Hi! Just a quick note to all of you Susitna Cafe’ Friends…we’ve updated the Cafe’ Menu Gallery again. Just click on the “Cafe’ Menu Gallery” tab and take a peak for yourself!
There’s a delicious summer borscht…some flavorful Mediterranean tofu burgers and a tasty Indian saag paneer dish. Go ahead and browse the updated menu for now, and I’ll be back to take your order 
Filed under August 2010
Houston, TX USA…this city never ceases to amaze me…it’s sooo international…it’s sooo eclectic…it’s sooo tasty!
The Mahatma Ghandi District
Hi! Welcome to the Susitna Cafe’! We’re sooo glad you’ve stopped by for a visit. Today we’re talking about one of Houston’s many ethnic enclaves, the “Mahatma Ghandi District”. The ” Ghandi District” or “Little India” comprises the area around Hillcroft Avenue, Harwin Drive, Fondren Road and Westpark Drive.
Map of Mahatma Ghandi District, Houston, TX
Little India is identified streetside in Houston by temple-shaped street signs.
Photo Courtesty of Wikipedia.Org
There are more than 76,000 people of Indian descent who live in the Houston area. Therefore, residents and visitors alike have the opportunity to enjoy the diversity offered amongst the Houston Indian community. One of these opportunities is the ethnic enclave of Little India.
So, the Susitna Cafe’ hit the road and embraced what Little India has to offer, and we did so on a very hot India-like day in July. In fact, our car thermometer read 109 degrees Fahrenheit! Lucky for us, we did so amongst friends!
We ventured forth with approximately 30 adventurous members of the Houston Chowhounds group on “A Big Tour of Little India” led by Shubhra Ramineni, cookbook author of “Entice with Spice”.
Our first stop was Shri Balaji Bhavan, a family run restaurant specializing in southern Indian vegetarian food. As soon as we entered the restaurant, I knew it had to be good!
The exotic aromas in the restaurant filled the air with all kinds of wonderful tasty possibilities…and a peek into the kitchen window revealed some very busy ladies cooking…
and smiling…
Of course, happy cooks means happy food and happy food means tasty lunch! Ohhhh, the decision on what to order was very difficult…dosas? samosas? curry? Oh my!
Thank goodness that Grace, our friend and official taste tester at the Susitna Cafe’ Chronicles, was along and ready to order–afterall Grace “was hungry!” So, order we did!
Soon enough, along came an assortment of dosas, green coconut chutney and pigeon pea soup…
The dosas were sooo beautiful…i just had to take a peek inside…
The food all smelled sooo delicious. So, we all had to Chow!
All the tasty bits were Chow Hounded in an instant…
After laughing, talking, and eating….together, Shubhra led us to our next stop, Laxmi Sarees…
This was a place where we could all try on some beautiful Indian clothing…
So we did and, as you know, sometimes the clothing fits…
While at other times, it doesn’t…
Well, since the shoes didn’t fit, we didn’t wear them (ha-ha!), so Shubhra led us to our next stop, India Grocers…
Oooh, i really like grocery stores! Shubhra gave us a tour of the store and we learned all about Indian food and various tasty ingredients. We even stocked-up on some yummy spices…
and veggies…
Once loaded with all of our goodies, Shubhra led us to our final stop, Bombay Sweets…
another delicious stop where we enjoyed an assortment of Indian pastries…
and some relaxation…
We all had such a nice time! We hope you’ll discover and enjoy a little of India too! Or, at least join us at the Cafe’ for some tasty bits…
Okra with Onions
(adapted from Shubhra’s recipe in the India Herald article “Entice with Spice”)
Ingredients
1 pound fresh okra, cut into 1/4″ pieces and prepared
2 Tablespoons of vegetable oil*
lemon juice from 1/2 lemon
1 small onion, sliced thick*
1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
1/2 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon fresh ground pepper
cilantro, chopped for garnish
* Our preference at the Susitna Cafe’ is to use olive oil (vs. vegetable oil) and red onion in this recipe. In addition, we’ve added some chopped cilantro for garnish and flavour. However, it’s important to use the ingredients that you enjoy eating yourself! Don’t forget to experiment some too!
