The Ocean in the Sky

North of House Rock Road

We had an afternoon thunderstorm roll through yesterday and it woke the boys from their naps. So we sat in front of our big window and watched the lightning and listened to the boom of the thunder. M. said that "the thunder sounds like the ocean is in the sky". That is such an apt description for the thunderstorms that we get here. They come rolling in and the violence and sheer energy is so comparable to the power in the ocean.
We have had some spectacular storms this year. Our labor day trip to southern Utah was no exception. It made for amazing scenery, cooler days, and more vivid colors, but also made some of the dirt roads a little more...eh hum...slippery. Knowing our history, we kept things pretty mild this trip. Stuck in the vast nothingness, with toddler and babe, didn't sound so exciting for this trip. We still had our adventure and, as always, can't wait to get back.
More pics after the jump.

A. At Hopatki Pueblo



Hiking at Zion's Canyon

Catching Frogs at Emerald Pools, Zion's Canyon

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Daring Bakers Sept 2009 Indian Dosas

My first exposure to Dosas was in Seattle at a hole-in-the-wall strip-mall Indian restaurant. I was so excited to make these this month because I had such amazing memories of those delicious dosas. These come close. The challenge this month was hosted by Debyi of Healthy Vegan Kitchen. The main requirement was to make the dosas completely vegan. Well, I have to admit that I failed on that account. I was in a hurry to get these done before Tom was out of town for the weekend that I had to put in chicken broth instead of vegetable broth in the sauce. Too bad I put this off 'till the end of the month or I probably would remake it so that I could really fulfill the challenge requirement. However, it is a recipe I am excited to try agian. It is such a versitile recipe so maybe next time I'll make dal for the filling in place of the chickpeas filling and maybe that will come closer to what I remember. I can't wait to experiement. Thanks for a great recipe and experience Debyi.

Indian Dosas
This recipe comes in 3 parts, the dosas, the filling and the sauce. It does take awhile to make, but the filling and sauce can be made ahead and frozen if need be. You can serve them as a main course with rice and veggies, or as an appetizer. This does take a little planning ahead, so make sure you read the recipe through before starting (I forgot & didn't start making the rice until everything was ready, oops).

Serves 4

Equipment needed:
large bowl
whisk
griddle or skillet
ladle (or large spoon)
spatula
vegetable peeler &/or knife
large saucepan
food processor or bean masher

Dosa Pancakes
1 cup (120gm/8oz) spelt flour (or all-purpose, gluten free flour)
½ tsp (2½ gm) salt
½ tsp (2½ gm) baking powder
½ tsp (2½ gm) curry powder
½ cup (125ml/4oz) almond milk (or soy, or rice, etc.)
¾ cup (175ml/6oz) water
cooking spray, if needed

Dosa Filling
1 batch Curried Garbanzo Filling (see below), heated

Dosa Toppings
1 batch Coconut Curry Sauce (see below), heated
¼ cup (125gm) grated coconut
¼ cucumber, sliced

Dosa Pancakes
1.Combine the dry ingredients in a bowl, slowly adding the almond milk and water, whisking until smooth.
2.Heat a nonstick skillet over medium heat. Spray your pan with a thin layer of cooking spray, if needed.
3.Ladle 2 tablespoons of batter into the center of your pan in a circular motion until it is a thin, round pancake. When bubbles appear on the surface and it no longer looks wet, flip it over and cook for a few seconds. Remove from heat and repeat with remaining batter. Makes 8 pancakes.

Curried Garbanzo Filling
This filling works great as a rice bowl topping or as a wrap too, so don't be afraid to make a full batch.

5 cloves garlic
1 onion, peeled and finely diced
1 carrot, peeled and finely diced
1 green pepper, finely diced (red, yellow or orange are fine too)
2 medium hot banana chilies, minced
2 TBSP (16gm) cumin, ground
1 TBSP (8gm) oregano
1 TBSP (8gm) sea salt (coarse)
1 TBSP (8gm) turmeric
4 cups (850gm/30oz) cooked or canned chick peas (about 2 cans)
½ cup (125gm/4oz) tomato paste

1.Heat a large saucepan over medium to low heat. Add the garlic, veggies, and spices, cooking until soft, stirring occasionally.
2.Mash the chickpeas by hand, or in a food processor. Add the chickpeas and tomato paste to the saucepan, stirring until heated through.

Coconut Curry Sauce
This makes a great sauce to just pour over rice as well. This does freeze well, but the texture will be a little different. The flavor is still the same though. My picture of this sauce is one that I had made, had to freeze, then thaw to use. It tastes great, but the texture is a little runnier, not quite as thick as it was before freezing.

1 onion, peeled and chopped
2 cloves garlic
½ (2½ gm) tsp cumin, ground
¾ (3¾ gm) tsp sea salt (coarse)
3 TBSP (30gm) curry powder
3 TBSP (30gm) spelt flour (or all-purpose GF flour)
3 cups (750ml/24oz) vegetable broth
2 cups (500ml/24oz) coconut milk
3 large tomatoes, diced

1.Heat a saucepan over medium heat, add the onion and garlic, cooking for 5 minutes, or until soft.
2.Add the spices, cooking for 1 minutes more. Add the flour and cook for 1 additional minute.
3.Gradually stir in the vegetable broth to prevent lumps. Once the flour has been incorporated, add the coconut milk and tomatoes, stirring occasionally.
4.Let it simmer for half an hour.
Happy eating!And here is the rest of it.

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