Thai Curry

I may have mentioned this before, but I will say it again. We love Thai food so much that almost every weekend we drive around 40 minutes to a nearby town that has a good Thai restaurant. I started to think that this was a silly thing to do. The trip is never a total waste as there is a movie theater with films in English, a Subway (to take home with us), and a lot of shops we like (Nespresso, Zara, H&M, Sephora, G Star, etc.).

I decided that I really needed to learn how to cook some Thai food. It would save us a lot of money and time. So, I searched the internet and found a recipe but it wasn't just right. I started to combine a bunch of recipes. I took clever ideas from each and tweaked them to make what I think is a delicious combination. I, of course, add a lot of veggies as I don't put chicken in the meal but it's definitely an option to add chicken or beef. We often top our meal with shrimp.

Here's my recipe.

Ingredients:

 -2 tablespoons olive oil

-1 medium onion, chopped (however you like it)

-1 medium red bell pepper, chopped - my new thing has been buying a jar of roasted red peppers - super quick and adds a nice kick if you buy a jar soaked in a spicy oil (if you try this, add it at the end as it's obviously already cooked)

-1 jalapeño chili, seeded and finely chopped (I leave some seeds - or all - to add a kick because we like it HOT HOT HOT)

-1 teaspoons dried red pepper flakes

-2 large cloves garlic, finely chopped

-2 cups vegetable broth (I break apart 1 cube of bouillon into 2 cups of hot water)

-dash of ginger powder

-1/2 an eggplant, skinned and cubed

-1/2 a zuchinni (I use the peeler to make lines so it's prettier - see the pic)

-about 15 fresh or frozen long green beans

-1/4 cup bamboo shoots

-1 cup chopped tomatoes, fresh or canned (and preferably seeded but I leave the skin)

-2 teaspoons curry powder

-salt and pepper to taste 

-1 (14-ounce) can light coconut milk

-2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley (to garnish)

**I also found a pâté of red curry (basically a red curry paste) in the super market which I add at the end because it's good and spicy) - I never did this before and it really made such a difference

-some white white - as much as you like

Directions:

1. Add oil to hot pot

2. Add onion

3. When the onion is soft and translucent, add the peppers -chili pepper and if you're not using the jarred red pepper then add your bell pepper here, too and the red pepper flakes.

4. add the garlic, eggplant, and zuchinni and if you're using fresh green beans then them, too (I use frozen because I always love to have green beans)

5. Let the veggies soften a little on a lowish-mediumish temperature. You want them to soften but not burn or crisp. 

6. After the veggies have softened up, add the vegetable broth and all spices - ginger, curry, salt and pepper (I always adjust these to tase).

7. After everything is nicely cooked and flavored at a medium heat, add the tomatoes, bamboo shoots, and frozen green beans at this point (I always soak and thaw the green beans in cold water because I don't like the flavor the frozen-ness gives off).

8. Add the coconut milk. Let cook at a low heat for about 10 minutes. Don't put the coconut milk in until you're about 10 minutes away from preparation.

9. The last step would be adding a bit of salt and pepper to taste and if you buy the red curry paste, add that, too.

To Serve:

Add a scoop of rice to a plate or bowl and ladle the Thai curry mixture on top. Add the garnish. I put some cooked shrimp on top, too. You can cook any meat directly in this meal but I like to keep it vegan and have the option of adding shrimp at the end. 

I think this is a wonderful meal, if I do say so myself. Let me know if you try it! Of course, add or don't add things according to what you like. When my guy isn't here, I add chickpeas for my protein source. You can omit some of the veggies or maybe if you like add something like broccoli. It's really up to you how you want to tweak the recipe. If you do tweak it, let me know what changes you made!

Bon Appétit et bon weekend aussi !

TGIF

This has been a long week. Last Thursday night I started to have a fever and woke up on Friday feeling terrible. I had a horrible stomach ache and felt tired all day, despite going to bed at 10pm. Saturday, Sunday, and Monday I was totally fine! I ran 6 miles on Saturday and 6 miles on Monday. Things were fine. I woke up Tuesday morning and got out of bed and my stomach was hurting again. When I was sitting or laying on my back but standing and walking were horrible. The thud thud of my feet on the ground just vibrated through my stomach. I walked to the doctor and it was just excruciating.

I had convinced myself this was a pulled muscle from crunches or something and really didn't want to go to the doctor. However, Wednesday I finally did. He said my situation was atypical and really didn't know what to make of it. He said it wasn't the muscle and my stomach was certainly inflamed. Other than that... he really wasn't sure. Yesterday I was feeling a bit better but still not 100%. Today I feel great. I have no idea what that little problem was with my stomach. The medicine he gave me appears to have worked and I guess the mystery will never be solved. As long as I'm better, who cares!

The perfect part is... it's just in time for the weekend! Tomorrow we will go to our new city (we're moving in April) and look at an apartment. We are really excited to move to a bigger city. In fact, I can't wait. Everyday I say to my guy, "Can I tell my work today!?"

This week wasn't all bad. With my time off of work, I was obviously bored. I read a book. I watched movies and television. The Vow was really cute! This is War was really bad. So bad that I stopped halfway through, watched The Vow, and then came back to finish what I started. I also spent a lot of time experimenting with new recipes since I was able to do the slicing and dicing while seated.

