Sweet and Sour Green Chickpeas and Spinach Curry - My Legume Love Affair 23 and Green Gourmet 1

It's not easy staying green. That's what I learned when I made this glorious recipe using the uncommonly beautiful and tasty green chickpea. I'd fully expected to prepare this with the fresh-from-the-pod variety, a gobsmacked, serendipitous discovery at my local supermarket, of all places. A big sack of pods, however, only yielded a cupful of beanie babies. I was forced to eat the lot of them out of one scoop of my curled fingers.

Fresh chickpeas are irresistible when steamed for fifteen minutes,
then dusted with a ground spice of your choice and a pinch of salt.

Plan B fared far better, but the dried beans must have been as old as the Grand Canyon. They took three hours of simmering after an eight-hour soak to become tender. Though my patience paid off, I was rather perplexed that they'd turned from a jaunty verdant hue to one best described as maroon. The longer they cooked, the darker they became. But I am not complaining. It really doesn't matter what color they are. This dish is a knockout. It tastes like I struck gold.

Dried, this variety is much smaller than the more common
white chickpea, even after it is cooked.

Green Chickpeas with Spinach (Palak Hara Chana) from 660 Curries by Raghavan Iyer.

Given my changes to this recipe are quite insignificant (oil reduced to 1 tablespoon; water reduced to 1 1/2 cups; chickpeas cooked the day before), I will not venture an "adapted" rewrite. You can find the full recipe here, miraculously as it is presented in the actual cookbook, PDF'd by Google Preview.

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This is my own contribution to MLLA 23, hosted here by me. Please stay tuned for the round-up, likely at end of the week, when I will announce the winners of May's two random drawings while I show off all your fabulous recipes. I've received at least another dozen just today. Please bear with me while I sort through them. I expect to visit and comment on each on Tuesday, June 1. Thanks so much for spoiling me with your participation! I hope you've all enjoyed your weekend!

Diana of A Little Bit of Spain in Iowa will be announcing MLLA 24 shortly. Please stop by to feed her with your legume posts during the month of June.

This recipe is also for Preeti of Write Food, inaugurating her Green Gourmet Event. You have until June 9 to send her your gorgeous and healthy green recipes.

The Well-Seasoned Cook

Sweet and Sour Green Chickpeas and Spinach Curry - My Legume Love Affair 23 and Green Gourmet 1

It's not easy staying green. That's what I learned when I made this glorious recipe using the uncommonly beautiful and tasty green chickpea. I'd fully expected to prepare this with the fresh-from-the-pod variety, a gobsmacked, serendipitous discovery at my local supermarket, of all places. A big sack of pods, however, only yielded a cupful of beanie babies. I was forced to eat the lot of them out of one scoop of my curled fingers.

Fresh chickpeas are irresistible when steamed for fifteen minutes,
then dusted with a ground spice of your choice and a pinch of salt.

Plan B fared far better, but the dried beans must have been as old as the Grand Canyon. They took three hours of simmering after an eight-hour soak to become tender. Though my patience paid off, I was rather perplexed that they'd turned from a jaunty verdant hue to one best described as maroon. The longer they cooked, the darker they became. But I am not complaining. It really doesn't matter what color they are. This dish is a knockout. It tastes like I struck gold.

Dried, this variety is much smaller than the more common
white chickpea, even after it is cooked.

Green Chickpeas with Spinach (Palak Hara Chana) from 660 Curries by Raghavan Iyer.

