http://www.lawrence.com/users/shenning/photos/2011/jun/7/215246/

Okay, so I’ll admit it, I usually don’t do the cooking. Gasp! Yes, I’m a food writer, but I’m much more of a baker or a salad maker than a true “cook.”

Rather, the cook’s apron in our household definitely goes to my husband, Justin. He loves to tackle new recipes and even gets excited about the old ones (I’m a rut-type person, and thus, we eat a lot of the same things repeatedly). He especially likes the recipes of Isa Chandra Moskowitz, who has several cookbooks out there, including one I blogged about regularly in this space last year.

So, when we got snap peas and onions in last week’s CSA bag from Rolling Prairie, he decided to try something new. Add a few springs of mint from our garden, and a few pantry items, and he was ready to try his hand at Isa’s version of an Indian food favorite: samosas.

http://www.lawrence.com/users/shenning/photos/2011/jun/7/215247/

http://www.lawrence.com/users/shenning/photos/2011/jun/7/215248/

These little dumplings are a staple as an appetizer or a side for those of us who like Indian food. My husband loves them with some chicken tikka masala. But he’s never made them. So, why not try on a Sunday night when he’s got the time?

It all seemed easy enough, until he’d prepped all the ingredients and started reading the directions. You see, this is another wonderful thing about my husband: He jumps in with two feet. The problem is, sometimes he ends up with seaweed in his waders.

This was one of those times. The recipe actually ends up taking awhile, so if you do plan on making it (which you should), start EARLY.

You’ve got to make a sauce, a filling and roll out the dough like so:

http://www.lawrence.com/users/shenning/photos/2011/jun/7/215249/

But it’s totally worth it, and, apparently, it’s pretty customizable. Remember how I said my hubby is fearless? Well, he decided to turn his samsosas into empañadas. The recipe calls for you to make 36 tiny balls. Instead, Justin made six BIG ones and doubled the cooking time.

And it turned out beautifully. And, I should mention that this move of his plays in perfectly with our family history of turning “appetizers” into one-stop dinners. You’ve probably noticed we eat a lot of salad as a meal. This is the same sort of thing. Instead of having samosas as part of the meal, he went big with them and called it a meal. Don’t be afraid to do this, especially when using up local ingredients.

http://www.lawrence.com/users/shenning/photos/2011/jun/7/215250/

Now, I’d give you the recipe, but I totally forgot to type it up last night from the cookbook. And I can’t find it online. Soooo, if you want the recipe, email me at sarah@lawrence.com and I’ll hook you up once I have time to type it all out. Bad Blogger, I know.

In this week’s Rolling Prairie bag: strawberries, butter lettuce, salad mix, kale, broccoli, snap peas.