Being Lazy with Curry

It's ALIVE, IT'S ALIVE!

Recently one of healthy boyfriend's roommates made a thai meal for a bunch of hungry 20 somethings on Friday night. Healthy boyfriend called to inform me that I did not have to make dinner and I was sold.
His roommate had spent a while in Thailand and was making various Thai curries, jasmine rice, and curried potatoes. I'm pretty much in kindergarden when it comes to asian cooking and asian flavor. I love the spices and flavors, but haven't had much time to dabble in the kitchen with asian cuisine. I make a mean peanut butter sauce and that's about it.

Dinner ended up being delicious and I was so impressed with curry. Not too spicy with hints of ginger, garlic, and lemon grass. Healthy Boyfriend's roomie confessed he could not take credit for any of the flavor. He bought pre-made curry pastes from the local asian store and just let it simmer for a few hours. That night I made sure to write down the curry paste he had used and the rough "recipe" which was mostly throw everything into a pot and let it simmer.

This is one of the easiest dishes ever. Of course there is some cheating involved when it comes to developing flavor. But sometimes I need an easy go to dish, that takes little kitchen time, and has a flexible ingredient list. All the vegetables were carefully selected by looking in my kitchen and seeing what I had around. One of the best things about making curry, is it's forgiving with ingredients. You can use almost any vegetable because everything tastes good in a curry. All the vegetables were local which is always nice, since the paste and coconut milk were both imported from Thailand.

So if you are looking for an unbelievably easy soup that you can throw almost anything in, here you go.
This is what the curry paste I bought looked like, but there are many different companies that make this type of paste. Depending on where you live, you may need to visit a speciality Asian market to find these types of pastes. Masaman is a mild sweeter curry, but there are spicier ones, green extremely mild ones, and everything in between.

Once I know more about these flavors I would love to develop the flavors myself, and make curry from scratch. With colder weather creeping into our doorways, I do think we all need a few quick soups that take almost no effort and produce outstanding results.

Masaman Curry with assorted Vegetables

The Goods: Serves 4-6
1 (4 oz) can of masaman curry paste
2 (14 oz) cans unsweetened coconut milk ( I used one regular and one light)
2 tablespoons peanut oil
2 cups brocolli, chopped
2 cups carrots, chopped
4-5 radishes, sliced into 1/2 discs
3-4 small potatoes, peeled and chopped
1-2 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and chopped
1 large onion, chopped
1 tablespoon fresh ginger, grated

The Deal: 
1. Heat peanut oil in large pot on medium heat and stir in paste. Heat until combined about 3-4 minutes. Stir in 1 can of coconut milk and heat for 5 minutes. Add all your vegetables, the other can of coconut milk, and ginger. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a simmer. Simmer on low heat until all the vegetables are tender, about 40 minutes. Serve hot.

Paste and Oil

From a bunch of ingredients to curry!

You can simmer up to 4 hours, though you may need to add additional coconut milk or vegetable broth. Serve with jasmine rice or another starch. 

Spicy Peanut Noodles with Broccoli

Peanut---Peanut butter, and NOODLES!

Finding staple dinners is one of my larger missions with this blog. I love when I have hours to dot around in the kitchen, but most of the time I have a short window to cook in, and I want to find recipes that I can whip up and taste great. Of course being healthy makes them even better!

Asian cooking has heaps of vegetarian recipes, and I have just started exploring the flavors of this type of cooking. I would love to get the rough basics of Asian, Indian and Thai cooking, but of course it takes the time.

This dish is a play on peanut sauce, which I believe is Thai, but Im not sure. Regardless, its ridiculously tasty, and this dish will definitly be something I make come back to. Its also great to make for a big group, the ingredients are cheap and it whips up quick.

As I mentioned in my last blog, I have been reading "Simple Vegetarian Pleasures" by Jeanne Lemlin and this recipe is straight from that book. She said this dish was a staple in her house, because it was so easy and quick, and after trying it I know why. My addition was broccoli, because I wanted to make sure I had a good green vegetable. Carrots, shallots, garlic, corn, zucchini could all be great additions, the sauce is very versatile.

