This week from Madhur Jaffrey I made the Cypriot lima bean stew (ingredients from the taganissi shown at left), and the baked white beans with Nigerian seasoning. Both stews involved really cooking the hell out of the beans, creating a savory creaminess beyond what I normally expect from limas or cannellini. The Cypriot stew contained incredibly normal ingredients, like celery, carrot, potato, onion, garlic, and tomato. And yet the long-cooking limas made it sublimely delicious.
Jaffrey suggested serving it with some bread, olives, cucumbers, grapes, and cheese, which I did, selecting a pretty little round of goat cheese which Whole Foods had decorated with a pressed flower.
My husband doesn't eat olives or cucumber, so those were just for me.
 Cannellini beans before cooking The "Nigerian seasonings" in the baked beans appeared to be curry powder and a little bit of peanut butter (plus the usual garlic, onion, and tomato). My husband liked these especially, because peanut butter is his very favorite food. However, they had to cook for around three hours, which is a long time when it's Sunday night and your family is tired and cranky. Is it worth it?? Make the Cypriot stew. We had the Nigerian beans with some asparagus and crusty rye bread. The other thing I made this week were Deb Perelman's (from Smitten Kitchen) rhubarb cream cheese hand pies. Have I mentioned that I love both Deb's writing and her recipes? After trying a fair number of her dishes by now, I'll vouch particularly for her baking. Every single baked dessert I have ever tried from her blog has been stupendous, from the chocolate hazelnut macaroon torte (yes! It's not as hard as it looks!) to an unassuming little coconut bread. So, I made these pretty little pies. Note that my pies did not look like Deb's. My pies looked like this: |  Asparagus is inherently pretty. |
But they're still pretty good! Right?
The crust had, um, three sticks of unsalted butter in it. Consequently, it was the most delicious pie crust EVER. My cat liked it.
Also, the fillings were both tasty, not too sweet, and the pies held together the way they were supposed to, baked properly, and did not leak the way I totally expected them to. Total success. They are, as you would imagine, a fair amount of labor, and while I considered taking some to work to share (=show off), I decided in the end I didn't want to share my pies.
One note: there is a TON of rhubarb filling left over. Tonight I'm going to make a crisp out of it so that it doesn't go to waste.
A final photo. I have started giving my cat tidbit plates from my meals so that I can discover what (if anything!!) she likes. Here is one from this morning:
Also, the fillings were both tasty, not too sweet, and the pies held together the way they were supposed to, baked properly, and did not leak the way I totally expected them to. Total success. They are, as you would imagine, a fair amount of labor, and while I considered taking some to work to share (=show off), I decided in the end I didn't want to share my pies.
One note: there is a TON of rhubarb filling left over. Tonight I'm going to make a crisp out of it so that it doesn't go to waste.
A final photo. I have started giving my cat tidbit plates from my meals so that I can discover what (if anything!!) she likes. Here is one from this morning:
How could this not be appetizing?
From top left, we have marshmallow cereal (one marshmallow, one cereal kibble), a dab of peanut butter, celery bits, and green pepper. My cat did not like these things. However, in the last few days she has shown a liking for pie crust (as mentioned), goat cheese, and salmon. If you are thinking, "Well, obviously, your cat likes salmon and not celery, you fruitcake!" then you don't know my cat and her wild passion for spinach.
If you are thinking, "Wow, lady, you had a really weird breakfast this morning," well, I can't really argue with that.
If you are thinking, "Wow, lady, you had a really weird breakfast this morning," well, I can't really argue with that.