pretty much any spice you can imagine, and a million things I had no idea existed. I opted out of buying their garam masala, will make my own mix, but I did pick up some hing. I also made the mistake of deeply inhaling some hing. Don't do that, btw.

Peppers

The basil jelly above will probably use up a bell pepper, and I'll most likely whip up a batch of peperonata tonight with the rest. I need to repeat recipes a little more to refine those skills. Any hot peppers not used up in the jelly will most likely be interspersed among other recipes, not enough to do anything crazy.

Tomatoes

Roma/plums already have homes in the peperonata and baignan bharta. Cherries (so proud of myself for bringing tupperware) may just get eaten as is, or that beet salad above.

97: Baignan Bharta V3

In case you were unaware, I'm on an epic quest to recreate my favorite Indian dish. Here are tries one and two. 

Did I do it this time? No. The recipe was a few steps away from the prior versions- mainly no garam masala- but the writer kept taking up the smoky flavors. Kamal's baignan bharta is not smoky, but I gave it a go anyway, hoping to see what the minimal spice would be like. Maybe if I got a sense of the inherent flavors in the dish I could see what needed to be added to achieve my desired result.

Ingredients (adapted from the link above):

1 lb eggplant
2.5 tablespoon oil, divided
1/2 tsp cumin
1 tablespoon chopped garlic
2 jalapenos, diced
2.5 cups tomatoes, diced
1/2 tablespoon julienned fresh ginger (I didn't have ginger. Somehow)
salt to taste
3/4 teaspoon turmeric powder
1/2 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp smoked paprika
Chopped cilantro

The recipe has fewer spices, but unfortunately the jalapenos I chose were INSANELY hot somehow. In the past I'd put a whole one in and gotten no heat, this time two makes this fairly painful to eat. Which makes me sad. I tried mixing in a bunch of yogurt- no dice. Still too spicy.

There will be a bit of a regroup before my next attempt. At the very least I'd like to stop at an Indian grocery store to pick up a different mix of garam masala, as well as a red chili powder. And maybe a different spicy green pepper.

A reach goal is to go back to Kamal and try theirs again/beg for a recipe. But it's a bit of a trip for a weeknight, and I'm not sure I have a free weekend until September.

Delivery 9

Two months done! I'm due for another recappy post. Once I have time (tomorrow? maybe?).

Carrots with Greens - 1 bunch

Walla Walla Sweet Onions - 2

Peppers - 2

Summer Savory - 1 bunch

Orient Eggplant - 2

Genovese Basil - 1 bunch

Tomatoes - 6

Sun Gold Cherry Tomatoes - 1 basket

White Russian Kale - 1 bunch

Bell Eggplant - 1

Tomatoes

So wonderful. Six roma/plum tomatoes (top), six cocktail tomatoes (bottom), and a container of sungold cherry tomatoes. I ended up eating my last batch of cherries as is. Really have to refrain from doing that with these. No promises. 

I'm thinking of using most of the plum on a new batch of Baignan Bharta. As for the others...we'll see. I do have basil.

My dad sent me a link to an awesome farmer's market/CSA recipe generator. There are a few good ideas for tomatoes, but most require lots of extra ingredients.

Carrots:

I've done dilly carrots before. Looking for something a bit new. Carrots lend themselves to a lot, and with a few other ingredients I have this delivery I could maybe make a soup? Anyway, I'm excited for carrot tops, here are a few recipes for those.

Kale

Yesss. Honestly a little in love with kale. Lots of options: Beans and smoked paprika, cornbread, with wheat berries, nommy salads. This one isn't as frilly as I'm used to, but it has that awesome bitterness. Having greens with stems also makes me happy, as they're just great to dip in hummus.

Savory

I haven't cooked with savory before- and it's proving a little hard to find recipes- but once I smelled it I immediately recognized it. It's used in a lot of things. With the carrots it's just begging to be a soup. I'd also like to buy chicken this week- either livers again, or thighs- and this would work very well with that. Bruchetta, beans, mushroom pate. The kitchn has a little roundup too- the simplest one would work well.

 

Walla Walla Onions

Honestly, while cutting these last week I was eating pieces raw. They are so sweet and delicious.

Googling these came up with a website - with recipes - dedicated to them. I guess there's a big Walla Walla lobby to combat the Vidalia onion lobby.  Oh, and the internet wants me to make bruchetta this week.

Peppers

Debating doing another jar of pickled peppers- hesitant as I'm not sure how that one turned out at all. I'll probably do something different. It's been a while since I've made a pizza. Peperonata look amazing. Here's a great recipe roundup from the NY Times.
 

Basil

I'm making a pesto this week. I have to. I always have so much herbage left over that just goes bad in my fridge, and it's making me sad. I'm determined to use this up.

Eggplant 

Baignan Bharta is a given. Part of me just wants to make that with all of this- though most likely I'll use the bell on it, and then use the smaller orient on other recipes.