potato chip heaven

mmm…i had potato chips yesterday, for the first time in months. potato chips are wonderfully satisfying when you have a craving, if potentially artery-clogging. when i was a kid, my parents used to buy “krunchers” brand potato chips when they went on sale; though they weren’t particularly crunchier than other brands of potato chips, i suppose psychologically there was a difference, just because of the name. we also bought them for the flavors: regular, bbq, and jalapeno. after eating a handful of those jalapeno chips, you were doomed: your mouth was literally on fire, but you couldn’t stop eating them. and eating them. you see how this is a vicious cycle…

i haven’t made much of anything this week, due to apathy. actually, i just keep on scheduling things to do that don’t involve cooking (shame on me!). i fully plan to cook for 2 weeks solid once my summer internship is concluded. living 10 minutes away from star market, harvest, and whole foods is a blessing and a curse. in the works: the beaumes-de-venise cake on epicurious.com, a nanaimo bar fest (only viable when mika comes back), blintzes, and various dinner foods (including coq au vin with a real rooster, beef goulash, stovetop mac + cheese, moroccan chicken pie, saag paneer…). oh, and indian pudding. hmm, let’s add chocolate angel food cake to that list, too. next week i will have three opportunities to embark on new adventures, with dinner planned for tuesday, wednesday, and thursday. rats. i just remembered that the menu is set for two of those three days. ah, well, i will sneak some surprises in there somewhere.

this week’s adventure involves very little originality, unfortunately. i was sitting at work, pondering things to make, and i set upon one thing that i really wanted: the spinach-onion-yogurt thing that celina made for her persian menu. i would have liked to have made the pomegranate-chicken thing, too, but didn’t feel like expending all that effort. the recipe for borani esfanaaj is kind of strange at first glance: wait, a whole kilogram of spinach? even when it cooks down…that’s two pounds of spinach! however, i like borani esfanaaj. a lot. so, two pounds of chopped spinach later, i was ready to indulge myself. first you saute the onions and garlic, then add the spinach (which i had to add in batches, as the pot wasn’t big enough to accommodate the volume of spinach – roughly one and a half times the size of my head). let it cool, then add the yogurt, and some salt and pepper. yum….

borani esfanaaj

2 lbs spinach, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 onions, diced
1 cup plain lowfat yogurt
salt + pepper
vegetable oil

[1] heat the vegetable oil in a dutch oven or large skillet over medium high heat. add the garlic and onions, and saute until pale golden, ~ 10-15 minutes. add spinach and cook until spinach is cooked through and releases liquid.

[2] let the spinach mixture cool, then add the yogurt. season to taste with salt and pepper.

[makes about 4 cups]