Indonesian Curried Bean Stew

Look, I warned you about the ugly pictures. This meal looks so...brown, but I promise that's just from the peanut butter and curry powder. It was actually really good. I was afraid it would be slightly lacking in flavor, but it was truly delicious. The peanut butter makes it so creamy while the curry powder and cumin make it smoky and complicated.

The other nice thing about this recipe is it makes for great leftovers. I think I could've eaten it for another few days and still not gotten sick of it. As for whether it's truly "Indonesian" or not, I have no idea, but it sure makes for a good title, right?

Just a slight warning however. Remember the song we used to sing in grade school? "Beans, beans, they're good for your heart. The more you eat, the more you fart." I'm just saying, you might only want to eat this around the ones you love.

Indonesian Curried Bean Stew
source: Cheap Healthy Good

Ingredients
1-1/2 cups brown rice, uncooked
1 Tbs. olive oil
1 large onion (for about 1 cup chopped)
1 large bell pepper (for about 1 ½ c. chopped)
2 tsp. minced garlic
1 15-oz. can light red kidney beans
1 14.5 oz. can stewed tomatoes
1 15-oz. can black beans, drained
1 15-oz.can chickpeas, drained
3 Tbs. peanut butter
1 tbsp curry powder
1 Tbs. ground cumin
1 tsp. minced fresh ginger root (or 1 tsp. bottled fresh) (I got lazy and used powdered.)
¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro leaves (optional)
Salt and pepper to taste

1) Begin cooking the rice according to the package directions.
2) While the rice cooks, heat oil over medium heat in an extra-deep, 12-inch nonstick skillet. Add onion, and sauté for 3 or 4 minutes, stirring from time to time. Add pepper, and sauté for another 3 or 4 minutes. Add garlic, and cook 1 minute, stirring frequently.
3) Add the tomatoes and kidney beans with their juices to the skillet, breaking up any large tomato pieces with a spoon. Stir well.
4) Add drained chickpeas, drained black beans, peanut butter, curry powder, cumin, and ginger to the skillet. Stir thoroughly (but gently so as not to break up the beans), making sure the peanut butter is well blended. Reduce the heat to low and simmer, uncovered, at least 10 more minutes or until rice is done. Just before serving, remove the skillet from the heat and stir in the cilantro. Salt and pepper to taste. Serve stew over rice.

Approximate Calories, Fat, Fiber, and Price Per Serving
4 SERVINGS: 637 calories, 13.7 g fat, 18.7 g fiber
6 SERVINGS: 425 calories, 9.1 g fat, 12.4 g fiber

Red Kidney Bean Curry (Rajmah)

I'm going to have to apologize for the unappetizing pictures during Lent. I imagine I'm going to be eating a lot of beans and curries and stews, which don't exactly photograph well.

Like Deb says on Smitten Kitchen, this curry is the Indian cousin of an American chili. I only had light red kidney beans, but I'm sure the dark red would've stood out more and made it more colorful, so if you're really into aesthetics, go for the dark red kidney beans. This was nice and spicy because I doubled the cayenne pepper and used a serrano pepper. Some plain yogurt on top cooled it down slightly. If you don't like the flavor of fresh ginger, go ahead and reduce the ginger a bit; it definitely had a strong taste of ginger.

I wasn't the biggest fan of this. It was all right, but something was a little off about the flavors. Maybe I just wasn't in the mood for it that night. It certainly made my kitchen smell like an Indian restaurant though!


Red Kidney Bean Curry [Rajmah]
adapted from: Smitten Kitchen
Serves 6

Ingredients
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup chopped fresh ginger
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 plum tomato, diced
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 large green chili, chopped (optional)
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds
1/2 teaspoon ground tumeric
1/4 teaspoon cayenne
8 ounce can of tomato sauce or 8 ounces of one of your choice
3 cups boiled red kidney beans or 30 ounces canned red kidney beans, undrained
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro


Preparation
Heat oil in a deep sauce pan over medium heat for one minute.
Add ginger, garlic, onion, green chili, and let sizzle for one minute.
Add the tomato sauce, salt and remaining spices and cook for an additional five minutes, stirring frequently.
Add the kidney beans with water or canned red kidney beans (undrained) plus one additional cup of water, and tomatoes.
Bring it to a boil, then reduce to medium heat and let cook uncovered for 10 minutes. Remove from heat. Garnish with cilantro.
Serve over rice or with naan.