Heat the oil in a non-stick saute’ pan til warm. Add the okra and lemon juice and saute’ and stir for approximately 5 minutes. Add the onion and spices to your pan and saute’ until the onions are transparent and the okra is tender (approximately 15 minutes). Enjoy!
Cooks Notes: Shubhra has some excellent tips on how to prepare Okra. Check them out at: \”Entice with Spice\”. In addition, note that we added a little extra lemon juice to the okra and onions at the Cafe’–delicious!
Traveler’s Note: Don’t forget to tour Little India when you’re in Houston. Be sure to contact us at the Cafe’ if you find something tasty to share. You may leave a comment on this post or email us at SusitnaCafe@gmail.com.
Filed under July 2010
Happy 4th of July Susitna Cafe’ friends! We’re celebrating at our neighborhood annual parade and cookout, and we’re sooo glad you’ve joined us!
Oh look! The sidewalks are all decorated with flags today…
The neighbors have pulled-out their lawn chairs…
And the parade has begun…
Isn’t this exciting? It looks like there are some friendly firemen leading the parade!
Oh, and here come some bicyclists…
Wow! Some folks are dressed-up for the occasion…they’re wearing good ‘ol red, white and blue…
Looks like some folks are enjoying their morning walk in the parade today…
While others are enjoying their wagons…
and wheels…
Look! Family pets are in the parade too!
Ahhw…he’s sooo “Handsome”!
Now that the parade is over, let’s go to the neighborhood clubhouse. Looks like the picnic has started!
Isn’t it nice here? There’s face painting for the kids…
Swimming…
“Just Hanging”…
and, of course, hot dogs!
Well, let’s celebrate and grab a hot dog and some cole slaw…Happy Birthday America!!!
Susitna Cafe’ Cole Slaw with Feta
Ingredients*
4 cups cabbage, shredded
2 carrots, shredded
2 green onions (scallions), chopped
1/2 cup feta cheese (I use feta with mediterranean herbs, but plain feta is delicious too)
1/3 cup cider vinegar
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 Tablespoons agave syrup
fresh ground pepper, to taste
*I recommended using organic ingredients whenever possible.
Combine all ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Stir to incorporate the dressing and feta throughout the slaw.
Chill for several hours (overnight is even better). This is a delicious alternative to cole slaw with mayonnaise!
Cook’s Note: Note that the outer (greener) leaves on a cabbage head marinates faster and imparts a milder cabbage flavor to your slaw. The shredded leaves from the hard interior section of the cabbage head takes longer to marinate and imparts a stronger flavor to your slaw. You may wish to use a combination of both outer and inner leaves to vary the texture and flavor of this savory salad. As for your hot dogs and/or sausages…remember to soak them in water for a couple of hours (or even overnight) prior to grilling. Soaking will ensure that you’ll enjoy the plumpest and juiciest hot dogs at your summer grilling parties. You know, sometimes it’s just the little things that you do that make a big tasty difference 😮
Top of the mornin’ to you my Susitna Cafe’ friends! We’re just chatting and enjoying our morning coffee here today. As usual, I’m a wee bit late getting my first cup.
Seems like our routines in the wee hours of the mornin’ are about the same at our house in Houston, TX. Here’s an example of our wake-up routine:
1. Get nudged by cold, wet nose*
2. Arise out of bed
3. Take red-head outside
4. Bring red-head inside
5. Grind coffee beans
6. While grinding, note that red-head has very sad Irish-looking eyes…
7. Stop grinding coffee beans
8. Feed red-head
9. Grind coffee beans
10. While grinding, note red-head looking at me followed by a glance at the front door…
11. Grind coffee beans
12. Note red-head pointing at front door with cold, wet nose as if he is pointing to something that I surely must agree is of utmost importance…
*Note: This is not my red-headed husband’s nose
After the top of the mornin’ routine is done and we have alot of ground coffee beans (but, with no coffee to drink…sigh…), my red-headed Golden Retriever, Gus, takes “R” and me on a morning walk at a nearby park.
