The s.o. adapted this from a recipe of Neelam Batra's. It's weird at first blush, but it turns out to be excellent and maybe a little addictive. It also occurs to me that it would be a nice thing to have on hand for vegan friends.

MARINATED NUT SALAD
2 tsp. chaat masala (see below)
1/2 c. orange juice
1 tsp. crushed dried mint leaves
1/4 tsp. salt
2 c. unroasted cashews and/or blanched sliced almonds
1 c. tomato, seeded and finely chopped
3 to 4 green onions, chopped
1/2 c. chopped cilantro
2 Tbs. fresh lemon juice

In a medium bowl, mix the orange juice, chaat masala, mint, salt, and nuts. Cover and refrigerate at least 4 hours, or overnight if you have time.
Transfer this mixture into a large nonstick skillet and cook over medium-high heat, stirring, until most of the liquid evaporates. Let cool completely and transfer to a serving bowl. Mix in the tomatoes, green onions, cilantro, and lemon juice.


CHAAT MASALA
We keep this on hand all the time, since it adds a nice "zing" to food. It's really good on fire-roasted corn on the cob, for example. If this seems like too much trouble, commercial chaat masalas are available (although not where I live!).
1 tsp. ground cumin
1/4 c. mango powder
3 Tbs. crushed dried mint leaves
2 Tbs. ground ginger
2 Tbs. ground ajwain seeds
2 Tbs. salt
1 Tbs. citric acid
2 tsp. ground cayenne pepper
1 tsp. ground asafoetida

Roast all the spices together in a nonstick skillet over medium heat for two minutes. Let cool, then store in an airtight container.

This is gooooooood! Petite green peas are nice with it.

SALMON CASSEROLE
2 1/2 lbs. russet potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks
1 c. lowfat milk
2 oz. neufchatel cheese
2 oz. feta cheese
3 Tbs. grated romano cheese, separated
salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
2 large eggs
vegetable oil spray
a 15-oz. can salmon, drained
4 green onions, whites and greens, chopped

Boil the potato chunks until very soft. Drain.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
In the bowl of a mixer, combine the cooked potatoes, milk, neufchatel, feta, and 2 Tbs. of the romano. Beat slowly until almost smooth. Season with salt and pepper, add eggs, and beat a few seconds more. By hand, stir in the salmon and green onions.
Lightly mist a deep-dish 9-inch pie plate with the vegetable oil spray. Pour the potato-salmon mixture into the plate, then top with the remaining 1 Tbs. romano cheese.
Bake 45 minutes, until golden brown on top and fully set.

I made Psycho Chicken tonight. It makes a really delicious and juicy chicken, and it smells unbelievably good and garlicky while it's roasting. We had it with sweet potatoes (baked slowly in the oven for the same amount of time as the chicken) and a green salad.

Have a Heart
A Hearty Dinner
Heart to Handle

Somebody stop me.

What I'm trying to tell you is that I got brave and bought a two-pound chunk of beef heart at the Publix. Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall has acclimated me to the idea of organ meats lately, and besides, how could I turn down beef for a buck a pound?

I consulted Hugh's books after the purchase and found that he actually referred to beef hearts as one of the more daunting types of offal: huge, tough, and run through with icky ventricles and connective tissue that have to be trimmed. He didn't provide any recipes for it, either. But I gathered from what I read that any braising dish would take care of it well enough.

I laid it out on a cutting board, trimmed the weirdest-looking stuff off of it, and brined it for a couple of hours. Then I simmered it for three hours with vegetables, herbs, orange zest, and a pig's foot. Finally I sliced the heart thin, strained everything else out of the sauce, added half a bottle of red wine, and reduced it down.

I served this concoction over garlicky mashed potatoes, alongside buttery boiled cabbage.

I'm going to admit right away that it was weird. It's dark, almost as dark as liver. It's very fine-grained (more like Vietnamese mock duck than like any other actual meat I can think of) and tastes like beef but with an extra iron-y aftertaste. But it's really good. Extremely good. Delicious, in fact.

We would have it again in a heartbeat.

Adapted from a recipe I clipped somewhere, probably one of the usual suspects (Cooking Light?). We served it alongside sauteed salmon fillets.

GREEN BEAN, CHICKPEA, AND TOMATO SALAD
2 c. green beans, trimmed (frozen is fine)
2 medium tomatoes, chopped coarsely
half a large onion, sliced very thinly
2 oz. crumbled feta cheese
15-oz. can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
2 Tbs. fresh chopped (or 1 tsp. dry) mint
2 to 3 Tbs. red wine vinegar
2 tsp. good olive oil
pinch salt
1/4 tsp. freshly ground black pepper

Cook the beans in boiling water for 3 minutes, then plunge into ice water to chill. Drain.
Combine all the ingredients in a large bowl and toss. Chill until serving. If the salad will be served more than an hour in the future, omit the salt until serving time.

Goose-B-Gon

We finally finished the H. F.-W. Goosapalooza. Two nights ago, I pulled the goose legs out of the freezer and cooked them in a deep pool of goose fat for three hours. Then I served them shredded on top of thyme-flavored white beans. Aside from being a little too salty from being frozen in their rub for too long, they were awesome.

