Thai Curry with Rice Noodles

Here’s another recipe that really needs no special fussing. Simply prep the veg and cook it all together. The original recipe comes from “Vegetarian Today” magazine (April 2017) and I followed it pretty closely, except that instead of cooking the veg separately, I dumped it all in at once and cooked it together. Perfection.

This was the first time that I had used rice noodles; they were so good! Don’t skip this ingredient!

These amounts made about 3 adult servings. This would be simple to double for a larger group.

Here’s what you need:
1 can full fat coconut milk

1 T brown sugar

1 T red curry paste (Thai Kitchen brand, for example)

½ C diced white onion

1 T minced garlic

1 T minced fresh ginger

1 T veg oil

1 C cubed yellow or red potatoes, skinned

1 C trimmed fresh green beans, cut in 1 inch pieces

1 C cauliflower florets

1 C eggplant, skinned and cubed

½ C red pepper, sliced

Fresh lime juice

4 oz dry rice noodles (prepare according to package)

Fresh cilantro - garnish

Dry roasted peanuts – garnish

Here’s what you do:

Prepare the sauce: mix together the entire can of coconut milk, the brown sugar, and the curry paste.  Set aside

Saute all the veg in some corn oil until a bit soft – don’t brown anything. Add the sauce and simmer till thickened to your liking. Lime juice goes in at the end. Serve over rice noodles with cilantro and peanuts as garnish. 

Pistachio Melon Cake (from RaisingJane)

“How difficult can it be?” I asked myself. Slice some melons, make some coconut cream, shell some pistachios, and tidy up the kitchen.

I’d had my eye on this beautiful cake from raisingjane.org for quite a while. (The recipe was originally published a year ago and re-published again just recently.) 

I practically had the entire recipe and method memorized because I’d studied it and read it and deliberated over it for so long. Slice melons, whip up coconut cream, shell pistachios, tidy kitchen.

(This is where I mention that I was hosting a small dinner party in a few hours.)

The stumbling block would be the coconut cream. I’d tried whipping coconut cream on various occasions before – all great failures! In my experience, the fat in the chilled can never separated and rose to the top, leaving me with a watery mess. Everyone in ‘perfect internet world’ has great success with whipped coconut cream, but not me.

According to the original recipe, I HAD to use Native Forest full-fat (not low-fat) Organic Coconut Milk, but of course, my tiny town barely carries any coconut milk at all. So being the ridiculous person I am, I ordered 6 cans and had them ‘rushed’ to my doorstep.  You can see from the photos, that even after a few days in the fridge, the coconut cream was really weird….. more like grease and solid fat. Bleck.

I tried and tried to whip it, but eventually ended up adding lots of powdered sugar and milk and maybe even a bit of Earth Balance. In the end, it tasted great, but so frustrating! I will NEVER try coconut cream again.

The other weird thing about the coconut cream was that it did not cling at all to the melon slices. Not a pretty presentation. No one cared, of course, but still after all the effort, I was expecting a nice slice of cake with the frosting attached!

Anyway, if you’re looking for a beautiful fruit dessert, and you don’t mind cleaning up a huge mess, and you can live with frosting that falls off, give this a try. Original recipe and beautiful photos HERE.

SpicyCoconut Curried Eggplant

Here's what my life is like some days. Write the weekly menu and head to the local grocery for as much as I can purchase there. Remember, I live in small-town USA, so my local guy doesn't really carry stuff like cardamom pods. He doesn't even have tofu on the shelf, and believe me, I've asked for it! Like more than a few times. I sincerely think that if he'd carry it, folks would buy it. Anyway, I try to support my local businesses, so that's where I begin my shopping, even if the eggplants are dented and a tiny bit withered.

Travel across town to the huge superstore for fresh ginger, tofu, coconut milk, and the elusive spice. But happy fortune, while scouring the spice rack for cardamom pods, I find harissa! Here in my little city! What??  Happy day!!  I'm all over harissa! (Well, I'm not really sure how to use it, but I will learn, believe me.)  

Back in the car (did I mention this all takes place in a slushy snow storm? I'm dressed like a snow-woman, hat, boots, puffy coat, etc The car's a filthy mess.) to the up-scale grocery for that last ingredient - cardamom pods. Success.

Drive home, unload bags from the car to the kitchen, pour a huge glass of wine, look over the recipe, and start chopping veg. What? Where's that can of coconut milk? Back to the car, searching every nook and cranny only to find that it had rolled out of its bag.

Same kinds of shopping days for you?

If you like SPICY, then you'll love this curry.

