Transportation Is a Big Responsibility

I first experienced samosas courtesy of an Indian colleague in my previous job, who brought in large trays of them from a restaurant as a treat.  My mind rebelled…pastry enclosing potatoes?!?…that’s like starch in starch, like a rice sandwich.

But they were delicious, and sometimes we also got the meat version.

These are labor-intensive, and making both the vegetarian and meat versions can fill a Sunday.  They are best just out of the fryer, but freeze well after cooking, and can be reheated in a 325 degree oven until crispy.

Ingredients:

•   1-1/2 C all-purpose flour or atta (Indian finely-ground whole wheat flour
• 1 tsp. salt
• 4 Tbsps. vegetable shortening or butter
• 6-7 Tbps. cold water
• 1 Tbsp. vegetable oil
• Filling, either aloo (potato) or keema (meat)
• Oil for deep frying

Method:

    1) Stir the salt into the flour.  Using a pastry blender, cut the fat into the flour.  Then rub the mix between your hands until it becomes a firm dough.

    3) Add a few tablespoons of water to the dough, and knead for ten minutes, adding more water as necessary.  The dough should be pliable but not sticky.  Cover the dough and allow to rest for 30 minutes.

    4)  Cut the dough into two pieces, roll each piece in to a ‘rope,’ and cut each rope into eight pieces.

    5) Put a small amount of vegetable oil onto your rolling surface, then using a rolling pin, roll each ball into a six inch circle.  Cut the circle in half.  Moisten one half of the cut edge with water and form into a cone:

    6) Add about a tablespoon of filling.  Moisten the top of the cone and seal.  IMPORTANT!!!  Be sure to seal all edges of the samosas with water (or you can use a bit of cornstarch in water), since otherwise the oil will get in to them during frying and you’ll have a greasy mess.

    7) If you’re as unskilled with pasty as I am, you’ll end up with a bunch of misshapen and inconsistently sized samosas.  Don’t worry, they’ll still taste good! (and they freeze well, but be sure to freeze them first on a pan so they don’t stick together):

    8) Heat the oil to 350 degrees.  Drop in five or six of the samosas.  The temperature of the oil will drop to about 300 degrees — keep it there.  After ten minutes, the samosas should be light brown.  Remove and drain on paper towels.  Continue with the rest.

    9) Enjoy with sauce!

-R

SFX Issue No. 6, 6-18 Feb. ’82

Side One:

Side Two:

Enjoy!

-R

Another compilation of stuff I taped from Scott.

Side One:

1. 6 x 7 – 2-1/2 Days in Love with You/ Cool TV Suit/ Always Waiting For (Mantra MNT45CD, 1999)
2. Sleater-Kinney – Words and Guitars/ One More Hour (Radio 1 28/7/1998 from the ‘Get Up’ CDS – Matador Ole 354-2, 1998)
3. Placebo – Every You Every Me (Sneaker Pimps version)/ Every You Every Me (Infected by the Scourge of the Earth) (from ‘Every You Every Me’ Virgin FLOORCD9, 1998)
4. Garbage – Special (Rickidy Raw R&B Mix)/ Can’t Seem to Make You Mine (from the ‘When I Grow Up’ CDS, Mushroom MUSH43, 1998)
5. Hole – Drag/ It’s All Over Now Baby Blue (from ‘Malibu’, Geffen GFSTD 22369, 1998)
6. Vengaboys – Up and Down (Positiva COTIV-1057243, 1998)

Side Two:

1. Snow Patrol – Little Hide/ Sticky Teenage Twin/ Limited Edition/ JJ (Jeepster JPRCDS004, 1998)
2. BIS – Action and Drama/ Eurodisco (Les Rhythmes Digitales mix) (from Wiiija 95cdx, 1999)
3. Hefner – The Hymn for the Cigarettes/ Grandmother Dies – Lisa & Me/ You Need a Mess of Help to Stand Alone (Too Pure PURE93CDS)
4. Deus – Hotel Lounge (Be the Death of Me)/ Jigsaw You (Island CIDX 603/854 190, 1994)
5. Supergrass – Pumping on Your Stereo (Parlophone CDRS6518, 1999)

Enjoy!

