Vegetable Biryani

I got this recipe from the Sundays At Moosewood Restaurant cookbook, p. 306, and tweaked it a bit.  While the dish itself isn't very spicy, the onion chutney heats things up.

1 cup brown rice
2 cups water
1/2 tsp. salt

Cook according to directions.  While the rice is cooking:

2 Tablespoons Butter, Chicken fat, or Oil (if vegan)
1 medium onion, diced
1 cup of sliced carrots
1 green pepper, diced
1 small yellow squash, halved and sliced
2 cups of cooked chic peas
2 teaspoons of chopped fresh ginger
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 Tablespoons Olive oil

Melt the butter in a large skillet, over medium-high heat.  Add the cut vegetables one at a time, and let each cook for a couple of minutes before adding the next.  I usually use that time to chop the next (this drives my husband crazy, he'd rather have it all ready to go).  Add the spices last, and at that point it's probably ready, drizzle on the olive oil.  You don't want to overcook the vegetables.  The whole thing takes about 15-20 minutes tops.  The rice takes 50 minutes, so you'll want to time it right.  Before cooking the vege, you could make:

Onion Chutney p. 313

1 small onion, minced
4 teaspoons lemon juice
1 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon cayenne
salt to taste

I thought it was extra good topped with the chutney and some paneer, which I had accidentally made earlier this week while heating old milk to make yogurt.

You can use any variety of vegetables.  The recipe actually called for all of the above (except yellow squash), plus, 1 diced tomato, 2 cups of cauliflower, 1/2 cup green peas, and 1/3 cup raisins.  You could also use sweet potato instead of carrots.

Easily serves 4

Pound Cake

Recipe link below, so good it's addictive.

I had decided long ago to make pound cake, and Challah, for the market, because they required a lot of eggs, which was the first thing our farm ever produced.  In the Market rules, your baked goods must have an agricultural product, and you-a home processor permit (free, in KY).  Secondly, you must have an egg producer certificate or license, which we did, to use your own chickens' eggs in baked goods for sale, or sell to commercial establishments.  The license means you are following production and handling rules, i.e. washing and refrigeration.  I've known other bakers who couldn't use their chickens' eggs at all in their baked goods for this reason.  Oddly enough you can still sell up to 60 dozen a week, direct sales, without a license.

So, since we aren't marketing, and won't be again for awhile, if ever, here is the recipe I used, which I modified for ease and finished product perfection, Paula Deen's pound cake recipe. 

• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon fine salt
• 5 eggs
• 3 cups plus more for pan all purpose flour
• 3 cups sugar
• 1/2 cup vegetable shortening
• 1/2 lb (2 sticks) plus more for pan butter
• 1 cup milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

I also had come up with a variety of seasonal favorites.  One of the most popular was Lemon.  Just add zest, would work for Lime, and Orange as well.