Here's what you need:

2 eggplants

1 T oil

1/2 onion, diced

2 garlic cloves, minced

2 inches fresh ginger, peeled and minced

1 t ground cardamom

2 T ground coriander

1 T red pepper flakes

4 whole cardamom pods

1/2 t black peppercorns

1/2 T turmeric

4 tomatoes, chopped

2 cans coconut milk

rice

Here's what you do:

Dice the eggplant into 1-2  inch pieces. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with a bit of salt and bake on a lined baking sheet at 350 for 20 minutes.

In a medium pot, sauté onions, garlic, ginger, ground cardamom, coriander, and red pepper flakes until the onions begin to soften. Don't brown anything.

Crush the black peppercorns and the cardamom pods in a mortar and add them, along with the remaining spices, to the onions.

Add the tomatoes, coconut milk, and the eggplant to the pot and simmer for about 20 minutes.

Serve over white rice. Goes well with a toasted Naan bread and roasted carrots. Consider serving something cool along side this dish: sliced cucumbers maybe?

Roasted Red Pepper, Chickpea, and Spinach Curry (from One Green Planet)

I found this recipe floating around the internet a few weeks ago. I always love the recipes from One Green Planet, plus they post the absolute best animal photos. We all really liked this meal, but I jazzed it up a tiny bit by adding some heat in the form of 1 T red curry paste. Of course, you can add heat or leave it out - I always forget how spicy we like our food and how 'non-spicy' other people like their food. Just yesterday, a co-worker dipped her spoon into my vegan cheezy sauce and couldn't believe how spicy it was. To me, it was perfect!

Below is the original recipe and my variations.

Roasted Red Pepper, Chickpea, and Spinach Curry

3 large red bell peppers
3 T olive oil
3 cloves garlic
1 onion, diced
salt and pepper
1 1/3 C coconut milk ( I used a can of full fat coconut milk)
4 T nutritional yeast
2 1/2 T cornstarch (next time I'll leave this out so the liquid is thinner)
1 pinch smoked paprika
1 1/4 C chickpeas
1 C spinach (needs lots more - add it at the end to keep it nice and green)
3/4 C cherry tomatoes (I used a can of diced tomatoes, drained. Next time, I'll keep all the liquid)
(I also added 1 heaping T of red curry paste. Sriracha would be good too)
1. Bake the red peppers at 425 degrees for about 30 minutes until charred. Place peppers under some plastic wrap and allow them to cool. Remove the skin, seeds, and stems and set aside.
2. Saute the onion and garlic in the olive oil, season with salt and pepper.
3. In a blender, mix the peppers, onion and garlic mixture, coconut milk, nutritional yeast, cornstarch and smoked paprika.
4. Transfer the sauce to a skillet, add chickpeas, spinach and tomatoes. Bake for about 30 minutes. Serve over rice. 

Curried Coconut Carrot Soup with Carrot Top Pesto

What glorious fall colors! This soup is a total winner. I used a combination of recipes from all over the place to create this warm, spicy, comforting (and gourmet, if I do say so myself) bowl. If you are fortunate enough to use fresh carrots, do not throw away those carrot tops! The garnish is a MUST in this soup.

I'm still all a-glow over the carrots I grew in my garden this summer and I'm already planning to expand my space for even more next year. Aren't they gorgeous?

Basically, you soften the veg in coconut oil, simmer it all in veg broth, and then season well with coconut milk, curry and ginger.

Here's what you need:
2 T coconut oil
1 C chopped onion
2 lb chopped carrots
1/4 C fresh ginger, or less to taste
4 C vegetable broth
1 can full fat coconut milk
1 T curry (hot or regular, more or less to taste)

Here's what you do:
Heat the coconut oil and add the onions. Cook on medium until onions are soft. Add the remaining ingredients and simmer until everything is well cooked. I often allow my soup to sit around with the lid on to really help meld the flavors. It's good to let it cool a little bit before blending it anyway.

 I made a double batch.... plenty for the freezer. 

Here's what you need for the carrot top pesto:

1 small bunch or handful of carrot greens

1 small bunch or handful of cilantro

1/2 C slivered almonds

2-3 cloves of garlic

1/4 C olive oil

salt to taste

Keep blending it until you get a nice smooth consistency. The amounts given is enough for the double batch of soup I made..... You might want to reduce quantities if you're only making a single batch of soup. OR - keep the pesto in the freezer for other uses. I didn't waste any! I even used a tiny bit in some 'ranch' dressing the next day - AMAZING! 

