foodish friday: week 3

Important announcement:  There is a new bakery at the Farmers' Market that sells gluten-free breads and treats, vegan items, and dairy-free items.  I sampled some of the cookies and they were pretty good compared to many of the GF things I've tried.  I told the guy at the table to bring more GF/vegan/dairy-free/soy-free stuff, and I hope he takes me seriously.  I know this does not apply to most of you, but we seem to have  a lot of people locally who have celiac, allergies/intolerance to wheat and gluten.  It is pretty difficult to find specialty products (like GF and vegan) in this area.

Moving on.

The first two weeks of the CSA, I forgot to bring the short people.  Well, not really forgot forgot, it just worked out better to not take them.  And this week?  Brought the short people, forgot the camera.

Because I'm awesome, that's why.  And being this awesome is a burden, it truly is.

Miss O picked out two bags of spinach and a huge bag of potatoes, Wee Man snatched up a bunch of beets, asparagus, and a head of red lettuce, HB wandered around asking everybody where the chickens were located, and The Mister followed HB and tried to convince him (unsuccessfully) that this was not the Sort Of Farm To Have Chickens.

We got a fresh garlic, green top and all, and some herbs and SWISS CHARD!!!!!!  I love swiss chard.  And bonus! It was the rainbow kind, not just the white stem kind, and it's just prettier.  It doesn't really taste any different, but it's nice to eat pretty colors.

See?  Purty.

And eating lots of different colors is good for you.

Let me clarify:  NATURALLY OCCURRING COLORS are good for you.  Any color that has a number after it?  Not so much.

Last week I gave you a cheese and spinach dish, and this week I'll give you another!  Because I like cheese and spinach, and, well, it's my blog and I can do whatever I want.  Maybe I'll start a food blog and call it Cheese and Spinach.  Or not.

Palak Paneer ala Pamela

for those of you who are into alliteration

Loosely based on this here recipe.

Heat a half gallon of milk to 200 degrees.  Be sure to become distracted so the milk boils all over your stove.  Stir in 1/2 cup of lemon juice.  Pour through cheesecloth, and press with a can of soup and cast iron skillet weight.  Let the cheese sit under the weight for a few hours.  Yes, this does take advance planning.  And yes, you can do this the night before.  When the cheese is all flat and brickish, cut it into cubes.

Saute about four chopped garlic cloves in about 4 Tablespoons of olive oil.  Throw in a chopped onion, 1/2 teaspoon cayenne, 2 Tablespoons ground cumin, 2 Tablespoons ground ginger,  a heaping teaspoon of ground coriander, and a healthy Tablespoon of turmeric.

Please note: We like the flavours.  If you are not as flavour-loving as those of us in le Maison Dayton, hold back a little.  Also? Does anybody else think coriander makes food taste a little bit like dirt?  No?  It's just me?  Awesome.

Add 1 cup plain yogurt (sour cream works too, that's what the original recipe called for), and 1 can diced tomatoes.  The can that's about 16 ounces. 

Roughly chop at least a pound of fresh spinach or any other greens you have on hand, and gradually add them to the mix.

This is the palak.

Not exactly sure what that means, but it is freaking tasty.

In a separate fry pan, heat 2 Tablespoons olive oil, and brown your paneer cubes.  The paneer is the cheese.  That you cubed.  With me?  Fabulous.

When the paneer is all happy and golden brown, add it to the palak. 

Serve with brown rice and naan.  Like this:

Yep. You guessed it. I'm too lazy to crop my photos. 

But I did make the naan. And it was amazing.