I’ve always wanted to go to Asia.
I mean… I love their food…
Thai food has been on the brain lately. Vegas and I found a great local Thai spot and it has started a constant craving. And now that k.d. lang song is stuck in my head. You’re welcome.
This slow cooker Pumpkin Chicken Curry started out with Thai intentions, but I think it ended up more Indian. Not that I really cared. The pumpkin may sound like a strange twist, but it added to the creamy good-ness.
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Mail days are the best.
Thanks to e-bills, actual mail is a treat 80% of the time!
The awesome people at PopSugar sent me a Must Have Box to try this month. I was really impressed! The Tilo scarf alone was worth it (retails at $125!). It’s high-quality and incredibly soft. Soft kitty, warm kitty…
Those Ghirardelli sea salt chocolates do not suck either. I love that they are bite-sized… it (moderately) slowed me down as I worked my way through the bag. I’ve already replenished with the dark chocolate variety. #sorryimnotsorry
Working out in the morning was a little more fun with my fancy blue Nicole Miller ear buds. They matched my shoes today. #winning
The fuel made the workout more fun too. A raw Almond Brownie bar from Urban Remedy. It wasn’t too sweet and had a hint of salt to it. Someone at PopSugar knows I love a sweet & salty combo!
They hooked me up with a discount code to share with you guys if you’d like to check it out: SEPT14SELECT will get you $10 off a 3 month subscription (offer expires 9/30/14).
*Disclaimer: POPSUGAR provided me with a complimentary POPSUGAR Must Have box. The opinions I have shared about the box are my own and POPSUGAR did not tell me what to say or how to say it.*
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Curry leaves have been a mystery to me.
This only means it’s a #strangebutgood creation WAITING to happen.
This actually isn’t so strange. It’s just outside of my culinary comfort zone (yes, I do have one). I’ve always loved using Indian spiced in my dishes. Ginger is a staple – I once made this Ginger Tempeh Stir-Fry every night for a week.
At restaurants, I love to order the curry; however, I’ve never tried my hand at making my own. Having seen curry leaves at my local farmer’s market, my curiosity finally got the best of me. Curry dinner = ON.
Curry leaves sort of look like bay leaves. This begs several questions: Do you eat them? Are they just for flavor? Do you decorate with them? Can you dry them?
It turns out, you can eat them. And they don’t have to be fried in oil first (a popular preparation in Indian restaurants). I also read that you can freeze them. I’ll have to report on that later.
Back to my dish. It was amazing. I know it’s wrong to brag… but seriously. I wish I had made 3 pots of this stuff. Actually, I kind of did. This is by far my most-tested recipe. How come research wasn’t this much fun in college?
I worried about the flavors – there are a lot of spices in this! Too much of this, not enough of that… and finally… juuuuust right! I was amazed. The list is long, but it does come together quickly. Just line up your spices and dump ’em in the pot! The curry leaves add an awesome dimension, but if you can’t find it don’t worry. These spices are enough to stand alone.
I’ve made this several times now, with full-fat coconut milk and with the light stuff. It is still ok with light, but it’s 100x more flavorful with the real deal. You can also use different veggies and protein. I’m a huge cauliflower fan, so that’s been my favorite. The recipe below uses Swordfish, but I like it just as much with Escolar (fish) , chicken, and tempeh.
Like all good meals, this is best enjoyed with a good friend (who gave her stamp of approval) on a patio followed by a walk in the sunshine. Spring has sprung.
These leftovers are what’s making my Monday Marvelous.
That plus a hair cut and a clean house (a.k.a. best money I ever spent). 😉
Place the dry spices in a medium-size pot and toast over medium heat until fragrant, ~2-3 mins or until they start to pop.
Add the onion, jalapeno, garlic, and ginger. Stir to coat in spices and cook until the onion is soft. Stir in the curry leaves and tomato paste.
Add fish and eggplant to the sauce. Pour in the coconut milk and cook until the eggplant is soft and fish is cooked through (~7-8 mins).
Finally, add in the cauliflower florets. Season and cook for a few more minutes until tender.
Spoon into plates and enjoy!
Makes 2-3 servings.
Note: This could easily be made vegan by eliminating the fish, or using lentils or tempeh instead.
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Last week is was Indian Bison Burger creations, this week curry… my sister’s in India and it apparently causes me to crave Indian food. LOL!
What recipe have you worked the hardest on to perfect?
Do you like Indian food? Have you ever had curry leaves?
My sister is vacationing in India.
She won’t let any of us forget it. I’m not jealous. I don’t need a vaca…
I would say I made the burgers I’m sharing today in her honor… but really I was inspired after seeing Madelyn’s recipe. Before I start, a note: I realize this is a meat-centric post and many of you don’t eat meat… these flavors/ideas would also work well with tempeh, lentils, beans, or soy meat crumbles.
