Tag Archives: winter meal

But I was thinking of a plan to dye one’s whiskers green.
~ Lewis Carroll

I feared for the safety of my cream-coloured top as the spinach and water merged by magic blade power to become a brilliant mossy puree! (The lid of our blender no longer sits snugly due to a dishwasher mishap).

Green, so green it became; and it smelled like a bouquet of grass mixed with rain. I have to admit I was a little skeptical about cooking with this green paint…

I should know by now that I can mostly trust Tessa Kiros… :-)

Tonight from Tessa Kiros’ “Falling Cloudberries”:
#38 Chicken with Coriander & Spinach Rice – Page 353

Somehow, I fried the chicken in olive oil, pureed the spinach, chopped up the garlic and vegetables, measured rice, made spiced yoghurt… cooked… mind utterly distracted with work and what I needed to discuss on the phone with an overseas-based colleague after I finished cooking. All that permeated my mind was the sheer green colour of this dish!

My modifications: I left out the cilantro, added more spice, some crushed nuts and a bit of sugar, and added slightly less rice. I also couldn’t think of how to accurately measure 100g of spinach, so I just added half a bag.

The result was something akin to, like Tessa writes, a Peruvian pilaf. Warm, lightly spiced, sweet with the taste of vegetables and probably a good meal for Winter.

While I can’t share all of Tessa’s recipes on my blog for obvious reasons (please treat yourself to a copy of her book!) – I will share her recipe for spiced yoghurt (makes an excellent side for pilaf, mince parcels, etc):

Recipe adapted from Tessa Kiros’ “Falling Cloudberries”:

Ingredients:
250g (1 cup) plain Greek yoghurt
1 tsp ground cumin
2 tsp olive oil
Salt & pepper to taste

Method:
Mix together the yoghurt, cumin and olive oil. Season with salt and pepper.