Chana Masala with spinach

Recently I had the BEST, best chana masala I've ever had at a local Indian restaurant while out with some girlfriends.  It was so good - that I had to bring my hubby and kids back to try it (and other delicious things on the menu).

Since eating out every time I have an craving is out of the question - I wanted to try my hand at making my own.  If you've never had it I urge you to try it!  Its a lovely combination of warm and spicy and tangy and just perfect on a cold rainy (or snowy) day.

This is what I came up with.  I based this on a few recipes that I could find and what I had on hand. 

Chana Masala with Spinach:
1 red onion diced
3 garlic cloves pressed and minced
1 large tomato diced
2 teas grated fresh ginger
1 tablespoon ground coriander
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon ground turmeric
2 teaspoons paprika
1 teaspoon yellow curry powder
1 15-ounce can of whole tomatoes with their juices, chopped small
1/2 cup water
 2 (15-ounce) cans chickpeas, drained
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup lemon juice
 2 cups chopped spinach

In a large pan saute onion, garlic, ginger and diced tomato until soft.  add spices and stir well.  add chickpeas, canned tomatoes and lemon juice.  stir in chopped spinach.  simmer on stovetop on low-med for about an hour or until everything is soft and flavours are well developed.

Serve with rice or naan. 

Fort Vancouver National Trust and THEATER??

This past year I've had the most interesting and fun partnership develop with the great folks over at the Fort Vancouver National Trust.  The Trust takes care of the Fort Vancouver Historical site - its buildings, parks, events, fund-raising, restoration, preservation and education programs. You can read about all the things these good folks are up to here:
http://www.fortvan.org/

As part of this - they hired a local playwright to write a dinner theater script based on events that may have happened historically at the Barracks building.  They needed a director, and a cast and the playwright (who I had happened to direct before) put the Trust in touch with me.  And a great working relationship has been the result!

The first dinner theater event was a HUGE success at an annual event last October along with shows open to the public.  We even did a second run of the show in June!  Then again this past month I got the chance to direct another great project about the life and legacy of Mother Joseph.

In each of these projects I have had the chance to work with casts that I love and admire, local playwrights and a fantastic bunch of people at the Fort.  Love, love, love this opportunity!  I am looking forward to many more projects!  Here are some picture highlights to enjoy!

Murder at the Barracks, October 2011:

Murder at the Barracks, June 2012:

Mother Jopseph - Life and Legacy, October, 2012:

Fall crockpot Medley

Pretty good title huh?  :)

This past Sunday Eric and I went to the Farmer's market.  Only a few weeks left and I wanted to get all those great fruits and veggies in season right now- YUM.

I didn't have a plan for what I had on hand today but I knew I wanted to do something in the crock-pot so this is what I came up with.  It sure smells great - hope it ends up tasting just as good!

The ingredients:

Chicken (kinda cut out of the picture here) 1 large sweet potato, two Yukon gold potatoes, two yellow squash (farmer's market), walla walla onion (local), brown mushrooms (local), garlic (farmer's market) and celery.

The Seasonings:

Fresh basil and rosemary (from my yard), fresh dill and cilantro (from the farmer's market), 1 lemon, sea salt, black pepper, Mrs Dash no salt seasoning.

First I cut up the sweet and gold potatoes and put them in my Crock.  I read somewhere that the potatoes should go in first but I can't remember for the life of me why that is.  I did it anyway :)

Then I placed three chicken breasts on top of those (I was gonna use 4 but they seemed big to me - do what you like) And then seasoned them with some Mrs D, salt and pepper and sqeezed the juice of half the lemon on top.

I chopped up my onion, celery, mushrooms, squash and tossed them on top.  Then I added 6 (yep!) cloves of garlic slightly smushed.   I added a bit more seasoning, salt and pepper.  - sorry forgot to take a picture of this step :D

I chopped up the rosemary leaves, tore up some basil and then rough chopped a bunch of dill and cilantro on top of that.  I added the juice from the second half of the lemon over the whole thing.

I put this on high for the first hour, and then I will cook it on low for the next 6hrs or so. 

If you try something like this I'd love to hear how it turned out for you!

Its back! Wait Until Dark 2.0

My friend and Director Dave asked me if I'd like to do this show with him again (different theater company this time) and with a whole new cast - except me of course!

Whaddya think I said?

