Tonight's dinner marks the beginning of my personal recipe challenge. As I mentioned before, I use plenty of recipes for baking and special occasions, but in my day-to-day cooking, I often operate on habit and instinct. This makes for perfectly tasty meals, but not much culinary growth or excitement. So I've decided, after assessing my recipe collection, updating my cookbook shelf, and cataloging my freezer contents, that I will make one worknight dinner from an honest to goodness Recipe with a capital R, chosen in advance, each week. The recipe has to be something new and exciting to me: no sautéed chard with garlic or soy-glazed chicken.
The project is off to an excellent start, as this kefta mkaouara (meatball, tomato and egg tagine) is the best thing I've made in quite a while. The recipe, from Couscous and Other Good Food from Morocco
Ingredients:
Tomatoes, onion from Red Fire Farms, Granby, MA
Ground beef from Houde Family Farm, St. Johnsbury, VT
Eggs from Clover Path Garden, Acushnet, MA
Not Local:
Couscous, parsley and spices
Holy damn, that looks good. I personally love recipes, but then if you rely on them exclusively, you don't have as mush of a chance for growth. Here's to a judicious combination of both!
Hi Erica,
I'm a friend of your mother Patt McDaniel. She knew I would love your website, and I do! I live in Eugene, Oregon with my husband Gary. We grow a huge organic garden on our acre of land, and he keeps bees. I've been cooking and interested in food for decades. Your blog makes me think you may be a fan of the Weston Price Foundation and Sally Fallon's book Nourishing Traditions. I like that stuff but don't buy it (or anything else) completely.
Some of your experiments have inspired me to try some new things. I also mostly cook intuitively, but I do use recipes for ideas, only occasionally following them to the letter. I also bake "by feel."
If you ever find yourself (or would like to find yourself) in the Pacific Northwest, we would be delighted to host you (and your husband too) and share our gourmet traditions with you.
If you write to me and don't hear back for a couple of weeks, don't be surprised -- we will be in Black Rock City.
Best regards,
Ellen
Hi Ellen - thanks! I'm glad you like the blog! It's funny, I actually just bought Nourishing Traditions a couple days ago. I had been hesitating because it seemed a little too, um, enthusiastic? about the positive properties of the diet. I also don't tend to buy things completely! But I am sure I will be posting about the book here. Thanks again, and I will definitely drop you an email soon.
Lola, I think we have been a good influence on each other that way! You will have to try this recipe - it was even better than it looked!