As we walk, Gus communicates to me as he usually does in his own very happy canine way. This morning, however, he stopped during the walk to “speak to me” for a moment. He not only stopped, but he also flopped onto the grass and pointed his cold, wet snoz downward.
I guess I wasn’t quite “listening”, so he made an effort to do so again. He stopped, flopped and pointed his snoz downward to be sure that I understood the importance of his communication.
Well, I understood. Today, he communicated, is a day to celebrate green…spring forward green…Irish clover green…
It was, indeed, a wonderful and inspirational walk this morning. We saw spring forward green all around us. We observed it on the park trail…
In the woods…
On the ground…
On the bushes and trees…
Yes, even in the Irish clover…
Sigh…when we were done with our walk, I decided to check and see if spring forward green might be elsewhere in Houston too.
So, I loaded up my Irish-looking dog in our car and drove to Georgia’s Farm to Market. Upon arrival at Georgia’s, I was surprised to see a couple of leprechaun farmers from Richmond, TX.
They had a pot of gold…
It was all so fresh, colorful and green sort of like a rainbow…
So I got some of the pot o’ gold from the Leprechaun farmers amongst their rainbow, and decided to spring forward green at the Cafe’ today. Would you like to spring forward green with me, my Susitna Cafe’ friends?
Let’s cook a pot o’ gold to celebrate a wonderful green St. Patrick’s Day! Well then, away we go lads and lassies to cook some Colcannon, an Irish potato and kale pot o’ gold dish.
Susitna Cafe’ Colcannon
Ingredients
1/4 cup olive oil
2 Tablespoons butter
2 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
1 large sweet yellow onion, rough chopped
4 medium russet potatoes, boiled and chopped
1 bunch curly kale, washed & chopped with base stems removed
salt and ground black pepper
Heat oil and butter in frying pan over medium heat. Add the garlic and onion.
Saute’ until the onions are transparent. Next, add the boiled chopped potatoes (with peel) and mix with the garlic and onion mixture.
Saute’ while mashing the potatoes with the back of a fork. Potato consistency should appear somewhat chunky. Slowly add chopped kale, a small bunch at a time, incorporating into the potato and onion mixture. Saute’ and allow the potatoes to brown on the bottom of the pan.
The brown bits have alot of flavor, so continue to turn the potato and kale mixture over to brown some more. Continue to do so until the kale is wilted and the brown bits are evenly distributed throughout mixture. Add salt and pepper to taste.
“R”, who has some Boston Irish heritage in his family, enjoys Colcannon with eggs cooked over easy for breakfast. You may wish to serve Colcannon as a side dish to corned beef or as a main vegetarian meal.
Enjoy your pot o’ gold on this wonderful green St. Patrick’s Day!
Cook’s Note: Try substituting chopped cabbage for the kale. You won’t be disappointed!
Traveler’s Notes: Georgia’s Farm to Market is located at 12171 Katy Freeway, Houston, TX. Don’t miss the farmer’s market on Wednesday and Thursday from 10 am to 2 pm.
I haven’t been to Ireland yet. However, “R” has been there. He tells me that the land is the greenist green you ever will see. Someday, we are going to visit Quigley’s Point in Northern Ireland where his mother’s family originates. We’re looking forward to this trip together in the near future…
Filed under March 2010
I enjoy gardening, don’t you? I started gardening when I was in grade school. In fact, when I was 12 years old, I grew a BIG cabbage. The BIG cabbage was my pride and joy.
Of course, I grew this cabbage in Alaska–you know, the place where everything is BIG. In fact, my cabbage weighed 40 lbs.
After growing this pride and joy, I hadn’t thought about it much. Mostly, I’ve lived my life knowing that I am a successful cabbage gardener. I haven’t won any awards or even shared this tidbit of information with many of my friends.
Perhaps I’ve just lived my life feeling really proud about my gardening ability, particularly when it comes to growing cabbage. Well, I must admit that I’ve probably been a bit arrogant about the whole ordeal.
