CSA Week 5

Brought home Collard Greens, Fennel, Turnips, Zucchini, Lemon Cucumbers, Summer Squash, and Lettuce.

chicken biriyani

While Curry can be made from start to finish in 30 minutes, and is why I tend to make it several times a week, Biriyani is the ultimate slow food. I tend to make it on lazy Sunday afternoons when I am just puttering around the house. It is a multi step cooking process that takes about three hours to prepare if you want real home style Biriyani. The long cooking process is well worth the effort, as Biriyani dishes have a complexity flavors that is impossible to achieve with quickly cooked foods.

The star ingredient of this Chicken Biriyani dish is Pickled Lemon relish. I first tasted this at Hot Stuff, a great little Indian restaurant in London. When I got back home I searched it out at local Indian grocery stores until I found one that tasted just like the relish I had in London, and this Lemon Pickle made by Nirav is delicious. Just the right combination of sweet, sour, and heat...




I marinate boneless chicken thighs in some olive oil, Madras Curry powder, Garlic Chili sauce, and Lemon Pickle. Mix together well and let it marinate for at least a hour...




Now saute some onions and peppers in some oil...



add a couple tablespoons of finely chopped Lemon Pickle...



when the onions have cooked down add some diced Yellow Squash...



add some Basil, Black pepper, and some grated Nutmeg and let simmer for several minutes...



Now grill the Chicken thighs...



Takes no more than ten minutes. They should be pink inside...




Dice the chicken and add it to the vegetables, and mix together...



Remove all of these ingredients to a bowl, and then rinse out your pan and then return it to the stove and melt some butter or Ghee in the bottom...



Before I started any of the other cooking, I steamed three cups of brown rice in my rice cooker with some bay leaves and star anise added to the cooking water...



Place half of the rice in the bottom of the pot. I am using a heavy enameled cast iron dutch oven...



Now put the chicken and vegetable mixture over the layer of rice...



Then cover that with the remaining rice, and you can put the bay leaves and star anise from the rice cooking on top...



Now are several important steps. The Biriyani will be roasted Dum style. This is a very slow cooking method in as tight a roasting pot as possible. Almost a form of pressure cooking. The best way to do this is to cover the pot with a layer of aluminum foil, then cover with the pot lid and scrunch up the foil around the edge as a seal. Indian cooks use dough to seal the lid. The Biriyani also needs to be cooked at a very low heat. I set the burner to it's lowest flame setting and then raise the pot off of the stove top using my wok burner grill. This raises the pot off of the flame about 1 1/2 inches. You could also roast the Biriyani in a very low oven. I leave it on the burner to roast Dum style for at least an hour...




During that long slow roast, the Biriyani develops a complex and intense level of flavors. The smoke and spice from the chicken play off of the citrus of the Lemon Pickle so well. This is just incredible tasting, and is even better the next day!

Goodbye Suckers!

There is some debate over weather to prune tomato plants or not.There are those gardeners who don't want to cut back any vine that could potentially develop fruit. I have always felt that pruning back the side sucker shoots during the early growth season will help to enhance the vigorous development of the main stem, and all of the energy will go into producing flowers from the main part of the plant. It also keeps your tomato bed from becoming a wild jungle.

The side suckers tend to grow out from the main stem at the bottom of the plant. They will also grow from thee crotch of larger branches as the plants get bigger...



When my plants are big enough to need staking, I usually go around and snip off all of the side suckers...



... and here is a perfect example of my newly staked and sucker free tomato plants. Every bit of nutrients from the soil and sun are now being concentrated into the main plants...

Rasa Kayi

I love Curry. My pantry is always stocked with basic ingredients to make some type of curry at a moments notice. As my family will tell you, I rarely make the exact same curry twice. I never follow recipes, and I prefer to experiment with different flavors and with whatever ingredients are available fresh from the market or garden.

The produce coming from my CSA these days is predominately root veggies, so I decided to make a Root Vegetable Curry. While this doesn't really follow any particular regional curry style, it is probably closest to a Southern Indian Rasa Kayi (Mixed Vegetable Curry). I went with traditional Indian curry powder instead of a Thai style curry paste because I thought it would better compliment the earthiness of the root vegetables.

Here is a quick Curry 101 lesson...

I start out by frying some spices in a hot pan. Here I used Bay Leaves, Star Anise, and Whole Cloves. This imparts a really nice flavor into the oil. Remove the spices once they are nicely toasted...




Now add chopped Onions and Garlic. I used Garlic Scapes because thats what I had on hand from my CSA. Add chopped Peppers at this point if you are using them. I didn't have any on hand, and ended up adding some jarred hot banana peppers towards the end. While the onions are cooking, add several tablespoons of Curry Powder and let everything cook down to a thick paste consistency...



At this point I add a little butter, or Ghee if I have it, and then I added chopped Kohlrabi, Turnip, and New Potatoes. Stir them around in the pan to coat them with the curry powder and onions and let them cook for a few minutes...



Then I added about a tablespoon of Chili Sauce (Sambal). This is an essential ingredient to every curry I make. Sometimes I use Garlic Chili Sauce and sometimes just plain old Chili Sauce, but it goes into every curry. This is what provides the background heat, not overpowering, just nice subtle heat. Let the Chili Sauce cook and mix in with the rest of the ingredients...



Now add a can of Coconut Milk and let simmer on very low heat for about 30 minutes, or until the veggies are cooked through. Do not allow the coconut milk to boil, you will ruin the subtle flavor...



I serve this on Brown Rice with some fresh Basil and a shot of lemon juice...




This was a really yummy curry. I have been trying to reduce my meat consumption lately, and I have gotten slightly tired of the steamed veggies I have been making for dinner most nights. This was really satisfying. I considered adding Tofu, which I do quite often when I want to make a Vegetarian Curry, but I didn't miss the protein at all.And I was right about the Indian Curry powder complimenting the root vegetables, especially the Kohlrabi. The mix of flavors was just right.

a walk through the garden...

a quick walk through the garden on a steamy night in late June...

All of the pepper plants are doing well except the Tabasco Peppers. The leaves are turning brownish and it looks like something is eating at it. I don't know why it is only this variety that is doing poorly. All of the other varieties are thriving, such as these Thai Dragon Peppers...

thai dragon peppers

I have been carefully thinning out the Carrots and Beets, and both new raised beds are coming up nicely. The seedlings are really starting to look like actual plants!

carrots

The container Pumpkin experiment is going really well. The vines are growing vigorously, and I see lot's of flower buds forming. I can't wait to see pumpkins growing around the base of my oak tree.

container pumpkins


I put in several Genovese Basil plants, not as many as I have grown in the past, but it should be enough...(can there ever be enough Basil?? Maybe I should get more!)

genovese basil

The first sign of a true Tomato has appeared on the little Tom Thumb patio plants. These container plants are loaded with flowers right now.

tom thumb tomatoes

And here is the Amish Heirloom Tomato bed soaking up the last hours of sunlight. A few plants have developed flowers, and all of the plants are really thriving. I need to get some support stakes in this bed this weekend.

amish heirloom bed