new curry

I've been pretty into curry lately.  And today, I wanted to go all out.  So I bought some turmeric and garam masala, 2 spices I haven't owned in a long time.  And my curry tasted amazing!  And I even made turmeric rice, and I felt super cool and authentic, even if I was just fooling myself since I didn't use jasmine or basmati rice ... I used my staple Japanese short grain.  I know, I know, I should be ashamed of myself.  But I'm Japanese.  And in my mind rice should stick together;)

So I accidentally used way too much spice (because I tend to just throw things in and not follow a recipe ...) so I ended up making a massive pot of curry.  So unless you're serving a huge crowd, you'll want to half this recipe for sure.

If you don't like shrimp, use some other meat.  If you don't like mushrooms, use whatever vegetable you think works well.  That's the beauty of curry.  There's so much you can do with it.  Just have fun and explore.

My dinner tonight: Shrimp & Mushroom Curry
serves 10?

3 T garam masala (or your regular old curry powder.  It'll be a different result, but it's still fantastic!)
1 t cumin
2 t paprika
3 t turmeric
1/4 t saffron threads (optional)
1/4 t crushed red pepper flakes
3~4 cloves garlic, minced or grated fine
1 T grated fresh ginger
1 large red onion, sliced (pole to pole)
1 lb mushrooms, sliced (any variety you want to use.  As usual, I used white buttons just because they're the most affordable)
1/2 lb shrimp, tails removed and deveined
olive oil
butter
salt to taste
2 cans petite diced tomatoes
2 cans coconut milk (like I said, I made a HUGE pot)

to serve:
turmeric rice*
fresh cilantro
toasted sliced almonds
golden raisins

1. In a large heavy bottom pot, heat 2 T butter and about an equal amount of olive oil over medium-high heat until butter is melted.  Season the shrimp with salt and cook until opaque on the surface and some browning occurs, but not cooked through.  Set aside.
2. Add the garlic, ginger and onions to the pot and cook, stirring frequently, until the onions begin to soften.  Add the mushrooms, and cook until browned.  Add the rest of the spices and stir to coat.  If it seems dry, add a little water to prevent burning.
3. Add the tomatoes.  Let simmer until tomatoes reduce slightly and get pulpy.  Add the coconut milk and let simmer briefly to slightly thicken.  Serve over hot rice or with naan.

*To make turmeric rice, all you need is a teaspoon or two of turmeric in your rice water and cook as you normally do.  (I also added some saffron threads because I'm lucky enough to have a friend who went to Spain a few months ago and bought me some!  I know, right?  I have cool friends who know me well)  For me that meant pushing the "start" button on my rice cooker ...  Add a handful of peas at the end if you like.  And I think using some butter on the rice is typical, but I kept is simple.  I figured there was enough butter in the curry.

last minute

I have to admit, I may have been a little ahead of myself last weekend because I was hoping this baby would be born by now ... which means I didn't do a whole lot of grocery shopping. Just the minimal stuff here and there, and then I figured we'd be eating out of our freezer (which is really well stocked) and people from church (bless their souls!) would be feeding us most dinners. But, alas, she's not born yet, and I've been scraping by with the minimal ingredients we have. I'm too stubborn to go out and get more stuff, so I've had to improvise a lot. Well, tonight was no different. Except somehow I had a lot of ingredients for one of my favorites, my mom's Butter Chicken curry. Of course I was missing a lot of stuff, too, so I had to make it up as I went, and I was actually really pleased. I added a ton of heat in hopes that I'll go into labor;) And these measurements are just approximations because I threw stuff in. So make adjustments as you like.

My last minute Tikka Masala, or Butter Chicken Curry
Serves 6
2 large chicken breasts, cut into 1 inch cubes
1 can coconut milk (my uses heavy cream, which is delicious, too)
1 can petite diced tomatoes
1 large onion, sliced thin
2 bay leaves
1.5 t cayenne pepper (give or take, depending on how hot you want it)
1 t crushed red pepper flakes
2 t paprika
1 T cumin
1 T curry powder
2 t fenugreek seeds
1 t ground coriander
1 T fresh grated ginger
3~5 cloves garlic, minced or grated
2~4 T butter (or more, if you're feeling extra heavy. mmmm)

rice, to serve

1. In a large heavy-bottom pot, melt butter over medium-high heat. Add onions, season lightly with salt, and stir until softened. Add bay leaves, cayenne pepper, crushed red pepper flakes, paprika, cumin, curry powder, fenugreek, coriander, ginger, and garlic. Stir until onions are evenly coated and the spices become very fragrant.
2. Add chicken and tomatoes. Let simmer on medium with lid on until chicken is cooked through, stirring occasionally to prevent burning.
3. Add coconut milk, and let simmer until slightly thickened. Serve over rice or with naan. (which I think I'm going to attempt soon-ish. Just you wait!)
   

