Carb Binge

Sun Dried Tomato and Pine Nut

Beer Batter

Mushroom, Olive, White Sauce

Artichoke, Sausage, White Sauce

Steel Cut Oats and Whole Wheat No Knead Bread

I made some adjustment to timing and temp for this recipe, but I still think it could use more lift.  Next time, I will be adding a tiny bit of yeast to the mix.

I dried some starter and crushed them into flakes to send down to LA for a friend.

Boo Chips

My very favorite Halloween snack. Heck, maybe my favorite chip ever.  Too bad it only comes around once a year.

More Japanese Snacks

More goods from Japan.  The most curious item being the white chocolate covered chips.  They taste exactly how they sound.

Sesame Noodle

Tonight we tried the Sesame Noodle recipe from the ubiquitous New Best Recipes book, a little salty but not bad. However, the winning recipe is this recipe, minimally adapted for our lazy-cooking-night go-to food.

Sesame pastes vary a lot. Make sure the consistency is like smooth cream. If it is too thick, add some water. If it is roasted and tastes bitter, add a little more sugar. To make your own paste, use a food processor, adding roasted sesame seeds to the oil until a 3/4 cup of paste is formed, then continue adding ingredients and process till smooth. This is the way of least fuss. 

1/2 cup mild tasting oil
1/4 sesame paste
2 tsp garlic, minced
1 in fresh ginger, minced
6 tbsp soy sauce
6 tbsp red vinegar
4 tbsp white sugar
1 tsp salt
1 lb buckwheat noodle
1 tsp hot chili oil or to taste

1 tbsp sesame oil

2 scallions sliced thin
1 japanese cucumber, julienne
1 medium carrot, julienne
roasted sesame seeds

Stir together all ingredients except scallions and sesame oil. Cook the noodles, then rinse with cold, practically icy, water. Toss quickly with sesame oil. Pour sauce over the cold noodles, toss again and garnish.

Southern Indian Food

Cheaper and less saturated in cream and butter than its Northern cousin, Southern Indian Food builds on the simple flavors of the ingredients, often vegetables only, revving them up with a wallop of direct chili heat.  Crepes are griddled and stuffed with fenugreek potatoes.  Chickpea dough is deep fried into soft pillowy doughnuts.  Onion and tomato pancakes are perfectly crisped and studded with fresh chilies.  On the side, sambar and various coconut sauces or relish come in a painter's palette of colors.  Unlike many dishes found in Northern Indian restaurants, the lentils and "curries" have a milder touch of spices.  Chutney lacks the sometimes overly saccharine and singlemindedly vinegar tang, but more than makes up for it with clear tomato punch.  Stews tend towards a more soupy texture rather than thick gravy.

Granted, the comparison between the two regions is a bit specious.  The rare Northern Indian restaurant accentuates the fresh flavor of a single ingredient while orchestrating a blend of spices and never makes the dishes chaotic or dumb them down, but the other 99% of the typical Northern Indian restaurants just have really heavy hands in all the pots. In my mind, Northern Indian food, depends on the complexities between flavors, richness, texture and ingredients, requiring a refined sense of balance from the kitchen.  Southern Indian cuisine is akin to the greatest of breakfast and snack foods - eat with your finger meals that are hearty, warming, rustic and deceptively easy.  Of course, none of this takes into account regional distinctions...

Tonight I went to Saravana Bhavan in Sunnyvale and had a cheese masala dosa with sambar and three sauces. We also had idly, those donuts, and a lacy wheat crepe. The various breads that come out of the kitchen are showstoppers. Look for the giant poof the size of a serving tray. The mango lassi is top notch - just thick enough, with a slight tang, and without that funky floral aroma or strange carbonation. Is it impolite to show leftovers on a blog?

Annapoorna in San Mateo offers a thali dinner if you want to try a variety of "stews" at once. This joint is much smaller than Saravana Bhavan and easier to get into, but the food just isn't as vibrant as the former.

Both are vegetarian only.

Prophecy

"Freakism! Freakism!"  - Dr. Robert Verne