-R

Side One:

Side Two:

Enjoy!

-R

Side One:

Side Two:

Enjoy!

-R

I have no recollection of these tapes, but since I don’t have most of the CDs they were taped from, and bothered to write down the numbers, must have sucked them up from Scott’s CDs. Good stuff!

Side One:

1. The Delgados -Under Canvas Under Wraps/ Een Telf/ Bear Cub/ Strathcona (Chemikal Underground CHEMM006CD, 1996)
2. The Wannadies – Hit (remix)/ As If You Care (Indolent DIE009CD2)
3. Fountains of Wayne – Survival Car/ Comedienne/ I Want You Around (4-track demo) (Atlantic AT0004CD, 1997)
4. Urusei Yatsura – Kewpies/ Majesty/ Sucker/ Burriko Girl (ché/Sire 66011-2, 1996)
5. Placebo – Bruise Pristine (Radio edit)/ Then the Clouds Will Open for Me (1997)

Side Two:

1. Placebo – Bruise Pristine (One Inch Punch Remix) (1997)
2. The Wannadies – Short People/ The Wannadies – Shorty (Livingstone Version)
3. Suede – Brass in Pocket (Vox Haute Couture CD)
4. Deus – Roses (album version)
5. BIS – Everybody Thinks That They’re Going to Get Theirs/ Statement of Intent/ Girl Star?/ Cookie Cutter Kid (Wiiija WIJ69CD)
6. Gorky’s Zygotic Mynci – Young Girls & Happy Endings/ Dark Night/ Marching Ants (Fontana GZM CD3)

Enjoy!

-R

Honestly, a recipe for a toasted cheese sandwich?!? No — I wouldn’t presume to tell anyone what to put into a TCS, although some form of cheese is highly recommended 🙂 . Instead, these are just a couple of tips to elevate your TCS from so-so to crispy, gooey perfection.

Normally I would use my homemade sourdough bread, but I’m out (making more this weekend) and homemade cheddar, but all of them have a few months to go. So I used the supermarket versions . . .

First tip: cut the cheese (sorry) so it covers ALL of the slice of (untoasted) bread. That way a little will goop out the sides. The cheddar I’m using is “very sharp,” so I cut it a bit less than 1/4″ thick. With a milder cheese, you can cut it thicker:

Optionally, add some garnishes. I love juicy ripe (non-supermarket) tomatoes, or some chutney, or caramelized onions, etc. This time I just added some salad greens:

Add the top layer of bread, and spread it with ROOM TEMPERATURE butter. It’s important that the butter be soft, so you can get a nice thin, but even coat:

Don’t forget the edges!

Heat a cooking surface to LOW. This is also important. If the temperature gets too high, the bread will overcook and burn before the cheese melts. Carefully flip the sandwich over (butter side down) into the pan. Spread butter on the top piece (be careful not to get burned!). Allow the sandwich to cook until of desired doneness, starting to check at about 3 minutes. Flip and repeat on the other side, until crispy and the cheese starts to ooze.

The is the most important step of all: YOU MUST CUT THE SANDWICH ON THE DIAGONAL. If it’s not cut on the diagonal, it’s not a toasted cheese sandwich 🙂

Toasted Cheese Sandwich, Corn Soup, Salad:

Yum!

-R

I guess this could be considered a “pandemic” recipe, since it’s made from simple ingredients, but it’s delicious and I make it often.

Ingredients:

(ignore the celery, that was for another recipe!)

• 2 Tbsp. oil
• 1/3 C. chopped onion
• 1/3 C. chopped carrot (optional but nice)
• 1/3 C. chopped peeled potato (optional but recommended – – it gives a nice creaminess to the soup without actually using cream)
• 3 C. chicken stock
• 3 C. corn kernels
• Herbs of your choice (I used basil and thyme)

Method:

Sauté the onion, carrots, and potatoes in the oil over medium heat for 6-7 minutes until wilted.

