(no subject)

[which_chick]

I have been on an Indian cooking rampage.



Yep. Rampage. (Because it's Indian cooking, only two recipes are required to achieve "rampage" status. The rampage meter is particularly sensitive to how many spice ingredients there are. If this were PA Dutch cooking, I'd have to make twenty things for a rampage.) We recall the curried grated cauliflower thing from yesterday, which I have now eaten all of and am feeling no particular shame about having done so. That. It was quite good. Then today I made the lentil thing from the place with the curried grated cauliflower recipe and I actually mostly followed the directions. I used a cup of the wee red lentils and filled things out with half a cup of moong dal (not lentils, okay, but they are yellow and some sort of bean product) to mix it up a bit.

Verdict: Yummy. I've made a note. (I eat a fair amount of lentilly things and am always on the lookout for recipes on that front.)

I also cooked the chicken thing I've been meaning to try, which is here and dang, it's good too. I mostly-followed the directions... three chicken breasts instead of two because that's the smallest packet the grocery store had. I added 1/4 teaspoon red pepper because the only "chilli" powders I have are ancho (very mild) and chipotle (which I adore but which I thought was too smoky-flavored for this based on a SWAG). I used one "green chili" (The ubiquitous jalapeno is the only green pepper of pointy spicy goodness that is available fresh with any regularity in my world. Therefore, jalapenos are what I use when I am told to use a "green chili". I don't want to hear about authenticity. One works with what one has.) instead of two because I'm saving the other one for guacamole later this week. My tomatoes were canned. Oh, and I used about a quarter cup more yogurt because I'm trying to use it up before it goes bad.

Verdict: If boneless, skinless chicken breasts were cheaper, I'd be having this regularly. As it stands, it'll be a treat food item. It's quite nicely-flavored, complex and warm without being overwhelming. It tastes "real", not like a bunch of stuff dumped together.

So, that was my rampage. There will be delightful leftovers tomorrow and for the early part of the week. Persons of a cook-foreign-food disposition might want to hook up those recipes and give 'em a whirl.

Also, I called my mother today to say I was sorry about the custard cups. See, I have four corning custard cups. They're allegedly for custard, though if I'm having egg custard, I'm going to eat the whole thing myself and there won't be any for little custard cups, nutmeg or no. I didn't buy my own custard cups. Mom got them for me. I thought they were stupid. I rolled my eyes over the custard cups. She said they would be useful. I still rolled my eyes.

I was wrong. Custard cups are useful. They're handy. I use them.

Custard cups are good for...

1. Holding the part of the egg that doesn't go in the mixing bowl just yet.
2. Holding the pre-measured spices for easy all-in-one-go dumping. This is particularly important when making food with lots of spices.
3. Putting under the grater so that the grated ginger doesn't get all over the cutting board.
4. Feeding the cat bits of actual meat and/or marrow.
5. Putting under the coffee maker to catch the little bit that's still dripping out when I want coffee NOW and it isn't done yet.
6. Holding salsa when I want to pretend that I'm just going to have a few chips and salsa. (I go refill it once it's empty.)
7. Holding dipping sauce for potstickers. (Yes, I do make these at home. I am a dork. What was your first clue?)

I still don't think too much of them on the "for making custard" front, but they're useful and not eye-roll-worthy on other fronts. Sorry it took me ten years to admit it, mom.

Comments

[not-your-real.livejournal.com]

Oh, "cereal bowls"! The larger ones are what we always ate cereal out of growing up. I have 2 of the small ones and several larger ones and use 'em all the time, never ever for custard (and not, of late, for cereal).

[galena417.livejournal.com]

Mmm...the food sounds yummy. We had dinner at my ILs tonight when we went to pick up Sonja - MIL's cooking is generally always Indian of some kind or another, even if she's using ingredients like Bok Choy, which I always figured for Chinese, not Indian.

Custard cups do have their uses...but I've also never used one for custard. Ice cream, though - when I want just a little bit!

[which-chick.livejournal.com]

I don't know about cereal. They seem kind of small for that, at least the ones I have. There's a picture here (http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0000CF3UK/ref=nosim/?tag=dealtime-kitchen-20&creative=380333&creativeASIN=B0000CF3UK&linkCode=asn).

Mine look mostly like this and hold four ounces. (I have the thin, old-style cups. They're pyrex and made by Corning like the ones in the picture but the walls are thinner. I have never broken one so I'm not sure why they made the walls thicker.)

[which-chick.livejournal.com]

Hrm. It says six ounces. Maybe they do hold that much. A cup of water overruns my custard cup. A half-cup of water fits nicely into my custard cup, with the level of the water where the three decorative rings are. A cup of water is about eight ounces, so half a cup of water would be four ounces. I wouldn't want to fill the custard cup more than 4 ounces full and try to move it around. It will probably hold six, level-full.