That's the way it was today, as I nearly drove right past this place.
and then I decided to not drive past.
Because I had a little time, and nothing planned for dinner, and I was in the mood for a tiny adventure.
And just like that, inspiration found me.
look!
And no, I have absolutely no idea how to cook some of these things. Heck. I don't even know what to call them. But I wish I did. And one day I will.
I considered asking one of the shop girls what those beautiful star shape cucumbery things were, and how to prepare them, but they were all so young, and so pretty, and so comfortable around things that were alien to me, that I was seized by an attack of shy.
And I surrendered to the shy, despite my curiousity. After all, I'd made a little day's adventure of deliberately walking into a place in which I would feel foreign and out of place- but asking a stranger for a lesson on produce would have been more like shy person bunji jumping. That's a big adventure, for which one needs to prepare oneself.
So, in the end, I settled on some coconut milk (50 cents a can!) A jar of curry paste, a jar of chutney, some onions, some eggplant (79 cents a pound!), some paneer, and some fresh spinach.
Guess what's for dinner?
Wednesday:Vegetable curry
Here's a thing to remember about eggplant- it's a vegetable sponge, and it'll soak up whatever you put it in. If you pop eggplant into cold oil then heat the oil, the eggplant turns into a greasy mess. Get that oil sizzling hot though, and the eggplant will (maybe) do what you want it to; get golden brown on the outside, and tender without being oiley on the inside.
That means I'll need to use an oil that'll get really hot before it starts to smoke. The temperature at which heating oil starts setting off the smoke alarms in your kitchen is called, not surprisingly, the smoke point, and different oils have different smoke points. (wanna know how I learned this?)
I'll be using coconut oil. It has a higher smoke point than olive oil, and some medium chain fatty acids that make it a not horribly unhealthy choice. I'll saute an onion, then mix the curry paste with some coconut milk, pour it in and smile as it hits the pan and that wonderful smell billows up. Then I'll add the paneer, heat it all, and at the last minute add the spinach, so that it wilts, but keeps it's bright green color.
It's not in any way authentic, is it?
but it'll be yummy anyway.
Thursday: Vegtable gratin and salmon
Salmon's on sale at Kroger, and I'm hoping that it's creamy texture will dance nicely with these tender, cheesy veggies.
The recipe calls for Gruyere- do you see that? Join me in forgetting about that, would you? Swiss will do the trick, and be cheaper and easier to find. And I won't be looking for, or paying for, celery root. Turnips or carrots instead.I'll be getting enough cheese for this, and for the stuffed chicken breasts on Saturday.
I think I'll just squeeze some lemon on the salmon, add some salt and pepper and broil it for about 8 minutes.
Finally! A way to use those poblano peppers at Aldi! These look great- I'm going to make sure that there's enough of the filling to use in the peppers, and use to top a bed of lettuce for a mexican sort of salad on Sunday.
Saturday: Cheese and onion stuffed chicken breast and autumn salad.
These chicken breasts are totally worth the trouble. Really. And the salad looks beaut. If you've been wanting to have friends over for dinner, this would be a lovely, and not too difficult meal. The chicken can be prepped early, as can be the salad. Except for the pears, which'll turn brown if you slice them much more than 20 minutes before serving. In the chicken breast, I'll be using whatever swiss cheese I have left from Thursday instead of fontina, but any cheese that melts nicely will do. If you have leftovers, and I bet you won't, try slicing them thin, warming them up, and spooning them onto a warm sandwich bun with lettuce and mustard.
http://family.go.com/food/recipe-ew-631001-chicken-stuffed-with-golden-onions---fontina-t/http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/autumn-salad-with-maple-cider-vinaigrette-10000001120221/?xid=jt_gallery_partner
Sunday: Mexican Salad and (maybe) flank steak
The leftover filling from the pepper will take a little trip around the microwave, and then find it's way onto a nice lettucey bed. I'll top that with some avocado, and maybe some queso. For a dressing?
Here are some options:
Greek yogurt mixed with salsa
Greek yogurt and mayo mixed with lime juice and chili powder
A lime and cilantro vinegrette
We haven't had beef around here in a long time, and flank steak is on sale at Aldi. So maybe, just maybe, the carnivores are in for a treat.
http://www.food.com/recipe/broiled-flank-steak-90882
Have a great week everyone- I hope that at least once this week, the love you have for the tummies you're cooking for (even if it's just your own) transforms cooking from a chore into an adventure.
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