Summer is over in the Tdot.

Summer is not my favorite season for personal comfort, I'm the first to admit it. I hate the high heat and humidity we've been getting for the last few summers. I hate sunscreen but I have to wear it, or lots of clothing that make the previous issue a bigger problem. I hate sweating constantly from the heat, and I feel like I can't go out and about nearly as much outside since it's fucking hot all the time. I love some things about summer, cottaging, camping, swimming, and BBQing.

 A slightly bad cellphone picture of the BBQs in the pool area of our apartment.

And an even worse, fuzzier cellphone picture of some dead fish and a side of potatoes and red onion, mushrooms skewers.

BBQing was never strictly a summer activity in my family, we do it all year long. Our New Year's tradition is doing homemade burgers on the BBQ and getting Swiss Chalet fries. However, since I've moved into an apartment, I only have access to the BBQs in our pool area for a limited time during the year, roughly 5 months spread over summer.

 The results from the previous picture.

 That time, when we fished for our own fish in a Toronto swimming pool, caught a few of them and made them for dinner.

This is the last thing I'll probably BBQ this season, a fantastic recipe for Paneer and Red Pepper Skewers. It was a nice send off to the BBQing year. The recipe needs some tweaking, admittedly, chiefly I should have cut the paneer bigger and I think the addition of tomatoes may help retain some moisture. And this did not keep well in the fridge, that's for sure. The paneer was rock solid the next day. I salvaged it by reheating it in a small saucepan with some olive oil.

I love fall. The cooler air, less death-causing sun, and the ability to wear pants and not sweat to death make me a happy dude. But as the air cools and the sun goes down earlier, I will have a moment of reflection for the end of BBQ season.

More eggs. And paneer.

I had some leftover paneer, half an onion and some potatoes lying around. Time for a fry up!

Boil the potatoes in small chunks until soft, drain.
Slice onions into thin slices, throw into frying pan on medium heat with some veggie oil. Stir.
Add potatoes. Stir.
Add 1/2 teaspoons of coriander seed, cumin and turmeric. Stir.
When onions are almost cooked, throw in cubed paneer and stir until either warmed through or slightly brown and crisp on the outside.
Remove potato mixture, crack on egg into the pan and attempt to do an over-easy egg. This doesn't always work well for me, so I'll take what I can get.

So glad that last essay is over. So glad, in fact, that I'm using some of the notes to protect my keyboard from splatter while eating at the computer. I'm not a *huge slob, but stuff falls off of forks occasionally. It's interesting that everything that was white when the cooking started, ended up being yellow, predominately due to the turmeric. Eggs just do that on their own.
It's also interesting to note that most of my posts are well after the midnight mark. Might have to do something about that along the way.

Tomato update, and a late Diwali post!

Shubh Diwali everyone!


Yes, it's a little late, but I did make this recipe on November 5th, I just haven't posted it until now. To celebrate Diwali and to remind myself of my time in Mumbai, I made Saag Paneer. I was also able to use my first major harvest of my tomatoes!

Sadly, I don't remember where I got my specific recipe from, but Google is a wonderful thing in finding some.


Saag Paneer


2 bunches of spinach, cleaned and trimmed
2 tbsp veggie oil (don't use olive oil, it will affect the flavour a bit)
3/4 tsp cumin seeds (similar measurement of cumin powder works well)
1 onion, finely chopped
1 tbsp butter
3 cloves of minced garlic
2 tsp finely grated ginger
1/4 cup finely chopped fresh coriander (something I don't like, and leave out)
2 tsp of ground Indian hot pepper, or 1/2 tsp of cayenne pepper
3/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground coriander (put this in!)
1/2 tsp of tumeric
pinch of cinnamon
3 plum tomatoes, peeled and finely chopped (they're fine with the peel on)
1/3 cup plain Balkan yogurt
2 tsp of lemon juice
3/8 tsp garam masala (bit more)
8 oz of Paneer!

 

SPINACH!!

In large pot of boiling salted water, blanch spinach just until wilted; drain, chill under cold water and drain again. In food processor, purée spinach with 1/4 cup (50 mL) water; set aside.

In large deep skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat; cook cumin seeds until slightly darkened, about 10 seconds. Add onion and butter; cook until onion is golden, about 8 minutes.

Reduce heat to medium; stir in garlic and ginger and cook for 1 minute. Stir in fresh coriander, hot pepper, salt, ground coriander, turmeric and cinnamon; cook, stirring, until very fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add tomatoes and cook, stirring, until tomatoes break down, about 3 minutes.

Stir in puréed spinach; cover and cook, stirring occasionally and adding 1 to 2 tbsp (15 to 25 mL) water if mixture is no longer saucy, until steaming hot, about 3 minutes.

Stir in yogurt, lemon juice and garam masala; bring to simmer. Reduce heat to low; add paneer. Cover and cook until heated through, about 2 minutes. 

Soooo good. Love Paneer. This dish is great fresh and equally good reheated the next day for lunch!