Broccoli Raab & Leek Stir-Fry With Coconut

I made an easy stir-fry with new-to-me vegetables. I googled leek and rapini/ broccoli raab to see what I was up against. From the pics I saw online it looked like leek was sliced similar to scallions/ green onions but cut down the middle first. I checked on rapini to see what parts of it are edible. Turns out, it's all edible. I learned rapini is bitter and is often sweetened with sugar. I sweetened my stir-fry with brown sugar and coconut flakes. I smelled a few of my Indian spice mixes to see which one or ones I wanted to put in my stir-fry. I decided on rasam powder for my seasoning. Dinner was amazing. To me the rapini stalks reminded me of asparagus, the foliage reminded me of perhaps spinach or some type of greens, and the mini broccoli florets on it . . . why broccoli of course.

Broccoli Raab & Leek Stir-Fry

1 Leek

1 1/2 Tsp. Rasam Powder

1/2 Bunch of Broccoli Raab

3 Tsp. Brown Sugar

2 TB Coconut Flakes

 

Israeli Couscous With Parsley Root

This was my first time working with parsley root. I would definitely recommend it. Tastes just like parsley, but the root is crunchy like a radish. I cooked my onion, broccoli, and parsley leaves, and then added my parsley root last, before adding my combination of veggies to my couscous. Doing it this way left the root nice and crunchy for some added texture in my couscous pilaf.

Israeli Couscous With Parsley Root:

1 1/2 Cups Water

1 Cup Israeli Couscous

1 Small Onion

2 Small Broccoli Stalks With Florets

2 Parsley Roots With Foliage

Chanal Chole Powder to Taste (Indian)

Salt to Taste

Artichoke: The Only Vegetable You Have To Cook Before You Cut

Have you ever cooked with a fresh artichoke? Until recently, I had not. I bought one to see what working with artichokes was like. Did I ever find out. Unfortunately, I ran out of time before dinner to google artichoke to find the perfect recipe for my artichoke, and to find the perfect cooking process for my artichoke. Well, in the past I have often winged supper with multiple other vegetables and products that were new to me, and turned out great results. But this time as I winged our supper, cooking with the artichoke proved to be a misadventure. I soon realized that it was necessary to boil the artichoke before I cut it. My bad. Even though our supper included a semi raw artichoke, our supper looked beautiful. Parts of the artichoke that did cook thoroughly tasted good. Other parts were inedible. Whoops.

Yummy Supper

Anthony made a yummy supper of fried bread and Italian soup with dumplings. The fried bread reminded me of Indian Naan, and the soup reminded me of Italian Zuppa Toscana except it had dumplings instead of potatoes. Anthony used the extra meat, veggie, and spice filling for the soup that we had leftover from when I had made pizza baozi. 

Pizza On Request

Anthony requested pizza for supper. By all means I made him some pizza! Pizza is my favorite food ever. I made my own sauce. It was delicious. An onion, two roma tomatoes, 2 tsp minced garlic, basil, Italian seasoning, 2 Tb Ketchup, and 1 cup of water made up my sauce.

Swirlesque Pancakes & Specialty Scrambled Eggs!

Starring Guest Food Artist: Anthony Garland (Husband)

One of my husband's friends came over for dinner. Earlier this week he and my husband facebooked back and forth about a good time for all of us to get together. His friend had said that he wanted to make dinner for Anthony and I, but that his apartment was too small. He asked if he could come to our place instead. Anthony said sure. When his friend showed up for dinner it became apparent that not everyone was on the same page so to speak. We thought the friend was making dinner at our place, and he thought we were making dinner at our place! When Anthony's friend arrived, I was feeding baby Shastya, so Anthony hatched the eggs and pancakes plan.

Unfortunately, my dear husband has never shared his secret pancake recipe with me, meaning I cannot share it with you. What's more, the marble pancakes are a new variation on his traditional secret pancake recipe. About halfway through the supper cooking time I showed up, and Anthony asked me to make the eggs. He had ham, onion, and Gouda to put in them. The meal was amazing. I loved the pancakes.

Garam Masala Waffles With Red Lentils Curry Sauce & Raita

This is a meal of interest to say the least. Who makes waffles with lentils on top? The idea came to me this afternoon. By dinner time we had already eaten garam masala waffles with red curry sauce and raita. I got my recipe for red lentils from allrecipes. I got my recipe for raita from My Indian Recipes. I used Publix Buttermilk Pancake & Waffle Mix for my waffles, and then added 1 teaspoon of garam masala to my two cups of batter. The result was unusual and good. My husband prefers the red lentils over sticky rice instead of red lentils over waffles or basmati rice. He thought his waffles became slightly soggy. I said syrup would have made them the same way. He agreed the meal was not bad.

Upon surfing the web to see if anyone else had made garam masala waffles I saw a couple recipes that looked good: Garam Masala Spiced Chicken & Waffle, and Garam Masala Waffles With Chocolate Chips.