Atlanta, GA

In order to break up the drive between Savannah and Nashville, Joe and I decided to plan a few days in Atlanta. I had never been, and Joe wanted to show me the city. Although we love Nashville and plan to stay for several years, it probably isn't the best place for me career-wise in the long-term (though who knows?!), so we're always interested in visiting other cities and trying to discern if we could see ourselves living there.

We left Savannah around 11 and got to our hotel (Microtel-Buckhead) at about 3:30. The hotel seemed to be quite a step down from our accommodations in Savannah, but it was cheap, clean, and close to the things we wanted to do. We quickly planned a few things to do that evening and left the hotel.

Atlanta has better shopping than Nashville, and the two places I definitely wanted to hit were Crate and Barrel and Ikea. The Crate and Barrel in Atlanta (3393 Peachtree Rd. NE) has an awesome showroom with a lot of their furniture and settings. It was inspiring just to look at all of the gorgeous things. We did a little clothes shopping at Anthropologie for me and Macy's for Joe. The sales tax is also slightly lower in Atlanta, so we didn't feel too guilty.

For dinner, we headed to Emory Village for some dinner. I had chosen Doc Chey's Noodle House (1556 N Decatur Rd.), an Asian-themed menu that looked like it would hit the spot. This location was bustling with students, parents with children, and young professional couples looking to grab a quick bite. We were seated at long communal tables, though the hostess thoughtfully had left at least a seat between different parties so we weren't all jammed together. We split the fresh Vietnamese basil rolls and a pot of white peach tea. The basil flavor was a little faint, but the shrimp were firm and juicy. For dinner, I ordered the Spicy Thai Basil noodles with fried tofu, and Joe picked Chinese Black Bean noodles. They came out blazing hot, and we had to wait a few minutes to be able to eat it. The noodles were so delicious that we kept eating even after we were full and our noses were running from the spiciness. I noticed on the door that the restaurant was Zagat rated and wasn't surprised. Everything was fresh, colorful, and the flavors were balanced beautifully. When the bill came, it was accompanied by both fresh orange slices and fortune cookies.

We quickly headed over to Ikea to do some shopping before they closed, but we only had an hour and got stuck trying to pick out a duvet cover. We bought a few things but decided to go back Saturday morning before we left. After returning to the hotel, we made our plans for the next day and got a good night's sleep before our big tourist day in Atlanta.

Our first stop Friday morning was Dunkin' Donuts because the hotel's continental breakfast had been taken over by the Mizzou debate team. With our goals and GPS in hand, we ventured out to our first top: The World of Coca-Cola Museum.

At $15 for an adult ticket, this isn't necessarily a cheap attraction, but it sure was fun and entertaining. We got to meet the Coca-Cola Polar Bear, see the bottling process, and tour rooms of Coke memorabilia. The museum itself is very interactive and would be good for older kids. I was hoping for a little more of the history of Coke, and Joe mentioned that the old museum had a bit more of that. I felt that there was a little too much Coke propaganda (High-fructose corn syrup isn't bad for you!), but I enjoyed it nonetheless. One of my favorite parts was watching Coca-Cola product commercials from all over the world and noting some of the cultural differences. The final stop is the tasting room where you can taste Coca-Cola products from all over the world. Our favorite station was the Latin America station which included a apple-tasting soda. One of the sodas from Italy was incredibly bitter, and I found all the ones from Africa way too sweet. Again, it was neat to see things like black currant used in a common soda.

Centennial Olympic Park Plaza

We were full from all of the carbonation and sweet beverages, so we went on a little walk across the way to the Centennial Olympic Plaza. Having watched the 1996 games with some ferocity, it was thrilling to see it. The park offers a great open space, and because it was a nice day, there were many kids outside and people playing frisbee with dogs. Then we took a stroll up to CNN Center and visited the building that houses CNN. We're saving the tour for another time, but it was amazing to see all of the headlines scrolling around the perimeter of the lobby/food court.

By this time, we had burned off some of the carbonation and decided it was time for lunch at The Varsity (61 North Ave.). The Varsity is an Atlanta institution and is located right across the highway from the Georgia Tech stadium. It's also the world's largest drive-in and was originally established in 1928. It's a pretty standard fast-food menu, and I had to forego my Lenten pescatarianism for a hamburger and onion rings with a chocolate shake. The portions are relatively small, so I didn't feel overwhelmed by the amount of food, which is nice. Joe got two slaw dogs (hot dogs with coleslaw on top), onion rings, and a Frosted Orange, a kind of creamy slushee that tastes like a Dreamsicle.

