"Homemade" Indian Made Easy

I could get into it but it's the story of my life and you've heard it all before. Always out, never home, social butterfly. Which is great and all. I signed up for this ride with the full knowledge of what I was getting myself into and haven't regretted it for a second. But come Friday, knowing I have a full schedule Saturday and Sunday and then beginning the whole social dance all over again next week, all I want is to throw on some sweats and curl up on my couch and just lull my body into a state of relaxation while catching up on my shows.

This is probably not true of most people but the one cuisine I equate with comfort is Indian. There's something very stew-like with the mild masalas, the melting braised meats simmered for hours in a thick creamy gravy, light, puffy naan bread, and fluffy basmati, lightly flavored with a little cardamom. It's definitely a curling up on the couch, catching up on shows meal. 

Kashmiri rock shrimp with sauteed kale and asparagus over basmati

Miso Eggplant

Finally... a vegan recipe worth blogging about. But all I could think about while eating this meal was how great it would be with fish... some cod, or scallops, perhaps even shrimp? But I promise, it is great meal if you are a vegan and if you aren't I suggest this as an appetizer or side.

Setting up veggie prep. Love the different colors

Since I wasn't quite sure just the eggplant would be enough for dinner, I threw in some tofu, baby bok choy and mushrooms. Best with the eggplant was the bok choy, with the contrasting textures it worked to not feel completely like I was just eating mushy baby food- which sounds worse than it actually was, but just eggplant, tofu and mushrooms was not enough bite. I served with some quinoa... a first time making, and in retrospect wish I had done with a nice fluffy white rice, but next time. And tonight I'll actually be recreating this miso glaze, but for scallops, so the glaze is really where the money is.

Checking In: Week 1 1/2

It's so hard to sit inside and blog when it's beautiful and sunny out. And lately it seems I'm either at work or sleeping, so when I have the choice to not do either I'm working out or running errands (check both off that list for today, yay!). But I've been up and out since 8:30 this morning and have the good excuse of finally getting my neglected laundry done so here I am at last. 

The lone biscuit I couldn't eat. *tear*

Mood: I'm doing good. If you saw my post from last Tuesday, it's been just a good, happy mood combined with some fun, interesting things happening in my life. I think I've said this before but under normal circumstance I'm usually pretty happy, but it's more of an even keel... since the pesca vegan though it's definitely been elevated and I am not complaining at all. Even with my amped up responsibilities at work, bring it on, I'll get it done with a smile.

Vegan Fail

I love Korean food. The do it yourself bbq meat, the perfect combination of spicy and tart pickled vegetables, the fact that they aren't afraid to throw a raw egg into a scalding hot bowl of rice, that it satisfies almost every usual craving of mine in one fell swoop. Prior to the vegan challenge I made a Korean dinner part of my last hurrah, as it's one cuisine I'll definitely miss especially working so close to New York's Little Korea, and immediately began thinking of ways to incorporate the cuisine as much as possible into my challenge.

Enter Mother In Law's Kimchi. In my mad dash Wednesday night to Whole Foods, I stood gaping openly at the soy-Asian refrigerated section and when I saw this innocent little jar of kimchi, complete with the design friendly label, it was an immediate grab. Of course I didn't read the ingredients. It's kimchi. It's spicy, tart, fermented. At worse as far as meat of any sort goes there's shrimp paste, fish sauce and/or anchovies. 

Pesca Vegan- 3 Days Checking In

This has been alternating between absolutely frustrating and not too shabby. I'm hoping as I continue to get into the swing of things I'll feel more comfortable, but until then I feel like I'm on guard when it comes to what I consume. I promised myself when this started that I wouldn't beat myself up if I cheated, either intentionally or not as this is all about making positive decisions, but to just try as much as possible to stick to the pesca vegan plan.

Day 1 had it's own set of unique challenges- crazy work day, frustrating lunch, rushed to mass, home late but ended well, as you can see from the tasty recipe in my previous post. I felt overwhelmed, especially at the store worrying about buying enough produce and proteins but also trying to keep costs down. I'm big on buying meats and freezing them but don't feel as comfortable with fish- I prefer to cook it as soon as possible. I picked up some tempeh, soy milk, hummus and miso- all have long shelf lives- and nabbed some vegan black bean burgers (note: I learned from my vegan friends that most veggie burgers have eggs in them, so I had to be careful looking at ingredients) and a few other vegan frozen foods for those late nights... just in case.

Now Day 2... how do I describe day 2? If you know me personally you know I'm fairly laid back and usually am a pretty happy person. Sure, a few things have happened this and last year that does sometimes attribute to bringing my mood down but overall, I don't dwell. I do what I have to do that's healthy to get myself back on a positive footing and move on as much as possible. But yesterday I woke up in one of the best moods I'd been in for a long time. It was strange, completely bizarre. I wore a wildly colorful dress that I usually only wear to go out in with some leggings, complete with my Frye boots, and the fact that it all worked, and looked so sunny and spring-y on a dreary day made me feel even more amazing. It wasn't even that everything was going my way, generally speaking, there was nothing particularly different than any other day- I was just in the best mood.

Mustard Salmon with a Panko Breadcrumb Crust

Mustard and Panko Salmon
1 salmon fillet per person
2 Tbl. mustard per salmon fillet
2 tsp panko breadcrumbs
salt and pepper

1. Set oven to broil. Set salmon fillet, skin side down, in an oven safe dish. Salt and pepper the fillet, then top liberally with mustard and make sure all sides, especially the top are coated. Top with the panko breadcrumbs.

2. Broil for 6-7 minutes until fish flakes but is still pink and moist in the middle and the top is golden brown.