pomegranate + cranberry chutney

This is the new and improved version of my pomegranate chutney recipe, which was adapted from my godmother Tona’s fabulous peach chutney recipe. I made this particular dish for Thanksgiving – it goes really well with turkey or any poultry, and it’s a great substitute for the traditional cranberry sauce. I am a bit of a chutney fiend, and I think pomegranates are probably the fruit that tempted Adam and Eve, so it’s easy to understand why this is one of my very favorite recipes.

A tip for pomegranate seed removal: in Morocco I learned the best way to remove the seeds from a pomegranate is to do it underwater. First, fill up a large pot or mixing bowl with water; next, cut the crown off the top of the pomegranate, slicing horizontally through the fruit (there should be a layer or two of seeds in the small part you remove) and place it in the water. Next, quarter the remaining section and place the pieces in the water. Let it sit for a few minutes, then remove the seeds with the fruit submerged. It’ll be easier to work them loose, the juice won’t stain your hands, and best of all, the seeds sink to the bottom while everything else floats to the top. Skim off the parts you don’t want, strain and rinse the seeds, and voila! Instant pomegranate deliciousness.

pomegranates taking a dip

squash & chickpea stew

This Moroccan recipe was inspired by one from The Scent of Orange Blossoms: Sephardic Cuisine from Morocco by Kitty Morse and Danielle Mamane. This cookbook has a host of delicious recipes and represents a part of Morocco many people don’t know about – its Jewish heritage. I was amazed, upon arriving in my village in the deep rural Moroccan south, that the local landmark people were most eager to tell me about was an enormous and ancient Jewish shrine – to which pilgrims still journey each year.

This is a great winter stew – it’s hearty without being too heavy and has everything you need in one dish. It tends to be on the sweet side of things – caramelized onions, roasted squash, cinnamon, raisins soaked in saffron and honey – so if it’s too much try using less sugar and cooking your chickpeas in a broth instead of just water.

Pretty enough to eat

my contribution to the political process

I am sure someone smarter than I am has come up with this idea before, and also all the reasons it could never work, but a thought occurred to me during tonight’s State of the Union about how we can address the sticky problem of the filibuster, and it is summed up in the following poorly written haiku:

one filibuster
per senator, per lifetime;
make them play in pairs.

Each senator gets one filibuster for life, and filibusters have to be joint ventures conducted by a pair of crazy obsessed determined senators, not just one.

Maybe also they have to speak alternating words – one word per person at a time, like an improv game.

Maybe also they have to speak in blank verse.

I know this plan would probably work better if Congress were a board game and not the way we make our laws, but so what (hmm, Congress: The Board Game? If I ever try to make up a government from scratch, remind me to test-run all my ideas in board game format). The real problem, I think, is that the filibuster is just too great a word/institution/quirk of our country’s particular way of doing things to do away with it completely.

Oh, America!

salade marocaine/salade marocanny

This is a version of a recipe I’ve posted here on my friend Annie’s blog (which has gorgeous photos and much more adventurous recipes than this one (how many parts of the sheep have you eaten?)).

First you start with the classic “Salade Marocaine” – combining the following:

2 tomatoes, diced
1 large red onion, diced
1 green pepper, diced
1 cucumber, diced, and
Dressing made from 2 parts olive oil, 1 part vinegar, and salt, pepper, and cumin to taste.

Not only is it a great, cheap, easy, refreshing salad, its colors are both beautiful aaaand the Moroccan national colors (red and green)!

cukes and peppers and lemons, oh my

To add a little zest and variation, though, I like to incorporate a few extra ingredients. The best thing about this recipe is that the basic salad (above) is so good on its own that you can just add whichever of the following things happen to be on hand or in season, and it’ll work.

To add to the dressing:

1 T honey
Juice of one lemon, one lime, and one orange
A bunch each of mint and coriander, roughly chopped
One inch of ginger, peeled and grated (ok there’s been some confusion about what an inch of ginger means, which has resulted in some overspiced chutneys here and there. A better way of saying an inch of ginger is to say “a thumb-sized piece of ginger,” which I would say, I suppose, except that when you think about peeling and grating it it becomes mildly less pleasant)

Add to the salad one or two of the following:

Half a melon (like honeydew), diced
Orange or yellow or red bell peppers
Seeds from one pomegranate
1 crisp green apple, diced
Or really any in-season fruit or berry, cut to the same size as the rest of the salad

pomegranates + old film, yes please

One of the best parts of Moroccan cooking is its combination of salty and sweet, which you get when you add the honey and a bit of fruit.

Another tip: if the raw onion and pepper are too much for you, try letting them marinate in vinegar for a few minutes before adding them to the mix – this will take a bit of the bite off.

bacon & pear salad

…because everything tastes better with bacon!!

Mixed greens
Pecans
Sliced pears
Feta
Bacon
and poppy seed dressing

the smell of bacon is so alluring

from here to there

When I left the US to join the Peace Corps, George W. Bush was our president, Michael Jackson was still alive and there was definitely no such thing as “light rail” in Charlotte, NC…

From abroad I celebrated Obama’s victory and mourned Michael’s death (Moroccans are very keen on both, by the way), and now I happily traipse uptown and back on the QC’s fancy new light rail.

tagine 101: lamb tagine

“Tagine” refers to both a piece of cookware (pictured here) and the ubiquitous Moroccan dish. Perhaps the best part about them is that all the elements of a meal – vegetables, meat, stew, herbs, spices, fruit – are cooked together, all at once, so their flavors mingle and blend and reinforce each other beautifully. This not only means better flavors, but fewer dishes too (especially when you consider that typically a tagine is cooked and served from a single dish). There are dozens and dozens of variations on the basic tagine, but this one combines several classic elements: it starts with onions and garlic cooked at the bottom of the dish, features lamb, and includes both savory and sweet flavors.

orange gingerbella salad

See I just made up a new salad…aaand I ate it before I could take a photo, because it was so tasty…you’ll just have to take my word for it.

In this salad:

Baby spinach
Walnuts
Clementine/orange sections
Sliced baby portabella mushrooms
Ginger-based dressing (which you can find at most grocery stores)
Sea salt

It’d also be great with sesame seeds, I think.

deep greens and blues

this salad has nothing to do with my dog

…except for a few minor linguistic coincidences. Also the fact that they are both GREAT.

the most expressive eyebrows you've ever seen on a dog

For a Peppers Salad that’s just as irresistible, you will need:

Mixed greens and baby spinach
4-6 oz. goat cheese
One red pepper (for extra color you can always throw in a yellow and an orange pepper too)
One small red onion
One crisp apple
1/2 cup pecans (or walnuts, if that’s your thing)
Olive oil
Red wine vinegar
Honey
Salt, pepper, and cumin to taste

First, slice the pepper and onion thinly and let them sit in a shallow bowl with 4 tablespoons olive oil, 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar, and 2 tablespoons honey (if you add the honey after the oil using the same spoon, it won’t stick). Add salt and pepper and cumin to taste.

While that’s marinating a bit, combine the greens, dollops of goat cheese, thin slices of apple, and the nuts in a salad bowl.

Once the onion and pepper have soaked up some honey-vinegar goodness, pour them over the salad and toss everything together with your favorite dressing. Eventually the goat cheese will spread out a bit and coat the greens.

As an alternative, you can spread goat cheese on small slices of lightly toasted baguette and use them as croutons.

make a flower of it if you wish