Masala Bhindi
I cannot think of anything I would rather do with okra than make this. If I get eggplant from my CSA, look out! Kelly is making Indian food all weekend. I posted this receipt over 10 years ago and it’s still true.
Get the spices measured out and ready, then
Heat:
2 T ghee or coconut oil
Saute:
1 large onion, finely chopped
1 pound okra, trimmed & sliced length-wise on a slight diagonal
After 5-8 minutes, add:
2 T garlic, minced (more…)
Liver is a super-food. Liver contains significantly more vitamin A, all the Bs, iron and other minerals than any other food. Pate is my preferred way to eat liver. It’s so good – and you don’t need to eat a lot to get the nutritional value. If you’ve got a turkey liver – you’ve got to try this recipe.
Thanksgiving 2023 we are roasting a wild turkey. It’s a bit smaller than a farmed turkey and the liver was a quarter pound, so I halved the recipe.
Ingredients:
1 turkey liver (about a half pound)
1/3 stick of good quality butter or ghee
1 medium onion, minced (or 2-3 shallots)
1 clove garlic, minced
1 T each: rosemary, sage, parsley, thyme
¼ t allspice
¾ t sea salt
¼ t pepper
1-2 T cream or half and half
1-2 T sherry or cognac (optional)
Small handful of cranberries (not too much or the pate will be tart – alternatively try a spoonful of cranberry sauce)
Equipment: non-cast iron pan, food processor
Here’s how to make fish sauce dipping sauce, Nuoc Mam:
1-2 t honey or palm sugar
1 T hot or warm water – mix the honey or sugar until mostly dissolved
Add 2 T good quality fish sauce
1 clove of garlic, smashed or minced
and the juice of 1-2 limes.
Add crushed or sliced serrano or Thai chili to the sauce or serve on the side.
(or replace the chilies and garlic with Sriracha chili garlic sauce if you want a short cut)
You can water it down with another 1-2 T of water if you prefer, or want to stretch it out.
Let the dressing sit while you finish other things – it is better if it has some time.
Give each person a tiny dipping bowl and distribute.
Great for dipping Summer Rolls or Spring rolls. Also great as a sauce for eggs or grilled pork, as is popular in Vietnam. This is also the base dressing for Vietnamese Chicken and Cabbage Salad.
2 pounds fresh cucumbers, cut lengthwise into spears (if the cucumbers are big and has big seeds, you can 
cut out some of the seeds)
¼ cup white wine vinegar or unseasoned rice vinegar
1 t sugar
¾ t crushed red pepper flakes
2 t sea salt, plus more
2 T chopped dill or other herbs (parsley, cilantro, basil – whatever you have/like)
2 T fresh lemon juice
Toss cucumbers in a large bowl with vinegar, sugar, red pepper flakes and 2 t salt. Chill at least 1 hour and up to 6 hours. Rotate once or twice during that time.
Just before serving, add herbs and lemon juice and toss to combine. Taste and season with more salt if needed.
Note: This recipe is not very spicy. It is so quick and easy, and it is nice to be able to make it a couple hours in advance. If you want, use a big mason jar, lay it on its side and rotate.
Thanks to Jeanette Moy for this recipe!
If you know the basics of soup making, you don’t need to follow the recipe word for word, but instead can glean inspiration from recipes and use what you have on hand. With a nice sharp chef knife, a cutting board and a Dutch oven there are endless possibilities. See equipment below.
Step 1: Soup base – Mirepoix
The base of the soup usually starts with sautéing some vegetables, which flavors the oil or fat. Choose a fat that can handle the temperature. Read more about FATS here.
Warm the oil/fat on medium heat in a thick-bottomed deep soup pan, such as a Dutch oven, and sauté:
1-2 finely chopped onion, shallot or leek
then 1-2 carrots, and if I have it, celery, both chopped finely, or medium-fine, about a half inch chunks.
Sprinkle with sea salt (maybe a ½ teaspoon or so, I dunno exactly, I don’t measure, I add a little as I go along and usually end up needing to add more at the end.)
Chefs call the classic mixture “mirepoix”, otherwise known as the “holy trinity” in the cooking world.
If you want to add more vegetables, you can add them to the mirepoix about 5-10 minutes after the carrots and onions.
What do you have in the fridge? Here are some vegetable ideas:
I made this all the time. It is so quick, yummy, and healthy. This and the Sautéed Garlicky Kale are by far the most common veggie dishes served at my house, followed closely by my Cabbage Slaw.
Set up steamer basket over water and turn on stove to medium.
Wash and cut 1 broccoli crown into big bite-sized pieces. You can peel the stem and slice it up thinly. Put on steamer basket and cover with a lid. Let boil (you can turn it down to medium-low when it gets to a rolling boil) for about 5 minutes or until the middle is getting soft when you poke it with a sharp knife. This is the key point – make it soft enough that you are not eating mostly raw broccoli, but do not steam it to broccoli mush.
Dump it all onto a plate and drizzle with some nice olive oil (I love Saratoga Olive Oil Company on Church Street in Burlington – their Myer Lemon Olive Oil is to die for) and sprinkle with sea salt. Maybe your friends will ask you why your broccoli is so darn good, too.
PS Sometimes I get it all set up without turning the stove on before I start on other dishes and then turn it on about 10 minutes before I want to serve dinner.
I love using lacinato kale – the dark green dinosaur kale. Kale is my favorite vegetable, and this is my most used recipe of all times.
Heat olive oil in frying pan (medium-high) and add garlic and then the kale. Sprinkle sea salt on the kale and saute until tender, stirring frequently (about 5 minutes). Sometimes I like to add a splash of water and then put a lid on it so it will steam a bit (1-2 minutes). If there is still some water in the pan, I remove the lid for the last minute. This recipe takes no time to make. I usually make it last, while everything else is getting put on the table.
This dish goes great with Brussels sprouts, roasted chicken, sweet potato sticks, or root vegetable gratin.
To make Vietnamese Style Sauteed Kale, omit salt and add a splash of fish sauce. Also toss in some chilies with the garlic. Then add sea salt to taste. YUM!
This is a great alternative to dairy-laden gratins. I use stock instead of the usual cream for the liquid. I like to use a little aged cheese, such as Gruyere or Parmesan, but this recipe is also great without. It was a huge hit with my family!
Heat oven to 400 degrees.
This is my son’s favorite way to eat kale. I made this the other day along with Roasted Chicken Legs and Sweet Potatoes Sticks and it made for a very efficient meal!
Chop kale. Let it sit for 5 or more minutes.
After the chicken and sweet potatoes come out of the over and off the pan, spread the kale on the pan and toss around to gather up the oils.
Sprinkle with sea salt and mix lightly with oils on pan.
Bake on 400 for 12 minutes.
Alternatively, mix kale in bowl with 1-2 tablespoons olive oil and ½ – 1 teaspoon sea salt. Spread on clean cookie sheet and bake for 12 minutes on 400 or until just crispy.
Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Cut the sweet potatoes to make long sticks about ¾ inch wide. Place on baking sheet and drizzle lightly with oil. Sprinkle the sticks with sea salt and toss gently.
Bake on 425 for 45 minutes, turning once about 25 minutes in.
These sticks can be baked at the same time, and on the same pan, as the roasted chicken legs. In fact, after the sweet potatoes and chicken come out of the oven, you can use the leftover oil on the pan for the crispy kale chips.