My first curry

I had a weird assortment of produce that I needed to use: a Bell Pepper & Jalapenos.

I also had a couple of random items in the pantry that I wanted to get rid of: Coconut milk & Rice Noodles.

The only thing I've ever used the coconut milk for is a vegetable korma but I didn't have any of the other ingredients on hand. I did have a bottle of curry powder though so I did a quick search for Curry Powder, Coconut Milk & Potatoes (which I also had on hand) and voila! Easy Thai Chicken Curry recipe which I adapted for my palate. Try it out! I was quite pleased! Bon Appetit!

Thai Tofu Curry
(Adapted from this recipe on recipezaar.com)
4.5 oz Coconut Milk
10 oz Water
3 Tbsp Soy Sauce
2 Tsp Soup Base (Any kind - I used "Better than Bouillon Vegan No Chicken Base)
1.5 Tbsp Curry Powder
2 small potatoes, diced
1/2 package of Extra Firm Tofu, diced
1 Roma Tomato, diced
1 Jalapeno Pepper, sliced into long strips
1 Red Bell Pepper
3-4 Fresh Basil leaves, reserve 2 leaves for garnish
Rice Noodles, boiled & drained

Mix Coconut Milk, Water, Soup Base, Soy Sauce, Curry Powder, and Potatoes in a sauce pot and bring to a boil. Once mixture comes to a boil, reduce heat and simmer mixture for 15 minutes.

Add the tomatoes, tofu, jalapeno and simmer for another 8 minutes or until potatoes are tender.

Add the bell pepper strips and basil and simmer for another minute or two. If you like the bell peppers a little softer, simmer for another 5 minutes.

Place the rice noodles in the bottom of a bowl and top with the curry and the basil garnish.

Burrito Bol

My friend Clarissa (the most amazing cook that I know) just recently tried Chipotle for the first time last week. She LOVED it (just like I knew she would) and decided to make her own version at home. It turned out delish and she shared the recipe with me. Here's how it turned out:

Counter-clockwise from top left: Diced roma tomatoes, tofu marinated in taco seasoning, guacomole, brown rice, basil & avocado dressing, black & pinto beans, and shredded butter lettuce (middle)

And here it is all put together!

Guacomole Recipe:

2 avocados, diced
1/4 white onion, finely chopped
1/4 of a lime, juiced
1 roma tomato, diced
Salt & Pepper, to taste

Combine all ingredients in a bowl and lightly mash with a fork until nice & chunky.

Tofu marinaded with taco seasoning
1 package of extra firm tofu
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 lemon, juiced
1 package of taco seasoning

In a bowl, whisk the EVOO, lemon juice & taco seasoning until thickened. Cube the tofu into 1/4" pieces and toss lightly in the marinade. Let the mixture sit for atleast one hour.

Pour the tofu & the marinade into a saute pan and stir fry until heated through and serve.

Basil & Avocado dressing (for the brown rice)
1 avocado, diced
1 lemon, juiced
3/4 cup basil, lightly chopped
1/4 cup of water
3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
salt & pepper to taste

Place all ingredients into a blender/food processory and blend until all ingredients are combined.

Black & Pinto beans
1 can of black beans
1 can of pinto beans
1/4 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp chili powder
1/4 garlic powder
salt & pepper to taste

Drain both cans of black beans and rinse under cold water. Add beans to a saute pan and add all spices. Stir fry until heated through & serve.

Garden update:
The veg & herbs are growing beautifully! See for yourself:

The spinach is freakishly big! The leaves are big as my hand!

The butter lettuce next to my tomato vine does a lot better than the butter lettuce next to the spinach. Check out that beaut!

The tomato vine is taking over! I kinda want the butter lettuce to die to give the tomato vine more room. Is that wrong?

I love my basil!

Cod en Papillote

It's been one week since starting the herb garden and surprise surprise, they're still alive!!!

I found a recipe from whole foods that called for a number of the herbs I have growing. Chilean Sea Bass en Papillote or Chilean Sea Bass in a Paper Pouch. I couldn't find Chilean Sea Bass but the recipe did say I could use any white fish so I used Cod. I had so much fun making this dish, from the origami boxes I made to contain the fish and vegetables to arranging my freshly picked herb bouquet atop the fish.

But that's where the fun stops.

I didn't like this dish very much. It was too...herb-y. The asparagus was also overcooked and mushy. But maybe its only purpose was to keep the fish out of the liquids that dripped to the bottom.

Before going into the oven to bake.

Asparagus, Bell Peppers, Cod, Herbs (Basil, Rosemary, Thyme, & Parsley) and Lemon

Finito!

Cod en Papillote served with Quinoa, Avocado & Baked Tofu "Sushi"

So, again, this was not delicious but maybe I just went overboard with the herbs. The recipe did call for just 1 sprig of a fresh herb but I threw in 1 sprig of each herb. Oops! For those of you who still want to try, here's the recipe.

Bon Appetit!

Gardening

My Dad had an amazing green thumb! He planted fruit trees, vegetables and flowers (peonies were his favorite!) in our backyard and even did all of the landscaping himself. I remember a time when this lady was in our front yard with scissors clipping our roses! My Dad told her she couldn't do that and she said, "Well why do you plant such beautiful flowers if others can't enjoy them?" Really lady? Get a life! My Dad was nice enough to let her take the flowers she clipped but told her she wasn't allowed to do it again.

In the last few months, I've tried to buy produce that is "closer to the source" whenever I could. It tends to be cheaper, fresher and more nutritious because it doesn't have to travel as far and has the added benefit of helping to support the local farmers. And ok, a tiny part of me likes to go to farmer's markets because there's usually a petting zoo.

I've been toying with the idea of growing my own herbs to use for cooking but unlike my Dad, I tend to kill all plants that I take home with me. Whenever a recipe calls for fresh herbs, I usually end up using a small handful and the rest goes bad before I can finish it. It would be so great to go out to the garden, pick a few basil leaves or sprigs of rosemary (just like Ina does on her show Barefoot Contessa), and allow the plant to grow until the next recipe calls for it. And what's "closer to the source" than your own backyard? But as I mentioned, plants come home with me to die so it was always just an idea until...

I saw the amazing vegetable and herb containers that my housemate Will made from scratch!

The containers are so well crafted that I thought he bought them! Job well done and just the inspiration I needed to get the garden going.

However, I haven't the slightest clue how to start a garden and I really wished I could ask my Dad for gardening advice but since he's no longer with us, the next best source is the nursery down the street.

Evergreen Nursery is amazing! They have everything! To be quite honest, I was so overwhelmed when I got there but a nice gentleman helped me. I told him I wanted nice hearty plants that don't die. He looked at me and said, "Well, we've got some low maintenance ones here but you'll still need to pay them some attention to ensure they live, but of course you already know that." I said, "Of course I know that!" but thought, "By pay attention I hope he means EAT."

He choose a nice assortment of little herbs and vegetables that would fit and live happily in the containers together and also sent me home with a lot of stinky fertilizer!

Later that evening, all of the little plants were in their new homes. I took pictures of them this morning and I'm going to track their progress on this blog. So if you don't see another post about this, do not ask me how the vegetables and herbs are doing, they are in their final resting places thankyouverymuch!

 Spinach & Bibb Lettuce

Tomato vine & more Bibb Lettuce

Garlic Chives

Rosemary

Sweet Basil

Found this picture of my Dad with his peonies