Sunday  is one of those days when I start, at around 3 pm, to think of dinner.  Woe is me if there is nothing in the house to eat!  Now, let me tell you, years ago my Zia made Chicken Cacciatora almost every Sunday.  The chicken was alive and well only hours before…pecking around the chicken pen for grain and small bugs only a chicken’s eye could see.  The hens that became dinner were plump and most definitely organic!  They were loved and cared for by Zia and even in their demise, they got tender (well, sort of tender!) handling.  Her Chicken Cacciatora was about as close to heaven as any human can imagine while holding a fork and a knife!  I remember once reading an essay by Alan Watts called “Murder In The Kitchen”…the thrust of his essay was thus…a chicken poorly prepared is a chicken that died in vain!  I couldn’t agree more!

So here I was a couple Sundays ago…sitting in the shop, end of day, thinking dinner and knowing there was not a chicken…organic or otherwise…in my larder at home.  I did what I tell all others to do while in my store: “Open up that cookbook and just feast your eyes on those recipes!”  My first choice was “Yummy Potatoes,” the first page I turned to became the fixings for dinner and let me tell you it was delicious!  The cookbook was written by Marlena Spieler with photographs by Sheri Giblin.  There is not a dud in the whole wonderful book, if you love potatoes (who doesn’t?), this is your kind of cookbook!

ALOO TAMATAR BHAJI  Gingered Tomato-Curry Potatoes

1 lb. small new potatoes

1 tsp tumeric and several large pinches of sea salt

6 Tbl. extra-virgin olive oil

1 1/2 Tbl chopped fresh ginger

6-8 garlic cloves, chopped

2 shallots, peeled and chopped

2 tsp. yellow or black mustard seeds

1/2 tsp. whole cumin seeds

large pinch of ground coriander

medium to large pinch red pepper flakes

4-6 large ripe tomatoes, grated over the large holes of a box grater…(Yes! it does work and is a genius way to prepare those tomatoes that look red and ripe but are a tad too early!)

pinch of ground cumin

3 Tbl. chopped cilantro

Boil the potatoes in their skins until just tender, drain and set aside.  When cool enough to handle, peel, then break the potatoes up coarsely with a fork…each potato into 3 or so pieces…toss the broken potatoes with the tumeric and season with the salt.

In a skillet, heat the olive oil add ginger, garlic, shallots, and the mustard seeds.  Cook until the mustard seeds start to pop a little, then sprinkle in the cumin seeds, coriander and red pepper flakes.

Add those magical tomatoes you have grated!   Cook over medium heat until it all makes a sauce (not very long), then gently add the potatoes and toss them in the tomato mixture until well combined.

Cook slightly longer…season with salt if needed and sprinkle with ground cumin.  Serve warm or at room temperature, sprinkled with the chopped cilantro.

Divine!…I added a dollop of thick yogurt to my full bowl!