Clearly I LOVED the flavors in this dish. I would like to play around with them a bit more, next time I might try more peanut butter and less sesame oil, or perhaps add some rice vinegar, but this is a great base to work with. A bit more oily because of the sesame oil, and not as thick as a sauce with a large peanut butter base.

Another benefit to this dish is how long it takes to make. Thirty minutes total, and that includes your prep work. Good for those who want a quick meal or have tiny hungry children to fed. Hope yall enjoy!

Spicy Peanut Noodles with Broccoli

Brown and green look so lovely together

The Goods: Serves 3-4

1/4 cup natural peanut butter
1/3 cup Braggs liquid Amino Acids or Tamari soy sauce
2 tablespoons water
1/3 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1/4 cup oriental sesame oil
2 garlic cloves, minced or pressed
1 teaspoon minced fresh ginger
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
6 scallions, thinly sliced
2 cups of broccoli, chopped
1 pound of spaghetti

The Deal: 
1. Bring a large stockpot of water to a boil.

2. Meanwhile whisk together the peanut butter and soy sauce in a small saucepan. Stir in all of the remaining ingredients-- except the the reserved scallions, broccoli and the spaghetti-- until smooth. Put low heat under the pot and warm the sauce, stirring occasionally.

This guy is saucy!

3. Drop the spaghetti into the boiling water and cook until al dente. Don't overcook the pasta; it should be chewy.

4. Once the pasta is cooking, steam your broccoli. Once pasta and broccoli are ready, drain pasta in colander and return to pot. Pour on the peanut sauce and broccoli and toss. Grabs some bowls and garnish with remaining scallions.

Frittata with Broccoli, Zucchini, Chives and Goat Cheese

love the rich colors of this dish

If you have never made a Frittata walk into the kitchen and start cracking those eggs. What is egg-tastic about frittatas is they can be served for breakfast, lunch or dinner and are delicious hot or cold. I think they are best for brunch, but also I have a serious love of brunch. I would marry brunch, but I foresee some difficulties with that.

Frittatas are so flexible and versetile, once you figure out how to make them, they will be your new favorite way to cook for guests. They also sound fancy but are simple to make, which is great for a beginner cook like myself.

Traditional Spanish frittatas are made with potatoes and onions. When I was traveling I met a few people from Spain who first tickled my interest about the deliciousness of the frittata. Once I got home, I noticed all the different frittatas out there. Recently I realized how good vegetables frittatas can be, and for those of us who have little time to cook, they only take about 30 minutes. Yippee!

Some recipes say 1 cup vegetables to 5-6 eggs. I prefer having it be vegetable heavy, instead of egg heavy. Not only do the vegetables make it healthier, they also add texture and I think balance out the flavor. So I used about 2 cups of vegetables to 6 eggs and found I still got plenty of egg flavor, but the eggs werent the predominate flavor.

Looking into recipes, some added as much as a stick of butter and others only used 1/3 cup of milk. I add a splash of half and half to my scrambled eggs, I find it makes them fluffy. So I added a few splashes of half and half and I think it was plenty. You could use milk or a tablespoon of butter, I think a little fat helps make it a bit moister, but you certainly don't need heavy cream(I love Barefoot Contessa but she really does add a stick of butter or a cup of cream to everything).

Herbs of some kind are often used in Frittatas. Similar to pizzas, Frittatas are fun because you can combine ingredients endlessly. Next time I might use some thyme, or perhaps rosemary. Im cautious in using herbs because too much can overpower the dish, and I love tasting the vegetables. Perhaps next thyme I suppose.....(I was raised by a pun crazy father, you will have to get used to it)

The method of cooking a frittata varies depending on who you read. I have tried cooking it on the stove and found it ended up being dry and overcooked. An egg dish can go from moist and light to dry and overcooked within a matter of minutes. So I start cooking my frittata on the stove top and then move it to the oven to finish it off. Its cooked throughout, while still staying moist and eggy.  A cast iron is really the best to use, but any oven safe saute pan will work.

This dish is enough for a meal, though I would recommend some type of vegetable on the side to round it off. On this night, I made roasted brussels sprouts, but steamed green beans would have been just as delicious. If serving for brunch serve with a good fruit salad.

