Supper Tonight :: Aloo Gobhi and Blueberry Pie

I was so pleased with a few experiments I tried today, I thought I'd share ....

I have been wanting to try to make the blueberry pie from Annie's Eats for a while now.  Today I finally got around to doing it.  I've tried her crust before with a strawberry pie and it turned out really, really well.  So this time I thought I'd try a double crust and a baked filling.  I'll be honest and say I haven't tried it yet.  I took it out earlier than the recipe said, because it looked and smelled ready.  I'm really hoping the bottom is baked and the filling is good.  We'll find out in a few hours.  If the bottom crust and filling isn't cooked well, next time I will cover the top with some tin foil.

For supper I made one of our favourite curries.  It's a Jamie Oliver recipe.  And it's good.

Today I made some fresh naan to go with the curry and it was a huge hit.  Everyone loved it.  In fact the girls were bursting with ideas for this new bread.  Top on the list, is to dust it with cinnamon and sugar.  Homemade Whale's Tails.

I've been using the basic recipe on Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day for my homemade bread for about six months now.  We love it.  The bread looks like you bought it from a European bakery.  But you didn't.  You made it.  It's very, very easy and it makes you feel like a rock star .... or rather, baker.  How about a rockin' baker?

This time I used the same basic recipe, but I made some naan with it.  I used the method they describe on the Bread in Five website and it turned out great.  The only thing I changed was to cook the naan on low instead of medium.  Medium was too hot. 

There were a few casualties in today's experiments.  First I cut my finger when I was cutting the butter for the pie crust.  Then I sprayed myself with hot ghee when I dropped the dough into the cast iron pan.  Ouch.  Burns really hurt and finger cuts take so long to heal. 

Here's the curry recipe:

aloo gobhi (potato and cauliflower curry)

Ingredients
1 medium onion, finely chopped
2-3 fresh green chiles, finely sliced
small bunch of fresh cilantro, leaves separated and stalks chopped
thumb-sized piece of fresh root ginger, peeled and finely chopped
1 lb. potatoes, peeled and cut (I didn't peel mine)
1 small head of cauliflower, broken into florets with stem cubed
peanut or vegetable oil
1 Tbsp. butter
1 Tbsp. black mustard seeds (I just use Dijon Mustard seeds)
1 tsp. turmeric
1 level tsp. cumin
2 Tbsp. unsweetened shredded coconut
sea salt and ground black pepper
1 lemon

• Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
• In a large, oven-proof skillet on medium-high heat, add a few shakes of oil and the pat of butter.  Add the onion, chiles, ginger, cilantro stalks, mustard seeds, turmeric, and cumin and cook for 7-10 minutes until softened and golden.
• Stir in the cauliflower, potatoes, and coconut.  Add salt, pepper, and 1 2/3 cups of water.
• Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer covered until the veggies are cooked and soft.  Give it a stir every now and then, and add more water if you need to.
• Put the pan into the preheated oven for another 20 minutes.  Taste and add more salt and pepper if needed.
• Serve with jasmine rice, add chopped cilantro leaves on top, and squeeze a lemon wedge over the whole thing for added flavor.  You might think, oh we can do without the lemon.  Trust me, you can't.  It's essential.  It makes all the flavours pop.  Don’t forget the naan bread!  

Still feeling a little rusty with the blogging ....