Thai Green Curry

Over Christmas I was introduced to Thai green curry from a local Thai restaurant.  I decided to take a stab at making my own at home.  I found the recipe I plan to use (sort of) tonight on about.com courtesy of a Google search.  My local supermarket predictably didn't have essentials like kaffir lime leaves and lemongrass, but they did sell a jar of Thai green curry paste that had all the exact same ingredients listed in the recipe, so I just bought that instead.  Whatever.  I wasn't looking forward to sauce-making anyway.  I'm not going for "authentic" today so much as "using up things I already had," so you'll see lots of substitutions on the ingredients list.  If they don't work out, I'll try to stick to the recipe better next time.  My notes are in italics.  I'll have to come back to this and make adjustments based on how everything turns out.

Ingredients

• GREEN CURRY PASTE:  (Nope.  I'm just using a jar of ready-made Thai Kitchen brand green curry paste.  Had no desire to take Simran hunting for an Asian grocery store to get half this stuff.)
• 1 stalk fresh lemongrass, sliced finely and minced OR 3 Tbsp. frozen or bottled lemongrass
• 2 tsp. ground coriander
• 1/2 tsp. ground cumin
• 2+1/2 Tbsp. [wheat-free] soy sauce, OR see 'Other Sauces' below recipe*
• 1-2 tsp. brown sugar (to taste)
• 1-3 green chilies, minced (to taste)
• 1 small onion
• 3 cloves garlic
• 1 thumb-size piece galangal OR ginger, sliced
• 2 kaffir lime leaves (fresh or frozen), snipped into thin strips with scissors, OR substitute 1 Tbsp. fresh lime juice
• 1 loose cup chopped fresh coriander leaves and stems
• 1/4 cup fresh basil
• 1 tsp. dark soy sauce, OR substitute 1 more Tbsp. regular [wheat-free] soy sauce
• OTHER:
• 2 kaffir lime leaves, OR substitute 1 bay leaf (Going with the bay leaf because I have some already. I plan to grate some lime zest into the mix too since a different recipe suggested that.)
• 1 can good-quality coconut milk (Nope. I'm using the can of lite coconut milk that has been in my pantry for several months now.)
• 1.5 to 2 cups firm tofu sliced into cubes, OR equivalent of wheat gluten 'chicken', OR canned chickpeas, drained (I'm going with firm tofu here.)
• 1 small yam or sweet potato, cubed
• 1 red bell pepper, sliced into chunky pieces (I'm doing thin slices of green and yellow bell pepper instead.  I remember no red bell pepper in the restaurant version, and green and yellow just seem like they'd taste good here and look prettier.)
• 1 cup snow peas (I have none.  I'll be adding finely cut broccoli florets, zucchini, and a handful of frozen chopped spinach instead.)
• 1/2 cup fresh basil, roughly chopped
• 2-3 Tbsp. oil for frying (I will probably reduce this amount by at least 1 tbs.)

Directions

1. To make the green curry paste, place all paste ingredients in a food processor or blender. Add a few Tbsp. of the coconut milk, enough to blend ingredients. Process well.
2. Place oil in wok or deep frying pan. Turn heat on medium-high and add paste. Stir-fry until fragrant (about 1 minute), then add the coconut milk. Add wheat gluten or tofu and stir to combine.
3. Add lime leaves and reduce heat to medium-low. Cover and simmer, stirring occasionally, for about 5 minutes.
4. Add yam/sweet potato. (Note: if more sauce is desired, add up to 1 cup good-tasting vegetable stock.) Cover and simmer another 7-10 min, or until yam is soft enough to pierce with a fork.
5. Finally, add bell pepper and snow peas. Stir and continue cooking for 2-3 minutes, or until snow peas are cooked but still retain some of their crispness.
6. Do a taste test for salt and spice. If not salty enough, add up to 2 Tbsp. more vegetarian fish sauce, soy sauce, or sea salt. If too salty, add a little fresh lime or lemon juice. If too spicy, add more coconut milk until desired taste is reached.
7. To serve, transfer to a large serving bowl or plate up individual portions. Sprinkle generously with fresh basil. Accompany your curry with Thai jasmine-scented rice, Thai brown rice or your choice of noodles. (I'll be making some brown rice at Sameer's request.) For an extra special treat, serve this dish with my Easy Thai Coconut Rice. ENJOY!