However, last September my pride was shattered. I was crushed. I felt about the same as when my mother exceeded my BIG fish catch record. In 1984, my little petite mum (she’s 4′ 11″ tall) caught a 70 lb. King Salmon in Deep Creek, Alaska. After that occasion, life was simply not the same.
My life was shattered...
My cabbage pride (vs. my fishing pride) was shattered at the Alaska State Fair in Palmer, Alaska. I remember the day well.
“R” and I had decided to take my mom out to lunch, then spend the afternoon walking and wandering the Fairgrounds. It was a crisp and cool Fall day. We entertained ourselves silly…
Alaskan Wildlife
Coffee Guys
I wish we hadn’t done it. But, we did. We walked and wandered into the farm animal and garden complex…
It was OK at first. We viewed and talked about all the nice vegetables grown by local gardeners. We even saw some large vegetables.
Rhubarb
"R"'s thumb and large zucchini
But there it was. I remember gasping for air. I had even wondered if I was dis-com-bob-u-lated (is that a word? well, you know what I mean). I closed my eyes and reopened them and saw cabbages everywhere…
Cabbage in a canoe...
"Count Veggula" cabbage...
But, there was no mistaking the BIG cabbage. It was “The Beast” of all cabbages. And it was, indeed, there in front of me.
"The Beast"
“The Beast” weighed 127 pounds. Can you believe it my Cafe’ friends? I was in awe, as you can imagine.
The Anchorage Daily News reported about “The Beast”…that “Leafy Wonder”. But, I was unable to read all the details. My cabbage pride had been wounded.
Time heals these wounds, however. So, now several months later I’m upbeat again. Why not? You only live once! Why not make cabbage and meatball soup to soothe one’s wounded cabbage pride and move on in life. Shall we, my Susitna Cafe’ friends?
Cabbage and Meatball Soup (serves 6-8)
Ingredients
Ingredients
¼ cup olive oil
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 yellow onion, chopped
2-3 small celery hearts with leaves, chopped (or, 1 celery stalk will do)
2 carrots, sliced
.25 lb Serrano ham, chopped
2 plum tomatoes, chopped
1 small head of cabbage, shredded and chopped
7-8 cups of water
2 heaping Tablespoons of Better than Bouillon Organic Vegetable Base (or 3 cubes of Rapunzel Vegan Vegetable Bouillon)
1 can cannellini beans, drained (or ½ cup dried beans soaked in 4 cups of water overnight)
Parmesan rind (or about 1/3 cup of grated parmesan)
10 meatballs (your favorite recipe or frozen will do—I often use Ikea frozen meatballs (thawed) because they are good quality, and have no preservatives)
Make Your Soup Base
Heat olive oil in large dutch oven or soup pot under medium heat. Add garlic and sauté. When the garlic begins to turn brown, add the chopped onions. Sauté and stir til transparent. Now add your chopped celery with leaves, sliced carrots and chopped Serrano ham. Cook for about 10 minutes. Next, add the chopped plum tomatoes and cabbage. Stir and sauté for another 10 minutes, and enjoy the beautiful color of this cabbage soup base.
Oooh...so nice!
Let’s Make Soup
Your soup base is prepared, so now let’s add 7 cups of water, the bouillon, cannellini beans, and the parmesan rind. Simmer the soup for approximately 30 minutes. If you used dried soaked beans, you may need to simmer the soup longer in order to soften the beans. Taste, and use your own discretion.
Add your meatballs and lots of fresh ground pepper. You may add an additional cup of water if the soup becomes too thick (note, this is a substantial soup so it will be thick). Cook for an additional 10 minutes. Add salt, as needed.
Garnish with shredded parmesan. Serve with crusty sourdough bread, a hunk of your favorite cheese, and a tossed salad.
Dinner is ready!
Ode to the Cabbage
Oh, great cabbage…
Where art thou?
Not one of 5, 10, or 20 pounds…
No imposter will do!
Oh, what temerity!
Roll along now ye little ones…
We seek cabbage from the Land of the Midnight Sun!
by “R”
Traveler’s Notes: the Alaska State Fair will be held this year from Aug. 26-Sept. 6, 2010. Be sure to visit the BIG vegetables!