Given my changes to this recipe are quite insignificant (oil reduced to 1 tablespoon; water reduced to 1 1/2 cups; chickpeas cooked the day before), I will not venture an "adapted" rewrite. You can find the full recipe here, miraculously as it is presented in the actual cookbook, PDF'd by Google Preview.

~~~~~~~~~~~

This is my own contribution to MLLA 23, hosted here by me. Please stay tuned for the round-up, likely at end of the week, when I will announce the winners of May's two random drawings while I show off all your fabulous recipes. I've received at least another dozen just today. Please bear with me while I sort through them. I expect to visit and comment on each on Tuesday, June 1. Thanks so much for spoiling me with your participation! I hope you've all enjoyed your weekend!

Diana of A Little Bit of Spain in Iowa will be announcing MLLA 24 shortly. Please stop by to feed her with your legume posts during the month of June.

This recipe is also for Preeti of Write Food, inaugurating her Green Gourmet Event. You have until June 9 to send her your gorgeous and healthy green recipes.

The Well-Seasoned Cook

Fresh Dates Stuffed with Orange-Scented Pistachios

Have you ever wondered what a fresh date is like? I have, not that infrequently, actually. So when I saw dates still affixed to their stem at the Chelsea Market the other week, I grabbed them right up. Fresh dates ripen in stages, with a slightly different flavor and texture in each stage. Right from the palm, they're supposed to be pale, plump, even slightly astringent, ripening, sweetening and darkening until they reach the state in which you're most likely to find them: dark and sticky and sweet.

And although I know there's symbolism behind so many fruits, the date really was a sustainer of life in ancient Egypt, sacred to Ra, the sun god. Symbolic of life over death. Its syrup is still used to sweeten and bind, which sounds pretty good to me. I wish I had found my little dates a bit closer to the first stage of ripeness, during which they're supposed to have "the crunch and juiciness of a Granny Smith apple" but remain sweet as honey. If you happen to live in California, where I believe the majority of dates are grown in the US, you may have better luck than I. As it was, my dates were not that far from the ordinary dried ones, but I still plucked them off the stalk, split them down the middle to get out the pit, and stuffed them full.

These were good, but I have a feeling they would have been better with my coveted truly fresh dates that I swear to you right now, I will eventually find. The filling is quite sweet, and as dates ripen they become sweeter, so there's that. If any of you have experience with the truly fresh date, feel free to make me jealous.

I know, I know, but she's just so darn cute!

Fresh Dates Stuffed with Orange-Scented Pistachios
Adopted from ABC of Western Australia

100 grams shelled pistachio nuts, unsalted
40 grams confectioner's sugar (powdered sugar, or icing sugar depending on where you live)
1/4 teaspoon orange blossom water
Zest of 1 medium orange
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed orange juice
16 fresh (or fresh-ish) dates

In the bowl of a food processor (you can use a mini one if you have it) grind the pistachios until quite fine. Transfer them to a small bowl and add the sugar, orange blossom water, orange zest and orange juice. Kneed with your hands until it becomes the consistency of a paste.

With a small paring knife, slit each date down the side and remove the pit. Use a small spoon to stuff some of the pistachio mixture into each date and reform the date around the mixture.

Sour Cherry Coffee Cake

So the other weekend, R and I took a trip to Washington DC in my continuing quest to Americanize him (just kidding, really. I like him Euro.) We were visiting friends who make living outside of NYC look awfully appealing, what with their adorable little house that actually has a backyard (!!), their ability to own and drive a car without taking their lives into their hands, and, well, all that space. They actually have space.

It was a hugely wonderful weekend, full of eating, farmers market shopping, cooking salmon on the grill in their wonderful backyard (two more !!'s for that backyard). Not to mention seeing the Library of Congress, the National Gallery, the Phillips Collection and long walks on The Mall. So you know, I wanted to bring something for them. A host gift, I guess. They're pretty into food as well, my friends, so I thought I'd bring something for breakfast, or snack time, or dessert. And a coffee cake fulfills all of those functions. And I think it would have gone over really well, if I'd remembered to bring it with us rather than leaving it on the kitchen counter.

So this cake never made it to Washington DC, but it was still pretty darn good three days later when we got back. I couldn't find frozen sour cherries, so I used sweet. But I thought the cherries faded too much into the background, and would recommend something tarter, like, you know, the sour ones I was supposed to use, or maybe raspberries, or even cranberries when they're in season. The recipe given for streusel topping makes way too much, so you could easily cut it in half if you don't need it for anything else. The rest of mine is sitting in the freezer waiting for an appropriate use.

Cherry-Streusel Coffee Cake
Adopted from Martha Stewart's Baking Handbook

1 stick unsalted butter, at room temperature, plus a little more for greasing the pan
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup sour cream
1 cup frozen sour cherries (or other tart berry), thawed and well drained
1 cup streusel (follows)
Milk glaze (follows)

Oven preheated to 350F. Grease a 9" tube pan and set aside. Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt into a medium pan, then set aside as well.

With an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter, sugar, eggs and vanilla until light and fluffy. Do this on medium spead for 2 to 3 minutes. Add one third of the flour, then half the sour cream, then one more third of the flour, followed by the rest of the sour cream, an then the rest of the flour. Be careful not to overmix.

Pour half the batter into the prepared pan, then arrange the carries on top. Be sure the cherries don't touch the sides of the pan, or they may burn. Then pour the rest of the batter on top of that. Sprinkle on the streusel topping.

Bake for 40 to 45 minutes, until the cake is golden and springy to the touch. Let the cake cool in the pan set on a wire rack for 10 to 15 minutes. Then turn the cake out so that it's streusel side up and let cool completely.

In the meantime, make the milk glaze. Whisk together 1 cup confectioners sugar and 2 tablespoons of milk until the mixture is smooth. Drizzle over cake once it's completely cooled.

Streusel Topping
You can easily cut this recipe in half if you don't have another use for it

2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
3/4 cup packed light-brown sugar
2 1/4 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature.