I looked at few different methods of cooking a frittata, but the ingredients I added were my own idea.
Try not to eat it all yourself...*cough* I ate half myself *cough*

Frittata with Broccoli, Zucchini, Chives and Goat Cheese

a little slice of vegi heaven

The Goods: Serves 4

6 large eggs
1/2 cup broccoli, chopped
1/2 cup zucchini, chopped into quarters
1/3 cup scallions, chopped
1/3-1/2 cup herb goat cheese(plain is fine)
2-3 medium garlic cloves, pressed or minced
2 tablespoons half and half
2 tablespoons olive oil
a couple good pinches of sea salt and pepper

The Deal: 
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Heat 1 tablespoon of oil on medium heat in a medium saute pan(one that is oven safe). Once the oil is hot, add garlic and saute for 1 minute. Add your broccoli and zucchini and cook until tender about 3-5 minutes.

cookin up greens, oh yeah!

2. Once your vegetables are cooked remove from heat and let cool for about 3 minutes(You dont want to put hot vegetables in eggs and risk cooking the eggs.)

3. While waiting for your vegetables to cool, whisk your eggs, half-and-half, scallions, goat cheese, salt, and pepper in a medium bowl.

4. When the vegetables have cooled, add them to the egg mixture. Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil on medium heat in the saute pan. Pour the egg mixture in the pan and turn heat to medium low. Add dollops of goat cheese, if you desire more than what you already added. Cook undisturbed until the bottom of the eggs are firm about 8-10 minutes.

Cooking the frittata on the stove

5. Then place the pan in the oven. Cook your frittata until the egg on the top are set about 15-20 minutes. Check your frittata about every 5 minutes, this dish is easy to ruin if it over cooks. To check if its ready, use the handle to jiggle the pan, if there is still liquid its not ready, once the jiggle stops, take it out.

6. Once the top is set, remove from heat. Serve hot or room temperature, slice into eights.

Frittata Fives all around!

Vegetable Stir Fry with Marinated Tofu

Ah Stir frys. Nothing better than a recipe that has mostly vegetables and simple cooking.  Stir frys are great because you can use almost any kind of vegetable you want, add a few spices and/or sauces and it will be delicious. I find almost everyone likes stir fry and why wouldn't they? Plus you get to use your wok which is not only fun to say, but looks pretty.

I use normal pasta for my noodles, you can use whatever you have on hand. If you like/buy chinese noodles, then use them in your dish, but I find standard spaghetti noodles work great and I always have some around. Also if you put a dash or sesame oil or braggs in the noodles once they are cooked, they get more of an asian flavor.

Tofu. BAH! I used to really hate this stuff, it reminded me of eating a sponge. Over the years I've grown to appreciate it and even love it. The annoying things about tofu is drying it out and trying to get it flavorful. What I have found is marinades are your best friend and the longer you marinate them the happier your taste buds will be with you.

Everyone has different methods for drying tofu out. I place paper towels or dish towels on a plate, cut the tofu into strips and lay them on the towels. Then place more paper towels over the tofu and place another plate or heavy pan on top. I rotate the towels once they are soaked through, and do this for 30 minutes or up to a few hours if I have the time. Basically you need your tofu dry, so use my method or find one that works for you.

Healthy boyfriend knew he wanted to have tofu in the next few days, so he found the simple marinade below and let it sit for two days. It can be hard to remember to plan ahead of time, but not impossible. A good rule, is if you know you'll eat tofu within the week, just whip up the marinade on monday and let the tofu soak. It will keep in the fridge for a few days and one day you'll come home and have nice flavorful tofu! The marinade could also be baked, or sautéed in a regular pan.

Neat trick: When cooking pasta, put the strainer over the pasta bowl in the sink. When you drain your pasta the hot water goes into the bowl, heating it, which helps keep your pasta warm until its ready to be served. Great trick I learned from my parents.

Bummer Note: This tofu was not as crispy as I wanted it. Tofu is something I still struggle with, I think next time I will bake the tofu. The rest of the dish is great and the tofu was good, just not as cripsy as I desired. If you have a great way of cooking tofu that always works for you, then just cook it that way and stir fry your vegetables as directed below.

