We expanded our spice cabinet quite a bit during quarantine last year, with all of the cooking and new recipes we were trying out regularly. As a result, we got to dabble in a lot of new cuisines and dishes — one of which has quickly become a favorite: lovely yellow dal. The lentil-based dish is a hearty and flavorful (and healthy, I like to think!) one that is perfect for a cold winter’s night, and always leaves enough for lunch leftovers the next day. It’s wonderful mixed in with a nice bowl of basmati rice, or eaten with some warm bread to sop it up.

While I’ve always had delicious naan at restaurants eating out, I had never thought to make it myself. Thanks to a good friend who gifted me some sourdough starter last year, I’ve been seeking out new ways to use the additional starter beyond my regular weekly boules — and naan presented the perfect way to do so. With some leftover starter kicking around, I decided to try my hand at sourdough naan, which turned out to be a great complement to the dal we were making regularly.

The end result was a delicious, warm and flavorful naan that went just as quickly as the dal. To complete the meal, we made a small batch of basmati rice (mixed with golden raisins, a little parsley, and some spices), an assortment of roasted veggies, and homemade sidecars (cocktails made with cognac, cointreau, simple syrup, and freshly squeezed lemon juice — topped with a little lemon peel curl). A perfect winter’s night meal!

Happy New Year, all! It’s been a while since I’ve posted in here — apologies for the long hiatus! It was a whirlwind end to the year, with the two of us moving into a new place (and subsequently moving out of two city apartments), getting a new car, and all of the holiday happenings thrown into the mix. It’s been fun settling into the new place, hanging up our pictures, making room for our plants, and re-designing our living space to make everything feel cozy and warm (especially now that we’re spending a lot more time at home).

Rest assured, we’ve still been cooking (and cocktail crafting) a ton, so keep an eye out for more upcoming posts about some of the new dishes and drinks we’ve been making. In fact, one of my favorite things about our new place is the kitchen — it’s much bigger, with ample cabinet space and a big lovely counter that’s perfect for kneading bread and food prepping. Since cooking was such a big part of 2020 for us, we closed out the year by cooking a fancy homemade meal (risotto with asparagus and peas, seared bacon-wrapped scallops, and a big ol’ lovely chocolate cake — because, why not?).

Cheers and best wishes to you all for a happy 2021!
Ash