Chadya's Kitchen Dramas: This Week's Menu

Saturday, September 5, 2009

This Week's Menu

Ramadhan is a trickster. Those who don't know, this is a Muslim holiday during which people fast from ALL things, food, water, sex, anything enjoyable, from sunup to sundown, for 30 days.

Why is Ramadhan a trickster? Every year i tell myself, "hey! maybe we will at least save money on groceries this month..." my Muslim husband and his bottomless pit of a stomach will not be feasting on our dollars all day long! I fool myself. turns out, fasting all day makes you want heartier, meatier, bigger meals at night..all night long.... not to mention making me want to make special treats from his country to ease his suffering.... So then I find that instead of my expected shrink in the grocery budget, i have no spent twice as much (i.e. 20 dollars on ingredients for makroud cookies) and now, 15 days into ramadhan, I have used up every piece of meat in the house, outside of soup scraps.

So, What am I getting at? I DONT WANNA GO TO THE HALLAL MARKET!!! every time I go there I spend 100 bucks on Hallal meat, and only come home with what I would buy for 50 bucks in the regular grocery store, and the flavor is..how you say... Blah. AM I BITCHING? yes, I am. 5 dollars a pound for hamburger? grey colored freezer burned hamburger (ok now i really am bitching, because I find the hamburger far superior to the grocery store stuff, but thats IT) tiny poorly plucked chickens? ok ok,,,enough.

My point is. This week, if i am going to spend redicoulous amounts of money on protiens, they might as well be priced the same for all Americans, because they are yummy delectable "fruits de mer" or fruits of the sea..... and so on...

So begins seafood week of chadyas kitchen dramas. stay tuned for tonights steamed crab and shrimp dumplings, tomorrow's spicy Octopus stew, and whatever else comes my way....

a bientot

CHADYA

2 comments:

AndreaSeptember 5, 2009 at 6:00 PM
good luck with the octopus. i have liked it in central market's ciopinno, probably because they use tender little baby octopus, but usually it is much, much too chewy.
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chadyaSeptember 5, 2009 at 8:52 PM
you have to cook it very short or very long. two hours or more
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About This Blog

I am here because my Facebook account is overwhelmingly dominated by food and recipe postings. Being that I love to share new ideas, and I love to invent new recipes, I am here. typing little letters on a page. little letters that add up to my version of art, when my life is too chaotic and busy to paint a painting, or anythings else. I am a mom and I work full time. I find that, in order to get my creativity fix, I must combine my household duties with my artwork. Thus my kitchen dramas.

I appreciate the critique of my Toddler, who loves his food. A design is nothing if not given his seal of approval, big wide eyes and an MMMMMMM. (this is emphasized especially in the case of COOKIE DOUGH!)

I also would like to point out that some ingredients used, while they can be expensive, can be found more reasonably priced if you are careful. i will include shopping tips when these cases arise. I often need the services of my local asian, mexican, and arabian markets for ingredients. Know where yours is.

With the shift in emphasis on organic and more healthful ingredients, remember that substitutions can be made for white sugar, white flour, butter, and so on. The best thing about cooking is that a recipe can be simply a template, and like this blog can be customized. Most of my recipes are my interpretations on a classic, or a general formula. like a quick bread or a cookie can be made from anything, if you know the ratios.

And so, without further ado, I will introduce my blog, where pungent and spicy ingredients like vinegar, capers, smoked fish, anchovies, bleu cheese, curry, and peppers take center stage. Where a great cookie can be inspired by a great cocktail, or a simple peppercorn. where bread is never ever made in a food processor, and rarely is a box used, as getting your hands dirty is almost a requirement.