Green Foods Need Love, Too

So, it's Earth Day.  In celebration, I thought I'd do a recipe that I've been talking about for a while but haven't gotten around to yet: Mint Chutney also known as Green Chutney.  This is a popular condiment in Indian cooking, and I, personally, could eat it on just about everything. It's especially good with Naan and a nice curry.  Don't let its green and runny appearance fool you (apparently some people find that off-putting), this little sauce is delicious, subtle, and can pack a sneaky punch.  I make no pretensions to authenticity. This recipe is the result of my experiments with a very basic recipe, tweaking until I got the flavors where I wanted them.

What You'll Need

Supplies

Cutting board                                                     Food processor or blender

Knife for chopping                                             Spoon

Measuring spoons                                              Small serving bowl

Ingredients

3 small green chilies                                          1 bunch cilantro

1 tomato                                                             1 bunch mint

3 Tbsp water                                                     1 7oz package grated sweetened coconut

3 Tbsp lemon juice                                             3 spoonfuls plain yogurt

3/4 tsp salt

Now Let's Make Mint Chutney!

Before we get started, let's have a few words (okay more than a few) about ingredients. For the chilies, I like to use the small green ones that you can find in bags at a good Asian grocer (these are about a finger length). If you can't find those, go with serrano peppers (pictured, since I couldn't find the others this go round). For the tomato, try to get a juicy variety; one of the big round ones should do.  

Take your three chilies, and begin chopping them. Slit the chili length wise, starting just shy of the top (stem side) and going all the way through the tip. Turn the chili to the unsliced side and repeat.  Essentially you've quartered your pepper, but left the quarters attached to the pepper by not cutting through the top.  Now, starting at the tip and moving toward the top, begin chopping your pepper. Repeat for the other two peppers. Set to the side, and coarsely chop your tomato. Add the peppers, tomato, 3 Tbsp water, 3 Tbsp lemon juice and 3/4 tsp salt to the blender or food processor (I got a food processor for my b'day, y'all and it's heaven). Blend until nice and liquidy.

Take your bunch of cilantro and rinse it really good (as I've said before, cilantro from the grocery is filthy). Gather the leaves in as tight a bunch as possible and chop the cilantro beginning at the leafy end and moving toward the end that's all stems.  Don't worry about any of the stem getting in the mix during the process; it's all the same flavor and you won't notice once liquified. Discard the stemmy chunk you're left with. Add the chopped cilantro to the blender. 

Now, for your bunch of mint (also rinsed) you can either use two containers of mint found with the other refrigerated herbs (usually near the salads), or you can take it fresh from the garden. Either way, you want enough leaves (leaves only here! Mint stems are woody) to fill your two hands cupped together. Pluck the leaves from the main stem and, when you're sure you have enough, add them to the blender.

Next, take your bag of sweetened coconut, and add about half the bag to the blender. I know sweetened coconut sounds weird and most recipes call for plain, but I find that the sugar is necessary to the overall flavor of the chutney. It adds a balance to things that wouldn't be there otherwise.  Anyway, by now you should have cilantro, mint, and coconut in your food processor waiting to go. Blend! If you're using a blender (as I sadly was still), you may have to stop occasionally and use your spoon to press things down a bit. Blend until liquidy. 

She forgot to take a photo
Content yourselves with me,
hoomans

Add about three big spoons of plain yogurt (I was using a tablespoon; you know the bigger one that's great for soups and cereals) to the blender and blend.  Once the yogurt is throughly mixed in, its time for a taste test.  Take a taste and wait a few seconds for the spicy to catch up to you. Too powerful? Add a big pinch of coconut (that's a pinch using all your fingers, by the way) and a smaller spoon of yogurt. Blend. Repeat until level of spiciness and flavor suits your taste.

Serve in a small serving bowl. Provide everyone with smaller condiment bowls so that they can dish themselves their own private stash of mint chutney.  This chutney can accompany just about any Indian dish you decide to make. Happy Earth Day and remember green food needs love, too, so enjoy!

I'm so much tastier than I look.

   

Attack of the Flying Spaghetti Monster!

Mmmmmm, tasty spaghetti monster. Spaghetti, or more particularly, spaghetti sauce is a long standing favorite in my family.  Believe it or not, there was a time when I refused to eat it (thankfully I grew out of picky eating and here I am today).  My mother makes some of the tastiest sauce you can find, and naturally she taught me. The real trick to great spaghetti sauce is getting your balance of herbs right; something Mom is really good at, having worked in the nursery (that's plants obviously, cause you can't cook small children) business ever since I can remember. Don't have great herb-sense? Don't worry I kindly reduced my usual haphazard slinging of stuff into the pot into measured amounts below (you're welcome *smiles sweetly*).