Yesterday I pulled the packet of leftover frozen goose breast out of the freezer, chopped it up, and used it in a pot of chili. It was delicious and gamey, like our friend Adam's venison chili.

It's all gone now. You can get a lot of meals out of a single goose! It won't be too long before we do it all again, I suspect...

RED CHICKEN CURRY WITH NOODLES
1 1/2 tsp. canola oil
1 medium onion, cut into thin wedges
3/4 c. coconut milk
1/4 c. fat-free low sodium chicken broth
1/2 tsp. red curry paste
several grinds of black pepper
1 1/2 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken breast
a big handful cilantro, chopped
2 tsp. fish sauce
1/4 tsp. salt
about 8 ears canned baby corn
7 oz. jar of roasted red bell peppers, drained and chopped
thin Asian wheat and egg noodles, cooked according to package directions
a green onion or two, chopped
lime wedges

Heat the oil in a large wok pan or skillet. Add the onion and cook over medium-high heat until golden.
Reduce heat to medium and stir in coconut milk, broth, curry paste, and black pepper.
Cut each chicken breast into three tenders, lengthwise. Add these to the curry and simmer, turning often, until cooked through.
Stir in cilantro, fish sauce, salt, baby corn, and red peppers, and cook 2 minutes.
Serve over noodles, garnished with green onion and lime wedges.

THAI FISH SAUCE AND LIME CHICKEN
No recipe this time, since I made it directly from the recipe on page 138 of the Jan/Feb 2005 issue of Cooking Light. It's a good issue, one well worth picking up. I don't usually give a rat's ass about "lightness," but the s.o. and I are trying (quite successfully, I'm proud to say) to drop a few pounds right now, and the recipes in that mag are a very pleasant way to do that.

But I will add this note: I was a little baffled by the recipe's request for "sweetened chili sauce." What on earth is that? Is there something I should be keeping an eye out for at the Asian grocery?

Having none of this mysterious substance, I whipped up a sweet-and-spicy sauce I'd once made for another recipe, as follows, and used it as an ingredient in this one.

DIPPING SAUCE
3 Tbs. ketchup
1 Tbs. sriracha chile sauce
1 tsp. grated fresh ginger
1 Tbs. honey
3 tsp. rice vinegar

This stuff is the bomb. Mmmm.

SPICY TURKEY SALAD
I love this because it's healthy and delicious, and it uses up leftover cooked turkey in an innovative way. It's great served on lettuce, or wrapped up with lettuce, tomato, and avocado in a warmed flour tortilla. I adapted it from a recipe that appeared in the Penzey's catalog a while back.

1/2 c. neufchatel cheese
1/2 c. red salsa
1 small onion, minced
1 to 2 Tbs. fresh cilantro, chopped
1/4 tsp. ground cumin
1/8 to 1/4 tsp. ground cayenne pepper
1/4 tsp. salt
dash of Tabasco sauce
2 c. diced cooked turkey (a mix of light and dark meat is nice)

With a fork, stir together the first eight ingredients until no more lumps of cheese remain. Add the turkey and stir to combine. Chill in refrigerator.

A simple Indian-style dinner, no frills

ASSAD
1 1/2 lbs. pork butt, cut in a thick, flattish slab
salt
a 1-inch piece of fresh ginger
6 to 8 cloves garlic
1 tsp. ground turmeric
1/4 tsp. white pepper
1/8 tsp. ground mace
2 Tbs. vegetable oil
1 1/2 c. hot tap water
a cinnamon stick
3 cloves
1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes

Trim excess fat from pork. Rub with a little salt.
Mince ginger and garlic very fine, then pound this mixture with turmeric, white pepper, and mace to make a paste. Rub this mixture all over the pork.
Heat the oil in a large pot, then brown the pork on all sides. Don't let the garlic burn.
Add the water and the remainder of the spices, cover, and simmer until the meat is completely tender. Drain and slice thickly to serve.


SAAG SOLO
1 Tbs. vegetable oil
2 Tbs. water (omit if the spinach is wet from washing)
1 lb. fresh trimmed spinach, washed and shredded
1 clove garlic, minced
a 1/2-inch piece ginger, minced
1 Tbs. cilantro, chopped
1 Tbs. vegetable oil
1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper
pinch nutmeg
1/2 tsp. dried fenugreek leaves
2 Tbs. cream
salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Heat the vegetable oil in a large skillet on medium heat. Add the water and spinach and simmer, stirring, until completely soft.
Meanwhile, combine the garlic, ginger, and cilantro. Pound them into a rough paste.
Drain off any excess water from the cooked spinach. Push the spinach to the perimeter of the skillet and add the second Tbs. of vegetable oil. Add the garlic mixture, cayenne, nutmeg, and fenugreek leaves. Saute the spices in the middle of the skillet. When they are softened, bring in the spinach from the perimeter and stir everything together. Simmer on very low heat for a couple of minutes to let the flavors combine.
Add the cream, salt, and pepper, and stir together. Simmer until heated through.

Well, what happened to Goosapalooza?

We couldn't finish it because we were in a mad rush to leave for our holiday vacation. So I stuck the goose legs, briny marinade and all, in freezer bags for later use.

I suspect we will get to them soon. In the meantime, we are in Holiday Recovery, which means lots of salads and fruit and shrimp cocktails and the like.