I've spent the
week at Sally's recovering, slowly, from a bout of Benign Paroxysmal
Positional Vertigo that I developed when we were in North Carolina.
This was my third attack in nine years. So dizzy on Day 1 that I
literally could do nothing but lay in a darkened room and crawl to
the bathroom once or twice. Eyes sensitive to light, ears sensitive
to sound. Now, almost two weeks later, I'm back about 90%. Still
have to be careful of moving my head or eyes too fast and making the
world spin. But I'll be in great shape for the FoodFightWrite
Conference/Cookoff next week.
So while I was
recuperating, I did some simple cooking, just to keep my hand in and
help me focus.
Indian Dinner Night -- Murgh Makani
and Arhar Dal
Simple enough to
make if you visit your local Indian market and pick up the right
spices. In this case, Butter Chicken (Murgh Makani) spice blend and
Arhar Dal (Spicy Lentils) spice blend.
I dusted the
chicken breasts with a bit of the butter chicken spice, then sauteed
them my usual way, and removed them from the skillet about 3/4 done. A tablespoon
or so of the spice blend along with some milk, yogurt and the pan
fond combined in the skillet to make the pan gravy, then I returned
the cut up chicken to the skillet and tossed everything to combine
and keep warm for serving.
To make the
lentils I used my rice cooker (although a pot of water works well
too). I added about 3 teaspoons of Arhar Dal spice to the cooking
lentils, then added one or two more teaspoons when they were done, to
up the flavor ante. For even more flavor, add half an onion (red or
white), diced, to the lentils while they're cooking.
Why spend good money at an Indian take-away place, when you can make perfectly tasty Indian food at home?
You Cracker Me Up
Home-made crackers
are not only fun and easy to make, the beauty is that you can flavor
them anyway you like, not just the flavors that MegaBakeCo want you
to have. Plus you can get rid of all the excess salt and
preservatives of store-bought. There are zillions of cracker recipes out there on
the Net. Here are three that I've tried that we like. Sally
particularly likes the Wheat Squares for their buttery flavor. I love
the intense southwestern flavor of the Masa Crackers -- better even
than griddle frying corn tortillas.
Cracker Thickness Gauges
Some folks use
special rubber bands (from a cooking shop) on the ends of their
rolling pins to gauge thickness. I've found it easier to use a
couple of thin battens of wood along which the rolling pin rides. I
have a pair of .07" thick battens and a pair of 1/8"
battens; remnants of my archery bow-building and musical instrument
making projects, that work just great!
If you happen to
own a tortilla press, it is a perfect tool for making very thin
crackers. If you have a pasta roller, you graduate to Cracker
Mastery; use it well and often.
For Seedy Crackers combine any or
all of the following:
- 1 Tbsp Sesame seeds
- 2 tsp Poppy seeds
- 2 tsp Fennel or Caraway seeds
- 1 tsp Kosher Salt
Sprinkle on
cracker surface and roll or lightly pat seeds into dough surface
before cutting into shapes and baking.
Wheatberry Crackers -- Wheat
Squares
I was gifted with a package of organic
einkorn wheatberries awhile back (thanks Sara), and decided to try
something different with them. Einkorn is the ancient ancestral
wheat of all the modern varieties, but remains unmodified. Any wheat
that you eat other than Einkorn, is technically a GMO -- genetically
modified by crossbreeding, inbreeding and selective breeding.
Einkorn means 'one seed', unlike modern wheats which have multiple
seeds per head.
Using a coffee grinder, I powdered the
whole wheatberries into flour -- 1/4 cup of berries at a time, spun
for 60 seconds each, I processed 1-1/2 cups of berries into 2-1/4
cups of medium texture flour.
1 1/4 cups ground Wheatberries or Whole
Wheat flour
1 1/2 Tbsp Sugar
1/2 tsp Salt
1/4 tsp Paprika
4 Tbsp Butter, unsalted, cut into small bits
1 1/2 Tbsp Sugar
1/2 tsp Salt
1/4 tsp Paprika
4 Tbsp Butter, unsalted, cut into small bits
Combine the flour, sugar, salt, paprika
and butter in a medium bowl. Using a pastry blender or your fingers,
work the butter into the mixture until it resembles coarse cornmeal.
