sadness and handstitching

I am turning these Liberty of London prints into handkerchiefs.  I am doing all the stitching by hand.  It is a nice place to be with my needle and thread.  Meditative.  I have had a friend in hospice.  She died on Saturday and I am sad.  I miss her in my life even though it has been mostly by email in the last years.  

The stitching is quiet and helps.

porchetta style roast venison

I read about this recipe for porchetta style roast pork somewhere.  I cannot find the reference other then it was two recipes combined from Bon Appetit.  We had finished all the wild hog in the freezer so I decided to try it with two venison necks because that is all I had.  For a Friday dinner, where I needed something that was not too much work, this was lovely.

Porchetta style roast venison

3 to 4 venison neck (two)

olive oil

4 or 5 cloves of garlic

basil

thyme

oregano

salt

pepper

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.  Rub the venison down with olive oil.  Sprinkle basil, thyme, and oregano over.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Put in a pan and cover.  Roast for 20 minutes.  Turn the temperature down to 300 degrees. Roast another 30 to 60 minutes.   

If you are using pork or heavier quantities, let the roasting at 300 degrees go on longer.  Up to 3 1/2 hours for a 5 pound pork roast.

I served it with polenta and it was quite yummy.  I think the leftovers were even better but I have to admit that it was tasty enough that leftovers were hard to come by.  Leftovers are a good reason to roast a larger piece of meat.

sourdough naan

Yesterday's curry recipe was found due to a friend of mine finding a naan recipe on Dinner with Julie.  Naan is just bread so I figured what the heck.  I did start it three days ahead of time so it could have lots of time for the yeastie beasties to develop flavor and I always use sourdough any more.

I would have to say sourdough naan turned out quite tasty.  When eaten plain, they are a little bland but when combined with the curry, they are perfect.  The bland mellows the spicy but does not cut it.  The flavor is still there.  It does take a little time and is a lot like make tortillas.  I did not wish to use any extra flour so I did all the forming by hand and with out my rolling pin.

Naan

sourdough starter

3/4 cup water

1 cup flour

1 teaspoon sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup olive oil

1 egg

5 tablspoons yogurt

3 to 4 cups flour

The night before, mix the starter with 3/4 cup water and 1 cup flour.  Cover and let sit out for at least eight hours or until bubbly.

Remove a bit of sourdough for the starter for next time.

Into the starter, mix the sugar, salt, oil, egg, and yogurt.  Mix in three cups flour.  You want a soft pliable dough.  Add a bit more flour if needed.  Cover and let rise until double or put in a ziploc and let rise in the refrigerator (this is what I did, for three days).

Heat a cast iron skillet or griddle until very hot.  Divide the dough into eight.  Roll out each piece until it is a circle.  Brush each side with oil and cook on the griddle until bubbles appear and are blistered.

Eat with your curry.  Smile because your belly is happy.

daal curry

When we were out in Oregon a couple years ago, we had the best Indian food.  I have been trying to replicate it since.  I come close but it is not quite right.  That is until tonight.  A friend of ours tried a naan recipe which I wanted to try.  It is from Julie over at Dinner with Julie.  This is the lentil curry I have been trying to replicate.  And it is simple!  I did tweak a little bit but that is normal!

I served it with some roasted potatoes and homemade naan and my belly could not be happier.  This is one of those dishes that just needs to be part of each week.

daal curry

1 1/2 cups orange or red lentils

3 cups homemade vegetable broth

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 medium onion, diced

4 cloves garlic, diced

2 large tomatoes, diced

1 teaspoon sugar

1 teaspoon ground curry

1/2 teaspoon new mexican chile powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon garam marsala

1/2 cup coconut milk

Because I am lazy, in the morning, wash your lentils until they wash clean.  Put them in a pot or slow cooker insert, and cover with vegetable broth.  Three hours before you wish to eat, turn the slow cooker onto high.  If cooking in a pot, bring to a boil and turn down to a simmer, covered.  You will wish to cook them close to an hour or until they are very soft.

In a skillet over medium heat, put the olive oil and onion.  Cook the onion until golden brown.  Add the garlic and tomato.  Cook these down until there are bits of color.  Add the spices and salt.  Mix well.  Add the tomato mixture and the coconut milk to the lentils.  Stir well and heat through. 

Serve with rice or potatoes and naan.

This is really quick.  Once the lentils are cooked, it took about 15 minutes to put together.  Using a slow cooker makes cooking the lentils really easy.  The trick is to wash the lentils really well.

Happy belly time!

miss isabella's quilt is done

Miss Isabella's quilt is done.  It just needs to be mailed on Friday.

Because that is just really how my life goes.  I actually finished it yesterday but Friday will be the first day that I have free to get the packaging done and a trip to the post office.

I have to admit I really like this back.  I keep thinking I need to make one for myself.  But there are three in my head already:  one for Miss Lillian, one for the babe that will be born in two months if his/her mother slows down (sooner if Miss Katie does not slow done!), and one for a friend, Miss J, who I just thinks needs a bit of cuddle when she is tired though I know she gets a lot of those.

Someday, it will be mine.  I am saving scraps for it already.

p.s. The bruises are magnificent from the technically perfect roll/fall yesterday!  Three year old just kept blowing bubbles and laughing.