Spicy curried potatoes

Health-0-meter: 3/5 (5 being healthiest)
Ease: 1/5 (5 being difficult)

I love potatoes. Hand me a freshly baked, salted and peppered potato and I will be your friend forever. A little S&P goes a long way, but it can get boring, which is where our good friends the spices step in!

While in Vegas, I happened to eat at an Indian restaurant and tasted something similar to this dish. It was pretty bland in my opinion, but it inspired me to make a more flavorful version. So, here it is! This is incredibly simple to prepare. It really doesn't need any culinary skill at all, which is why it's in my go-to recipe box when I'm out of ideas for lunch or dinner.

Ingredients:

• 2-3 medium or large potatoes
• 1/2 tsp mustard seeds (available at any Indian grocery store)
• 1/2 tsp cumin seeds
• 1-2 green chillies, chopped
• 2 tsp Cumin & Coriander powder (1 tsp of each if you have the individual powders; Coriander is also known as Cilantro)
• 2 tsp turmeric powder
• 1 tsp red chilli powder
• 1 tbsp finely chopped Cilantro
• 1/2 tsp salt (more or less, depending on your taste)
• 2.5 tsp vegetable oil

1. Boil potatoes until fork tender. Cut into bite size pieces.

2. Place the oil in a skillet or wok and heat to high temp. Olive oil isn't the best choice of oil here as it has a low boiling point, meaning that high heat will cause it to scorch. Once the oil is hot, place the mustard and cumin seeds in the oil. The mustard seeds should sputter; once they're mostly done, add the green chillies and saute for a few seconds.

3. Add potato cubes to the oil. Gently stir potatoes so that they are all covered in the oil. Fry for 30 seconds, before gently stirring again. Once potatoes have browned on one side, add the remaining spices, except for the minced cilantro. Make sure the spices are evenly distributed; let potatoes sit for 4-5 minutes.

4. Add minced cilantro and gently stir to distribute. Let sit for 1-2 minutes. Serve warm with rice or roti/naan.

Tips & Tricks: I cook potatoes in a pressure cooker (30 minutes total cooking time, 5 - 7 minutes on high heat, with the remainder at medium heat). After the potatoes are cooked, place them in the fridge for 5 - 10 minutes. When they are a little cooler, it is easier to remove the skins without getting potato flesh all over your hands. Potatoes cooked this way keep in the fridge for up to a week.

If mustard seeds are unavailable, they can be omitted. The flavor will be slightly different, but still delicious.

Calories:

*Calculations made with 2 medium and 1 large Russet potatoes. This makes enough for three generous 1/2 cup servings.

Potatoes: 625
Canola oil: 100
Spices: 25
Total: 750 calories, one serving: 250 calories

Pizza!

Health-0-meter: 3/5 (5 being healthiest)
Ease: 3/5 (5 being difficult)



Man, do I love me some pizza! I never realized how much of a pizza-holic I was until I moved to NC. Not only do we buy a couple of frozen pizzas (individual sized only because our freezer isn't big enough) but I make pizza once a week. Actually, I make pizza if my basil plant is being good and grows enough leaves to make fresh pesto (another post). Alright, so I love pizza. Let's get into the recipe...

Ingredients:

1.5 cups flour
1 tsp salt
3/4 tsp active dry yeast
1 tbsp olive oil
1/2 cup warm water

*For a slightly thicker crust pizza, use the following recipe (same instructions as below):

2 cups flour
1.5 tsp salt
1 tsp active dry yeast
1 tbsp olive oil
2/3 cup warm water

You have to arrange your ingredients like so, or it won't turn out right. I keed, I keed.

1. Place flour, salt and yeast in a bowl. Mix well.

This is not mixed well, but it will be.

2. Make a well in the middle of the flour mix and pour olive oil and warm water. I don't use a thermometer, so I say the water is warm when I feel the warmth but it doesn't turn my palm red. If the water is too hot, you'll know because your dough will refuse to rise since you killed all the yeast.

3. Once it's all mixed together (you might need a tbsp or so more of flour if the dough is really wet), sprinkle flour on the counter and knead the dough for 2-3 minutes. Not long. You'll get your workout after it has risen.

Sticky dough.

4. Oil the bowl in which you made the dough. It shouldn't have lots of pizza dough stuck to the inside because that means your dough is too sticky and needs some flour.

Place your dough into the bowl and roll it around a few times to get a light film of oil over it. Cover with a towel and let it sit for 2 hours or until doubled in volume.
Like so:

5. Place your palm on the surface and gently press on the dough to release the air. Also called "punching" the dough. Sprinkle flour on your work surface (counter) and knead the dough for a good 5 minutes. At this point, I like to sprinkle a good bit of finely minced fresh rosemary, dried basil or oregano. That way you get a spiced dough. Really quite good!

6. After the dough has been kneaded, shape it into a round ball and cover it with the towel again for 20 minutes. In the meantime, preheat your oven to 550 for brick oven-style pizza or 450 for a slightly softer pizza, chop up your veggies and make your sauce.

Ready to roll.

7. Roll out the dough to approximately 10" if you want a thin crust or 8" if you want a thicker crust. Spread your sauce, sprinkle your toppings and place it on a piece of parchment paper on a baking sheet. For brick oven style (550F), bake for 8 minutes. For a slightly softer crust (450F), bake for 10 - 12 minutes and then broil until the crust turns golden brown.

Enjoy! 'Til the next dish...