Chipotle and Date Chutney

I have been so badly neglecting my blog; it has been on my to-do list for the past week. I have been in the city for a little over a week now and this is the first morning I haven’t left my apartment before 10 am to go explore. Today I am making myself do everything on my to-do list, including putting sheets on my bed. Bad, I know, but the city is calling my name and there is so much to see!

I am in food heaven; the grocery stores here offer such an abundance of produce at such a GREAT price. I expected everything to be marked up ridiculously high, but cooking here is cheaper than cooking back home I say. My area is predominantly Greek and Italian, so there is no shortage of beautiful cheeses or olives. On the way home, I’ll often stop by the wine shop and pick up a bottle of wine, or stop at the European market and get some cheese. Walking everywhere is a great way to see the whole city, and an even better way to get distracted from your final destination.

I have primarily been making tons of brown rice and throwing it together with veggies and a dressing so I can picnic it at the park. I love eating outside by Central Park or the Union Square enjoying the outdoors (if it’s nice, NY has such wacky weather). I bought a beautiful cookbook the other day at a discount book store, and I’ve been obsessed with it. The first thing I made in it was the Chipotle and Date Chutney, and it’s DELICIOUS! It is spicy, a bit sweet, smoky and wonderful!

Chipotle and Date Chutney

10 dried dates, pitted, cut into chunks
4 plum tomatoes, seeded, with the juice squeezed from them
7 oz pickled chipotle peppers in adobo sauce
2 cloves garlic
1/3 cup honey
1 tsp. course sea salt

In a blender or processor, combine all the ingredients and blend until it makes a thick paste. Pour into a saucepan, and cook over medium-low for about 5 minutes, adding ¼ cup water halfway through and stirring. Cool and then store in the fridge.

This is a very versatile sauce and I have been adding this to my eggs for breakfast, spooning over my “picnic” rice dishes, and I’ve used this to baste chicken. This sits in my fridge and just a bit adds a good amount of spice to my dishes, but it’s well balanced out with the sweetness of the dates and honey, so it’s not straight up unbearable heat.

I will keep you posted on my adventures in NYC and culinary school!