Add 1/4 cup cold water and stir to combine. Knead once or twice on a
floured surface.
Heat oven to 400 degrees. Either
lightly grease baking sheets or line them with parchment paper (my preference).
Roll the dough out, half at a time, to
a large, very thin rectangle-ish shape on a well-floured counter.
Using a knife, pastry wheel or pizza cutter, cut the dough into about
1-1/2 inch squares. Dock the crackers with a toothpick or fork.
Transfer crackers to baking sheets,
spacing them only a little as they don’t spread. Sprinkle with
additional salt if you’d like to approximate the salty exteriors of
the store-bought crackers. Bake until crisp and bronzed, about 15
minutes; but keep a close watch as thinner crackers bake faster and
thicker ones take longer.
Makes about three dozen 1-1/2"
squares.
Lavash
The simplest cracker I know... This Middle Eastern cracker-bread is basically flour, water, oil and salt. Comes from the Caucasus,
Caspian Sea basin and western Asia. You can use this basic
unleavened recipe with any type or combination of non-wheat flour --
oat, brown rice, chickpea, fava bean, buckwheat, white rice, etc. Seasonings you
could add include cumin, oregano, rosemary, bay, thyme, paprika, etc.
1 cup Besan flour (also called
garbanzo, chickpea, cici bean, or gram flour)
2 Tbsp Olive Oil
3-4 Tbsp Water
1/2 tsp Salt
1-2 tsp Seasonings, if desired
Position a rack in the lower third of
the oven and preheat to 400ยบ F.
Combine the flour, salt, and optional
seasonings in a bowl. Add the oil and mix until crumbly. Add 3 Tbsp
of water and work with your hands until it forms a ball. Add
remaining 1 Tbsp water only if needed. Continue to gently knead the
dough with your hands right in the bowl, until smooth.
Turn dough out onto a piece of
parchment that fits onto a large baking tray. Flatten and shape the
dough into a rough square with your hands. Top with a piece of
plastic wrap or another piece of parchment paper, and roll the dough
into a large rectangle 1/8-inch thin or thinner. Using a sharp knife
or pastry cutter, score the dough into shapes if desired.
Carefully move the whole lot --
parchment with the cut dough on top -- to your baking tray.
Bake 10-20 minutes (depending on
flour/combination), or until crisp and lightly golden -- watch
carefully! Remove from the oven and allow crackers to cool on the
pan a few minutes. Move them to a wire rack, gently breaking where
you previously scored. Cool completely before packaging. Crackers
will keep in an airtight container for 1 to 2 weeks. Makes about a
9"x18" cracker.
Masa Harina Crackers
Not quite tortilla chips, these
crackers are thicker and a bit chewy -- great texture and great Latin
flavor. Masa Harina is special corn flour, not the same as cornmeal
or grits or anything else. Some megamarts carry it; or visit you local Spanish/Latin tienda
or mercado. Look for "masa harina para tamales" which is a
finer texture flour than the other grades.
1-1/2 cups Masa Harina flour
1 tsp Oregano
1 tsp Oregano
1 tsp ground Cumin
1/2 tsp Cayenne (or more, to taste)
1 tsp Baking Powder
1 tsp Salt
3 Tbsp Olive Oil
Water (about 1-1/2 cups)
1/2 tsp Cayenne (or more, to taste)
1 tsp Baking Powder
1 tsp Salt
3 Tbsp Olive Oil
Water (about 1-1/2 cups)
Mix the dry ingredients together. Add
the olive oil and 1 cup of water. Mix well. Add just enough more
water (if any) to make a workable dough. It might seem very crumbly,
but if you knead it for a minute or two, it will come together.
Using my tortilla press, I kneaded the
dough into 'golf balls' and flattened them between parchment paper.
The "lavash" technique -- covering with cling film or
parchement paper works really well with this dough too. I sprinkled
them with coarse salt and fresh cracked black pepper.
Preheat the oven to 425F. Bake the
crackers 15 minutes or until crisp and lightly browned. You can
also 'fry' these on a dry griddle or skillet.
Sally was gifted with a fresh avocado from someone's tree, so I made some guacamole for a snack tray.
