(no subject)

[redbird]

I made the turmeric chicken soup tonight, partly because cattitude is under the weather and partly because I wanted to see if the Wegman's canned chick peas are an acceptable substitute for Goya. They are. Using a bit of frozen ginger root along with the powdered ginger worked well, too.

Someone mentioned on Discord a while ago that they freeze ginger root and grate it still frozen. I took that as advice and froze a piece of ginger. Today I took it out of the freezer, sawed off a small chunk, microwaved it for 15 seconds, and then peeled and chopped it.

So: Wegman's canned beans, check.
Freezing ginger root, check.

There should be enough for lunch if not dinner tomorrow; I may need to add a bit more broth to stretch it, but right now the broth:solids ratio is a bit low.

i also did some more text banking, mostly answering/following up on replies to texts other people had sent. I am quietly googling things for people, because it seems to be easier for some people to ask the stranger who said "would you like to be a poll worker" or "please vote by mail" about deadlines or what Hennepin County pays pollworkers than to track down the answers themselves. I enjoy giving people useful information, so I'm googling instead of saying "I'm a volunteer, you should ask the state election commission." The answer to the question about Hennepin County, unfortunately, is "it depends"--the pay varies not just in different parts of Minnesota, but in different parts of the county.

Comments

[elynne]

Spouse had a chick pea curry last night, and tonight wanted to try making it... which went well, until the water boiled off and it charred badly while unattended, and we had to turn on the fans and put the smoke alarm back to sleep. not terrible, buuuuuuuut not an edible result. fortunately he'd also prepped tandoori salmon and chicken earlier in the afternoon, so we did have dinner after all. and tomorrow I'm going to get some more chickpeas so he can try again... later. ;) I'll tell him about the ginger root, I know he uses powdered ginger but he might be interested in trying it this way.

[redbird]

This is the first time I've used the frozen ginger root. The recipe as I got it from Adrian uses half a teaspoon of ginger paste, but either the company that makes the ginger paste sold in Boston-area supermarkets has started using inferior ingredients, or the stuff doesn't keep for as long as Cattitude and I were taking to go through even half a tube.

Does your spouse make the tandoori in an ordinary (American, PNW) oven? If so, I'd like the recipe.

[elynne]

yah, he makes it in our apartment oven. he says it doesn't come out quite "right," but it is nevertheless very very good, and I can vouch for that thoroughly. XD he uses a recipe from a book, "Best Ever Indian Cookbook," from Hermes House publishing, author credits: Mridula Baljekar, Rafi Fernandez, Shehzad Husain, and Manisha Kanani.

the recipe: rolls up sleeves
4 chicken quarters, skinned
175 ml / 6 fl oz / 3/4 cup natural (plain) low fat yogurt
5ml / 1 tsp garam masala
5 ml / 1 tsp grated fresh root ginger
5 ml / 1 tsp crushed garlic
7.5 ml / 1 1/2 tsp chili powder
1.5 ml / 1/4 tsp ground turmeric
5 ml / 1 tsp ground coriander
15 ml / 1 tbsp lemon juice
5 ml / 1 tsp salt
few drops of red food coloring
15 ml / 1 tbsp oil
mixed salad leaves and lime wedges to garnish

1. rinse and pat dry the chicken quarters. Make two deep slits in the flesh of each piece; place in a dish and set aside.
2. mix together the yogurt, garam masala, ginger, garlic, chili powder, turmeric, coriander, lemon juice, salt, red food coloring, and oil, and beat so that all the ingredients are well combined.
3. cover the chicken quarters with the spice mixture, cover and leave to marinate for about 3 hours
4. preheat the oven to 240 C / 475 F. transfer the chicken pieces to an ovenproof dish
5. bake the chicken in the oven for 20-25 minutes or until the chicken is cooked right through and evenly browned on top
6. remove from the oven, transfer to a serving dish and garnish with leaves and limes.

I know one thing that he does differently that helps a lot: instead of just using "an ovenproof dish," he uses a pan that has a grill-grate on the top, so instead of just sitting on a flat surface the chicken is resting on a grate, like it would if it was being grilled. also, after an experiment went fantastically right, we learned that it's possible to substitute salmon steaks for the chicken breasts--or just add them in. we get our chicken and salmon from Costco, if that gives you an idea of size comparisons. he says thicker chicken breasts don't cook in the time they suggest, so have a meat thermometer and be prepared to cook them a little extra. also, although the recipe is for "four chicken breasts," it's actually enough to thoroughly coat six pieces of meat, so he generally makes four chicken breasts and two salmon steaks all at the same time. it's so good. let me know if you have any questions, and I'll get more information from him! (I'm just the sous chef for him, he's the one that does all the actual cooking)

[kareina]

Oh, that is really nice of you--and you are giving them positive experiences with strangers, which is also really good.

[redbird]

I'll just smile quietly for a little while, I think,

[gatheringrivers]

I've got like 3 bags of fresh ginger root in the freezer since a couple local farmers grow it.

Don't need to microwave it, really - we use a microplane while it's still frozen, the shredded bits will basically thaw in minutes, or thaw in the food.

....also, if your ginger is fresh, I don't think you have to peel it - I know the dried stuff in the stores seems to be better when peeled.

[micheinnz]

I also buy vac-packed peeled garlic and freeze it. Grate it frozen, no muss, no fuss.

[micheinnz]

I first read that as "traumatic chicken soup" and was all " ... " .

[redbird]

There's unlikely to be any more trauma than is involved in discovering that spilled soup has left yellow patches on your countertop and/or clothing.

Not only is this good soup, I like it because adrian_turtle found it and fed it to me, so it reminds me of her even when I'm not having it at her house.

[noachoc]

I do that with ginger! I peel it first and then cut it into small chunks before I freeze it, for what that's worth.