Abruzzi At Home

Family is important to me, my husband’s cousin told me this afternoon. Sure it is. My husband has 4 times as much family as I do; what a blessing. Those that live in town come to the house a few times a year to cook. I won’t cite hard numbers as that would make me face the fact that we don’t see them as much as we should. Prior to marriage, apparently these meals, always Italian food, were complex. Now, they are almost always homemade pizza—kid-friendly and fast.

On pizza day, there are always caramelized onions on at least one pie. It is my husband’s favorite. And, while I tease him on the ubiquity of this topping, I have come to expect them. We paired them with a Spanish goat cheese. After Bar Cento the other day, I really wanted local goat cheese, ideally Lake Erie Creamery. But, apparently Whole Foods has a hard time sourcing that due to something or another. The second pizza was again my husbands attempt at recreating our Bar Cento night. He hadn’t tasted the egg and meat pizza that I ate that night, so he made his own. We used turkey Canadian bacon and asparagus. The look of the pizza was lovely when it appeared from the oven, but I don’t know if I loved the egg. This kind of pizza showcases the egg and I am not always an egg-lover. But, the Canadian bacon was enjoyable.

Belle, of course, likes to eat along with us, so we made her a soy cheese and asparagus pizza. I didn’t let her pizza brown like ours, only because there is one more little tooth coming in. The pizza was an enormous hit. Belle is after all a little Italian.

Baby Masala Dosa

There must be at least 4 Asian import stores on Mayfield Road (mind you it is a long road.) But, I have always wondered if there is a market for them, but they do persist, and I try to help them along. I love to wander through a grocery store, even if I can't read the writing on any of the wares. Until Belle, and her potential allergies, I would be happy to try anything at least once. Now, I am more careful and ask more questions, but the purveyors are usually very capable of helping with any questions. Many of these establishments sell Asian convenience items--homemade toppings so that the busy Korean housewife can make a quick bibimbop, etc. The Indian stores have frozen chappatis and even dosa batter.

Dosas are a South India fermented rice crepe. They have an airy texture that is not nearly as spongy as injera. The flavor of the dosa is fairly plain. It is the fair counterpoint to spicy fillings. While it can be eaten plain or with chutneys, when stuffed it is usually, perhaps always, filled with spicy potato filling (masala).

Belle's constitution was starting to mend but I wasn't about to push it. So, I made a very mild filling for the dosas.

Recipe:
Potato Masala (for a baby)
Roast or microwave and then dice

3 red potatos

In a separate skillet, sauté in very little oil
½ small red onion, diced
¼ t cumin seeds
¼ t finely diced green chili

Once the spices are aromatic, add potato and continue to sautee. After the filling is completed, cook the dosas to order and fill. Eat when very hot!

The Rice Mutiny (or the First Battle of Independence)

Belle has been sick (or is it allergies?) So, we have been on a bland food diet for the last few days. I love rice--jasmine, sticky, black, basmati. I love it all. It has been striking to me how much my child is not me or my husband but a third wholly different being. Her tastes take from mine and from my husbands (and from food availability in our home). But, in the end, her tastes are her own. She alone loves bread. This weekend she had a colossal tantrum when told she could have no more than 1 slice of bread for breakfast. And, she has never really enjoyed rice. So, after feeding her potato bread, potatoes, and bread for a day, I brought out the rice. First, just plain white jasmine rice.

Enjoying white rice by its lonesome to me is the equivalent of savoring perfectly blanched asparagus or roast chicken—it is about appreciating the flavor of a basic element of food. The love of white rice is not endemic to America, with all its chicken a la king and Uncle Ben’s Instant Rice culture. So, most people think of rice as an accompaniment to be doused with soy sauce or buttered up. Belle doesn’t know about those things, and so, it is apparently easy for her to eat rice in its plain glory—or so we learned this weekend. It started with one bowl of white rice for lunch. When I turned to get the phone, and turned back—1/3 of the bowl was in her mouth, much of the rest was in each fist, and the remainder on the floor. Apparently rice is good.

For dinner, I upped the ante. I made quick Kichidi, the Indian rice and daal concoction, made famous/ co-opted by the British Raj. It is an iteration of beans and rice with daal, often moong daal, that is frequently eaten for breakfast. The British fortified their version, Kedgeree, with hard-boiled eggs and fish, usually smoked haddock. My version uses brown rice and masoor daal (which cooks quicker than other daals.) Usually, I would add more spices, but as her belly was tender, I made a less spicy version.

Recipe:
Kichidi (for a baby)
Boil until tender
1 cup cooked masoor daal
2 cups water

In a separate skillet, sauté in very little oil
1 bay leaf
2-3 black pepper corns
1 pod cardamom
½ t cumin seeds

Once the spices are aromatic, add and continue to sautee
2 cups cooked brown rice

Add the cooked lentils to the spicy browned brown rice. Serve with soy yoghurt.