Mural of Meals, part 3 "Faster Food"

Sometimes we don't have time for "Slow" Food, but who says we have to plunk the take-out onto the table and dig in? Couldn't we just as well make it a bit pretty and then savour it while listening to our loved ones communicate their feelings? Oh ideals - how luxurious!
Here are some meals that were prepared with some take out and some love.

These are brussel sprouts from Whole Foods deli:

Although I am not a huge meat eater, we do occasionally go to our corner "Churrasqueira" and bring home some bbq. We like to dress it up with homemade sides:



We had a lot of fun with frise lettuce, dressed with lemon and our favorite chaat masala:


Here, I made a tofu fried rice from leftovers and added the churra bbq for the meat eaters:



In this case, we made the curry entree and got the samosas and chapattis from a Indian grocer:



This is kinda hard to see, but is one our favorite "junk food dressed up" (Mr. Noodle, with vibe; an oxymoron, no?):



And this is a spread of plain ol' deli meats, with fresh veggies:



(This just happened to be during Great Lent, so for dinner I was doing beautiful salads dressed with Braggs and lemon)


Next post: Sandwiches! (another "faster" food)

Mural of Meals, part 2 "Indian sides"

In keeping with my promise to start writing again without intimidating myself, here is my 50-words-or-less post.

Indian food is a perfect "slow food" meal. There is nothing like adding the requisite spices together, chopping countless onions and garlic, and creating the beautiful and palate-pleasing side salads.
Typically, with a spicy curry, we will arrange some fresh raw vegetables on the side to nibble on in between hot mouthfuls of curry.
The basics are sliced tomato, white onion, cilantro and lime or lemon. If you can find Chaat Masala in a local Indian grocery, that is simply divine atop sour plain yogurt.

Below is a picture with the entree. In this case, steamed rice and a curry.



This is the chicken curry with potatoes:



Another variation is to use cherry tomatoes, sliced white onion, yogurt and pile high with pickled green chilis:



Basmati rice is critical as a base for curry (although in a pinch, one can get away with lavash or naan instead). Here we have used our (not-so-slow) rice cooker and added just a hint of saffron threads and green peas:



Another absolutely beautiful array of fresh veggies. Tomatoes, white onion, radish, cilantro, green chilis, and sprinkled with lime and chaat masala:



Finally, the most delightful side is always the yogurt. Be sure to choose a plain, whole fat yogurt. If you can select a balkan or greek style, they are thicker and suited for this type of food. Throw some chopped cilantro and a heap of chaat masala on top and you have the perfect cooling dish to pair with tear-jerking curry.