After relaxing for a bit, it was off to the Martin Luther King Jr. National Historic Site, a park run by the National Park Service that contains MLK's birth home, Ebenezer Baptist Church where he pastored, and his grave, as well as a small museum. Not only is this a great and interesting place to visit, but it's free (donations accepted)! We watched a 30-minute video on the life of Dr. King and toured the museum, which included many photos of the Civil Rights movement. There was also a children's portion and a spot where you could write your response to the museum and to Dr. King's life. With a map in hand, we ventured outside a few blocks away to see Dr. King's birthplace.

Birthplace of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

To get to Dr. King's birthplace, we also passed Atlanta's oldest fire station, which as a museum that we didn't see. The street also features several row houses in the style of 1920s workers' housing. The house, as you can see from the picture, is quite nice. I would love to have a house like that for my rectory! We saw a park ranger leading a tour group in but didn't join them. We turned back towards the museum to visit Dr. King's grave, which is centered in the middle of a long reflecting pond with fountains at one end. There is also a chapel for all faiths located close by and an eternal flame in front of Dr. King's grave. It was very powerful to visit.

Likewise, standing in front of historic Ebenezer Baptist Church where Dr. King pastored was an incredible experience. Unfortunately for us, they're currently renovating the inside so that it looks like it did when Dr. King served there so we didn't get to see inside.

From there, you can walk the 1.5 mile trail to the Carter center and look at the monuments along the way, or you can get back in the car and drive there if you're a little short on time and physical energy. My friends who know me know that I am a history geek at heart and have a soft spot for Southern, American, and Caribbean history. Even though Jimmy Carter was not president during my lifetime, I was interested in seeing the museum, and I am very impressed by all the philanthropic work he has done since his presidency, particularly with Habitat for Humanity.

The reproduction of Carter's Oval Office

We only had an hour to tour the museum since they close at 4:45, so we didn't get to see anything. With our student IDs, admission was $6 per person. They are closing the museum in April in order to renovate and update it for Carter's birthday in October, and it sounds like they have a lot of neat things planned. I would like to go back and see it after the renovations. As it is, the museum pays homage to the multiple aspects of Carter's presidency: his election race, relationship with China, Iran hostage crisis, Camp David peace talks, and the energy crisis. There are fun videos of former-President Carter speaking retrospectively about his presidency, which was really neat. Even though Joe wasn't initially excited about this, he enjoyed himself. After the museum closed, we walked around the Japanese gardens behind the Carter center, which are quite lovely.

For dinner, I wanted to take advantage of the cheap ethnic food that I have missed since leaving Houston and selected an Ethiopian restaurant in the Druid Hills/Emory neighborhood using one of my favorite restaurant sites, UrbanSpoon: Desta (3086 Briarcliff Rd NE). All of the reviews were extremely favorable, and we were a little surprised to pass at least 5 other Ethiopian places that we saw in a few blocks! The dining room was cozy and lowly lit. We sampled a few Ethiopian beers, and ordered the Shiro Fit Fit for an appetizer (chickpeas mixed with sauce and injera). The injera arrived beautifully wrapped like napkins on a rectangular platter. I ordered the vegetarian combo because I never can select just one thing. Joe ordered the Fish Tibs (marinated and cubed tilapia which was sauteed with other vegetables). Joe was very stingy with the bite he gave me because he knew I would want more: it was absolutely delicious and so well-flavored. I loved mine as well and nearly licked the plate clean. Our check came with two orange slices.

Joe drove me through Buckhead, and we were looking for a place to grab a drink, when I spied Trader Joe's. One of our missions was to get wine at Trader Joe's since Tennessee grocery stores can't sell wine or liquor. Instead of going out for a drink, we ended up buying 21 bottles of wine at Trader Joe's, all but one for less than $5. Because the alcohol taxes in Tennessee are so high, we can rarely find a drinkable bottle for less than $7. After our tiring tourist day, we skipped the drink out and watched a movie in our hotel room instead.

The next morning we ate breakfast at Ikea (<$4 for the two of us!) and finished our shopping there and head back home. I really enjoyed Atlanta and could see myself living there some day. For now, I'm already planning our next visit. Joe and I both loved Robert Spano, the conductor/music director at the Atlanta Symphony, when we saw him conduct in Houston, and would like to see him conduct again. Atlanta has a lot of the amenities of a big city that I miss from Houston but seems to be prettier, have less pollution, and be better planned. I look forward to visiting Atlanta again, especially since it isn't very far away!

Savannah, Georgia

I know this is a food blog and not a travel blog, but usually a large part of my traveling is food-related. Plus I just like sharing things that are interesting. I'm also still shy about taking pictures of food in public, so I don't have any. Please forgive me!