Add the chicken stock, corn and herbs. Bring to a medium boil and cook for 15 minutes.

Remove the thyme:

(optional but highly recommended) Blend about 1/2 – 2/3 of the soup. This will give a nice contrast between creamy/soft and the crunch of the kernels:

Add back to the pot and stir briefly:

Serve with Fritos!

or as part of a delicious lunch (Toasted Cheese Sandwich, Corn Soup, Salad):

Yum!

-R

Last year I tried to grow lots of cucumbers, with an eye towards making pickles (I was in my canning phase). Unfortunately, most of the plants succumbed to a viral disease carried by the aptly named “cucumber beetle” — basically, the disease causes their sap to thicken, they wilt completely overnight, and are dead in a day or two. Disheartening . . . although I did get maybe 20 cucumbers off 15 plants.

This year I planted the seeds I had left over, and got three plants (I think Sumter, but I misplaced the labels) and planted them under a half-dead bush, hope against hope. Cucumbers like to climb, and they did!

I should have paid better attention, but it was early, so I was surprised to find this, a bit past its prime but still lovely:

I made a dressing with miso, mayo, and cider vinegar:

It’s possibly the only “garden” thing I’ll get this year, since I didn’t plant the usual (tomatoes, peppers, etc.).

A little sprinkling of sesame seeds. Yum!

-R

(repost from August 2015)

Sichuanese cuisine is renowned for its complex and often fiery hot sauces; but at the same time they treat vegetables very simply, often with no more accompaniment than a bit of fried garlic, which allows the flavors of the vegetables to shine.  And sometimes it’s a refreshing change not to have the flavor of soy sauce.

One slight frustration with Chinese vegetables is figuring out what they’re called.  Bok choy, yu choy, ong choy…..I finally learned that “choy” just means “vegetable,” so that’s not particularly helpful.  The innertubes can be both your friend and enemy here.

This very basic recipe works for any leafy greens.  The only distinction in the cooking method is that some (Napa cabbage, rapeseed/yu choy, Chinese broccoli/gai-lan) have stems that you might want to cook first, whereas others with tiny stems like purple amaranth or water spinach/ong choy can just be chopped and stir-fried.  I’m using mustard greens, which do need their stems separated, in this example.

Ingredients:

1.  1-1/2 lb. leaf vegetables

2.  2 Tbsps oil or fat of your choice (I use chicken fat if I have it for an added punch of flavor)

3.  2 cloves garlic, minced

4.  (Optional) 2 Tbsps seasoning of your choice*

Method:

1.  If needed, wash and dry the greens (salad spinner or between layers of paper/kitchen towels).

2.  Cut the stems away from the leaves, cutting the stems on the diagonal, which will make them cook faster.  Now you’ll have two piles:

3. Heat the fat or oil over medium heat and stir-fry the garlic for 30 seconds.

4. Add the stems, turn the heat up to high, and stir-fry for two minutes.  Add 1/4 cup water, cover and steam for one minute.  Taste.  If the stems are still tough, repeat, adding water and steaming as needed, until they’re just shy of tender.  They should look like this:

5.  Add the leaves, pushing them down with a spatula or spoon into the pan.  It will only take about a minute or two for them to cook:

6.  Add the seasoning (if any) and stir-fry for an additional minute.

7.  Enjoy!

Cheers,

-R

*In this case, because mustard greens have a bold flavor, I used fermented bean curd.  Sometimes called “the cheese of China,” I call it “the anchovy of China.”  Both are highly stinky when you first open the container, but are completely transformed in cooking and add a depth of flavor.  You can mash just the bean curd, or add some of the juice, which is hot and salty.  Any of the bazillion or so varieties of bean-based sauce would also work well.