Okra and Chickpea Stew and my New Kitchen!

Guess what? I moved to San Francisco!

I live in the Haight, home of the Summer of Love and the Upper Haight Farmers' Market.

Here is the kitchen:
So I went to the farmers' market and bought some okra. Why not? I thought, this will give me a reason to look up a recipe for okra.

But smitten kitchen didn't have one.

And our blog didn't have one.

So I tried TasteSpotting, and I found this Okra and Chickpea Stew Recipe on a blog called Roti N Rice.

I didn't have a bunch of stuff in the recipe, so I'll note below what I substituted / skipped.

Okra and Chickpea Stew
12 oz okra, trimmed
1 can chickpeas, rinsed and drained (I didn't bother rinsing or draining)
4 oz roasted lamb, cubed (I didn't have any lamb - omitted)
2 tomatoes, cubed (I had about 1 cup of cherry tomatoes)
2 tbsp tomato paste (didn't have any - omitted)
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
¼ tsp tumeric (didn't have any, so I used a combination of: garam masala, cumin, and chili powder)
2 tbsp olive oil
1½ cups water (didn't use any -- used the water from the chickpeas instead)

salt and pepper to taste In a heated pan, add 2 tsp olive oil. Sauté onions and garlic until soft. Add lamb, pepper, and tumeric. Cook for about 2 minutes. Stir in tomato paste. Add chickpeas and water. Bring to a boil. Add okra, reduce heat to medium and let simmer for 10 minutes. Remove and serve immediately with basmati rice.

even with all the omissions / substitutions, the recipe came out really good!

yeah!!!

we ate it with a kale salad with pluot and pepperjack cheese.

it's like you're there!

We Made Mushroom Bourguignon

Hello everyone. Have we got a fall/winter dish for you. Last weekend Hillary, Sarah, Laura and I collaborated on the creation of a delicious Portobello Mushroom Bourguignon. The dish is actually pretty easy to make. Just a bit of chopping, throwing this and that into a big pot, and then all you have to do is let it all simmer on the oven while you snack on bread and butter. Even if you are not a vegetarian the dish is easier and cheaper to make than beef bourguignon and just as rich and satisfying. Hill also made an amazing chocolate mousse for dessert which will probably be posted soon!


Mushroom Bourguignon (From Smitten Kitchen)

Serves 4

2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons butter, softened
2 pounds portobello mushrooms, in 1/4-inch slices (save the stems for another use) (you can use cremini instead, as well)
1/2 carrot, finely diced
1 small yellow onion, finely diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup full-bodied red wine
2 cups beef or vegetable broth (beef broth is traditional but vegetable to make it vegetarian; it works with either)
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves (1/2 teaspoon dried)
1 1/2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 cup pearl onions, peeled (thawed if frozen)
Egg noodles, for serving
Sour cream and chopped chives or parsley, for garnish (optional) - You can also use greek yogurt like us.

Heat the one tablespoon of the olive oil and one tablespoon of butter in a medium Dutch oven or heavy sauce pan over high heat. Sear the mushrooms until they begin to darken, but not yet release any liquid — about three or four minutes. Remove them from pan.

Lower the flame to medium and add the second tablespoon of olive oil. Toss the carrots, onions, thyme, a few good pinches of salt and a several grinds of black pepper into the pan and cook for 10, stirring occasionally, until the onions are lightly browned. Add the garlic and cook for just one more minute.

Add the wine to the pot, scraping any stuck bits off the bottom, then turn the heat all the way up and reduce it by half. Stir in the tomato paste and the broth. Add back the mushrooms with any juices that have collected and once the liquid has boiled, reduce the temperature so it simmers for 20 minutes, or until mushrooms are very tender. Add the pearl onions and simmer for five minutes more.


Combine remaining butter and the flour with a fork until combined; stir it into the stew. Lower the heat and simmer for 10 more minutes. If the sauce is too thin, boil it down to reduce to the right consistency. Season to taste.

To serve, spoon the stew over a bowl of egg noodles, dollop with sour cream or greek yogurt (optional) and sprinkle with chives or parsley.