Tonight we had Indian inspired food. Do not, I repeat, DO NOT tell Kevin! He had no idea. You see I have this theory that if I just slowly introduce new food styles and flavors and pair them with old standbys like smashed potatoes and green beans, that over time my family's taste bud profile will expand.
I am a huge fan of Indian food and Indian inspired food, but I don't get to eat it enough. Living in a moderately small Midwest town, we can barely find authentic Chinese food (the best is at Hy-Vee) let alone Indian food. That's one challenge. The other is that very few people in my immediate circle like Indian food. I think I need to get some new friends! (Kidding of course. Well, mostly.)
I love you Hamburger-Plain-Ketchup-Only-Thank You, and I'm-Allergic-To-Peas, well you know you have my heart, but sometimes a girl has got to step out and have some flavor! So I'm slowly introducing it in hopes of an eventual menu revolution.
Tonight's new recipe was one that I had been dying to make since I saw it in Everyday Food Magazine, Tandoori-style chicken. This simple marinade was easy to make and the flavor profile was not overwhelming, just incredibly delicious. Slight sourness from the yogurt and lemon juice, with a nice kick from the spices, paired with a beautiful fragrant aroma from the ginger.
I picked up on a step from Aarti Sequeira that Indian food often calls for ginger and garlic, and that you can save a couple of steps by dicing the two ingredients in a food processor with some vegetable oil, and save the extra in an air tight container in the refrigerator for future recipes, up to about two weeks. If you have not caught Aarti's new show on the Food Network on Saturday mornings at 7:30 a.m., it is definitely worth setting your alarm for. She gracefully battles the misconception that Indian food is complicated to make with a lot of airy charm and quiet wit, and is very good at teaching helpful tricks that anyone can use.
In addition to my old standbys I also tried something new for me - braised kale. Kale has been hailed as one of the new super foods and has made headlines in most of the major health and fitness magazines and food publications over the last 12 months. It's high in beta carotene, vitamin K, vitamin C, calcium, and a host of other nutrients that I can't spell. I cooked it like I would wilted spinach and flavored it with a bit of lemon. I wouldn't say that it was on my top ten list for vegetables, but it wasn't too bad. I'm definitely going to try a couple of different methods of cooking it, so stay tuned.
What kind of food do you love, that no one else will eat with you?
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