Lunch!

Did I mention I have a camera now?

Today's lunch was the last piece of this loaf of bread (whole wheat, oatmeal, and flaxseed), a Granny Smith apple from the farmers' market (did you know that Granny Smith apples came about by accidental seed pollination in Australia in the 1860s?), and Madhur Jaffrey's "Urad dal cooked in the Punjabi style" from Climbing the Mango Trees.

A note about the dal: I'd made this recipe before, sort of, except I had split urad dal instead of whole, and I didn't have a blender so I couldn't puree the tomatoes, cream, garlic, and ginger... I hated it. In fact, I hated that entire bag of split urad dal and the way it turned everything gray and unappetizing.

This time, I had all of the ingredients as well as the whole beans. And my Magic Bullet, which I like much better now that I understand its limitations. (Mashing garlic into a paste? Yes. Dicing vegetables? NO. Grinding spices? Yes. Making satisfactory hummus? NO. Of course, that last could just be user error.)

Anyway, what is interesting now that I have a blending apparatus and the right kind of dal and measuring spoons so I can put in exact amounts of ginger and chili pepper is the way the dish comes alive. You know, when you cook it the right way. The taste unfolds in layers: bean, tomato, garlic/ginger. I hate to use the phrase "balanced flavor palate," but... you understand. It doesn't taste like gray beans with a can of store-brand tomatoes thrown in.

Probably will post pics of dinner as well. That's... kinda why I bought the camera. Also so I could take videos with it (it's a combination camera/webcam). Videos of me cooking, of course. ^__^