Tuesday, July 07, 2009

Great British Classics: Chicken Tikka Masala


For those of you who don’t know it, the number one meal in the UK is not Fish & Chips; is not Beef roast and Yorkshire puddings; is not steak and ale pie. No, the number one meal, courtesy of all the Indian take away places more common than McDonalds, is Chicken Tikka Masala. Oddly, Tikka Masala was invented in Britain and isn’t even Indian really.
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From Wikipedia: “The origins of chicken tikka masala are hotly disputed. A widely reported explanation of the origins of the dish is that it was conceived in a Bangladeshi restaurant in Glasgow in the late 1960s, when a customer, who found the traditional chicken tikka too dry, asked for some gravy. The chef supposedly improvised a sauce from tomato soup, yogurt and spices. This claim has not been incontrovertibly proven, and there are other accounts and hypotheses of its origins. Although it has all the ingredients of an Urban legend, this is generally accepted as an attempt to create a pseudo-Indian dish that would initially have appealed to the British palate, but nowadays it is served in almost every "Indian" restaurant in the world, even in India.”
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Not finding good Indian food in Tucson, Susan ate her fill when she was in London. I thought, therefore, that I should attempt the Tikka Masala when I was visiting her. Khushi, back in London, supplied me with her versions of the very best spices, and then I used a recipe (shock! Horror!) off the weightwatchers site to replace the high fat coconut milk and cream usually present in the Tikka Masala. But I adapted of course – how can they possibly call for simply a half teaspoon of paprika – I used closer to a full tablespoon. Spice weenies watch out.
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The chicken was marinated in yoghurt, cumin, ground coriander, a dash of hot sauce (it called for chopped jalapeno and I had none), garlic and fresh squeezed lime juice. Best to let it marinate for a day, but I only had 1 hour. I then skewered it and grilled in on the grill. Even by itself, the sample I had to ‘check if it was done’, was mighty tasty.
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The sauce began with two teaspoons of olive oil, cumin and ‘tandoori masala spice’ from Khushi – which was deep red and more sweet than hot I thought, so I used quite a bit. (Note to self, bug Khushi for more of that!) Then you add a can of fat free evaporated milk, a can of chopped tomatoes and simmer for about 5 minutes. To that you add the grilled chicken and then throw in some chopped fresh coriander (cilantro) and serve over rice.
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Weightwatchers points: 7 per serving (pictured above) according to the website.

Picnic by the Side of the Road


We had a long, hot drive ahead of us today from Flagstaff (elevation 7000 ft) to Tucson (elevation 2500 feet). Leaving 80 degree weather (26 C) and quickly finding ourselves in 108 territory (42 C), we knew that we wouldn’t exactly be very hungry, but we packed a nice lunch to stop along the way and enjoy.
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Somewhere south of Sedona but north of Phoenix there was a rest area called Sunset Point. Family members will find the irony of our yearly destination to Sunset Point in the Adirondacks. It was hot, but we found some shade, and really it was an amazing view.
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For lunch, we had cold carrot and coriander soup, some fresh cherries, and yes I may have sneaked in a hot dog roll peanut butter and jelly sandwich. I am in America afterall!
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For the soup, it was my usual base of onion and garlic and chicken stock. Then I added a bag of normal carrots, peeled and chopped. I added a bit of orange juice as I blended this, and then added chopped coriander (cilantro) at the end. We ate it hot on Sunday night and had these leftovers cold on Monday.
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Most disappointing as I was working out the weight watchers points with WW-nazi Susan, was the learning that onions are 1 point per cup. How odd that green beans are zero points with their substantial bulk, and onion, which I thought had no nutritional value, have 1 point. This, I decided, needed some researching.
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It appears that 160 grams of onion (about a cup chopped) is 60 or so calories. This is 5% of daily allowance of carbohydrate and basically all sugar. However the onion is delivering 20% of your USRDA of Vitamin C – move over orange, there’s a new kid in town. Can you imagine what the vitamin C content of carrot, orange and onion soup is then? Onions also give us B6, manganese, folate, potassium and fiber. Really we should be sneaking onions in everywhere we can. If only the fried up, beer battered rings were just a bit better for you…
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Weightwatchers points for lunch: 9 as follows – 2 for the soup, 1 for the cherries and 6 for the hot dog roll peanut butter and apricot jelly ‘sandwich’.