Tracy’s Thai Inspired Stuffed Peppers

Creamy and Spicy

1 can coconut milk

1 heaping tablespoon red curry paste

2 t sugar

1 t soy sauce or other salty Asian condiment

½ head cauliflower chopped in very small pieces

1 shredded carrot

½ C frozen peas

1 can chick peas

Cooked rice – about 3 C

Red peppers, halved and cleaned

Bake at 350 until the pepper is very soft and starting to wither. 

Mix the milk, curry paste, sugar and salty seasoning. When simmering, add the cauliflower pieces and continue to cook on low until the cauliflower is very tender. Add the frozen peas, shredded carrots, chick peas and rice. Mix well. Stuff each pepper half very full, making sure to get the mixture into every crease of the pepper. There will be plenty to stuff 4 peppers (8 halves), or just plan to use the left-over rice for another meal. 

Isa Chandra’s Corn Chowder

I am very nostalgic about corn chowder because it was one of the first soups I learned how to make. I used to use my grandma’s recipe which has whole milk, butter, bacon, and cans of creamed corn. 

 In my mind, I can see myself fretting over that simple recipe, trying to figure out how long to sauté the onions, when to add the milk and what to do with the bacon grease. Good cooks have some natural instinct and that comes with practice. After 28 years of practice in the kitchen, I no longer fret over how to sauté onions and I can tell a great corn chowder recipe when I see one. Isa never fails!

Here is a link to the original recipe.

Here’s what you need: (I have included some minor modifications)

1 T olive oil

1 medium onion, diced

3 cloves garlic, minced

¼ t red pepper flakes

5 ears fresh corn – equal to about 4 cups of kernels plus the cobs

3 carrots, peeled and chopped

1 lb Yukon Gold potatoes or red potatoes, diced

4 C vegetable broth – divided

1 T corn starch

1 can full fat coconut milk

Fresh lime juice

Salt and pepper to taste

Garnishes include:

Fresh basil

Thinly sliced radishes

Shredded carrot

Extra corn kernels

Here’s what you do:

Sauté the onions in the oil until they are translucent. Add the garlic and red pepper flakes and simply warm the garlic – do not brown it. Add the carrots and corn kernels and cook for a few minutes. Measure out 1 C of the broth and whisk in the corn starch. Set aside.

Add the remaining 3 C of broth and potatoes to the soup pot.  Cover and bring to a boil. Add the corn cobs. Lower the heat to a simmer, cover and cook for about 15 minutes. I believe in letting soup rest for a while to really allow the flavors to peak. So if you have time, turn off the heat and let the whole thing sit for another 30 minutes. This will also allow the starch from the corn cobs to do its magic.

Remove the cobs. Add the starchy veggie broth which you have been saving and raise the heat until the soup is a bit thickened. Add the coconut milk. Season with salt and lots of black pepper. Save the lime juice (fresh, of course!) until the last minute.

Pineapple Coconut Ice Cream

Anyone out there interested in participating in the Vegan Month of Food 2013?  (VeganMoFo) The fun starts in September. You can see my VeganMoFo2012 posts by clicking here. 

Becoming vegetarian/almost vegan has come naturally to me – I guess because I love food and I love to cook and I love to experiment in the kitchen. Using new foods and flavors was not really that difficult for me.  I can understand, however, why people might think it’s radical to have so many beans and grains in the pantry, and not one slice of cheese in the fridge. Some might comment that new foods are strange or unappetizing, but I think that’s just because they haven’t attempted to incorporate them into their diets. Tofu is an example of one of these foods I am talking about. It’s still pretty new to me, but I no longer FEAR tofu!! I actually EAT it !!

And this is where the idea of a learning curve comes in. Remember learning how to cook a boneless, skinless chicken breast…. how to keep it juicy and tender….. how to create the various sauces and flavors to overcome the ‘sameness’ of the meat? Remember all the dry, unforgiving chewy chicken early in your cooking career? Well, it’s kinda the same when using any new food, like tofu. There is a learning curve. Some failures at first, true, but then you get the hang of it.

I will publicly admit that only a year ago, I had no idea what tofu even was! Talk about growth and learning! I now not only know what it is, I understand the different types of tofu and I’m even starting to use them in my weekly menus.

Come on, try a new food. Don’t be put off by the thought of failure. Just remember the early days of the boneless skinless chicken breast staring you in the eye and the dread of creating something appetizing from that dull piece of meat. If you can conquer that, you can conquer anything. 

The weather is pretty cool up here in Michigan today, but it's never too cool for ice cream. This one is fantastic! 

Here’s what you need:

2 C fresh pineapple chunks

1 can coconut milk (full fat)

1/3 C agave nectar

½ C coconut milk beverage (Silk brand, for example) 

1 t vanilla

Here’s what you do:

Blend in high speed blender until smooth. Chill for at least 3 hours. Freeze in an ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s directions. 