Cook’s Notes: this recipe makes alot of soup–freeze some! It freezes well.
Filed under February 2010
We’ve just returned from the Land of Paprika. I don’t have a diary. But, if I did, I would describe Day 1 as follows:
Just arrived in Budapest, Hungary feeling groggy. The airport is much smaller than expected. It’s mid-afternoon, Hungary-time…I’ve eaten breakfast twice…or, was it lunch that I ate twice and breakfast and dinner only once? Even my watch, with multiple time functions, is confused.
Our Zona Cab driver, a friendly native Hungarian, promptly whisks us from the airport to Erzsebet Korut. He is happy for us. He wants us to love Budapest. He’s proud of the people and cultural heritage. He speaks excellent English.
Thank goodness. I’ve forgotten how to speak anything in Hungarian. I am jet-lagged.
“We’re here” he says. We step-out of the cab and look up. Wow! “R” and I have our mouths open wide. The Hotel doorman, observing us, is surely wondering if we’re trying to speak Hungarian, and after having failed, have decided to fall back on the Charades technique to act-out our needs…
No, we are not Hungary hungry. We are in awe. The online hotel reviews simply did not depict the beauty of the Corinthia Hotel. The Hotel was described as having been “a former restored palace”…a bit “out of the way”…
As the winter sun began to set, the lights appeared all around us. We gasped at the Corinthia “Grand” Hotel, a beautifully restored palace, glowing on this winter day in all its splendor.
Home away from home...
We wave goodbye to our new Hungarian taxicab driver friend, and we step into the Hotel…
“R” is enthusiastic. He wants to take my picture, although we haven’t checked-in yet. “Limburger!”, he says while he takes a multitude of photos of me. “R” shows them to me, and they appear a bit jet-lagged blurry.
"Limberger!"
We agree to check-in quickly, toss our baggage into our room and focus on exploring. “R” and I love to walk when we travel. We walk and we wander…
Our jet-lag begins to wear-off as we walk out onto Erzsebet Korut. It is cold outside. We take it all in…the Austro-Hungarian architecture, the stoic remains from the communist occupation, and the city dwellers walking home from work.
I take note of a cluster of locals carrying bags of groceries home. I quietly think, oh joy! I know there’s a grocery store nearby…Yes, my Susitna Cafe’ friends, a grocery store. Can you believe it?
Who in the world travels all the way across the Atlantic from Houston, Texas to Budapest, Hungary to spend time in a grocery store? We do. Why? Well, you would be amazed at what one can learn from the experience!
After spending about 20 minutes in the local Spar grocery store, one can assess the following:
1) the locals eat fresh foods and shop daily as typical Europeans do–this is determined by strolling around the entire store first in order to get an overall broad assessment of the situation–are we having fun yet?
2) pastries, and most particularly, cakes are popular–take note that the cracker, cookie and pastry isle is fully stocked with prepared cakes…carrot cake, chocolate cake… cake with and without marzipan…
3) there is paprika everywhere–we’re not talking about paprika in small jars. We’re talking about paprika in bags and tubes. If paprika is not packaged in a bag or tube, it is commonly found as an ingredient in food items.
At this point of my grocery store cultural assessment, my thoughts race as I consider all the recipes I could test and/or develop from this wonderful inspiration.
In the meantime, “R” is beginning to look tired and Hungary hungry. I encourage him to be patient because I think I’ve found IT. IT is that one source of cooking inspiration that I simply must learn about during our trip. In this case, on our first day, IT must be paprika. Paprika is Hungarian. Hungary hungarians eat paprika. We are in Hungary, so we must eat paprika. We must learn about paprika too.
My thoughts continue to race…well, there are so many kinds of paprika to consider… special quality, delicate, excuisite delicate, pungent excuisite delicate, noble sweet, half sweet, rose AND hot paprika. What is a girl to do?
I convinced myself to hold that thought until I could figure it out later. After all, what is a girl to do? So, we walk out of Spar and head towards Andrassy Ut.
