Weekend loot

The weekend came, and along with it the Alemany Farmers Market. One of the biggest gripes I have about my "diet" is that due to the budget constraints, I am forced to pass up delicious-looking veggies for sustenance. I saw nopales cactus leaves on sale for $2/lb ($3/lb "cleaned", which is a sham). I'd love to try a curry with the cactus, but can't afford to on the FSD. So they'll have to wait. Also, yummy-looking asparagus are coming fresh from the fields, so some experimentation with them also is in order.

Here's a pic of what I picked up from the AFM:

This weekends haul included: a large bunch of spinach ($1), 5 lemons ($1), bunch of green onions ($1), 1lb fresh walnuts ($2.50), 1lb not-so-fresh walnuts ($2), mandarins ($2), apples ($2), green bottle-gourd ($2), bunch of beets ($1), bunch of fresh (yes, fresh!) "tulsi", aka holy basil ($1.50), 4 large garlic ($0.50). About $18 for a week's worth of supplies.

OK, now for the exciting part. I picked up the bottle-gourd (known as "lauki" (pronounced "law key")) because mom makes a delicious curry with it. I will have to call her up and ask her for the recipe. This time I might try Skype, so she can see me cooking.

Ooh, and the fresh tulsi! Wow, I never knew I'd find it here. This guy had just 1 bunch left, and I jumped on it like, well, a guy on food stamps. Back home in India, traditionally, every house has a tulsi plant in the courtyard. You can buy tulsi tea , but nothing beats the fresh stuff. The aromatic oils in the fresh plant can't be found in the dry tea leaves. So what do I do with it? I use it to make tea. Take 3-4 leaves, crumble them into the boiling water and let them seep before adding the black tea leaves.

I hadn't had spinach in a while, so I cooked up a quick dinner of spinach and potatoes, using an "ayurvedic" recipe (which means, it wasn't too spicy). But it was quick, and done in 15 minutes. It requires 1 ingredient that's hard to find (except in an Indian store), called "Asafoetida". It's a dry resin, and you should use tiny amounts of it as it has a strong smell.

You'll need:

• 2-3 medium-sized potatoes, peeled and chopped into 1/2" cubes
• 1lb fresh spinach, washed, rinsed and chopped
• 1/2 tsp turmeric
• juice of 2 lemons
• 1 tsp mustard seeds
• 1/8 tsp asafoetida
• 2 tsp ground coriander powder
• 4 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 chilli (hot pepper), finely chopped (I added this, otherwise it would be too bland)
• salt to taste (about 1tsp of sea salt; you can always add more later)

1. Heat 2-3 tbsp of canola/sunflower/cooking oil , and add the mustard seeds. Let them pop for 10 seconds
2. Add the asafoetida; let the seeds (from above) continue to pop
3. Once the popping dies down (say, 30 seconds later), add the potatoes, turmeric and coriander powder
4. Cook (covered, stirring frequently, on medium heat) for 5 minutes. Add the salt.
5. Add 2 cups of water; the garlic, chopped chillie, lemon juice. Mix it all up.
6. Add the chopped spinach, reduce the heat to medium-low and cover.
7. Keep cooking till the water is almost gone; stir every minute or two.

The asafoetida keeps for a long time. I bought some from India 2 years ago, and it's still going strong. Trust me: there's no bug or plant on this planet which would come close to it.

On Sunday, Chloe and Nora organized a "vegan potluck brunch" in Dolores Park, and I showed up with my sprouted moon bean salad with lots of beets, carrots, tomatoes. As an added benefit, I got to chow down on food that's been off limits to me so far: tortilla chips, strawberry cobbler, etc. If only we could have such potlucks every day: we'd eliminate hunger!! ;-)