Photo Recipe: Pasta with Arugula and Chicken

Hello there! Many moons ago, when this blog was still new, I did a photo recipe post about fried rice. I like photo recipes - they allow me to post when I don't feel like typing out a recipe and work well for easy recipes that are just meant to inspire some ideas. Well at least I hope they inspire ideas.... :) Here we go with another photo recipe then.

Tonight, I made pasta for dinner (with no intention of immediately writing a post about it). Pasta is good for lazy days when all you have the energy for is boiling water and opening a jar of sauce. But it's also great for creative days when you want to experiment with sauces. And experiment I did. Here's what I had left of this week's grocery: arugula, poached chicken, heirloom yellow tomato and a decent, cheap Riesling. This is what it ended up coming together as:

How you ask? Start with putting a pot of salted water to boil. Then bring out a skillet or saute pan and throw in some olive oil. When the oil is hot enough, throw in garlic, red pepper flakes and thyme. Let it sizzle around in the pan. Choose your own herbs if this is not your combination.

Then it's time for some chopped, cooked chicken. You can also go with raw, marinated chicken. If you're a vegetarian, I'd say mushrooms....or bell peppers....or whatever else you're craving. Get the meat/veggie to brown up a little and then throw in your wine of choice. I had a Riesling...you could go with Marsala or Sauvignon Blanc or Pinot Noir. Or no wine if you don't drink or are serving this to kids. Go with a splash of stock or some lemon juice....or a mix of the two. Let the meat simmer away for a few minutes, smelling glorious.

In the meanwhile, get some tomato chopped up and clean the arugula. If you don't like arugula, try spinach or chard. At this point, the pasta should also be cooking...just in case you forgot. :) The scene at this point is about like this :

When the liquid in the skillet has almost evaporated, throw in some salt, pepper and the vegetables from that beautiful scene above. Let the greens wilt.....won't take more than 2 minutes. Now add a little bit of the water the pasta was cooking in just to have enough liquid for the pasta. Simmer for a minute or so and then throw in the drained pasta. Et voila!!

Dinner is ready! Add some grated cheese if you like that.....I'd say Parmesan or Gouda. Slurp the deliciousness off your plate!

A Tale of Spice(s)

No surprises here given the blog title, but I love spices. You can use one to add a particular kind of flavor, like cinnamon in your oatmeal, or you can mix and match to build layers of interesting flavors (now you also know that I binge watch Chopped!). There is a spice somewhere that pairs with almost any food out there. Spice blends like curry powders, garam masala and Italian season have been around forever making every cook's life easier. But you know what's more fun? Making your own spice blends. And that is just what I have for you in this post.

This is a spice mix that I put together for roasting sweet potatoes. This happened at some point when I fell in love with sweet potato fries, but eating those all the time is just too unhealthy. So I started experimenting with spiced, roasted sweet potatoes as a substitute and that's when I hit upon this spice mix. It will work with regular potatoes, carrots and squashes (butternut, acorn) as well. I haven't tried it on other vegetables or on meat, but let me know if you try it. This blend is a breeze to make if you have a coffee or spice grinder, or a mini food processor that can chop nuts. If not, there's nothing like grinding whole spices with a mortar and pestle after a long, frustrating day at work/school/home. So here we go....

Spice Blend for Roasted Vegetables

1/2 teaspoon fennel seeds
1 teaspoon coriander seeds
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
2 cloves
1 teaspoon paprika
1 tablespoon brown sugar
scant 1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder (optional)
1/4 teaspoon powdered cinnamon
1/4-1/2 teaspoon black pepper powder

Grind the fennel, coriander and cumin seeds, and the cloves together. Add the remaining ingredients. Mix well and store in a dry, airtight container. That's it......easy-peasy!

Notes:
1. You can dry roast the seeds on a dry skillet for a couple of minutes before grinding if you prefer it that way.

2. Choose your grind for the spices....I typically go with slightly coarse, as you can see in the picture, but that has more to do with using a mortar and pestle. You will likely get a finer grind with a grinder / processor.

3. You can leave the brown sugar out if you don't like the sweetness, but I find it helpful for the caramelization when roasting.

Veggie Delight

Hello readers....well at least those of you that have still been following this long dormant blog! I've lost count of how many disappearances and comebacks I've had on this blog, so let's not go there. But here I am with a new blog look, new ideas (see the About page for more) and a brand new recipe! This one will hopefully delight my vegetarian readers. This one also makes eggplant (brinjal / aubergine....what's in a name) taste awesome for all those of you who don't like it.....so try it and tell me what you think!

Sweet and Sour Eggplant

1 medium eggplant, diced
1/2 large-ish red onion, diced
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1/2 cup diced green bell pepper
2 tablespoons oil
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1.5 teaspoons red chili pepper paste / hot sauce (or more if you like it)
2 tablespoons honey
1.5 teaspoons cornstarch
2 cups water / vegetable stock
1 tablespoon white vinegar
salt, to taste

Heat oil in a saute pan or any other wide pan. Add the onion and garlic and cook until the onions soften (and turn pink....you don't need to brown them). Throw in the eggplant, cover the pan and cook until the eggplant softens. If the eggplant starts sticking to the pan, add a splash of water. When the eggplant softens, add the bell pepper and cook for 3-4 minutes.

For the sauce, combine the tomato paste, soy sauce, chili paste, honey, salt and water in a bowl. Add the sauce mix to the vegetables and let it come to a boil. In the meanwhile, make a slurry with the cornstarch and a tablespoon of water, and add it to the boiling sauce. Mix well and cook until the sauce thickens. Finally, add the vinegar. Serve with steamed rice and most importantly, enjoy!

Notes:

1. While I prefer homemade chili paste (soaked dried red chili peppers ground in a food processor / grinder with some water), feel free to use Sriracha or any other hot sauce.

2. Some people prep the diced eggplant by adding salt, letting it sit, draining the liquid and then rinsing and drying the eggplant. I am too lazy to do it, but feel free to go ahead if that's how you like it.

3. Substitute honey with sugar if you want to....just might need more mixing to dissolve the sugar. Substitution is probably not one to one, so check it out.

4. Add more slurry with the sauce is too watery even after you let the sauce cook with the slurry in it.