Celebrating

There are lots of reasons to celebrate this week! Many Dillon families recently received great news about moving up on the adoption waiting list, their legal proceedings in India -- and the best news of all: accepting the referral of a child into their family!

What is a celebration without some good food? I tried two Indian recipes last week, and thought this was a festive enough occasion to share them. These are easy recipes for newbies to Indian cooking like myself. Enjoy!

Aloo Gobi

1/4 cup canola oil

1 large onion, peeled and diced

1 Tbsp. coriander seeds

1 tsp. chili powder OR 1 small green chili, chopped into small pieces

1 large cauliflower, leaves removed and cut evenly into eighths

3 large potatoes, peeled and cut into even pieces

2 cans diced tomatoes (I used 3 big ones from our garden)

fresh ginger, peeled and grated (or 1/2 tsp. powder -- to taste)

fresh garlic, chopped (or 1/2 tsp. garlic powder)

1 tsp. cumin seed

2 tsp. turmeric

1 tsp. salt

2 tsp. garam masala

Heat oil in large saucepan, then add onion and cumin seeds. Stir and cook until onions become translucent. Add coriander, turmeric, salt and chili powder. Stir tomatoes into mixture. Add ginger and garlic; mix thoroughly. Add potatoes and cauliflower to the sauce, plus a few tablespoons of water so it doesn't stick to the saucepan. Make sure the potatoes and cauliflower are coated with the curry sauce. Cover and simmer for 30 minutes, or until potatoes and cauliflower are cooked. Add garam masala and stir. Serves 8.

Indian Spiced Salmon

4 salmon portions (any other fish would do)

2 Tbsp. lime juice

1 Tbsp. cumin seeds

1 Tbsp. ground coriander

Drizzle lime juice on fillets. In a small dish, combine spices, then sprinkle on top of salmon. Grill on a cedar plank until cooked through (flakes easily with a fork). If, like us, you don't have a cedar plank handy (!), an old cookie sheet (not teflon or airbake) lined with aluminum foil will also do nicely. :o)