Wait Until Dark 

opens Oct 12th and runs thru Oct 31st at the Lovestreet theater in Woodland, WA.  Check out the website for tickets and details!

www.lovestreetplayhouse.com

Somehting yummy in the crockpot

Its finally feeling like fall around here and that means CROCKPOT time again!  After a summer of salads and Bbqs I'm craving something warm and comforting - but as always healthful.  Here's whats simmering in my crock right now:

Thai inspired Veggie Curry:

1 large sweet onion chopped
4 small yukon gold potatoes chopped
1/2 cup baby carrots halfed
1 16oz bag frozen cauliflower
1 can drianed chickpeas
1 can lite coconut milk
3-5 small fresh basil leaves torn
I teas each - yellow and red curry powder, cumin and corriander
1/2 teas each - paprika, tumeric, garam masala, sea salt.
a healthy 'dash' of red pepper flakes

I will serve this with a brown basmati rice or whole wheat couscous and a sprinkle of dried coconut.

SMELLS AMAZING :)
 

Chocolate Chunck Healthy Crunch Everything cookies :)

Okay so this is a recipe that I have kicked around for ages: Dorinda's Everything cookies.  These have been through a few quite a few modifications over the years as our family tastes have changed.  This morning I decided to try and tweak these again to include some 'healthier' whole food options.

These are a bit of a pricey cookie if you use the organic ingredients I did so save them for a special occasion or feel free to substitute for anything on the original recipe list.  Keep in mind that baking your own cookies is ALMOST ALWAYS cheaper and healthier than store bought cookies witch are loaded with gross things like corn syrup, rendered pig's fat, and preservatives. YUK!!

Chocolate Chunk Healthy Crunch Everything Cookies:
2 1/4cups whole wheat flour (original recipe called for unbleached flour)
2 cups old fashioned rolled oats (original recipe called for quick oats)
2 cups brown sugar
1 teas baking soda
1/2 teas salt
1/2 cup unsalted almond butter (original recipe called for 1/2 cup peanut butter)

1/2 cup butter softened (original recipe called for 1cup butter)
1 med banana mashed (not in original recipe)
2 teas vanilla
2 organic cage free eggs (original recipe called for just plain ol' eggs)
1 cup chopped raw walnuts (original recipe called for 1/2 cup toasted sunflower seeds)
2 bars (3.5oz) each organic dark chocolate chopped into chunks (original recipe called for 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips)
1 cup shredded coconut

These are RICH, decadent, soft cookies with a great nutty, crunchy texture.  Hope you try them :)

8 grain banana blueberry muffins

It seems like all I do is post recipes that are adaptations of other recipes - and the truth is - I do!!  I love getting inspiration from interesting sounding recipes. I don't know if you are like me - but I love to experiment in the kitchen! I have my own tastes and ideas about what goes well together and basically I HATE having to measure everything so precisely!  Cooking should be fun and an expression of who you are!

That said, baking is one of those areas where you have to at least understand the properties of what goes into a muffin - what goes into a cake - what goes into a cookie before you start messing around with things.  A poorly executed cake can quickly turn into a sweet lump of goo- or a nice smelling brick :)

So when I fool around with baking recipes I am cautiously optimistic as I put things into the oven.  This morning I played around (a bit) with a recipe on the back of my Bob's Red Mill 8 Grain Hot Cereal package.  And it was a hit!

Here is the original recipe for Ruthie's 8 Grain Muffins:
http://www.bobsredmill.com/recipes.php?recipe=913

And here is my Adaptation:

1 1/4 cup light vanilla soy milk
1 cup Bob's Red Mill 8 Grain Cereal

1 egg
1/4 cup olive oil (could use butter but I didn't have any)
1 med banana
1/2 cup brown sugar

1 tsp salt
2 teas baking powder (1 teas baking soda would also work but I was all out)
1 1/4 cup whole wheat flour

1 cup blueberries (I used frozen)
2 Tbs flour (I used whole wheat) to coat the berries

In a bowl combine milk and cereal - let sit on counter at least 10 mins (to soften the grains).  Preheat oven to 400.   Toss berries in flour in a small bowl to coat. Cream together egg, oil, banana and sugar on med.    Add salt, powder, flour and milk and cereal mix stir until just combined.  Gently fold in berries.  Cook in well-sprayed muffin tin - about 15mins.  Makes 12 good sized muffins.