Kate Middleton Shoes, French Pastries, and a Lovely Dishful of Sak

The nearly five year old was offered a job at Nordstrom last week.  There we were, walking through Salon shoes, when Emilia grabbed a particularly lovely high-heel and said, 'Look Mama!  It's Kate Middleton's shoe!'  Of course she was right, I'm raising no nit-wit.  (You know the one, nude stiletto shoe made by LK Bennett.  No?  Still not ringing a bell?  Well, just go look in the bottom of my closet.  Left hand side. There we are.  Unless of course Leo has been in there, then they are up and down the hallway and chucked wherever his little hands have decided to toss them.)

Then we went to QFC, where she was not offered a job, because frankly we had bigger fish to fry anyway.  We needed whole milk, butter, limes, chocolate, and goodness knows what else.  I've turned the kitchen into a veritable french patisserie this past week.  Well, not fully,  as we've only done brioche (both little ones in the pretty tins and loaves) and a french lime creme tarte, thus far.  But Emilia and I have got all kinds of plans.  Next are eclairs and then madeleines and then whatever else strikes our fancy.  This is the kind of thing that I do well --  I bury myself in particular things of a particular theme at particular times.  This time it happens to be french pastries, but it could just as easily be something else: Nancy Mitford books, The Lumineers,  hot and sour soup, and controlled experiments of an herbal tea nature.  That sort of thing.

And so, three pounds of butter in one week... Yes, I know, hopefully this bender is short-lived.**

But because of the kitchen patisserie, or at least due in part, dinner has been a very healthy and very fresh and very simple affair these days.  It is all about balance, no?  But this isn't exactly unusual -- I always cook that way.  However, I think our bodies are appreciating it a bit more right now, or at least mine is.  Afterall, I am the one who ate most of that damned lime tarte.  (It was unbelievably divine and I do not regret it.  I do regret eating two pieces for lunch one day though, because then I just wanted to lay down and die. Please refer back to footnote at bottom of page.)

Anyway, several years ago in another one of my burying attempts, I went off on an Indian food bender.  (This is not actually a bad way to operate, by the way.  It is a cheap way to travel and it immerses you into a culture's food so much that you end up teaching yourself a lot in a relatively short amount of time.)  I was doing everything that Julie Sahni's beautiful cookbook had to offer -- unless it was too complicated, then I couldn't be bothered..  And I found myself gravitating back to the same handful of recipes over and over and over again, causing them to become perfect comfort foods.  They are simple, healthy, and so good.  Yes, they will burn your face right off, but they also warm you up at the same time -- and this is always just the thing. (Unless you are a small child, then you will go bananas over the heat ... mine got a muted version and still complained that it was too hot.  Then they both ran off to play with the shoes in my closet.)

**I've gotten my cholesterol checked and apparently I am quite awesome in that department. I don't know what the numbers all mean, but I texted them to my dad and he said congratulations and well done and all that.



Sak --  Cauliflower with Spices

1 cauliflower, 1½-2 lb
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 teaspoon brown mustard seeds
1 tablespoon peeled and grated fresh ginger
2 teaspoon minced garlic
2 teaspoons ground coriander

½ teaspoon cayenne pepper

¼ teaspoon ground turmeric

¾ cup fresh or canned chopped tomatoes

2 teaspoons tomato paste

1¼ teaspoons salt, or to taste

¾ cup water

¼ cup chopped cilantro

Wash, trim, and separate the cauliflower into florets.  Peel the stem and cut it into 1/8 slices.

In a large saute pan, heat the oil over high heat.  Once hot, add the mustard seeds and cover the pan.  Once the seeds stop sputtering, about 30 seconds or so, uncover and add the ginger, garlic, coriander, cayenne, and turmeric.  Reduce the heat to low and cook, stirring, for 10 seconds.  Then stir in the tomatoes, tomato paste, salt, and water.

Add the cauliflower pieces and toss them thoroughly in the pan to get them nice and coated.  Increase the heat to medium-high, cover, and cook for about 20 minutes, or until cauliflower is easily pierced with a fork.  Remove the lid and then cook for about 5 more minutes to remove the excess moisture, leaving a nice tomatoey-gravy.  Fold in half of the cilatro, transfer to a serving dish, and sprinkle the rest of the cilatro over the top.  (Recipe from Williams-Sonoma Savoring India, Oxmoor House, 2001.)