Maple Pecan Cinnamon Rolls

Maple Cinnamon Glaze! Come ON!

Well, as promised, I did it. I veganized those glorious Cinnamon Rolls I posted a few weeks ago. Using the same recipe, I swapped out butter, milk and eggs with Earth Balance margarine, coconut milk and Ener-G Egg Replacer and you know what? They were better than the original. Just have to trust me on that one, I guess. I also added chopped pecans to the filling and some maple syrup in the glaze. Glorious! The leftovers re-heated beautifully the next day.

Here’s what you need:

1 ¼ C coconut milk

½ C Earth Balance non-dairy butter

¼ C brown sugar

2 ¼ t yeast

1 C old-fashioned oats

½ C hot water

4 C flour

2  Ener-G Egg replacer “eggs”

1 ½ t salt

1 ½ sticks Earth Balance butter – softened

1 C brown sugar

1 C chopped pecans

2 T cinnamon

1 t salt

4 T Earth Balance butter – softened

2 C powdered sugar

2 T coconut milk

3 T pure maple syrup

¼ t salt

I was very paranoid that my yeast was not
bubbling correctly, but eventually it
worked great!

Here’s what you do:

Heat up 1 ¼ C milk, butter and brown sugar, until it’s all melted. Pour into the bowl of your mixer and wait until the temperature is down to 100-110 degrees. Then add the yeast and let it sit for 5 minutes.

Soak the oats in the hot water. Set aside.

You can see why I was paranoid
about my yeast. Time to go
yeast shopping, I guess.

Add 2 cups of flour and ‘eggs’ to the yeast mixture and mix it slowly, until it’s all incorporated. Then add the remaining flour, oats and salt. Mix for about 7 minutes or until the dough pulls away from the sides of the mixer. (Mine actually took much less time)

Transfer dough to a bowl which has been coated with nonstick spray. Cover and allow to double in bulk – about 2 hours.

To make the filling: mix the 1 ½ sticks ‘butter,’ the brown sugar, maple syrup, cinnamon, and salt. Set aside.

This dough was very tender and delicate. I always use a tape measure.

After 2 hours, remove the dough to a floured board and cut it in half. Press out one half into a 16 x 10 inch rectangle. Gently spread ½ of the filling over the dough. Sprinkle ½ C chopped pecans over the filling. Roll up, jellyroll fashion, starting with the short end. Place on a greased baking sheet. Repeat with the other half of the dough. Freeze the two ‘logs’ of dough for about 10 minutes for easier handling. Cut each log into 6 equal pieces…. I used dental floss (NOT the “minty fresh kind”) Feel free to trim away any unsightly and uneven pieces that are sticking out on each end. There’s plenty of goodness to spare.

Place the rolls in a greased 9 x 13 baking dish, cover and allow rolls to rise and rest for about 1 hour.

Bake rolls in a 375 degree oven for about 30-35 minutes. While the rolls are cooling, make the frosting by mixing the ‘butter,’ powdered sugar, maple syrup, milk and salt. Slather the frosting and enjoy!

(printable recipe)

One Year Ago : Cranberry Marmalade Pinwheels (these were really tricky to make, but they tasted great!)

Two Years Ago : Eggplant Rollatini (this may be my favorite recipe on the entire blog. Take a minute to check it out.) 

I've Been Baking: VeganMoFo # 16

I'm a Veganwannabe: Post #16
(Just a few more Vegan Month of Food posts!! I can feel the end coming!) 

I’ve been baking. Must be this rainy weather. 

Both of these recipes come from The Joy of Vegan Baking and both are excellent. It’s the first time I have used Ener-G Egg Replacer and I must admit….. I am impressed with the results. You will never miss the eggs.  [There I go again mentioning an egg during Vegan Month of Food – (VeganMoFo, for those of you who have not been paying attention these last few weeks) By the way….I am totally confident that I will make it to 20 blog posts, which is one of the challenges of participating in the MoFo. So proud of myself….but I digress.]

Classic Currant Scones (from The Joy of Vegan Baking)

1 ½ t Ener-G Egg Replacer (equivalent of 1 egg)

2 T water

2 ½ C flour

1/3 C sugar

4 t baking powder

½ t salt

¾ C non-hydrogenated, non-dairy butter, cold, cut in small cubes

1 C currants (I love these little guys)

½ C non-dairy milk (I used Coconut Milk)

2-3 T non-dairy milk for brushing on top

Cinnamon sugar for sprinkling

1.       Whisk the Ener-G and the water till thick and frothy. Set aside.

2.       Mix flour, sugar, baking powder, salt.

3.       Add the cubed butter to the dry ingredients and cut it in with your fingers till you have small pea-sized crumbles. You basically want to smoosh it together with your fingertips gently, making sure it’s not too perfectly incorporated. The little chunks of butter will create wonderful pockets of goodness, so don’t mix it too thoroughly.