Monday, July 06, 2009

Sockeye Salmon


For tonight’s version of my weekly salmon fix, I went out on a limb and bought some fresh sockeye salmon. Normally my salmon is Scottish salmon – a local source in the UK that is probably the best in the world. I’ll miss that when we move someday. I’ve tried the frozen Scottish salmon fillets and because I really like mine on the near-sushi side of rare, the frozen fillets just don’t work. So I treat the fresh Scottish days like a dying man – eat it now before it’s gone.
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In fact, that’s exactly what Andy said about the documentary End of the Line. We can’t find anywhere showing it, so we haven’t seen it, but if you’ve read any news lately you probably know that End of the Line has had the same effect on the fishing business and the general public, retail grocery chains and chefs that Inconvenient Truth had. It’s about the over fishing of waters and how our children are unlikely to have any fresh fish left because of the way our fishing industry, and the consumers that force the costs down, are behaving. Anyways, it’s the 80’s ‘I don’t eat fois gras’ or ‘I don’t eat veal’ circles and god forbid you order a sea bass at a business dinner. (I did last week, and it was sustainably farmed, and very yummy thank you very much). Andy, always one to stir the pot, says his strategy is to eat his now before it goes.
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But, back to the sockeye. I had told Andy we’d be eating it and he replied about the name “It sounds like a Tex Avery cartoon character who has disagreements with Bugs Bunny”. I thought I better try a more trusted source. I was surprised to learn that it’s essentially Pacific salmon to my Atlantic salmon of Scottish salmon variety. Though that actually made sense because I said it looked more like the wild Alaskan salmon they often sell at Waitrose. And you all have no doubt seen documentaries of bears catching salmon in the rivers in Alaska. I so wish I could just jump in and get all the free sushi I want!
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I was also surprised because I always thought those river fish in places like Michigan and Wisconsin were the sockeye salmon. Well, it turns out they are. While Pacific in nature, landlocked versions live in most of the states west of the Mississippi, and even into New York. Man, those fish got a little lost along the way, eh?
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One last fact about the sockeye – when they swim up river to spawn they turn red with green heads and grow racing stripes along their sides. Man, don’t you wish humans had some signals like that? Or well, maybe, I think I’ve seen the red and green and stripy thing on south London public transportation, nevermind.
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How did it taste you ask? To be honest, a lot more ‘fishy’ than the Scottish. I did the same honey-orange-chipotle marinade and pan fried the fillets in butter. The skin didn’t crisp as the fish was overall much less fatty than the Scottish. The texture was similar with bands of fish that delicate slide away. Sadly the fillets I bought had bones, so that was a new experience to have to deal with. I’d cook them again, but they don’t replace my beloved Scottish.
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We served them with asparagus made on the barbecue grill and broccolini done Italian style with olive oil and garlic. You boil the broccolini first and then sauté them with garlic and a teensy bit of olive oil. It was Susan’s first experience with the broccolini and although not enjoying broccoli, she gave it a thumbs up. I’m sure, given it’s deep green colour, that it must be packed with good for you stuff.
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Weightwatchers points: 8 as follows – 6 for the salmon fillet, 1 for the butter and ½ each for the honey and olive oil.

Sunday, July 05, 2009

4th of July Barbecue


It’s fourth of July so it’s time for great American dinners with hot dogs, hamburgers and corn on the cob.
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Standing in for the hot dogs is Mr Smoked Bratwurst. Ahhhhh so many calories and fat smushed into such a small space. And in a potato dough hotdog roll with all the yumminess of white refined flour you’d think I’d be in too much of a coma to even be able to type this up.
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Playing next to the meat is corn on the cob, brushed with olive oil and chipotle, and grilled. And finally, nothing is more American than long green beans. We threw in some salad too, though minus the goat cheese as mr Smoked Bratwurst didn’t allow for much wiggle room.
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We finished this all off with my super low points margaritas – just tequila, lime, ice and a fresco tonight.
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I’d write more, but we’re off to see the fireworks.
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Weightwatchers points: 17 as follows: 8 for the bratwurst, 3 for the bun, 3 for the salad dressing & topping, 1 for the corn on the cob and another each for the olive oil and butter.

