Good morning! I interrupt the Project Pantry Purpose series to bring you a bunch of things that donโt necessarily fall neatly into the usual categories, except for this galette, which I wrote about yesterday over at Cup of Jo. DALS loyalists already know itโs my favorite canโt-mess-it-up-no-matter-how-you-try dessert. Here are five more completely random items (including one plea for help) I thought Iโd shareโฆ
2. The Best Tamarind Sauce
After making a bunch of recipes from Priya Krishnaโs Indian-ish, I ordered a few of her recommended ingredients on Amazon โ like asafetida, an pungent onion-garlic MSG-like mix and Maggi tamarind sauce. I love the sweet-and-sour flavor of tamarind sauce and have never found a store bought brand that rivals the ones Iโve had in restaurants. UNTIL NOW. Maggi brand is exactly right and I plan to be a loyal customer for life. (Note: Her mother upgrades it by mixing in fig jam and toasted cumin seeds, which Iโll have to try next.) Last night for dinner, we fried some chickpeas, then ate them with yogurt, pita bread, and this tamarind sauce, and I think I could eat like that every single night forevermore.
3. Slaw on Repeat
I have probably posted this Dill Cabbage Slaw already (Iโm losing track) but that is actually the point. Iโve made it probably two or three times a week for the past few months โ it just seems to go with everything and is so simple to make. Itโs a few cups of shredded Napa cabbage tossed with this dressing: Whisk together 2 teaspoons Dijon, 1/4 cup rice wine vinegar, pinch sugar, salt, pepper, dash hot sauce, 1 tablespoon fresh chopped dill; then whisk in olive oil until it emulsifies. Simple. Fresh. Healthy. Done.
4. A Social Distance Cheat Sheet
Iโm sure youโve seen this circulating, but my nephew sent it to me earlier in the week and Iโve found myself referring to it several times a day. It is especially convenient for navigating the constant negotiating with the kids โ Can I go to so-and-soโs house if we stay in the backyard? Can I play soccer? Can I have a picnic in the park? Itโs nice to have something official looking to point to when they donโt feel inclined to listen to me. Save it on your phone!
5. Cashew Cream Ideas?
I almost always have a jar of this in my fridge (to make: soak raw cashews in water to cover for 6 to 8 hours or overnight, then puree in a blender) but I need advice! I want creative ways to use it besides thickening up salad dressings or pasta sauces where I would otherwise use yogurt or mayonnaise or cream. SEND HELP!
6. Summer Reading
Weโre off to a great start. Abby (17) is finishing up The Namesake; on deck for her, at mine and Phoebeโs insistence, is Americanah, by far one of the best books Iโve read in the last ten years (bonus: It gives you hope that America is still something of a beacon of light to people around the worldโฆalthough it was published in 2014, i.e. two years before 2016); Phoebe (18) just finished White Fragility; and I absolutely tore through The Margot Affair, by Sanaรซ Lemoine, which is about the secret illegitimate child of a prominent French politician and famous actress in Paris. The writing is so good โ quiet and powerful โ and Lemoine, a former Martha Stewart editor, manages to work ridiculously appealing French food into every scene. One dinner in particular (green salad with pickled fennel and mussels with white wine and garlic) will be making an appearance on our table very soon, I promise.
I just saved this recipe from NYT cooking. You maybe be able to modify slightly to use your cashews
https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1020460-vegan-queso?action=click&module=RecipeBox&pgType=recipebox-page®ion=all&rank=2
So, what is your answer to โCan I play soccer?โ
Just wanted to add, not judging either way. I am just curious since we get the same question here.
Early on, the answer was obviously no. Then, a few weeks into April, my daughter started playing with one other kid who had been pretty strict about quarantine; now that NY is in Phase 4 of reopening, thankfully her official team has started up camp (with many new social distancing protocols), which we are ok with. Itโs been one week, so anything can happen, but for now weโre hopeful.
The spicy tomato pizza from Gather Restaurant in Berkeley is not only one of the best vegan dishes Iโve ever had and the best use of cashew cream Iโve ever had but is also one of the best pizzas Iโve ever had, period. Any chance you can hack the recipe?
We had an amazing meal at a vegan restaurant in Utah last March. My dish was a stroganoff that was sauced with cashew cream and dill. My entire family was stealing it off my plate all night. Highly recommend!
that sounds amazing
Tania from Joy Felicity Jane has a number of great recipes in her blog and instagram stories that use cashew cream. We have used it to make mac nโ cheese which was delicious!
https://www.joyfelicityjane.com/
https://www.instagram.com/taniajoyfjane/
I loved The Namesake so much. I hope Abby enjoys it!
We love cultured cashew cream as a dip with raw veggies, crackers, etc. Itโs delicious plain or with added herbs, chilli, etc.
Thank you so much for your blog and beautiful books. We regularly cook many of your recipes. Best wishes from Australia.
I just got Indianish! What have you made from it that you liked?
So far just the Khichdi and the Matar Paneer, but plan on the Caramelized Onion Dal, Priyaโs Dal, and the Aloo Ka Rasa. I wrote about the Matar paneer on Cup of Jo last week in case you missed it:
https://cupofjo.com/2020/07/the-ultimate-crowdpleaser-matar-paneer/
The okra (bhindi), Saag Feta and Khachoomber salad are fantastic as well ๐
Cashew cream goes with all indian curries as vegan sub for yogurt or cream.
