Creating a meal for friends

One of the most satisfying things that I do, creatively, is cook for people.  Usually I'm cooking for Andrew, and although a few times a week I'm just throwing together left overs and vegetables, most times I put a lot of thought into each meal I prepare.  Yesterday, we had our friends Robbie and Jasmin over for dinner, and it felt so exhilarating to read through cookbooks, take note of what's in the pantry, take into consideration what's in season at the local market, and think about Robbie and Jasmin's individual food preferences.  When everything comes together, the table is set, and we all sit at the dinner table, it's akin to having painted a watercolor and hanging it up for people to see:  what I've made is on display, and I get to watch everyone enjoy it.

As much as I enjoy eating the meal, it's the process that I look forward to all day.  Thus, I have only photographs as documentation of the process, but left the final plating and mealtime to enjoy without the camera.  Things seem more natural that way.

While shopping for a few extra veggies, I came upon this lovely peony, asking to liven up my table for only $1.  They're in season now and everywhere, their blossoms in various stages of being tight and ready to burst, or overflowing with fragrant petals.  I set the table before I even began to cook, but I left the flower on the kitchen counter to I could admire it before placing it in the dining room when everything was finished.

The recipes I made were a mix of Indian and Japanese.  I was inspired by the book Kansha, which I received as an early birthday present from my student and her family a few days ago.  The book is filled with recipes that call for cabbage, chards, kale, and Brussels sprouts, simply spiced with a touch of ginger and a sprinkling of pepper.  I also had an eggplant that I wanted to use up, and I was craving some homemade tortilla chips, in lieu of naan. A lot of the recipes in Kansha called for rice or soybeans, of which I had neither.  I used mung beans instead. 

 Beautiful, soft, simply flavored mung beans.  They practically melted in our mouths.  Before I made anything else, I began my cooking process by pouring 2 cups of dried mung beans in 5 cups of salted water in a large saucepan.  They cooked up to the texture that I wanted in about 45 minutes.  I added in a touch of ginger and a good heaping tablespoon of ghee, and set them aside in a glass bowl while I preheated the oven in preparation for the next two parts of the meal.

 Homemade tortilla chips

and Madhur Jaffrey's Baba Ghanouj -- a creamed eggplant side dish.  I figured that tortilla chips would be quicker to make than gluten free naan, and they added a nice crunch to the meal.  To make tortilla chips, cut up soft corn tortillas into quarters, drizzle them with olive oil, salt, and any other seasoning you would like, and bake them in the oven at 350 degrees, until crunchy, about 12 minutes.

My idea for the Baba Ghanouj was to use it as a condiment -- a sauce of sorts to top off the meal.  The eggplant is the perfect cross over vegetable between the Indian and Japanese inspirations, as it has a strong place in both of these cuisines.

Madhur Jaffery's Baba Ganouj, adapted from World Vegetarian

• 1 large eggplant (about 1.5 pounds), roasted for 30 minutes in the oven at 400 degrees, dried, peeled, and coarsely chopped
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• a pinch of ginger

Place the eggplant in your blender.  Add the olive oil, lemon juice, salt, and ginger.  Blend on pulse a few times, until smooth.  I like my baba ganouj a bit thicker, and like not to blend it in a completely thorough way.  This served 4 of us as a topper to our meal, but I would have liked to have had more to share.  Either my eggplant didn't weigh the correct amount, or next time I will double this recipe.

Lastly, I prepared my vegetables.  I asked Jasmin to send me a message on gmail before they left their house, where Andrew met them after he got out of work.  As soon as I got her message, I cranked up the heat on the saucepan, and got to work.  Luckily, the mung beans were still warm when they arrived, and the vegetables had just finished cooking.  I wanted to serve everything in separate bowls, so that everyone could control the ratio of beans to vegetables they preferred.

Japanese Stir-fry, inspired by various recipes in Kansha

• 1 tablespoon ghee
• 2 tablespoons water
• 1 medium-sized yellow summer squash, sliced into quarters and then chopped into small pieces
• 1 medium head of napa cabbage, chopped into small thin strips
• 2 large leaves of kale of your choice, cut into small thin strips
• the stems from 5 leaves of rainbow chard, cut into small slices
• 1 teaspoon salt
• a pinch of freshly cracked pepper
• 1 teaspoon garam masala
• 1/2 teaspoon ginger

In a stir-fry pan, wok, or saucier, heat up the ghee and water on medium heat.  When the ghee has melted, add in the squash and cook for 8 minutes, or until soft.  Add in the more stalky parts of the cabbage, along with the kale and rainbow chard stems.  Stir with a wooden spatula for 3 minutes.  Add the rest of the napa cabbage, pepper, garam masala, and ginger, stirring everything so that the cabbage and spices are well integrated with the other vegetables, for about 6 minutes.  Turn off the heat and cover, let sit for 10 minutes before serving so that the cabbage continues to cook in a gentle way and the flavors settle in.

I suggested that we assemble the mung beans as a bed to the vegetables, topped with the baba ganouj and accented with the tortilla chips.  The meal was satisfying -- our cats visited everyone during the meal, we talked about what's happening in our lives.  It was such a nice night -- thanks Robbie and Jasmin for being a part of it!