*Other Sauces Used in Green Curry: Normally fish sauce is used to flavor green curry. If you're a vegetarian who eats fish (a 'pescatarian'), using fish sauce instead of soy sauce will give you a 'greener'-looking curry paste. If not, another excellent vegan substitution for fish sauce is Thai Golden Mountain Sauce. (I could not find this. If I have to add anything, I'll just add Bragg's Liquid Aminos.) Use equal parts soy sauce and Golden Mountain sauce to equal a total of 3 to 3.5 Tbsp.(the flavor will be rich enough that you can then leave out the dark soy sauce).

Other Vegetables: Other vegetables that work with this recipe include: broccoli, cauliflower, asparagus, chopped spinach, green beans, eggplant, squash, and zucchini.

[Edited 1/19/13:  I made this curry this week and it was really good.  Surprisingly good since it is so healthy.  Sameer liked it better than the restaurant's version, though I think the restaurant's version was too spicy for him.  I ended up making the sauce from one can of lite coconut milk (I'll try full fat in the future, but the lite turned out fine), about a cup of vegetable broth (additional liquid made it easier to cook the vegetables, plus added a little salt), a couple tablespoons each of green curry paste and Bragg's Liquid Aminos, and the zest of two limes and the juice of one.  The fresh basil is essential, as in most Thai recipes.  Dried will NOT do.]

Quinoa in Color

I found this recipe in Joel Fuhrman's book Disease-Proof Your Child.  It sounds a little bland, but it's important to me that I cook at least one dinner per week for Sameer and me that is something I would actually feed Simran too.  She's going to be eating the same food as we do really soon.  I plan to add some cilantro to this dish for flavor and color.  Avocado slices added on top would probably be good too.

Ingredients
1 cup rinsed quinoa
2 cups water (I might consider using low-sodium vegetable broth for added flavor.)
1/4 cup red peppers, chopped
1/4 cup green peppers, chopped
1/4 cup orange peppers, chopped
1/4 cup yellow peppers, chopped
1/4 cup red onions, chopped
1/4 cup carrots, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1 can (16 oz) organic pinto or adzuki beans (I plan to make some slow-cooker beans this week from dried pinto beans and will just use a pound of those.)

Directions
Mix all ingredients in a pot, except the beans. Bring to a boil and then turn down heat to simmer for about 15 minutes, until most of the liquid is absorbed. Turn off heat and add the can of beans.

Pumpkin Lentil Soup

This recipe comes from Caldwell Esselstyn's book Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease.  This is a dish I plan to serve to Simran too, so I'll have to see how much Tabasco sauce seems reasonable to feed to a baby.  I haven't seen the finished product yet, but I have a feeling I'll be taking an immersion blender to all of it and making it a sort of pumpkin lentil bisque, rather than just blending up Simran's portion.  (Lentils and white beans blend up nicely to make soups creamier without adding much of anything but fiber and protein.)

Ingredients
1 large onion, chopped (1 cup)
2-6 garlic cloves, diced
3 ribs celery, chopped (3/4 cup)
3 carrots, chopped
2 cups red lentils
7-8 cups vegetable broth or water
1 large can pumpkin puree
1/4 tsp dried marjoram
1/4 tsp dried thyme
lots of Tabasco

Directions

1. Combine onion, garlic, celery, carrots, lentils and broth or water in a soup pot. Bring to a boil.

2. Lower heat and simmer, covered, 30 minutes, or until vegetables are soft and lentils have turned to mush.

3. Add pumpkin and spices and simmer until all is blended.

4. Add Tabasco to taste. (This is verbatim from the cookbook.)  "The Tabasco makes the difference. You will be surprised at how many shakes you need -- 15 to 20! Be fearless!"
[Edit: After making this, I suggest 5 shakes of Tabasco to start -- enough to add flavor but not enough to overpower.  Sameer added more to his own bowl and said it tasted far too vinegary. He ended up adding La Victoria mild taco sauce and liked it best that way. I liked it as written. Simran screws up her face in distaste with every bite I feed to her, but she does that with most things she perceives as 'new.']