Vegetable Stir Fry with Marinated Tofu

The Goods: Serves 2-3

Marinated Tofu, cut into small cubes(recipe below)
1/2 package whole wheat spaghetti noodles
1 ear of corn, kernels chopped off
1 cup broccoli, chopped
1 large zuchhici, sliced into discs
1/2 tablespoon sesame oil(or olive oil)
4 medium cloves of garlic, pressed or minced

The Deal: 
1. Bring a large pot of water to boil. Cook spaghetti as instructed on the package.

2. Heat oil in a wok or large saute pan on medium high heat. Heat until hot, about 1 minute, and then add garlic. Saute until aromatic, about 1-2 minutes.

3. Increase the heat to high and add tofu and marinade. Saute until crispy about 5 minutes.

4. Add the broccoli and zucchini and cook until tender about 3-5 minutes. About 3 minutes after you added your broccoli and zucchini, add corn.

5. Once your vegetables are tender, remove from heat and serve over pasta.

Marinated Tofu

The Goods: enough for one package of tofu
1 package extra firm tofu, as dry as possible

1/3 cup soy sauce or braggs

2 teaspoons dry mustard

1-2 cloves garlic, crushed

1/3 cup oil

2 tablespoons peanut butter

2 tablespoons ketchup

The Deal: 

1. Combine all ingredients besides tofu in a shallow bowl. Slice the tofu into 1/2 inch strips or cubes.

Toss tofu in marinade and let soak for at least one hour or up to 3 days.

Wheat Berries with Sweet Potatoes, Corn and Broccoli

So this is a ridiculously nutritious meal that healthy boyfriend discovered. Its just vegetables and a whole grain, which was pretty tasty. It also has beautiful colors and I think would appeal to those who arent crazy about vegetables.

This was my second attempt at cooking wheat berries, and I finally got it right. I wasn't nuts about the flavor, but I think that is just my taste buds aversion to whole grains. Healthy boyfriend LOVED them, so I bet many of you out there would as well. They were good, but I think I need to eat them a few more times before I start to really enjoy them. I feel the same indifference about brown rice, some day Ill crave whole grains like I do those unhealthy white carbs!

This is a great dish for athletes and the wheat berries with vegetables are nice and filling. Plus all the colors look beautiful together.

NOTE: I found that you MUST soak wheat berries in water overnight. If you are planning on cooking them that night, soak them right when you wake up, for at least 8 hours. These little suckers just wont cook unless you soak them, or buy them pre-cooked. So to make this dish, you MUST think ahead at least 8 hours, but they are so healthy its worth it.

Wheat Berries with Sweet Potatoes, Corn and Broccoli

The Goods: Serves 2-3
1 cup wheat berries, which have been soaked in water at least 8 hours
1 large onion, diced
1 small sweet potato, diced
1-2 cups broccoli, chopped
1 can of corn(or one ear)
1 cup vegetable broth
2-3 tablespoons olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper(more if you like spice)
sea salt and fresh ground pepper
1 teaspoon nutmeg

The Deal:
1. Drain your wheat berries, and place them in a pot of water with 2 cups of water. Bring to a boil, and then cover and reduce to low heat, should be at a simmer. Cook for 50-55 minutes, or until wheat berries are tender. Cooked wheat berries have a similar consistency to cooked corn.

2. Once the berries have been cooking for about 30 minutes, heat the oil in a large saute pan on medium heat. When the oil is hot, add onions and cook until translucent, about 2-3 minutes.

3. Then add garlic, salt and pepper and sweet potatoes, and cook another 2 minutes, or until garlic is aromatic. Add the vegetable broth, bring to a boil, then cover and reduce to a simmer. Cook until the potatoes are tender, 4-5 minutes.

4. Add corn, broccoli, cayenne, and nutmeg. Boil, cover and reduce to a simmer until broccoli is bright green and tender, 3-5 minutes. All the broth should be cooked, if not drain any remaining broth. Taste and add additional salt and pepper if desired.

5. Remove from heat and plate your wheat berries first, then a big scoop of your vegetables on top. Enjoy!

Based on a recipe from cooks.com

Mushroom Pie!

