More recipes from OUT-TER-SPAAAACCEE

Ok space-cadetes and kittens, it's time for another outerspace food-o-rama. Yes, that's right. I said OUTERSPACE food-OH-rama!

1. The first outerspace food of the millennium is yogurt cheese. Yuumee. You take plain (not vanilla) yogurt, put it in a very fine mesh strainer (or in cheesecloth inside a strainer) set over a bowl in the fridge for 3 to 8 hours, and POOF, outerspace magic makes it into yogurt cheese. I have a fondness for plain yogurt mixed with chopped fresh mint and cilantro, then cheeseified. Mmm...herby yogurt cheese from outerspace!


2. Eggplant, Potato, Okra, Chickpea Stew from OUTERSPAAAACE (modified from Madhur Jaffrey's World Vegetarian)

1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/2 tsp ground cumin
2 whole dried red chilies
2 garlic cloves, peeled and lightly crushed
3/4 pound potatoes, cut into 1- to 1.5-inch chunks
3/4 pound eggplant cut into 1- to 1.5-inch chunks
approximately 20 small, whole okra pods
1/4 tsp turmeric
1 tsp ground coriander
1 6oz can of tomato paste
2 tsp salt
3/4 cup (3oz) finely minced fresh cilantro (leaves, stems, and roots)
2 cups drained cooked chickpeas (one 15oz can)
3 bitter melons cut into 1- to 1.5-inch chunks (see notes below)


Put the oil in a large, wide pot and set over hight heat. When hot, put in the cumin. Let it sizzle for 10 seconds. Put in the red chilies. As soon as they swell and darken, a matter of seconds, put in the garlic and potatoes. Stir and fry for a minute. Put in the eggplant chunks. Stir and fry for 2 minutes. Now add the turmeric and coriander. Stir once and put in the tomato paste, 4 cups of water, salt, cilantro, and chickpeas. Bring to a boil. Cover, turn the heat down to low, and cook gently for 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, stir-fry the okra in a little oil over medium-high heat for 3-4 minutes until lightly browned, and add them to the stew and cook for 15-20 minutes more.

This was good served over basmati rice, and also with garlic naan. Made 4 Jennie-sized meals.

Notes: bitter melon is sold at my local Indian Grocery. They are small 6" green footballs with bumpy alligator skin. Once you cut the melon, you are supposed to salt the insides and then rinse them to get rid of some of the bitterness. I salted them and let them sit and then TOTALLY forgot to rinse them. The result was surprising bitter bites scattered throughout the stew. I didn't fry the bitter melon, and I wonder what it would have been like if I had remembered the rinsing step and also tried frying. That will be another outerspace cooking adventure. I left the seeds in 1.5 of the melons. The seeds are crunchy and tasty, but the texture is strange in this squishy outerspace stew. If adding bitter melon, I would only use 1 or 2 next time, not 3--too strong compared to the other veggies.


What other uberyums lurk in the dark expanse of the outerspace kitchen? Tune in next time!