Joe and I traveled to Savannah and spent four nights there. Somewhat unfortunately, we left the morning after it had snowed in Nashville, and we were looking forward to warm weather. It snowed all the way through Atlanta, which was a little unnerving for two people who are not used to driving in snow. But we arrived in the flat we rented through VRBO and were nicely surprised. The owners had left us a bottle of wine and some Boursin cheese and crackers. That night we recuperated from traveling and just relaxed at our flat and did a little grocery shopping.

The kitchen in our little apartment

The next morning, we had a tour scheduled with Bobby Davis of Explore Savannah. For us, this was the ideal tour experience: on-foot, just the two of us and Bobby. We could go at our own pace (probably much faster than many of the other tourists we saw) and see fun little things like private gardens that Bobby would point out to us. He even took pictures of the two of us and sent them to us that evening. Bobby was highly entertaining and offered many suggestions of what to do and where to eat. If you go to Savannah, definitely tour with Bobby!

Photo by Bobby, Joe and I in front of St. John the Baptist Cathedral

For lunch that day, Bobby recommended the Gryphon Tea Room (337 Bull St., Savannah, GA) and ensured Joe that they had "man food" as well as lighter fare. We split a pot of delicately flavored orange and cinnamon tea and a bowl of the corn and crab chowder. I ordered a portobello mushroom sandwich with roasted red peppers and herb aioli, which was phenomenal, and Joe had the chicken salad sandwich. Our bill was around $30.

Once fortified, we did some shopping at Shop SCAD (340 Bull St.), the store that sells works by students and alumni of Savannah College of Art and Design. I picked up some funky square melamine salad plates for $8 each, though much of their wares are considerably more expensive. I'm all for supporting local artists though, and there was some great stuff! We then went to E. Shaver, Bookseller (326 Bull St.), a great local bookseller that offered many books on Savannah as well as autographed copies of other books. I ended up getting a cookbook of desserts from Savannah restaurants that also included some lovely photos of Savannah. Then, we walked up to River St. and split some pralines and caramel clusters but found the area rather busy and touristy. We decided to try out a bar we had passed called McDonough's (21 E. McDonough St.) since they had some happy hour deals. For some reason, after one beer, the bartenders ignored us, so we just left. That night we drank wine and I pan-seared some swordfish steaks and steamed some broccoli for dinner.

Tuesday morning we ventured out for breakfast to Express Cafe & Bakery (39 Barnard St.), an adorable little European-style cafe with French posters on the walls. Joe and I split an almond croissant and a chocolate croissant, and I had egg and cheese on a bagel. The croissants were delicious! We shopped up and down Broughton St., home to many furniture and home design stores, as well as clothing boutiques. On the advice of Bobby, we headed out in the car to Bonaventure Cemetary, the burial place of many famous Savannahians including Johnny Mercer. It's also a beautiful place to visit with all of the live oaks and Spanish moss hanging down. If it hadn't been such a sunny day, it would've been a little creepy.

Bonaventure Cemetary

Bobby had steered us away from Paula Deen's restaurant since she is rarely there anymore, and it's full of tourists, towards another home-cooking restaurant called Geneva's Home Plate (2812 Bee Rd.), not too far from Bonaventure. Our lunch started off with a loaf of fresh cornbread, and the paper lining of the basket was soon damp from the buttery bread. I ordered the crabcakes with a side of red beans and rice and macaroni and cheese. The crabcakes were simply amazing: very moist and flavorful. The macaroni and cheese was nicely baked and also had a great creamy flavor. The red beans and rice were a little bland though. Joe ordered the seafood gumbo, which arrived with half a stone crab sticking out of it. It was also absolutely fabulous. We split the bread pudding for dessert. The service was a little spotty and slow, but Geneva herself came out and asked how our meal was. I would definitely recommend this restaurant for home-cooking if you want to avoid tourist traps.

After a few hours of rest, we decided to ride the bikes our condo had provided for us to happy hour at LuLu's Chocolate Bar (42 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd). With $7 fancy martinis and free cookie bites, this seemed like the perfect way to kick off our evening. Joe ordered the pomegranate white chocolate martini which was bright pink and came with a flower. He always tries to out-girl me with cocktails! I got the raspberry truffle martini which came in a chocolate syrup-lined martini glass. We would've loved to try more of the different cocktails, but they were maybe best saved for after dinner.

We biked up to River St. to see what was going on and maybe get some oysters for me. Huey's (115 E. River St.) had $.50 steamed oysters and buffalo wings until 6:45, as well as some drink deals. I ordered a dozen steamed oysters and enjoyed the fresh briny taste with white wine, while Joe ordered the buffalo wings. After that, we called it a night because we were exhausted and biked home with an incredibly full stomach.