MUSH WHAT? MUSH WHY? MUSHROOM PIE YALL!

Well folks, finally I have cooked something besides toast this week! Sure its thursday and having healthy boyfriend back helps a lot with motivation. This is a very easy, healthy pie, and for mushroom lovers its a must. This probably goes without saying, but DO NOT make this pie if you dont like mushrooms. Its mushroomtastic! The cooking is fairly easy, but with prep it took me almost an hour and half. So if you can, cutting all your vegis ahead of time would be ideal. Its a fine meal on its own, but some mashed potatoes or nice bread would make a great side dish!

Mushroom Pie

Serves 4

Ingredients:

1/2 tbsp on unsalted butter, softened

1/2 cup cheddar, shredded

1/2 cup bread crumbs

2 tbsp olive oil

2 garlic cloves, minced

2 medium onions, diced

1 cups broccoli, chopped

1 1/2 pounds(around 8 cups) fresh mushrooms, finely chopped

2 large eggs, beaten

3/4 cup milk

1/2 teaspoon dried thyme

1/2 teaspoon paprika

Dash cayenne pepper, add more if you enjoy heat

2 tablespoons unbleashed flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Butter a 9-inch pie plate and sprinkle bread crumbs, covering the bottom and sides. This will be your simple crust.

2. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat, then saute the garlic, onions, and broccoli for 5 minutes.

3. Raise heat to high, stir in mushrooms, thyme, paprika, and cayenne. Cook, stirring often, for 10 minutes or until the juices have almost completely evaporated.

4. Sprinkle on the flout, stir to coat the mixture and cook 1 minute. Stir in the milk and salt and cook 1 more minute. Scrape into a large bowl and let cool until just warm. NEVER add eggs to a hot mixture, they will scramble and not in a good way :)

5. Stir in the beaten eggs into the mushroom mixure and spoon half of the mixture into into the pie plate, then sprinkle with half your cheese. Pour the rest of mixture in, and top with remaining cheese. Top with additional breadcrumbs if desired. Bake 30 minutes, or until a knife comes out clean when inserted in the sides of the pie or almost clean when inserted in center. Let pie cool for 10 minutes before cutting into wedges.

ENJOY!

Steam YO BROC YO!

So one of the best and easiest ways to eat broccoli is to steam it. Broccoli is so good for you its kinda ridiculous, you just cant eat enough. I mean you CAN, but it would be hard. Check out this website, it has all sorts of wonderful info on broccoli and steaming: Healthy Broccoli Info!

 My super healthy boyfriend got me started on steaming and now Im hooked. Steaming broccoli is about the healthiest way you can eat it. Many dont know that the METHOD you cook your vegetables effect the nutrients you get from them. Its one of the reasons the raw food diet was started, though I would never advocate it. Go live with the bunnies if you want to eat like one. Though I learned when you boil broccoli, you lose a lot of nutrients in the water. Or if you saute it, you consume added fats from the butter/oil you use to cook it.

 If you dont like broccoli my advice is to just start eating it. I spent most of my life CONVINCED I hated the stuff, and after a few months of eating it regularly I find myself craving it. Of course not in the same way I crave goldfish, but Im getting more and more certain there is some sort of crack in those flavor blasted goldfish. I digress.

So to steam broccoli or most vegis, you do need a steamer. They are come in all sizes and colors(like people!), and I use mine all the time. A typical one looks like this:

Regardless of which one you have, they work about the same. Below are instructions on steaming Broccoli, though you can steam pretty much any vegetable you like.

Steamed Broccoli: Serves 2

2-3 cups Broccoli chopped

2-3 cups water

1. Fill a medium pot with around a 1/2 inch of water. Just enough to cover the bottom of the pot. Place on high heat and cook until boiling.

2. Place broccoli in steamer and place the steamer over the boiling water. Boil covered for 3-4 minutes. Remove from heat when the broccoli is bright green, and a fork can be easily inserted. Serve hot.

If you are still having a tough time with the Broccoli taste, you can also saute it for a minute in some Braggs. This makes a great side dish to nearly anything. My boyfriend often has this and some brown rice for dinner, though I have not reformed THAT much from my junk food ways.