Chik'n Piccata

I recently discovered Gardein brand frozen vegetarian meats and bought a couple different varieties.  One of them was chicken scallopini, and I wasn't sure how one serves such a thing, so I looked around online and ended up making them into veg chicken piccata with this recipe.  I've never eaten real chicken piccata, so I'm not sure how this compares, but I enjoyed it and I'm making it again tonight to finish off the bag of veg chicken scallopini.  The real chicken piccata recipe comes from Giada de Laurentiis of FoodNetwork.

Ingredients
2 Gardein vegetarian chicken scallopini chicken breast things (or click the link above for Giada's info on using actual meat)
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
All-purpose flour, for dredging
6 tablespoons unsalted butter
5 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1/3 cup fresh lemon juice
1/2 cup vegetable stock
1/4 cup brined capers, rinsed
1/3 cup fresh parsley, chopped

Directions

1. Season chicken with salt and pepper. Dredge chicken in flour and shake off excess.

2. In a large skillet over medium high heat, melt 2 tablespoons of butter with 3 tablespoons olive oil. When butter and oil start to sizzle, add 2 pieces of chicken and cook for 3 minutes. When chicken is browned, flip and cook other side for 3 minutes. Remove and transfer to plate. Melt 2 more tablespoons butter and add another 2 tablespoons olive oil. When butter and oil start to sizzle, add the other 2 pieces of chicken and brown both sides in same manner. Remove pan from heat and add chicken to the plate.

3. Into the pan add the lemon juice, stock and capers. Return to stove and bring to boil, scraping up brown bits from the pan for extra flavor. Check for seasoning. Return all the chicken to the pan and simmer for 5 minutes. Remove chicken to platter. Add remaining 2 tablespoons butter to sauce and whisk vigorously. Pour sauce over chicken and garnish with parsley.

White Rolls

I never buy hot dog or hamburger buns.  They're too underwhelming for how expensive they are, and they never come in the right number.  I always use this recipe instead to make my own.  The number produced is equally weird, but they taste so wonderful that Sameer and I end up eating the rest of them as dinner rolls, sometimes warm with butter, sometimes plain.  The entire batch is inevitably gone inside 48 hours.  Set aside plenty of time to make these since the dough has to rise more than once.  If dinner depends on these rolls, I typically make them a day in advance and keep them in a ziploc bag.  I'm being adventurous today and only making them 4 hours before dinner.  I plan to make veggie burgers tonight and have some more of the rolls tomorrow night with chik'n piccata and green bean casserole.

Ingredients
3 cups bread flour
3 tbs sugar
1 tsp salt
1/4 cup dry milk powder
1 cup warm water (110 degrees F / 45 degrees C -- I know it's the right temperature when it feels warm on my hand, but just barely.  If you've heated milk for homemade yogurt, it's like that.)
2 tbs butter, softened
1 (.25 oz) package active dry yeast (also known as 1.5 tsp, if you bake enough you buy the big jar like I do)
1 egg white
2 tbs water

Directions

1. Place the bread flour, sugar, salt, milk powder, water, butter, and yeast in the pan of the bread machine in the order recommended by the manufacturer. Set on Dough cycle; press Start.
2. Remove risen dough from the machine, deflate, and turn out onto a lightly floured surface. Divide the dough into twelve equal pieces (or eight if you want them big enough for burgers), and form into rounds. Place the rounds on lightly greased baking sheets. Cover the rolls with a damp cloth, and let rise until doubled in volume, about 40 minutes (longer is fine too -- I often abandon my dough for well over an hour when tending to Simran). Meanwhile, preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
3. In a small bowl, mix together the egg white and 2 tablespoons water; brush lightly onto the rolls. Bake in the preheated oven for 15 minutes, or until the rolls are golden brown.  (If you skip or forget the egg wash, it's fine.  The only difference is they won't be quite as golden brown or crusty on the outside.  They taste just as good.)

