Saturday 31 August
Our Clifton neighbors Rama and Erik
kindly invited us over for a picnic potluck in their back yard. Of course, when you count on good weather, you
get a good old thunderstorm, and instead of strolling leisurely over, we drove three
blocks and still got wet.
Once we got inside, we met their
friends Keith, Gillian and Uri. Uri is
Israeli, and had made a big, beautiful skillet of shakshuka. Rama had made spicy lentils, and many tasty
and varied appetizers. Holt's
contribution was bright red ratatouille above, made with our garden zephyr squash and
fresh tomatoes, and I made the TV recipe below.
Spice Goddess green beans with tomato sauce
couple garlic cloves - mince and
sauté in oil
teaspoon black mustard seeds - add
and sauté
2 tsps. ground coriander and
1 tsp. ground cumin - add and stir
and sauté;
a couple of chopped fresh tomatoes
- add; I used farmers' market San Marzanos.
The Spice Goddess adds water here,
though I'd wait to see how the tomatoes break down and whether they're saucy
enough on their own. She then adds what
looks like 1 lb. green beans and cooks till tender. As mine were big thick Garden of Edens from
our garden, I cut the longer ones in pieces, covered the pot, and cooked low
and slow.
She then adds cubed paneer. I didn't - and it needed some spice! - so I added
caper salt. And I'd bump up the amount
of spices next time. Still, pretty good,
and certainly fresh.
We ate around the dining room
table, and got to sit outside for a couple of minutes between showers, so Rama
could show us the garden lamps she had bought for the occasion.
The dessert was a tasty berry
salad with shaved chocolate and cream which Rama and Erik's son Krishna whipped
up on his own. Good job, everyone, and
thank you, Rama and Erik!
