2 vegetarian curries

i made these on different nights in the past week or so, and i think they're both worth remembering. source: synthesis of internet searches.

rajma with mustard greens
4-6 servings
chop and wash

• 1 lb. mustard greens

boil 2qts of water, lightly salted, in a large pot with lid, dump the greens in and cook 7 minutes, drain and set aside.
sautee

• 1 Tbsp ghee
• 3 shallots, or half an onion, chopped
• 1 Tbsp fresh ginger, minced
• 1 or 2 green chilies
  

stir in the greens along with

• 3 cups cooked kidney beans, drained
• 28 oz tomatoes, pureed
• 3 tsp curry powder
• 1/2 tsp cayenne

simmer 10-15min, then add

• 1/2 c. yogurt, milk, or cream

tempeh in coconut milk
2-3 servings
this was, how shall i say, not the most visually attractive curry, you might consider adding something pretty like red bell pepper with the spices.
sautee

• 1 Tbsp oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 Tbsp fresh ginger, minced
• 1 green chili pepper, minced
  

when onion is starting to get translucent add

• 2 tsp ground coriander
• 1/2 tsp cayenne

stir to distribute, when it's fragrant add

• 1 can coconut milk
• 8 oz. tempeh, chopped into bite size pieces
• 1 bay leaf

simmer until the sauce thickens, about 15 min.

blondies

kind of like the unhealthy version of breakfast bars. but i have some leftover coconut from a south indian shrimp curry, and i hatched the plan that i can make junk food, eat a little bit, and give the rest to the upstairs neighbors, as an apology for the baby crying at night.

preheat oven to 350 and grease an 9x13" baking pan.

melt in a 2 qt. saucepan over low heat

• 3/4 c. (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter

allow melted butter to cool then mix in

• 1 c. packed brown sugar
• 3/4 c. white sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla

combine, and mix in until smooth

• 2 c. flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt

add

• 1 1/2 c. shredded coconut, toasted
• 1 c. chopped bittersweet chocolate

spread evenly in baking pan, and bake for 25 minutes.

breakfast bars

an amalgam of banana bread and oatmeal scone, baked in a 9x13" pan and cut into squares.
next time i think i'll try baking this same dough (with a bit more oil) as cookies.

preheat oven to 350.

whisk together in large bowl

• 1 1/2 c. whole wheat pastry flour
• 1 1/2 c. rolled oats
• 1 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt

combine in medium bowl

• 2 overripe bananas, mashed
• 1/2 c. applesauce
• 1/4 c. oil
• 1/2 c. agave nectar and/or honey

mix wet into dry and add

• 1 c. dried dates, chopped
  
• 1 c. pecans, chopped

spread dough in bottom of greased 9x13" pan and bake until edges brown

vegan banana bread

from http://vegweb.com/index.php?PHPSESSID=021749e6294dba2da36457beef59309e&topic=5806.0

Recipe submitted by Jessica, 05/29/05

Banana Nut Bread

Ingredients (use vegan versions):

3 ripe bananas
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 cups flour
3/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup coarsely chopped walnuts

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Grease a loaf pan. Mix the mashed bananas and oil in a large bowl. Stir in the flour, vegan sugar, salt, and baking soda. Mix in the nuts. Pour the well blended batter into the greased pan and bake for one hour. Remove and let cool.

Makes: 1 loaf, Preparation time: 15 minutes, Cooking time: 60 minutes.

rye bread - chapter 1

i've never figured out rye bread. whether i followed my instincts or Nancy Silverton's recipe (the one with cider), the results were dense, hard, and not particularly delicious. so i went back to wheat, telling myself that some day i would spend some time with rye, get to know each other, learn the new set of instincts i would need to bake the chewy, flavorful rye bread i was imagining. and of the things i must urgently do in the last 6ish weeks before parenthood, finding a pediatrician may be somewhat more vital, but so is bread.
Hodgson Mills is the only rye flour at any of my 3 local grocery stores, but it is a very coarse stone ground whole grain flour, in which the bran is barely pulverized, leaving large pieces of what be better described as rye meal. some in blogoland suggest sifting this flour, using the fine stuff in bread and the rough stuff as bird food. i've ordered some white and medium rye flours from King Arthur, but until they get here, i'm playing with the whole grain stuff.
as i converted the starter, the decrease in gluten level was clearly visible. the ripe starter lost its stickiness, so instead of glooping up as i mixed, i could divide it and see a cross-section of the spongy interior of the starter. i fed it twice a day, at around 100% hydration, though i haven't been weighing things, perhaps i should.
i just mixed a dough, using