 

Penne alla Vodka

This is one of Sameer's and my favorite dinners, especially when we're short on time or just feeling lazy.  That's why I usually reserve it for a weekend meal, like tonight.  I first came up with it when Sameer made some veg pepperoni from scratch and it was a little too spicy to eat straight.  I sliced it up and threw it together with some whole wheat penne rigate and a bunch of vegetables.  It's really good, really easy, and any unhealthiness from the tomato cream sauce seems to be undone by the enormous number of vegetables.  It also makes for good leftovers.  All vegetable amounts listed below are approximations and can be changed or omitted according to your own preferences.

Ingredients
12 oz whole wheat penne rigate (I use about 3/4 of a box at a time to make enough for Sameer and me and a couple servings of leftovers.)
4 Tofurky Italian Sausages, sliced (or 4 servings of something similarly spiced)
1 12 oz jar vodka sauce
1 medium onion, halved and sliced (I like the yellow Spanish onions best)
1 crown of broccoli, cut into florets
3 carrots, sliced diagonally (not super important, but it makes them easier to capture with your fork and eat)
1 large bell pepper, sliced (I like to use green or red, or sometimes both)
1-2 small zucchini, quartered and chopped
1 small yellow squash, quartered and chopped
1/2 cup frozen peas

Directions

1. Brown Italian sausage slices in a non-stick skillet over medium-high heat.  Set aside.

2. Cook onions until starting to turn translucent.  Add other vegetables and saute lightly.

3. Add 1/2 cup water, toss vegetables, cover, and cook until water is mostly evaporated and vegetables are tender but crisp (a good cue is when the broccoli has turned bright green -- the water helps cook everything through steaming, which is just faster than sauteeing when you've overfilled the skillet with vegetables like I do).

4. Reduce heat to low, add vodka sauce and cooked Italian sausage, and heat through.  Serve hot.

Red Beans & Rice

Since Simran has her 9-month checkup this afternoon, I want to make something quick and easy for dinner tonight.  If I do all the chopping in advance, I can throw red beans and rice together in under 30 minutes.

This is an easy, healthy, tasty, inexpensive recipe that provides plenty of leftovers for lunches (it keeps well in the fridge for several days).  I make it regularly.  The original recipe is from Robert Irvine of FoodNetwork.  My version has a couple of minor changes, like omitting the onion powder (made it gritty) and replacing the chopped garlic and salt with garlic salt (faster and less effort).  Also, the first time I made this I didn't have hot sauce, so I ended up using several tablespoons of mild La Victoria brand taco sauce.  I've also made it with just plain hot sauce.  Sameer's and my favorite version includes a healthy dose of both the mild and "brava" versions of La Victoria's taco sauce.  It adds more flavor without too much heat.  (Note:  You can make this dish vegan by replacing the butter with olive oil.)

Ingredients

• 1 large red onion, diced
• 1 stalk celery, diced
• 1 green bell pepper, stem and seeds removed and small diced (or use half green and half red, like I do -- it just looks more festive that way)
• 2 (1-pound) cans red kidney beans
• 1 teaspoon garlic salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 tablespoon hot sauce (I like La Victoria's "brava" taco sauce best.)
• 2 tablespoons mild taco sauce
• 2 1/2 cups low-sodium vegetable broth
• 1 cup white rice
• 1 tablespoon butter (replace with olive oil to make this dish vegan)
• 1 tablespoon minced fresh cilantro leaves (optional)

Directions
Heat butter over medium heat in a large saucepan. Saute onion, celery, and bell pepper until tender. Stir in kidney beans, garlic salt, pepper, and hot and mild sauces. Reduce heat to low and let mixture simmer slowly while you cook the rice.

Bring the broth to a boil and stir in rice. Return to a boil, reduce heat to low, cover and cook for 20 minutes without removing the lid. Remove from heat and let stand for 5 minutes.

Fold rice and beans gently together and transfer to a serving dish. Serve garnished with cilantro.