Meanwhile, “R” is still Hungary hungry. We observe many bookstores on Andrassy Ut. We love bookstores! We enter “Alexandra” bookstore, and I find the cookbook section quickly. They have “Culinaria Hungary” in English! I quickly glance at recipes and note some common ingredients…Hungarian peppers, tomatoes, paprika…
“R” waves at me wildly and encourages me to go up the escalator with him. “R” has found food and art…
What a sight as we ride the escalator to the second floor–the ceiling is gilded. Isn’t it marvelous?
Look Up!
We are delighted as we sit at the “Alexandra Bookstore Cafe” table amongst friends. But, there is a slight hiccup…our waitress speaks Hungarian. We try speaking Hungarian…our waitress doesn’t understand us, and she smiles at our efforts…
Our smiling waitress then begins speaking German. At this point, there is hope…I speak some German, and after doing so, she understands me! We are now “connected”. We enthusiastically order a hot tea, a latte and some sandwiches.
We dive into our sandwiches amongst the frescoes and books. Occasionally I look up and see this:
Art and Food...
I am, once again, inspired. I become more energized by the minute. As I bite into my sandwich, I ask the waitress, “Was ist das?” She tells me that we are eating Hungarian sausage laced with…what else? Paprika! Art and food…
Susitna Cafe’ Hungarian Winter Lecso (“LETCH-oh”)
Lecso is a popular Hungarian national dish. Every Hungarian family has their own version. The Susitna Cafe’ version includes an assortment of colorful organic vegetables combined with sausage and, of course, paprika. It is a wonderful winter stew inspired by Day 1 in Hungary, our art and food experience. Would you like to share the experience with me at the Susitna Cafe’?
This is what you’ll need to make Lecso that feeds 4-6 people as a main dish (feeds more if served as an appetizer):
Ingredients
Ingredients
1/4 cup olive oil
1 Tablespoon bacon grease*
1 medium eggplant, sliced in 1″ slices, salted, rinsed, then chopped
1 red onion, chopped
2 yellow bell peppers, chopped in 1/2 inch pieces
2-3 small zucchini squash, diced
3 plum tomatoes, chopped
3 heaping teaspoons tomato paste
2 Tablespoons Hungarian paprika (hot is preferred, but sweet will do)
1 Hungarian sausage link*, chopped (kielbasa or your favorite sausage will do)
Salt and pepper to taste
Sour cream (for serving)
*vegetarians omit these ingredients
Begin by slicing the eggplant into 1 inch slices. Salt the tops and bottoms and leave for 10 minutes. The salt will extract any bitterness from the eggplant.
Salted Eggplant
Heat the oil in a dutch oven at medium-high heat. Meanwhile, clean and chop the red onion. Next, rinse the salt from the eggplant slices, pat them dry, and chop them. Throw the onion and eggplant into the heated dutch oven. Saute and stir.
While the onion and eggplant cook, clean and chop the remaining vegetables. After the eggplant and onion are cooked soft, add the remaining chopped vegetables. Saute and stir.
Colorful Lecso Veggies
The vegetables may begin to stick to the pan, so you may add about 1/4 cup of water, as needed. Now add the tomato paste and paprika. Cook for about 10 minutes on medium heat, stirring occasionally. The Lecso should have the consistency of a chunky tomato sauce.
Add the chopped sausage to the mix and continue cooking for 30 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste. Less salt is required if sausage is used in the recipe.
Now, turn-off the heat and allow the Lecso to come to room temperature. Although you may skip this step and dig-in, a little patience will reveal a richer and full-flavored Lecso. The cooling period allows the Lecso flavors to meld. Once the Lecso is cool, then reheat and serve.
Serve with a dollop of light sour cream on top, some crusty bread, and a tossed green salad.
Hungary Anyone?
Traveler’s Notes: Since writing this post, I’ve discovered that the Alexandra Bookstore Cafe’ frescoes were painted by a 19th century Hungarian painter, Karoly Lotz.
Filed under February 2010
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Two Wall Gallery, Vashon Island, Washington, USA, September 2010 (click here for details)
Salmon
Susitna Cafe' Chronicles 