Palak Paneer

I first had Palak Paneer at Teaism in Washington DC. I didn't really read the menu too carefully, and spent most of the meal trying to figure out what the delicious white bits were - not egg; meat, maybe? not really... cheese? not quite like any cheese I'd had... I finally looked at the menu again on the way out and discovered, yes, cheese. But no, not quite like any cheese I'd had before!

Paneer is a white cheese, and is about as easy as it's possible for cheese to be. In a nutshell, heat up milk to almost boiling, pour in a bit of white vinegar, watch it curdle, and dump into cheese cloth to drain. The end. For those who want a bit more detail in your directions, look here.

For this Palak Paneer recipe, I used a gallon of milk, drained the cheese in a flour sack towel-lined colander, then cut my paneer in half - one half to use in the recipe, and one to freeze for later. (Also - save the whey! Cook rice or pasta in it for a bit of extra flavor.)

 Flour sack towel in a colander over a bowl... post cheese removal

Half of my paneer block ready to freeze

Paneer means "cheese" in Hindi, and Palak means "spinach". There are hundreds of recipes available online, and I sort of meshed two of them, but this one is pretty close to what I made, which came out quite well! I didn't use chana masala, and only used one bunch of spinach - though should have probably used two. It could have had more, in any case! But the result was quite tasty :)

 Frying paneer - like feta, it doesn't melt

 The "masala" - mixture - of onion, tomato, garlic, ginger and spices. Smells heavenly!

 Blended palak

Everything but the cheese

Mmm, delicious!

Merry Christmas!

I can say that now, since it's actually advent (unlike when retail stores started putting up decorations back in October. Or was it September?). Our town's annual tradition starts December with the Candlelight walk and Christmas carols, leading up to lighting the lights along the creek and main street through town.

 

Our bellydance troupe joins the fun, since we dance every First Friday anyway! I made the elf hat (freehanded for lack of a suitable free pattern) for the occasion :)
 

Pretty Pearls

I performed last night for the first time - well, my first more-or-less choreographed time, at least - with my wonderful bellydance ladies. We danced to History Repeating and our costumes included fedoras and pearls. Pearls, I have (had) only a few of. Shopping!

My fedora, complete with feathers (kindly donated by a bird who got his wings clipped at work) and a few little pearls...

Jewelry... little studs from my wedding, big studs were $1 at a local antique store and needed one "diamond" replaced. The dangle was a hoop earring with a cheap pearl bead threaded on and the earring re-bent; attached to the back side of the stud. I made a ring out of another earring and bead. Necklace, $2 at the same store.

Hooray for thrifty, fun costume jewelry :) And also for an amazing evening dancing with lovely friends!

Sockarms

There are always so many cute, fun knee-high socks around. Any discount or big-box store has them, in every color, for ever season. But armwarmers? So much potential, so little to be found. Sure, there are your standard knit ones, but long, cozy ones are rare, choices slim, and they're always $10-15 or more. Enter the sock arm.

The formula is simple: 1 pair knee-length socks - toes + heel-hole = sockarms!

See? Sockarms. At $5 tops, a bargain. And ridiculously easy.

Cilantro Goes to Seed

When it comes to spices, cilantro just might be my favorite. The leaves turn just about anything into a feast. You can even freeze them for (almost) never-ending goodness.

And when the plant bolts and goes to seed in the baking heat of a Colorado summer, coriander.

Well, it's not very much. And it was definitely a pain! Supposedly, let it hang with a bag around it long enough and the seeds fall off, saving you the work. Supposedly. Apparently 1.5 months isn't long enough! I think it would have been worth it, buying seed at the store. But hey, free is free!

Green Tomato Salsa

What to do with green tomatoes...

A colorful beginning...

...stewing...

...green tomato relish.

The verdict: Pretty tasty! I used the recommended half cup of vinegar in this. What to use it for? Farmgirl Susan had some great suggestions - first try is turkey burritos. Mmmmmm...

Update 11/10: Turkey burritos were DELICIOUS!

Chocolate Chia Date Bars

A while ago, I discovered Chia seeds at my favorite Colorado grocery store (never to replace my all-time favorite grocery store!). Having heard of them while poking through a magazine in my chiropracter's waiting room, I picked some up. The chia gel thing didn't quite do it for me. Too small and crunchy when added to the granola. Chia milk, disgusting (sorry).

However, I found a winner in this recipe from Vegetarian times. I don't know what raw chocolate is (I just used Hershey's dark chocolate baking powder. I'm sure that's blasphemous.) or where to find it. And I'd likely be too cheap to pay for it in any case. But these are tasty! I made as directed, plus a bit of water and maybe a tablespoon of corn syrup- my dates were pretty dry.

Mix everything together in food processor, smush into a big pancake between 2 pieces of wax paper...

Refrigerate for a few hours, cut and enjoy!

Wrap the rest in pieces of wax paper and stick in the fridge for a tasty to-go snack.