What You'll Need

Supplies

Cutting board                                                                   Large stock pot

Knife for chopping                                                            Long-handled mixing spoon

Small knife or kitchen scissors                                        Can opener

Ingredients

1 large white onion                                                           Marjoram 

1 lb lean hamburger meat                                                Oregano

1 pkg hot italian sausage                                                 Rosemary

3 large (29 oz) cans tomato sauce                                       Thyme

2 large (28 oz) cans diced tomatoes                                     Basil

1 (12 oz) can tomato paste                                                   Bay leaves

Olive oil or butter                                                               Salt and pepper

Now Let's Make Spaghetti Sauce!

To begin, you need to peel and dice your onion. Cut the non-root end off your onion. Peel back the outer layers of skin and discard. Moving around the onion, slice through the onion in straight, evenly spaced lines, stopping just short of the root. (Incidentally, I'm pretty sure this is how Bloomin' Onions are born).  Now, with the end that you cut off facing your knife, begin chopping your way through the onion, moving towards the root. And, voila! Diced onion.

Fun fact: I cry so hard when I cut
onions that I'm a danger to myself
and others.

In your large stock pot, add a small amount of olive oil or butter. Turn the stove eye to medium heat, and warm the oil. Once the oil has warmed (not sizzling, you don't want to burn it), add the diced onions. Saute the onions over medium heat, using the long-handled spoon to move them about occasionally.  Be careful not to let the onions burn; if they start browning in spots, you're not moving them around enough. Saute until the onions are translucent and tender.

Now it's time to add the meats. This is when I find it's easier to press a kitchen assistant into service, since they can stir the cooking hamburger meat while you deal with the sausage. However, if you do not have an assistant handy, simply remove the pot from the stove eye for this part. Open your hamburger meat and add it to the stock pot, using your spoon to break it up a bit. Use the leanest ground beef you can find (ground turkey works, too, if you swing that way), since excess grease will affect the consistency of your sauce.  Next, remove the casing from your hot italian sausage. Using your hands, break of smallish pieces from the sausage and add them to the pot. Continue until all the sausage is used. (Can't find hot italian sausage? Add 1 Tbsp red pepper flakes to compensate). Saute until the meat is no longer pink, stirring as needed.

I could live off tomato products.

Once your meat is ready, you can begin adding the tomato products (flex your wrists; this is a lot of can-opening). Open all your cans. Add all three cans of tomato sauce to the stock pot.  Drain the juice from your diced tomatoes, then add both cans to the stock pot. Lastly, add your entire can of tomato paste, scraping the sides of the can to access all the gooey, tomatoey deliciousness (Also, try not to burn tonight's dinner while editing your blog post!).  Stir the tomato products into the meat and onions well, making sure to get a fairly even mix.  Turn the heat up to just under high (about 8 or 9).  You want to bring the sauce to a light boil before moving on to the next step.  Stir regularly, making sure to lift sauce up from the bottom to avoid scorching.  Once the sauce has started to bubble plenty, reduce the heat to a medium-low setting (about 3). This should be enough to maintain a slow simmer.

Not pictured: bay leaves.
Cause I'm lame

Now it's time to add the herbs!  So, remember when I said I'd give you measure amounts? What I meant to say was somewhat measured amounts (yes, yes, I'm mean).  Turn your hand palm face up and cup it. This is now your measuring utensil! To give you a little perspective before we do this, the spoon handle in the picture is about 1" wide (click to enlarge!). To the stock pot, add one handful Marjoram and one handful Oregano.  Add half a handful of Rosemary and half a handful of Basil.  Add about half as much Thyme as you did Rosemary. Toss in two or three bay leaves. Deep breath, you're done. (Please note that these amounts pertain to dried herbs. If you're using fresh, you'll need a whole lot more.  Drying herbs increases their potency).

Nom vigorously! Napkins advised.

Stir the herbs into the sauce, making sure to mix them in thoroughly.  Allow the sauce to simmer, stirring occasionally, while you prepare the noodles. Check the box of noodles for the proper water to noodle ratio. Bring the water to boil. Add noodles. Cook until tender. Drain immediately. Serve covered in Spaghetti Sauce and preferably topped with parmesan cheese. Spaghetti sauce keeps for about 2-3 months in the freezer before taste is effected.

Also, super big thanks to all my readers. My views doubled in the month of March compared to February. *Happy dance*