24 tomatoes

Our last Indian tacos sale, at Church of the Indian Fellowship, was a success! Many fry bread amateurs came and visited us!

This time, April, one of our Elders fried the bread with the help of two of our young members, Angelina and Elizabeth, while I was serving our customers with the help of our deacon Monique. Another Elder, Tony, made the dough before dawn that day. Irvin was the cashier. It was fun to see our friends and also many staff members of the Puyallup tribe, whose offices are nearby, come and have lunch or take many to-go orders for their colleagues.

Then Irvin and I found ourselves with lots of tomatoes on our hands. This was a communication issue: my cell phone dropped dead just when Irvin was about to tell me that someone else volunteered to bring the tomatoes. So I purchased them too! And now, I am trying to find ways to use them before they lose their freshness.

When we came home from the sale, tired and bringing home the fry bread smell with us, I found a good recipe of tomato soup. It comes from a food website called “12 tomatoes”, a promising name…

This recipe suggests roasting the tomatoes in the oven before transforming them into soup. Another tasty idea: slices of bread, one side rubbed with olive oil and up under the grill in the oven. When it is nice and golden brown, switch the sides and put shredded cheese on before putting them back under the grill. Then assemble two by two to have grilled cheese sandwiches or cut in cubes for croutons.

The recipe can be found here. http://12tomatoes.com/shared-ultimate-comfort-soup/ 

Only 18 tomatoes left! To be followed….

A Disingenuous Casserole

If you hear French people mentioning “faux-amis” (fake friends), they are probably not talking about disingenuous acquaintances but deep in linguistics. 

Faux-amis are words that look identical in both languages (French and English for us - it could be French and any other foreign language) but whose meanings differ.

Apparently, the linguistic word in English is “false cognates”.

For instance, if you talk to a French person about a casserole, this is more or less what you have in mind.

But unless your French friend has lived in the US, this is what they will picture.

Yes, in French, a casserole is a saucepan, something to cook in – never to be eaten.

As you can imagine, this "false cognate" has the potential to create many amusing misunderstandings in the kitchen.

I have enjoyed cooking casseroles and this breakfast one is one of my favorites. It is easy, forgiving and very flexible. You only need some cubed dry bread, that you mix with eggs (2 by person) you add some veggies you have on hand, sautéing or blanching them ahead if necessary, and shredded cheese. Bacon or sausage are tasty additions too.

It bakes for 30 minutes (or more if you are making a large casserole) at 350.

Bon appétit! 

Oh, and if you are hungry for a casserole in French-speaking country, ask for “un gratin” and you will be on the right path for a savory conversation! 

Coriander and Turmeric

Since remission, I have been reading a lot about cancer. I noticed that from one book to the other, turmeric, the bright yellow spice that gives its color to mustard, was mentioned as a great anti-cancer substance. I started looking for some here.

It took me a while to find it because I was looking for “curcuma”, the French name. Usually, from one language to the other, you can guess the names of the spice, from thym to thyme, romarin for rosemary, coriandre for coriander…. No curcumay or coorcumee – I checked and yes, turmeric it was.

Ok, so when you find turmeric, you need to absorb it with some pepper, it enhances the anti-cancer properties. Problem : curcuma on its own is not that good. Pepper does not help.

So I went to recipes that would use turmeric harmoniously. And entered in my life… Indian cooking. Turmeric is one of the spices used for curries, along with coriander, cumin and Cayenne. Then there is fresh ginger, cilantro… all that is very, very good.

I am trying recipes and this is a delightful exploration to be followed in 2016…

Aloo Gobi à la Beckham

Always on the forefront when it comes to new movies and trends, I just watched the comedy “Bend It Like Beckham” (2002) which I found enchanting. 

The DVD also provides some bonuses. One of them shows the director of the movie, Gurinder Chadha, cooking a traditional Indian recipe, Aloo Gobi, mentioned in the movie.

Aloo Gobi is a potatoes and cauliflower curry stew. The ingredients include turmeric, ginger, tomato and cauliflower, who all happen to be also powerful anti-cancer food.

Here is the recipe:

¼ cup olive oil

1 onion peeled and chopped

1 to 2 teaspoons cumin seeds, to taste

1  bunch of cilantro

2 teaspoons of turmeric

1 teaspoon salt

One green chili, cut up or 1 teaspoon of chili powder

1 can (14 oz.) of diced tomatoes, undrained

Fresh ginger, peeled and grated

Fresh garlic, chopped

1 cauliflower (or half of a big one) cut up into florets

3 large potatoes, peeled and diced

2 teaspoon of garam masala

Heat oil in the pan and fry up the onion until translucent with the cumin seeds.

Finely chop the stalks of cilantro and add to the onion with turmeric and salt.
Stir for a while, then add chili and the can of tomatoes. Stir.

Add ginger and garlic.

Add diced potatoes and florets of cauliflower, as well as a few tablespoon of water.

Cover and simmer for 20 minutes of until potatoes are tender.

Add garam masala and cilantro leaves. Turn off the heat and let stand for some time before eating.

You can also watch Gurinder Chadha cooking, with her own comments, here.

If you enjoy food from India, this is a divine dish!