Spring Dosas

It is finally Spring in Cleveland. Yesterday evening the weather was so lovely I snubbed my stove so that I could go for a walk with Belle. We walked hand-in-hand for a good long while. She babbled as I told her about the robins, the daffodils, the moss, the grass. When I came in, my little hungry bunny needed to eat. We still had dosa batter. I made some quick dosas and filled them with the chicken from Sunday night, lettuce, spinach, carrots, cucumber and radishes. I topped the whole lot with rice wine vinegar, sesame oil, and more kumquat glaze. Belle picked out all the spinach, cucumber and chicken from hers, but what can you do?

Kumquat Glazed Chicken

So, one Saturday, we got nuts and made too much marmalade. Too much, you say. Well, more than I think we could consume as a preserves. So, what to do? Kumquat-glazed chicken, of course. A Sunday Roast Chicken was a given for a while, but now with the goal of 80/20 vegetarian food, it is much more rare. But, apparently the free-range chicken looked very good at the market on Saturday, so it was sitting there in the fridge waiting to be cooked.

I had considered cutting it into pieces, but frankly I didn’t want to expend the energy cooking when the alternative was dancing with Belle. After massaging the bird with olive oil and kosher salt and filling the cavity with oldish oranges, I roasted it at 300 degrees for a while. My husband and I made carrot, rutabaga and acorn squash fingers that we roasted at 400. (Spring vegetables are just beginning to arrive in diet).

And, then, we all danced and danced to a variety of songs from the Peel Sessions—we have had the Buzzcocks in our heads all weekend.

When the chicken was finished, I quartered it and then basted it with the kumquat glaze. I placed it on an extremely hot grill pan and then reglazed it. The result was very nice—not too cloying. I have some chicken left today and I think tonight I will use it to top a salad. If I was so inclined, this glazed chicken would be a great filling for homemade egg rolls (served with more dipping sauce and some hot mustard.) The glaze also tasted wonderful on the roasted vegetables. I might glaze some tofu with it tomorrow. There is a kumquat round-up at Coffee & Vanilla for the Fruit of the Month event, and I thought to enter the marmalade, but I felt my recipe was too close to Charcuterista’s kumquat marmalade. So, instead, I decided to send them this glaze instead.

Recipe:
Kumquat-Lime Glaze
Combine and simmer until thick and syrupy:
1.5 cups kumquat-lime marmalade
1/3 cup soy sauce
1 cup chicken drippings from a roast chicken or 1 cup chicken stock
¼ cup catsup
3 T ginger
1 T garlic

Good News--it happens

I have had a quick flurry of good news blogwise. First, I received an Excellent Rating from Maggie at Dog Hill Kitchen. While it was flattering, it was also nice to link up with a new blog to read (new to me.) She has a fantastic recipe for vegan caramels and vegan snickerdoodle cupcakes.

So, it is my belief that I am to pass this rating on; I looked through the blogs that I read and chose 5 that I love that don't post an E. I actually looked three or four times, because I was stunned that these are not already rated E. In addition, as a lurker, for some of you, you might have had no idea I was out there, but what a way to make an introduction, no? And the E goes to...

Modern beet --Jen has a wonderful blog--pictures, design, concepts. She also has a farmers market carnival that should be on your monthly read list.

Mango power girl--MPG has quite an eye for photography and a service-oriented (green) mindset.

Dalitoy--This site has wonderful recipes and proves that there is not just one kind of Indian food.

Heights Eats--My fellow Clevelanders, Ben and Sarah eat and make wonderful food and like me choose vegan sometimes because it is yummy.

Also, in this warm fuzzy blog period, I actually won something. As they say, it is just an honor to compete, but, it is also an honor to win. This time it was A Slice of Cherry Pie's Easter Cake Bake and I won with the Vegan Bunny Cake. Thanks to everyone who voted for me.