My son is allergic to dairy and eggs. Our most frequent use for cashew cream is for a creamy pasta sauce, or as a sub for Parmesan in a creamy style pesto (both with nooch). Sometimes we top baked oatmeal with it (slightly sweetened), or you can use it to make a creamy soup. This is a weird one because you donโt see a lot of meat based recipes with cashew cream, but whenever I make hot breakfast (Not often!) my husband loves biscuits and country gravy and you can use cashew cream and water in place of the milk and it is delicious. Iโll be watching the comments to see if anyone else has any more creative ideas!
Thank you for the book recommendations! I put them all on hold at my local library.
The Namesake and Anericanah are two of my all time favorites, as well. Love that your daughters share the joy of reading. That meal sounds fabulous, especially pickled fennelโthanks for the inspiration.
Not a specific recipe recommendation, but I like the vegan blog The First Mess. She uses cashew cream in many of her recipes.
Loving your entries in the time of the pandemic and always enjoy your book recommendations. Am interested by your comment โIt gives you hope that America is still something of a beacon of light to people around the world.โ As someone who is not American, but who has lived there and who tried to get a green card for years, America is most definitely not a beacon of light to me or anyone I know. Which makes me so sad and I hope you guys can rise again. Not necessarily to be a โbeacon of lightโ (weโre all doing fine without you) but as a society that is good for the majority of its citizens. There is so much that is good about the US, but thatโs being overshadowed at the moment. I realise this might not be a popular opinion on a food blog, but it really struck me and I wanted to respond. Wishing you guys the best in coming months โ we are watching with interest and hope.
Yeah, I guess thatโs what I meant by my parenthetical โIt was written in 2014, two years before 2016.โ Maybe a better way to phrase my analysis wouldโve been: It reminded me of a time when America was a beacon of lightโฆ
I hope we can rise again, too. I fear weโll be suffering the consequences of this Presidency for decades. Thank you for your comment.
I knew someone who made a vegan nacho โcheeseโ dip with cashew cream and nutritional yeast.
Donโt bother to read โWhite Fragility.โ Itโs a piece ofโฆwell, if I say it youโll probably censor my comment.
Iโm reading White Fragility now. Iโd be interested in why you didnโt like it.
I read White Fragility two years ago. It was not my favorite. It felt very redundant, despite not being a long book. More recently, I read Iโm Still Here and Just Mercy and enjoyed both of those much more.
A pizzeria in town uses cashew cream with garlic in place of cheese on their vegan pizzas and it is soo good.
Americanah and the Namesake were AMAZING. I got to hear Jhumpa Lahiri speak two years ago, and she was just as lyrical in speech as she is with the written word.
I also highly, highly recommend watching/reading Chimamanda Ngozi Adichieโs commencement speech from five years ago โ this is my favorite quote, but the whole thing is amazing โ
https://www.wellesley.edu/events/commencement/archives/2015/commencementaddress
โ I donโt speak to provoke. I speak because I think our time on earth is short and each moment that we are not our truest selves, each moment we pretend to be what we are not, each moment we say what we do not mean because we imagine that is what somebody wants us to say, then we are wasting our time on earth.โ
I also love Indianish and my family especially loves the aloo gobhi, saag paneer, and Malaysian ramen. Malai kofta is one of my favorite dishes to order at an Indian restaurant and Iโve made this recipe at home (I actually just make the sauce and use Ikea frozen vegetable meatballs) and itโs great. You could use your cashew cream with the other ingredients to make the sauce. https://www.indianhealthyrecipes.com/malai-kofta-recipe/
Thank you for your book recommendations- one of the things I love most about your site. White Fragility, while receiving a lot of criticism right now, did stimulate a good conversation in my book club and help me identify ways I can be more actively anti-racist, so it wasnโt a total piece of *%$! for me like it was for the poster Valerie. Like any book, it has its pros and cons. Thanks for your continued posting! Canโt wait for your next book.
Make cashew queso for nachos/tacos/tostadas/etc. Please do it. You will thank me (and yourself) later!
Back in the 80s, my mum used to make cashew cream to pour on desserts in place of dairy cream. I always loved it! I think it might have had a bit of honey or maybe a pureed date or two added for that use.
I love the social distancing cheat sheet. It makes me wonder if Texans can read!
Hello! How much oil in the cabbage slaw dressing please?
We made this green cashew cream sauce (minus the avocado, plus one jalapeno), and it was amazing. My husband, whoโs from Oaxaca and is a tough critic, ate it on everything.
https://ohsheglows.com/2016/01/31/cilantro-lime-garlic-cashew-cream/
See Love and Lemonsโs Sweet Potato Lasagna Roll Upsโฆshe posted it on her IG on April 2ndโฆshe uses cashew cream as one of the ingredients!
Cashew cream goes with all indian curries as vegan sub for yogurt or cream.
I love the Maggi tamarind sauce. I use it most on my fried egg breakfast sandwiches- toast, runny fried egg, tamarind sauce and some sort of green veg (leftover from supper, leftover from a cabbage slaw, lettuce).
My favourite way to eat cashew cream is as a cheese substitute for tex-mex type food (see https://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2014/02/vegan-spinach-and-hominy-enchiladas-with-spicy-cashew-cream.html). I make Kenjiโs cashew cream from that recipe and pour it over a simple tomato-bean-rice bake or over enchiladas. Broiled for a few minutes, yum.