• 2 c. rye starter, fed 18 hours earlier
• 1 c. water
• 3 c. all purpose flour
• 1 c. whole wheat pastry flour
• 1/4 c. wheat gluten

after mixing in those flours, the dough seemed about as wet as i wanted it. i think this is a moderate proportion of rye to wheat, enough so that i don't really know what i'm doing, but hey, it's not a huge loaf and how else am i going to learn.
going to knead now, and add a couple tablespoons of salt.

fruit pie

since pie isn't so much one food as a class of foods, this isn't so much a recipe as a template. so consider, once you have a pastry blender, everything you need to make some sort of pie is probably in your kitchen already.

crust
for two (2) layers of pie crust, sift together

• 2 1/2 c. all-purpose and/or whole wheat pastry flour
• 1 tsp salt (reduce by 1/4 tsp for each stick of salted butter used)
• 1 Tbsp sugar (powdered is preferable)

cut in with a pastry blender

• 1 c. total of butter and/or shortening and/or vegetable oil
  

when the mixture looks dry and granular, with no clumps larger than peas, pour in

• 1/3 c. ice water

and pastry-blend it up until it comes together. divide into two balls, wrap each in plastic, and chill in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes or as long as a few days.
when fixin to bake your pie, preheat oven to 425F, and make the

filling
combine in a large bowl

• 6-8 c. fruit. better to err on the side of too much and have to eat pieces of raw fruit covered in sugar that didn't fit than to have a skimpily filled pie, in my humble opinion. for my fairly deep, 9.5" diameter pyrex pie plate i used 6 small to medium sized apples and a 12 oz. bag of frozen blackberries. or, try a combination of fresh and reconstituted dried fruit.
  
• 2-3 Tbsp lemon juice or vinegar, optional. mix in while slicing apples to prevent oxidation. brightens the fruit's flavor. being out of lemons, i used several shakes of umeboshi vinegar.
• 1/4 - 1 c. sweetener. how sweet is your fruit, and how sweet do you want the pie to be? i used 6 Tbsp (3/8 c.) of white sugar, and someone eating the pie commented that it was not very sweet. it wasn't but that's ok by me.
  
• spices, optional. 1-2 tsp cinnamon is classic in apple pie, but i'd like to try cardamom, maybe with plums.
  
• 1-6 Tbsp corn starch or flour. this is the thickening agent. flour is about half as effective as corn starch, so use twice as much. use more with a high-moisture fruit like ripe peaches or berries, or if you're using a liquid sweetener (honey, maple syurp, ...). I used 3 Tbsp of corn starch in the apple-blackberry pie.
  

set fruit aside. if you want to top your pie with

crumble, optional
now is the time to combine, with the pastry blender

• 1/2 c. total, rolled oats and/or flour
• 1/3 c. brown sugar
• 6 Tbsp butter
• handful walnuts, chopped
  

refrigerate crumble, place cold dough between 2 sheet of plastic wrap and roll into circle slightly larger than pie pan. peel of top layer of plastic, and flip crust into pan, dump the filling in, top with 2nd crust or crumble or don't, trim and crimp the edge of the crust. place in oven, with cookie tray beneath, and bake 15 minutes at 425 F. lower temp. to 350F and bake another 40-50 minutes or until juices are bubbling.
now, seriously, let it cool for at least an hour so the corn starch can set the juice and it's not a giant fruit soup dumpling. or, frivilously, enjoy the fruit soup dumpling. with ice cream.