Combine the flour, sugar cinnamon and salt, then use a pastry blender to cut in the butter. The streusel should be crumbly looking. Crumble over the top of the cake as directed in the recipe.

Presto Pasta Nights # 164 - The Round-Up

Carb-uretors, that's what we are, these efficient biological machines that take in fuel to keep us running, keep us humming, really. Carbohydrates are the only food energy that feeds the brain to ensure our thoughts are clear, and tames that brain, too, to keep us calm and happy. And do you know what has also kept us running and humming every week, every Friday for the last, now 164, weeks? It's Presto Pasta Nights, created by Ruth of Once Upon a Feast. I know that I speak for all of us in thanking her for her genius of the obvious: we all love our carb fixes, and love her, too, for indulging us.

Here is but a twenty-four-recipe sampling of the gazillions of fabulous recipes that Presto Pasta Nights has brought to all our tables for over three years. My energy and time have been in particularly short supply lately. If I have erred or omitted anything or anyone, please let me know, and I will amend the post immediately.

Thanks so much for joining in. And thanks to Ruth for allowing me the fun privilege of hosting another round of PPN. If you are interested in guest hosting, give Ruth a shout. I'm sure she has a spot somewhere down the road that will be convenient to your schedule.

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Out of the smallest kitchens can come the biggest meal
ideas. Let multiple mushrooms show you the way.

Spaghetti with Mushrooms
Su-Lin - Tamarind and Thyme

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Emerging from the cocoon of a sick bed, a discerning palate
compensates for lost taste with a melt-all-over dairy dish.

Fabulous Baked Penne
Kait - Pots and Plots

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A family-favorite recipe prepared with local seafood is as out of
this world as the price of Gulf shrimp will be in the near future.

Cosmic Shrimp Pasta
Rachel - The Crispy Cook

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When life hands you leftovers, fling them in a fry pan
for a quick frittata that tastes like the first time around.

Pesto Pasta Frittata
Nupur - One Hot Stove

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When lightly marinated and grilled, calamari keeps its
Italian roots for a fettuccine far from the Mediterranean Sea.

Chili Garlic Squid Fettuccine with Pinenuts
Daphne - More than Words

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Curls of fusillini tossed with fresh vegetables make a
light and easy meal that's always good to go.

Mediterranean Pasta Salad
Nicola - Lemon and Cheese

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A loving niece prepares a Mother's Day meal learned in
the kitchen of her equally loving second-mom of an aunt.

Sautéed Flat Noodles
Ela - Everything's Herbed

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Ever-popular pesto is never the same old grind of green
when teamed with bracing herbs and briny feta.

Spinach Pesto Pasta with Paprika Grilled Chicken

Kevin - Closet Cooking

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The cooling novel touch of mint freshens a bowl of
classic dumplings dished out with woodsy overtones.

Mint and Sage Tortellini

Graziana - Erbe in Cucina

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Blood-rich red sauce fixed from a forage in the fridge
is the ideal dinner for cooks on the quick.

Pasta Presto
Alex - Eating Adelaide

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A neighbor's generously tendered produce enhances a
pan full of equally fresh ribbons of delicacy and taste.

Egg Noodles with Wild Leeks
Elizabeth - Blog from OUR Kitchen

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Dreams of a journey to North Africa can sometimes begin in the
belly of a soup pot bursting with exotic spices and tiny pastas.

Moroccan-Inspired Vegetable Soup
Sarah - What Smells So Good?

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Misquoting the Song of Solomon might be a pardonable offense
if one is being comforted with kugel instead of apples.

Sweet Kugel
Mary - Food Floozie

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Rabbits do multiply, but a deep casserole of lasagna disappears
fast when studded with the first flush of spring vegetables.

Spring Vegetable Lasagna
Katie - Thyme for Cooking, the Blog

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It starts with the simple boiling of water, but by the end of your
cooking, you will have multiple meals bound to make you smile.

Colorful Veggie and Legume Pasta
Sanyukta - Creative Sanyukta

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Rotini will have you wrapped around its fingers when prepared
with a peppery sauce tempered with calming greens and dairy.

Springtime "Green" Pasta with Arugula Pesto Sauce
Bethany - BethStedman.com

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Your instincts would have you wolfing it down, but a bowl of
South-of-the-Border flavors deserves to be savored slowly.

Rotini with Roasted Poblanos and Tomatoes

Ben - What's Cooking?

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Though lasagna is a classically layered recipe, what
really makes this rock is a clever bit of rolling.

Spinach Feta Lasagna Roll-Ups

Toni - New Veginnings

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An Asian cook uses her noodle to marinate the main
ingredient for extra-special flavors and color.

Shacha Fried Bee Hoon
Ann - Pig Pig's Corner

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Looking for new horizons while questing for that
perfect pesto? Your journey may well stop here.

Pesto Penne

Claudia - Honey from Rock

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Don't let so many recipes, so little room keep you from
exploring new taste sensations at the touch of your keyboard.

Lemony Orzo with Shrimp and Asparagus

Ruth - Once Upon a Feast

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Don't drop your fork. You will want it for every last morsel
of this drop-dead lasagna, drenched in richness and light.

Lasagna alla Bolognese
Jean - Lemons and Anchovies

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Eggs make it golden, but the Midas Touch of skilled hands
brings the sun directly to the table when preparing fresh pasta.

Tagliatelle
Cinzia - Cindystar

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Though the seeds of a poppy won't get you high, you'll still get a
buzz on when they're scattered like buckshot on a bowl of noodles.

Mákos Tészta

Susan - The Well-Seasoned Cook

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Next week, Rachel of The Crispy Cook hosts PPN #165. Starting now, you can send your recipe posts to Rachel at oldsaratogabooks AT gmail DOT com. Please see Ruth's guidelines here on how to participate.

Thanks again, everyone, for your wonderful recipes! Have a great weekend!

The Well-Seasoned Cook