Forsyth Park

Wednesday morning, after a breakfast at our flat, we drove off to Tybee Island, even though it was about 50 degrees. It was even colder and windier on the beach, so we didn't stay long. I had planned on a seafood lunch, though after the oysters the night before, it didn't seem as pressing. We opted for a bike ride and lunch back in Savannah at Firefly Cafe (321 Habersham St.). We split a bowl of the corn chowder "Firefly style" with crab meat, cheese, croutons, and scallions and the Caribbean shrimp baked with habanero pepper butter sauce. The Caribbean shrimp were the perfect degree of spiciness and came out hot from the oven. It was the perfect light meal. Then we rode our bikes through Forsyth Park and around historic Savannah a bit. We stopped into Low Country Gourmet (123 E. Liberty St.) and sampled some olive oils and vinegars. Joe selected a black cherry balsamic vinegar that will make a delicious salad dressing.

I was craving a cupcake and had heard good things about Back in the Day Bakery (2403 Bull St.), which required a quick car trip, but ended up being a delicious little break in our day. Joe and I split a black and white cupcake (chocolate cake with white frosting) and an Old Fashioned (butter cake with buttercream frosting). The cake was moist and very sweet, though we were hoping for a few more options.

Since it was our last night in town, we went out to The Distillery (416 W. Liberty St.) for drinks before dinner. We are definitely beer people, and The Distillery featured many American craft beers on draught. It is Prohibition-themed and had many ads from the 1920s as well as showing old beer ads and Charlie Chaplin movies on the TV screens. The building was initially a distillery, established in 1904, so it was really neat to see the alcohol theme resurrected. I had a Brown Ale brewed in California with 9.9% ABV, so it was an interesting bike ride home! I made pasta with shrimp and an improvised white wine butter sauce and steamed broccoli.

Thursday morning we packed up and headed off to Atlanta, which I will talk about more in my next blog post!

Tips:

- I would highly recommend doing a vacation rental by owner. We were able to stay in a much nicer place and location than if we had rented a hotel. Plus you can save money (and calories) by making your own food. We made all but one breakfast and two dinners at the condo. Plus, it was beautifully decorated and a great space to come back to and relax.

- I would also recommend staying in the historic district. It's definitely a little pricier, but we only got back in the car a few times once we arrived. Plus we never had to pay for parking.

Lemon Gnocchi with Spinach and Peas

It's been a pretty crazy week with Mardi Gras/Shrove Tuesday, Ash Wednesday services, oh, and midterm exams. So when this gnocchi didn't get made for dinner on Wednesday, I ended up making it for lunch on Thursday because I really didn't want the spinach to go bad. This was an incredibly delicious meal full of flavor. I could have eaten much more of it, but I stopped myself.

For Lent, I've chosen to go pescatarian. It's something I've been tending towards more and more, and being mindful of how animals raised for food are often treated, not to mention the meat industry's impact on the environment, I want to keep that in mind and tread lightly on God's creation. So my blog will have many more pescatarian/vegetarian-friendly meals coming soon! It will also be a good challenge for me culinarily as I try to keep both Joe and myself interested and not revert to pasta every night.

Anyway, whether or not you're pesca-/vegetarian, I think you'll love the flavors in this dish. The lemon gives it a light, bright taste, and the cream makes it silky on the tongue. The crushed red pepper gives it a little punch that contrasts nicely and adds some excitement to the dish. Plus, did I mention it's really easy to throw together?

Lemon Gnocchi with Spinach and Peas
adapted: Epicurious

Ingredients

• 1 cup frozen baby peas (not thawed)
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 1/2 teaspoon dried hot red-pepper flakes
• 2 garlic cloves, smashed
• 3 cups packed baby spinach (3 ounces)
• 1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
• lemon juice from half a medium lemon
  
• 1 pound gnocchi
  
• 1/4 cup grated parmesan

Preparation

Simmer peas with cream, red-pepper flakes, garlic, and 1/4 teaspoon salt in a 12-inch heavy skillet, covered, until tender, about 5 minutes.

Add spinach and cook over medium-low heat, uncovered, stirring, until wilted. Remove from heat and stir in lemon zest and juice.

Meanwhile, cook gnocchi in a pasta pot of boiling salted water (3 tablespoons salt for 6 quarts water) until al dente. Reserve 1/2 cup pasta-cooking water, then drain gnocchi.

Add gnocchi to sauce with cheese and some of reserved cooking water and stir to coat. Thin with additional cooking water if necessary.