curiouser and curiouser, and recipe of the week

Burger for breakfast? Not just a burger, but one half of a leftover burger, cold from the fridge, with cold barbecue sauce, onions, and bacon, and mushy whole wheat bun, from yesterday’s lunch.

Really?

I opened the fridge, I was hungry, took a bite, and that’s what happened. Hey, at least there’s lots of iron for the baby. Good morning.

Poor Scott. I should have let him take the leftover ribs to work — the most amazing ribs ever: dry rubbed and slow smoked all day by husband of one of my new swim class friends who had us over for dinner last night — for his lunch today. When he asked, I just couldn’t let them go. But I’ve also got half a burrito in there, from Saturday’s lunch.

That’s the benefit of the pregnancy small-stomach. Lots of leftovers.

Speaking of which, Saturday night I made the Kitchari recipe from Week 6 of my Meditations for Pregnancy book (which tells you how long I’ve been intending to make it, and how long the bag of shredded coconut has been sitting in the pantry with no other purpose to speak of).

I once made an entirely different Kicharee recipe (many spellings exist) with my Aunt Elaine that involved brown lentils, tomato sauce, rice, garbanzo beans, and pasta shells, if I remember correctly. This one is, I think, a pretty traditional take using yellow split peas a.k.a. mung dahl, and considered in the Ayurvedic tradition to be a good healing food. Book recommends it during pregnancy and postpartum.

Kitchari Recipe

1 1/2-inch piece of fresh ginger, cut into pieces (only use up to week 10, after that, replace with 1/2 tsp ground ginger)
2 tablespoons unsweetened shredded coconut
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1/2 cup water
3 tablespoons ghee (clarified butter — I just used regular butter as that was what was on hand)
1/2 teaspoon ground tumeric
1/4 teaspoon sea salt, or 1 tablespoon fresh miso paste (I used miso; book recommends white or yellow)
1 cup yellow mung dahl (this recipe doesn’t call for soaking, but others suggest soaking for 6 hours or overnight if your digestion is “weak”)
1 cup basmati rice
6 cups water

Put ginger, coconut, cilantro, and 1/2 cup water into blender and liquefy. Heat ghee over medium heat in large saucepan and add the blended mixture, tumeric, and salt or miso. Stir to mix well and then add mung dahl, rice, and 6 cups water. Bring to boil and boil uncovered for 5 minutes. Cover, but leave lid slightly ajar to allow steam to escape. Reduce heat and simmer for 25 to 30 minutes until rice and dahl are tender.

I found this mixture to be very tasty and soothing. Book suggests freezing portions to reheat when you’re not up to cooking. Like after the baby comes.