American ethnic

There's a stark difference between the food found on the table in ethnic homes and the ethnic food available to the middle and upper classes.  People want ethnic food that is not too far out of their comfort zone.  Savy restaurateurs know how to capitalize on this...usually with ambiance and presentation to authenticize the dining experience.

Tiffin is a prime example of this...a Wharton grad has created a chain of Indian restaurants, all in areas with a similar demographic...and they're making a killing.

Yang Ming is a Chinese restaurant on the main line...I've been driving by for years and have been intrigued.  People have always said that it's one of the best Chinese restaurants around and then Fox 29 called it the best.  Tonight I finally made it inside.  My daughter and I went for an early dinner.  I was impressed with the interior but I wondered about the happy hour crowd at the bar. 

I became a little apprehensive when I looked at the menu...although there were some interesting dishes, it screamed American Chinese...Beijing Homestyle would've been a better choice. 

Hurried haddock

Last night I bought "The 6 o'clock scramble" - because it was 40% off and I thought I could get some inspiration.  I looked in it this evening hoping for miracle but there was none to be had.  We have frozen liver, frozen chicken breasts, and frozen haddock fillets. 

The frozen haddock has been a useful item in the freezer but it's a bit bland so I was trying to think of something with zest - my first instinct was zigni but we didn't have injera...then I thought curry, but we just had that.  It was 630 and the clock was ticking so I went with curry with a biryani twist. 

I sauteed onions, garlic, and garlic-ginger paste.  I quickly ground some garam masala, then added that to the pan.  Seared the fish then mixed in some tumeric, red pepper, and broth.  Topped with frozen string beans and fried onions, then simmered. 

The aroma that filled the air was enticing. 

From grass to corn

We finished up the grass-fed steaks (sirloin and ribeye) from Santee this week.  Twice this week I've made delicious steaks, using minimal seasonings and olive oil.  I heated my Le Creuset grill pan to 500 degrees, then quickly seared each side of the steak, cooked for a few minutes more, covered, and enjoyed.  Miraculously, each meal consisted of only 1.25 pounds of meat, but it was more than enough for the four of us.

Today I planned to make curried seitan.  I prepared the jasmine rice, which surprisingly is a 1:1 ratio.  Started the kale then started sauteing the onions for the curry and looked in the refrigerator and there was no setian, that's when I realized that I made both packs when I made the zigni.  I almost panicked but looked around for something that I could curry.  I found a bag of frozen boneless skinless breasts that my husband must've bought at BJs...he was clearly misled by the 100% Natural emblazoned on the bag. 

I took out 3 breasts and soaked them in water - they were huge, as if they came off of a bald eagle - I had a flash back of Food Inc, but I pressed on. 

I added garlic to the pan, added sliced chicken, then mixed some kurkum and zatar with a little stock.  Added a bag of frozen peas, let simmer a bit, then enjoyed. 

Savory seitan

I had two pacakages of "vegetarian chicken" in the refrigerator and I wasn't in the mood for a stir fry so I made zigni.

I've finally resolved that I will have to settle for that berbere that they sell at the Ethiopian market...I don't have a choice.  Berbere has become a bit of a staple in my house and it's just about gone.  All that remains is the dilhik (berbere paste). 

Between fit-fit and variations of zigni, I have less than a 1/4 remaining. 

We had the seitan zigni with okra and it was yummy but I wondered if it was too carb rich.  I'm debating about curried seitan, but I wonder if that's a good choice with rice.

Terrific teff

I am strung out of fit-fit...it's so yummy and filling.  Monday, I took a stab at making kitcha - I only had unbleached flour so I made just a little...I was too tickled with myself when I put the dough in the pan...it came out ok and my husband remarked that it was addictive.  That's when I knew I couldn't make it again until I got some whole wheat flour. 

As I was about to check out at Wegman's Wednesday night, I remembered the flour.  I rushed over to the natural foods section and came across a gluten free aisle.  I quickly scanned the packages, and that's when I saw it - teff! I was very excited.  Then I felt a small ping of biopiracy guilt.  I had seen 25 pound bags of Idaho grown teff for sale in my local Ethiopian store.  I was troubled, so I looked into it a bit - there are regional physical geographic similarities, Ethiopians provided the technique, and now the companies supplies East African communities with the product.  This would be an interesting political ecological study.  Why couldn't a group of East Africans found their own teff company?  Africa continues to be plundered of agricultural know-how while their landscape is degraded as they shift from traditional to industrial agriculture.  So it was with mixed emotion that I paid $6.99 for 24 ounces of Bob's Red Mill teff. 

Thursday, I rushed the flour to my friend's house so that Abay could make fit-fit.  Her eyes lit up when she saw the bag.  She said "that is from my country." And apparently it's the same diabetic friendly grain she's been trying to describe to her daughter.  Lo and behold, teff is the smallest grain in the world; loaded with fiber, protein, and iron; and low in carbohydrate - a nutritional powerhouse. 

Abay wasn't happy about the price, she heard about a man who brought seeds from her land and planted them in North America, but, of course, she insists that the grain from her country would be better, and cheaper (including transportation) - she's a diehard adherer to terroir.

She made the fit-fit - the texture was more spongy (of course) and the taste more earthy; the gluten from the wheat provides a hint of sweetness but teff is clearly a healthier option.  I think next time we'll mix in a bit of barley. 

Old faithful

My how the tables have turned.  Despite efforts to minimize impact, I have been living and breathing cookies.  I found myself about to ride the take-out train when I reached out to my husband.  I knew I wouldn't have a chance to make dinner Sunday so I asked him if he could take care of it.  He reluctantly obliged. 

I might have mentioned this before but he makes a nice poached salmon.  As a matter of fact, it's probably his signature dish.  So, Sunday he made his one-pot meal - salmon with peppers and onions, topped with cabbage.  It's probably been 5 years since he made this dish but it was very good. 

As usual, he goes all out in the supermarket and apparently purchased 3 kinds of fish - I didn't check the label because I'm certain it's all farm raised.  I couldn't believe my eyes when he went into the kitchen this morning to "make dinner."  He found a recipe in a cookbook and got started. Sauteed garlic and ginger, added some rice vinegar, marinated the fish in tamari, then poached.  He heated some TJs chimichurri rice in the microwave, packed his lunch and left for work. 

I was speechless.