4.       Add the ‘eggs’, the milk and the currants.

5.       Mix gently until very craggy and soft.

6.       Turn out onto a floured board and create a sort of wet ball – it can be done!

7.       Using your fingers, shape the dough into a ½ inch tall circle.

8.       Cut in 8-10 wedges.

9.       Transfer to a baking sheet which has been sprayed or lined with parchment paper (or both)

10.   Brush with a bit more milk.

11.   Sprinkle with cinnamon sugar.

12.   Bake in a 425 degree oven for about 15 minutes.

Hearty Spiced Cocoa Muffins (from The Joy of Vegan Baking)

1 ¾ C flour

¾ C sugar

6 T unsweetened cocoa powder

2 t baking powder

½ t baking soda

2 t cinnamon

¼ t cloves

¼ cayenne pepper

1 t salt

3 T Ener-G Egg Replacer

4 T water

1 C non-dairy milk

½ C non-hydrogenated, non-dairy butter, melted (OR ½ C canola oil)

½ C non-dairy semisweet chocolate chips

½ C chopped nuts (optional)

1.       Mix the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves, cayenne pepper and salt. Set aside

2.       Whisk the Ener-G and water till thick and frothy. (I did mine in the blender) Set aside.

3.       Add the milk and melted butter to the ‘egg’

4.       Add the chips, nuts and wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix very gently.

5.       Scoop the muffin mixture into prepared muffin tins (sprayed) and bake in a 400 degree oven for about 15 minutes. Makes 12 muffins.

Chicken Satay

The first time I had this combination of flavors I was in the Netherlands of all places. I had never heard of the word ‘satay’ and I had never dreamed of creating a sauce with lime, peanut butter and coconut milk. I can tell you that this meal was the furthest thing from my mind when trying to imagine what would be on the Dutch menu. How wrong I was!

A major Social Studies lesson for my students is to understand the effects of cultural diffusion – you know, the sharing of ideas and customs between various peoples throughout the ages. Chicken Satay is a perfect example of cultural diffusion. I’ve come to learn that satay originated in Indonesia. You world history buffs probably remember that Indonesia was a Dutch colony back-in-the-day. The rest, as they say, is history…… meaning, the Dutch people took the awesome flavor combos they loved from the Indonesian diet and brought them back to Europe, where they are still being enjoyed today. (The Dutch people also got a hold of cocoa beans way, way back when they were being used by the ancient Aztec people. The ingenious Dutch people added sugar and milk to cocoa powder to create chocolate as we know it today…. another fine example of cultural diffusion. But enough with the history lessons! School’s out!)

What is satay you may be asking? A beautiful selection of meats skewered and grilled and served with a spicy peanut sauce. This one is easy enough to whip up after a day at work. It’s nice enough to serve to company. Just add some lime/cilantro rice and a bright vegetable and you have a complete meal.

Here’s what you need for the marinade:

¼ C soy sauce

¼ C lemon juice

2 T vegetable oil

1 T sugar

Lime zest

2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into 1 inch cubes

Here’s what you need for the peanut sauce:

2 heads garlic, minced very fine

1 shallot, minced very fine

2 T lime juice – use fresh!

1 T brown sugar

½ t coriander (or more….it’s citrusy, so we love it)

¼ t hot red pepper flakes (or more)

¾ C peanut butter

1 C coconut milk (lite is fine…. I sometimes use the entire can)

Here’s what you do:

Marinate the chicken in the soy, lemon juice, vegetable oil, sugar and lime zest for no more than 30 minutes. Arrange chicken on skewers, grill, baste with marinade.

Create the sauce by mincing the garlic and shallot. (You know what I’m going to suggest….. with the blade running on your processor, drop both the garlic and shallot down in there and you will get it perfectly minced every time!)

Add the remaining sauce ingredients and blend until smooth and creamy. Pour into a small sauce pan and heat slowly. Sometimes I strain out the bits of garlic and shallot, but that’s a personal preference.

Tonight I made regular rice and squeezed lots of lime juice over it. I also mixed in lots of fresh cilantro. This is a perfect side dish because you can drizzle (or pour) all that excellent sauce over the rice!


(printable recipe)

One Year Ago : Big Crumb Rhubarb Coffee Cake