Some Rambling and a Couple of Recipes

I feel like I had an unusually productive day considering my lack of motivation lately.  Here’s how my day went:

• Woke up ~ 7:00
• Got Arden up and dressed
• Made scones for breakfast with Arden “helping”
• Took a shower
• Intervened with a toddler meltdown – she wanted to color with marker pens and Daddy didn’t want to deal with the mess
• Started the dishwasher
• Went grocery shopping with Arden “helping”
• Made lunch for Arden (I had leftovers from last night)
• Put Arden down for nap
• Got a really good start on the Every Occasion Dress for my Spring Fling giveway.  I’m LOVING the Henry Glass fabric I’m using for the main dress – it’s really nice!
• Put a load of cloth diapers and liners in to wash/soak
• Unloaded the dishwasher
• Started naan bread with Arden “helping” – the lead photo is a cute one of her watching the dough hook go ’round and ’round.  It’s the first recipe I’m sharing – I know homemade bread can sound scary, but naan is easy! 
• Started prepping for dinner – that’s the second recipe that follows.  It’s pretty easy, but there’s a ton of chopping so I find it easiest to cut everything ahead of time.
• Watched part of Toy Story 3 with Arden while the naan did it’s thing
• Got the naan rolled out and into the oven
• Started the rice cooking – love our rice cooker!
• Made the curry
• Ate dinner
• Gave Arden a bath
• Got her ready for bed and handed her off to Daddy for night time routine.

Phew!  It seems like a lot when I write it all down like that, and I do feel like I’ve hardly sat all day.

So here goes with the recipes:  You may remember that my husband is vegetarian, so this one is frequently used around here, though I don’t make the naan every time.  Sometimes we go all out and also make mango lassies with the wonderful frozen mangoes we have from my parents’ Florida mango tree, but not tonight.

Naan

Ingredients

• 2 C bread flour
• 1/2 t salt
• 1 1/8 t active dry yeast
• 3/4 C buttermilk, at room temperature
• 2 T butter, melted
• 1t – 1T water, as needed

Directions

Combine the first three ingredients in a large bowl or the bowl of a heavy-duty mixer.  Add the remaining ingredients and mix by hand or on low speed until a soft ball of dough is formed.  Knead for about 10 minutes by hand or with the dough hook on low to medium speed, until the dough is smooth and elastic.  Transfer the dough to an oiled bowl and turn it once to coat.  Cover with plastic wrap and let rise at room temperature for about 1 1/2 hours.  Set rack at lowest level and place baking stone on the rack.  Preheat oven to 475 F for 45 minutes.  Punch down the dough and divide into four pieces.  Roll into balls, cover and let rest for 10 minutes.  Roll out each ball on a floured surface to an oval 8″ – 10″  and 1/4″ thick.  Brush the top with 1 – 2 T butter, melted.  Place as many dough ovals as will fit without touching each other directly on the baking stone and bake until each oval is puffy and just beginning to turn golden, 6 – 7 minutes.  Remove from oven.  Keep covered in a cloth-lined basket.  Serve warm.

Curried Chickpeas With Vegetables

Directions

Heat in a large skillet (I use a wok pan) over low heat until sizzling:

• 1/4 C vegetable oil (I use much less than this)
• 2 t cumin seeds

Add:

• 1 T minced peeled fresh ginger
• 1 T minced garlic

Cook, stirring for 1 minute; do not brown.  Stir in:

• 2 T curry powder

Cook for 1 minute.  Stir in:

• 1 3/4 C canned chickpeas, rinsed
• 2 C cubed peeled sweet potatoes
• 2 C cauliflower florets
• 1 C green beans, cut into 1″ pieces
• 1 C chicken or vegetable broth
• 1/2 – 1 t salt
• black pepper to taste

Cover and cook over medium heat until the vegetables are tender, ~ 10 minutes.  Stir together in a small bowl:

• 1 C plain yogurt
• 2 T all-purpose flour

Add to the vegetables, along with:

• 1 T finely chopped seeded jalapeno pepper

Cook, stirring over low heat until thickened and heated through; do not boil.  Serve over rice (we use basmati) and/or naan.

Enjoy!