Marrakesh Lamb Stew

All I can say is the spices were well balanced, the lamb was tender & juicy, & the rutabagas/chickpeas/raisins danced in my mouth. Each bite was delicious.

Start by cutting a little over a pound of boneless lamb into bite sized pieces. Then brown in a soup pot before setting aside.

In the same pot saute one large onion and two cloves of garlic. Then return the meat.

Add five medium carrots, two cups stewed tomatoes, one large rutabaga, one cup water, one cinnamon stick, & one tsp each of cumin, coriander, cloves, & turmeric. If you like add some red pepper. Bring to a boil, cover, & reduce heat. Simmer for forty minutes.

Then add two cups cooked chickpeas, and one half cup raisins. Cover and cook another ten minutes.

Stir in some fresh parsley and you have what is an intriguing & yet comforting stew.

Favorite Song (from my favorite radio station): Tony Reidy- November Daisy

Fish Tacos with Creamy Cilantro Slaw

I think I found a new favorite food or really two new foods.

To make these fish tacos we used a lovely snapper. The recipe also recommends rockfish or tilapia. I haven't tried rockfish, but I don't feel like the tilapia texture would be quite so satisfying nor do I feel its subtle flavor would come through the spices the way the snapper's did.

To begin, make a mix of spices in a small bowl. 4 tsp chili powder, 2 tsp ground cumin, & 1/4 tsp red pepper (optional).

Then cut the snapper into one inch pieces. Dredge them in the spice mix. Then put them in oil that has already been brought up to medium high heat. Cook for about one minute on each side, or until brown & cooked through.

That's all there is to it!

Before I made the fish I also made the creamy cilantro slaw to go with it.

Mix 1/4 cup plain yogurt, 1/4 cup mayonnaise, half a lime's juice, half a bunch of cilantro stems & leaves chopped, a few teaspoons dill, one clove of garlic chopped, & 2 cups of finely chopped cabbage.

The creamy cilantro tang is the perfect counterpart to the spicy deep taste of the snapper. Not to mention the crispness pairs well with the flakiness of the fish.

The textures in the complete taco are as enjoyable as the flavors, & both are spot on.

It was a good Sunday for us. Guacamole & bean dip while vaguely watching the super bowl. Individual projects with occasional glances across the room. Some serious conversations & some good laughs. All in all, a day of winning combinations.

Favorite Song (from my favorite radio station): Capercaillie- The Tree

Golden Carrot Bake

This is another incredible comfort-dish. While the Bounty Rice featured Italian flavours reminiscent of lasagna, this Golden Carrot Bake follows in the tradition of quiche. On the one hand it is not so rich as quiche, but on the other it feels lighter & more guilt-free with no loss of yum-factor.

This recipe, once again from Simply in Season, was split into three easy steps.

1. Boil 3 cups of shredded carrots, 1.5 cups of water, a half cup of brown rice, salt & pepper. Then reduce heat and simmer for 25 minutes. Do not strain.

(I used long grain white rice. So I only simmered for fifteen minutes.)

2. Add to the pot 1.5 cups of shredded Monterey Jack, one cup of milk, two eggs (beaten), a quarter cup of chopped onion, & nutmeg.

(I used green onion for added colour.)

3. Pour into 2 quart casserole dish & bake at 350 for an hour. Then sprinkle a half cup of shredded Monterey Jack on the top & bake for another two minutes.

I served ours with some tea. We sat at the table for a few hours nibbling "just one more small slice" & sipping tea. One thing that always amazes me about good food is the good conversation it invites. Especially when shared in good company.

Favorite Song (on my favorite radio station during prep time): Damien Dempsey- Madam I'm A Darlin'

Togetherness: Veggies & Hummus

You can roast just about any winter vegetables & all together, provided you chop them uniformly & toss them with oil/seasonings.

I'm still working on uniformity in my chopping, & find it particularly hard with the multi-shaped root vegetables of various sizes.

In this case I roasted turnips, parsnips, rutabagas, carrots, & potatoes. I mixed them with two tablespoons of olive oil, basil, & marjoram. (I used marjoram only because we are currently & woefully out of oregano.) I added some onion about ten minutes in, following the recipe.

I received the idea of serving these vegetables with hummus, from my good friend in Buffalo. She roasted me up some carrots and beets while I was up there this winter, & served them with hummus & pitas. I especially like beets with hummus.

Turnips & rutabagas are new to us. We enjoyed the turnips in the mix, they were strong & complex. I felt they would be a bit too bitter for me to like on their own. The rutabaga was a nice treat. I enjoyed its creamy-peach color firstly. I also enjoyed its subtle spiciness, an almost radish-like flavor.

My husband drove home in the snow, & came in cold as a snowflake. This dish really warmed him up. The comfort, aroma & warmth of the roasted vegetables being pulled out of the oven as he sat down to dinner went a long way toward that. As did the interactive nature of hummus & pita, & the warm colors they provided.

For dessert we sipped Chai tea, & we spent the evening lazy in love.

Favorite Song (on my favorite radio station during prep time): Sailing over the Dogger Bank

Comfort Rice-Dish

As we were sampling the beet salad, we had "Bounty Rice" baking in the oven.

There were several variations of this recipe. The one I originally meant to try was cooked on the stove. However, it called for sour cream and we'd used all of ours in the dilly bean soup. Below this variation was a "Cajun" version made on the stove without sour cream. The variation I opted for was essentially the same as the original, minus the sour cream, & baked in the oven.

This dish may not sound like it, but it is usually served with Italian flavors. Tomatoes, garlic, basil, oregano, & mozzarella. The recipe calls for beef or pork, and since we've had the perfect amount of beef sitting in our freezer for a few weeks now, I opted for that.

On a tangent, we are not vegetarians. However, we find meat is often an extra cost and we love vegetables. For example, for this week's groceries we spent our same weekly budget for groceries. We came away with, in all seriousness, five more bags of groceries than the week before. So much of it vegetables!

So this is just to say, I like this book because most of the recipes don't have or are light on the meat & dairies. I would take it a step further and say that in most cases these recipes could be easily adapted to a vegetarian or even vegan lifestyle.

The recipe did not call for fresh fennel, though some of the recipes up ahead in the book do. I think I would like to try this dish with the fennel next time and also with Italian sausage in place of the beef. Ah, but I'm getting ahead of myself...

This dish was amazing. Definitely a comfort food for any cold night. It was like lasagna, only with less cheese, less meat, rice & Brussels sprouts!

Really the recipe called for cabbage not Brussels sprouts. We had some of the sprouts left over from a good sale a few weeks ago where we picked up four pounds of the little cabbages. Cabbage would have been much easier to prepare for this dish. I opted to use what I had, in the spirit of this cookbook, but would generally find the cabbage more practical.

I am so glad to add this dish to my list of foods to snap together & dig into when there are troubles or coldness in our world.

Favorite Song (on my favorite radio station during prep time): Steeleye Span- Captain Coulston