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. 

Butternut Squash Soup

 I heart soup.

Food has a way of comforting my soul. A warm bowl of soup on a cold frustrating day slowly slides down every limb, filling me with a calm I cannot find anywhere else.

In the unforgivably frigid winter months in Boston, I lived on vegetable soup. I wanted it every night, with crisp buttery toast or saltines. Of course back then I ate Campbell's vegetable soup and would pick out the "vegetables" which are barely anything but mush and HFCS at that point. Though when you desire soup, nothing else will do.

This past Saturday I felt miserable. Mistake number one was going to the farmer's market before I'd had coffee or eaten. After about 15 minutes of shopping, I started to feel dizzy and hateful of all things that weren't coffee. I scarfed down a breakfast sandwich from a local vender and begrudgingly sipped on some watery suck ass coffee, but still my head ached and my body yelped to stop moving.

Determined to buy new fall vegetables, I spent more time than I should talking and buying from the farmers, finally taking myself home to rest. And by rest I mean clean, recipe plan for 2 hours and grocery shop some more. Finally around four o clock I forced myself to lay down, but only for a bit because I had promised healthy boyfriend a fresh local meal prepared by yours truely.

Hey squash, looking pretty cute. 

After cooking for about 2 hours, I felt a bit better, though still grumpy and nautious. Healthy boyfriend called to inform me he was running late. Frustrated but trying to keep calm, I finished most of the dishes and was thankful I chose soup, because it smelled happy simmering in its pot. An hour after the initail late call, I recieved a text he still had not left. My mood was edging towards passive aggressive land which equals a no fun evening all around. It never feels good to spend a long time cooking and have someone show up late. At the same time, I did not fall in love with healthy boyfriend for his being on time skills. When he arrived he knew I was pissed, the oversized kale chip on my shoulder made that clear.
Luckily within the first bite of this soup I felt better. I could feel the silly frustrations melting away, and all that was left was a rich butternut taste.
You did it again soup. Well done.

This is the first, of what I imagine will be many butternut soup recipes. Different herbs, perhaps an apple or pear, and homemade broth can transform a soup. Butternut squash is another vegetable peaking its large penis shaped form out of baskets on every table at the markets. This squash is available for most of the winter, and the hardest thing to do is slice it. I try to buy smaller squashes, because the 2 pounders require the muscle of healthy boyfriend. Im not saying Im weak, but those squashes don't play.

Most traditional butternut soups add cream or buttermilk at the end, making it even creamier. I did not include this step because I was curious to see how it tasted without the cream. Fan-squash-tastic is how. Im sure the cream would enhance the flavor, and I'll try it one of these days, but for now I'm happy leaving the cream for my coffee. I believe the rice helped add starch and a richness to the soup that usually comes from cream.

Anyone can make this soup, and I encourage everyone to get their own penis shaped vegetable, make at least 3 inappropriate jokes, and then simmer away.

I forgot to use the parmesan, so it is not pictured below. I FORGOT to use cheese, thats how annoyed I was. Anyway Im sure it's delicious, I enjoy licking parmesan straight out of my hand, so no doubt in this soup it's nutty and rich. I did use the kale chips I made the same night, which added a nice green to this orange soup. A good one to keep in mind for halloween.

This recipe brought to you from a few sources. Part Jeanne Lemlin's Vegetarian Pleasures, Part America's best test kitchen family style, and part me!

Butternut Squash Soup

B Soup with Kale "Chips" or Kale-tons?

The Goods: Serves 4-6
2 tablespoons butter
2 medium onion, diced
3 garlic cloves, minced or pressed
1 tablespoon fresh thyme, minced
A good dash of nutmeg
6 heaping cups (about 2 1/2 pounds) butternut squash, peeled and diced
8 cups vegetable broth
1/2 cup white basmati rice
1 teaspoon salt
A few good dashes of fresh ground pepper
Freshly grated parmesan

The Deal: 
1. Heat butter in a large stock pot over medium heat. Add the onions and garlic and saute until onions are golden, about 10 minutes.

2. Pour in the stock and bring to a boil. Stir in squash, rice, thyme, nutmeg, salt and pepper, and bring soup again to a boil, stirring often. Reduce it to a simmer and cook it about 35-45 minutes, until the squash and rice are very tender.

Must use a big pot.

3. Once ready, puree the soup in batches (careful not to fill up your blender, hot liquid expands) in a blender or food processor. Return pureed soup to pot and keep on low heat until ready to serve. Serve with freshly grated parmesan cheese, and additional nutmeg if desired.

This soup will keep for several days, though it made need additional broth when reheated on the stove.