I made a delicious take on Sheppard's Pie. Vegetarian, of course. It was super simple:
mirepoix
2 garlic cloves
1 bay leaf
1 Tablespoon dried Thyme
100 ml red wine
1.5 liters vegetable broth
1 small (the baby) can of peas or some frozen ones
3 Tablespoons tomato paste
then add a big can of lentils (the big mama, not the little guy)
The red wine, of course, is optional but it added such a lovely flavor. Then, you make mashed potatoes. I put some thyme in them, too. After, you use a ladle to add the lentils and broth to the bottom of a bowl. I first used a ladle with holes to make sure to get a lot of lentils. I topped that with the sauce. I put a heaping helping of mashed potatoes in the center, topped with cheese, and added a little more sauce. This was so delicious and my carnivorous guy loved it, too. I did first cook him a steak and sat it in the sauce thenadded the potatoes and more sauce on top. He finished that and wanted more and I told him his only choice was to have the lentils and he didn't care at all and raved about it. I was pleased.

And since I had nothing to do, I made apple tarts and turnovers which were equally as tasty! By the end of the night, he was calling me a chef :) This made me feel good considering the last time I posted my dinner on the blog he had worked late and ordered takeout. Upon seeing my post, he said, "Well, if I knew you were making that for dinner, I would have come home to eat." I thought, oh okay, I should call you and then you can decide if you'll order takeout or not!! He swears he didn't mean it like that, but what can I say, I'm sensitive!

Everyone have a wonderful weekend! :)

one day in food.

Yesterday was quite the food experiment. I only had to work for 4 hours - 4 hours that were spread throughout the day. So, although, my day involved a little bit of back and forth traveling, it also allowed for me to cook some delicious meals and read from my lovely Kindle.


I started out my morning with a sweet (vegan) treat! mmmmm.... pancakes topped with hot fruit and a delicious vanilla latte (and a good book!).

For lunch, I enjoyed a grilled cheese sandwich with tomato and avocado!! I used my favorite French cheese from the Pays Basque region, Brebis. It's fruity and light. I paired the sandwich with a bowl of spicy lentil soup (full of about 10 different veggies). *Notice the cute coasters I picked up with quirky images and comments at a little shop in Stuart, Florida. The one on top says, "now just because grandma farts at the table doesn't mean you have to."

For dinner, I devoured white bean patties (seasoned with thyme), roasted balsamic brussel sprouts, and rosemary mashed sweet potatoes. Thyme is seriously my new favorite herb! I thought I didn't like it but it turns out it's so versatile and adds such a nice flavor to many dishes. *It's hard to make white bean patties look good in a picture, but I promise you they were surprisingly good. I think I would even serve them to carnivores.

As you can see, I had a lot of comfort food yesterday. However, nothing I ate was really that bad for me besides maybe the pancakes (which really aren't all that bad for you - minus the sugar). It was a well balanced day - fruit topping (just frozen fruit heated up in a saucepan), pancakes (1/2 cup wheat flour, 1/2 cup soy milk, 1 tsp. sugar, 1 tsp. oil, 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract, 1/2 tsp. baking soda), the grilled cheese (wheat bread, lightly coated with vegan butter - we need some fat in our diet),  super healthy lentil and veggie soup with a ton of spices which means you don't need to add much salt, brussel sprouts (dash of salt, a lot of pepper, shallot, drizzle of balsamic and EVOO), potatoes (sweet potato, soy milk, vegan butter, salt, pepper, rosemary), white bean patties (white beans, thyme, bread crumbs, shallot, pepper - cooked in the oven for about 10 minutes then pan-fried for about 2 minutes on each side).

I heard on the news that because it is unbearably cold here, we shouldn't exercise and we should eat greasy food and we should drink a lot of water. I thought it was a joke. However, if it's what the doctor ordered, I really can't disobey. No exercise, grease, and water... okay... DONE!

What are your favorite recipes? Do you stick to the same recipes or do you like trying new things?

a message to the men in the world.

picture taken in Orlando, Florida 2009. it makes me smile!

Guys: When you say you will be home at 8pm and stroll in an hour and a half late, the fried shrimp - the shrimp that your lady spent time deviening, battering, and then frying - will not be good anymore. Whether you know it or not, it is an actual science trying to get dinner prepared and the house straightened up (after a long day of work) by the time you say you'll be arriving. So when we're tired and weary, but collect ourselves together and bust out a meal, we don't want to sit and wait and sit and wait some more to then finally have to admit defeat and eat our meal (which is then cold) alone. Any excuse you have is just not good enough at that point, because you will never understand how depressing it is eating a meal alone after an hour and a half of waiting.

Guys: The real reason why women get chubbier as they get older is this: we munch on food to keep our growling bellies from being so hungry while we wait for you or we are so hungry by the time we eat that we devour way too much food.

Guys: As much as you think it's not a big deal and say "eat without me," this isn't something we want to do. While it may seem ultra "cool" of you to suggest we do such a thing, we will continue to wait... for at least an hour... in hopes that we can enjoy a meal with you and have that opportunity to relax and share conversation, because we know the rest of the evening only segways into other less communicative distractions such as the television or the internet or returning phone calls.

Guys: Women are sensitive, loving creatures and we want you to be sensitive and loving in return (we won't tell a soul how sensitive you can be!). Paying us a sweet gesture goes a lot further than you think, so surprise us, be kind to us, and show us you love us just a little bit better (because we know you do!).