Thursday, July 02, 2009

Grilled pork with corn and tomato salsa and sweet potato fry up


In the waitrose monthly free magazine, an extended brochure of their various ranges, there was a lovely spread on summer picnics. I saw the pork with corn and tomato salsa and was inspired. Of course I did my own thing, but credit is still due to them for the idea.
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I brushed the corn with olive oil and barbecue spice marinade, and grilled until nicely charred. I took the leftover marinade and chopped up some red onion, sweet potato and a little chorizo and then fried that in a big pan like you would with breakfast hashbrowns. I then marinated the pork with the same marinade plus a little honey and grilled those up.
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Some of the corn we ate as it was, grilled on the cob. And some of the corn got chopped up with tomatoes, cilantro (coriander), and red onion for a little salsa.
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We actually had a starter of tenderstem broccoli with the leftover beurre blanc from last night but didn’t show that here. With me going out of town tomorrow and Andy on an all-pizza-and-croissant diet I figured I better use up all of our remaining veg before I leave.
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Imagine 5 veg servings in this meal alone: tomato, onion, broccoli, sweet potato and corn.
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Weightwatchers points: 16 as follows: 5 for the pork, 6 for the generous amounts of olive oil used, 1 each for the sweet potatoes and corn, and 3 for the chorizo.

Wednesday, July 01, 2009

Last night's dinner tonight



Cod with a citrus beurre blanc

Last night we ended up effectively going to bed without dinner. I blame the heat wave in London. Given that everything was prepped last night for our cod dinner, this evening’s cooking was a breeze. And without the starchy butternut soup, I added some lovely first of the season corn on the cob.

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After a great success with a meaty sauce on last week’s cod, I decided to try something more delicate. Given how low in points a piece of cod is, I could splurge and do a beurre blanc. I’ve been told that when you are learning French sauces they start you on beurre blanc (white butter) first. It’s supposed to be a simple sauce – wine and shallots, then drain off the shallots and slowly whip in the butter until it thickens. No cream, no flour, no corn starch. Mine didn’t thicken, but it tasted lovely, and I went the extra mile and added this lovely lemon peel powder I have so technically it was a citrus beurre blanc.

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For the cod, I flipped the raw fillets in some flour, pan seared the outside and shoved in the oven for ten minutes.

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Finally some green beans and salad made up the rest of the plate.

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This was a lovely, slow to eat, fulfilling dinner: Perfect for a warm summer evening. We’ll be eating a lot of cod.

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Weightwatchers Points: 13 as follows: 3 for the fish, 5 for the beurre blanc, 4 for the salad toppings, 1 for the corn

Off to bed without dinner


Butternut soup starter, and as it turns out, no main meal

Andy and I spent the day emailing each other about how hungry we were. My lunch was catered as I was in a meeting and while I stayed away from the thai noodles and springrolls, I did have a second helping of the sea bass. So maybe I was just fished out after a fish starter and fish main at a business dinner the night before. We had planned to cook Cod this evening after the success a couple of weeks ago. But feeling hungry, Andy and I both agreed that some starchy soup would be good to take the edge off.
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I whipped up a batch of soup base – yellow onion, garlic and chicken stock. Then poured in a bag of pre-chopped butternut and brought that to a boil until soft. I threw all that in a blender and added a bit of cream, some maple syrup and chilli powder.
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As we were starving, we each went for a big bowl.
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After the starter, I was feeling very full so we agreed to put off dinner for an hour or two. I had all the ingredients prepped, salad dressing made, salad washed, etc. Two and a half hours later, well passed 9 in the evening, we agreed that there was no need for dinner.
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How 2 people can be so starving and then skip dinner altogether, I do not know.
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Weightwatchers points: 5 points for effectively 2 helpings of soup