The burgers themselves aren’t so strange (other than the fact that I’m confident there are no bison in India), but I think what I did with them might qualify. I wanted pizza. Bison is sort of like sausage. Bison for breakfast… why not? Sometimes I feel like this in the morning:
He doesn’t look so nice, but I wanted a hit of sweetness (read: fruit) with this creation. I decided mango was a perfectly acceptable topping. It works really well with Indian spices and provided a little cooling effect against all the extra red pepper flakes I added.
A corn tortilla made for a delicious, crispy crust. And it’s fast – there is no way I’m making dough before noon!
Spread the sauce across your tortilla and add toppings. Place under broil for 5-7 mins, watching closely.
Remove and enjoy!
*The sauce might be the strangest part to some of you. I mixed fire-roasted tomatoes with nutritional yeast, red pepper flakes, garlic powder, and cinnamon. Yes cinnamon. It’s awesome with tomatoes.
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Or how about crumbling a perfectly good, already cooked bison burger and using it to stuff a kabocha squash? With coconut milk. And curry leaves.
Curry leaves do not taste like curry powder. They are actually a little bitter and have a hint of lime to them. More on that when I post the curry recipe I promised on Instagram Tuesday. 😉
I roasted half a kabocha while I prepped my green stuffings. This was an important distraction step for me because I am normally way to impatient to wait for a squash to roast.
I had to add the coconut and some Indian spices to go with the burger. So glad I did because this won the prize for meal of the week!
Place the kabocha in the oven to roast at 400 degrees for about 20 mins, or until tender.
Meanwhile, saute the veggies, adding the coconut milk, ACV, and spices at the end to preserve the moisture.
Crumble the burger and toss with the veggies. Remove squash from over and stuff with your mixture.
Place the stuffed squash back in the over to bake for 10 mins.
Devour.
At the end of the day… I wonder to myself why I make burgers if I’m just going to crumble them. It is a little strange. Then I remember and important lesson: don’t question a good thing.
Mix everything together and divide into patties.
Cook in a pan over medium heat for 3-4 mins on each side, or until desired temperature is reached.
Allow to cool slightly so the juices soak in before you dig in.
Who else has enjoyed making co-workers, friend, or family stare with strange but good creations this week?
The link up rules can be found here or by clicking on “Strange But Good” in the menu bar above.
In short, I want to see what concoctions have earned you weird looks from co-workers, family and friends! Post your Strange But Good creations, grab the logo below for your blog, and link up here.
Remember to use #strangebutgood in any Tweets and Instagrams of your creations. 🙂
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I got lazy this week and took all my pics with my iPhone. #sorryimnotsorry
Have you ever eaten bison? Do you like it or ground beef better?
Do you prefer using a smart phone or a "real" camera?
Have you ever seen a Carnival Squash?
PYT, pretty young thing…
I have to admit that I am shallow. I chose this squash knowing nothing about the Carnival variety other than it is one attractive squash. It’s pretty… and who DOESN’T like pretty things? This is one squash you can judge my the cover – it was reminiscent of an Acorn squash, but had the sweetness of a Butternut.
Don’t mind the classy paper towel…
Even better: it can be microwaved and ready to eat in less than 10 minutes. Side note: do I use bold too much? I feel like I overuse bold… but I am bold. Hear me roar.
Indian-inspired dishes are a staple in my kitchen, so I made this Carnival a curried affair. My curry is an extra-hot variety, but you can buy a more mild powder. I, of course, added extra heat with red pepper flaked across the top.
Breaking out of my brown food rut, I used red lentils in this curry. They were fantastic! I always heard the lighter colored (non-black or green) were mushier, but I left them al dente and added them to the mix in the last few minutes to ensure the bite remained.
The other flavors in this dish really made it pop – the sweetness from the cardamom and the richness of the cinnamon compliment the curry. Adding a little basil at the end provides a pleasant surprise with every bite. I really love basil in spicy Asian dishes.
It is also delish topped with these Cardamom Roasted Seeds.
Stab the squash 3-4 times and cook in microwave 8-10 mins, until soft to touch. Cut in half and remove guts/seeds. Separate from skin and dice into ~1/2 in cubes.
Over medium heat in large pot, saute onion in olive oil until turning translucent (3-4 mins). Add minced garlic and saute for additional 2-3 mins, until fragrant.
Stir in curry, cardamom, turmeric, and cinnamon and cook another 1-2 mins. Add broth, cider, and lentils and bring to a boil.
Reduce heat and cook for 7-8 mins. Stir in squash, adding water as needed. Allow to cook ~5 mins, then add spinach and basil.
Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and cook until spinach is wilted (~5 mins). Salt and pepper, to taste. Makes 2 servings.
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Now I have the entire MJ catalog stuck in my head… Thrillllller!
What is your favorite squash?
For those of you who are old enough to have caught the reference, what’s your favorite Michael Jackson song?
