Cherry Kanten with Cashew Cream

I went home for spring break last week.  I saw and experienced many things, including figuring out where to find the "Cheapest GOAT MEAT in Town!!" (see right).

And I cooked quite a bit, but mostly reruns, including Celeste's brussels sprouts / fennel / mushroom dish, that warm chickpea and artichoke salad, and a few Indian dishes (below), with which we also had some coconut cardamom panna cotta.

From upper left: spinach salad; cheater chana masala; brown basmati rice with onion, garlic, cumin, turmeric, peas, and almonds; baingan bharta

And here's a rare photo of my brother, my mom, and me about to enjoy the above-mentioned foods:

The one totally new thing I made was a kanten, using some of the agar left over after making coconut panna cotta (more about agar in that post, too).  Now, if you've already made one of these, it might not be too exciting, but I am so tickled by how you can make really delicious, gelatin-free jello out of fruit juice!  The possibilities are endless, I thought, as I stood in the juice aisle at the grocery store trying to decide.  I ended up going with cherry juice, and it was awesome.

This is so easy, it's hardly a recipe.  You boil juice, add agar flakes, reduce heat, simmer and stir for 5 minutes, then pour into cups and chill.  It firms up in about an hour.  Use 1 TB agar flakes per 1 cup juice. 

The cashew cream was equally simple: soak cashews in water, then puree them with a little of the soaking water.  Add sugar and maybe vanilla, and whip it up a bit more.