Breakfast Apple & Egg Chop

This is a thing I like to eat for breakfast. 

It's a small apple and a hard boiled egg, chopped up with other things that may include hard white cheese or avocado, pepitas or nuts for crunch, and topped with olive oil, white balsamic vinegar, and a little salt (or in this case salt I made ages ago that was mixed with crushed toasted nori).  

Instant Pot Dal Makhani

Here is another delicious instant pot find.  I'm writing the recipe up here so I remember to make it again, but it's straight from The Instant Pot Indian Cookbook by Urvashi Pitre.  The dal here retains its shape and the sauce is wonderfully creamy (probably because it includes, um, cream).

With a salad and Heidi's Instant Pot Chickpea Cauliflower Korma (except I was with non chickpea eaters so we did potato cauliflower):  

Group One: 

1/2 cup whole black urad dal, rinsed

2 bay leaves

1 TB chopped garlic

2 tsp grated fresh ginger

2 1/2 cups water

Group Two: 

1/4 cup plain yogurt

1/2 cup cream

1 tsp salt 

1/2 tsp each turmeric, coriander, garam masala

1/4 tsp each cayenne, cumin

Group Three: 

2 tsp ghee

1 tsp cumin seeds 

1 TB tomato paste 

Put Group One in the instant pot and pressure cook on high for 30 minutes, then release naturally (I lost patience and eventually did quick release and it was fine).

While that is cooking, whisk together Group Two in a bowl and set aside.  For Group Three, heat the ghee in a small pan, add the cumin seeds, and when they sputter, stir in the tomato paste until it absorbs the ghee. 

Mix Group Three into Group One, then mix in Group Two as well.  Serve with chopped cilantro and fried garlic.  Yum.  

Instant Pot Split Pea with Spinach, Lemon, and Ethiopian Spices

Tonight I made this soup in the Instant Pot (which, when you're a vegetarian trying to get protein, is a pretty lifesaving legume-cooker).

I subbed split peas for lentils because that's what I had, and served over rice with yogurt on the side. Pressure cooked a little extra (13 mins instead of 10) because of using split peas, although I bet they would have been fine after 10 - they were pretty liquified.  I did find it needed more lemon juice and salt than called for.  It was delicious!

Chicken Soup With Jalapeño and Lime

Years ago, I worked at a shelter for kids who'd crossed the border without an adult.  Not only were the kids from many different countries, the staff were as well. I would have a steaming cup of cafe con leche set in front of me while I worked a night shift, or walk into a staff meeting to find the largest soup pot I'd ever seen perched on the stove top and filled with posole. But there was no day of the week that I looked forward to more than chicken soup day, where inevitably a chicken soup spiced with jalapeño and cumin bubbled on the stove.  I never could pinpoint which country it originated from, and failed to ever get a clear recipe from the several cooks who'd make it.  I searched and searched the internet, to no avail.

A few things were consistent - the chicken legs would be left on the bone, perched in your soup bowl with the meat tenderly falling off.  The rice wouldn't be cooked in the broth, but separately, then passed around for you to add as you please. Sometimes there were large slices of jalapeño nestled amongst the veggies, but there was always a kick to the broth. And besides the bowl of rice, other toppings would be passed around the table as well.  Cilantro, more onion, avocado, more jalapeno - which the teenagers would pass behind me, laughing about how I couldn't handle the heat. Lastly, there was lime or lemon to squeeze over the top of it all, brightening the flavor and bringing the dish over the top.

K helped me recreate the recipe based on the tips I'd been given and the strong memories of the nose and the tongue. It's the kind of soup that feels healing, somehow, and that warms you to your core on a cold winter's day. Below, our best attempt.

3 large carrots
5 stalks celery
2 large yellow onions
2-4 cloves of garlic
2-3 jalapeños
3 to 5 pounds bone-in chicken legs
Cumin
Salt
Pepper
Water or Stock

To top:
Lime/Lemon Wedges
Avocado
Cilantro
Yogurt
Cooked Rice
Radish
Cheese
Tortillas

Chop and peel carrots, celery and onion into large, bite-size pieces. Dice the garlic finely. De-seed and chop jalapeño, taking note of how spicy they appear to be.  Add celery, onion, and carrots to a large pot with a few tablespoons olive oil.  Saute in the bottom of the pot until the onions are translucent. Add the jalapeño and garlic, to taste, and saute a bit more.

Add chicken legs and saute a bit to brown the skin. Cover with roughly 8 cups of water or chicken stock. Bring entire pot to a boil, then reduce heat to a simmer.  Skim foam continually as it rises to the top.  Taste occasionally, adding more jalapeño or cumin as personally preferred. Simmer the soup for at least an hour, until the chicken is tender and falling off the bones.

While the soup is simmering, cook rice and prepare toppings.  Set tables with toppings in bowls to be shared around the table.  Serve soup with lime, cilantro rice, and yogurt at the least, in addition to any other desired toppings (other suggestions above).