*fresh cilantro is a great addition to this, too. I love the color is adds, and of course the amazing flavor! You can also add toasted nuts such as cashews or sliced almonds, and even some toasted coconut would be great. Have fun experimenting!

Day 4

Tonight I was craving some Indian curry, so I made Lisa's Vegetable Curry again. This time I used zucchini instead of eggplant, and I don't think it was quite as good, but that's what I had in my fridge, so it worked. My one suggestion would be to seed the zucchini first (if you have one as huge as the one I had! It was practically a baseball bat!). Yum yum yum!

Can you tell I took all the cauliflower?

I am so proud of myself!

... for 2 reasons. 1) I was able to almost recreate my sister's vegetable curry that I've been craving ever since she made it for me probably about 2 years ago, and 2) I actually got Blake to not only EAT cauliflower, but ENJOY it! That, my friends, is quite an accomplishment. And I am relieved, too, because I think cauliflower might be my favorite part of this dish.

When I was in high school in Japan, I got to take an "International Cooking" class taught by mothers of students at my school. My school was an International school, so you can assume the dishes we learned how to make were pretty authentic. And this dish reminds me of the Indian food day. It is pretty much the real thing, and I LOVE it! It's not the most visually appealing, but trust me, it is good. And the best part is that it is easy and the ingredients are really easy to find. Happy curry day!

Lisa's Vegetable Curry
serves 6-8?
5 cloves garlic, finely grated
1 3-in chunk fresh ginger, finely grated
3 T vegetable oil
1/4 t cumin
1/4 t cinnamon
2 t curry powder
1 bay leaf
1 onion, thinly sliced
1 (14 oz) can diced tomatoes
1 (14 oz) can unsweetened coconut milk (not cream of coconut)
1 head cauliflower, broken off into chunks
1 large eggplant, diced large
green beans (however much you want)

* vegetables should amount to about 8 C

1 C cashews (optional, but definitely suggested)
salt to taste

1. Heat oil to medium-high in a large pot. Add onion and cook until soft.
2. Add garlic, ginger, curry, cumin, cinnamon, and bay leaf. Cook until spices are fully incorporated and very fragrant. (about 1~2 minutes)
3. Add tomato and stir constantly until slightly pulpy.
4. Add vegetables and stir to combine. Cook until soft. Add salt and taste periodically.
   
5. Add coconut milk and cook until the curry thickens.
6. Add cashews. Serve over rice.

* you can add chicken to make it a little heartier.

Some Random Updates

Now that I have basically settled in to our new home, I have finally found my recipe notebook and these old photos of recipes I need to include. So it'll be a little bit random, but bear with me. They were all created at totally different times.

Lemon Panna Cotta
4-8 servings (depending on the size of ramekin)

My sister taught me how to make Panna Cotta when I was in high school and it has always been one of my favorite desserts. And one day, she made lemon panna cotta for me when I went over to her and house I couldn't believe how much better it was (if that's possible!), so I decided for Christmas Dinner to try to make it myself. It was a lot easier to adjust than I thought. You can't get much better than lemon and cream. Perfect combination.

1 envelope unflavored gelatin
2 C heavy cream
1/3 C sugar
2 T cold water
1 C half and half
2 t pure vanilla extract
zest of 1 lemon (I recommend using a microplane grater)
juice of 1 lemon

*berries or whatever fruit is in season that you think would go well. I added strawberries and blueberries tossed in sugar, lemon juice, and a little cinnamon in this picture.

1. In a small microwavable bowl, sprinkle gelatin over water and let settle until softened. Microwave mixture until gelatin is dessolved. 5-10 seconds.
2. In a saucepan bring the cream, half and half and sugar to a boil, constantly stirring. remove pan from heat and add gelatin, lemon zest and juice, and vanilla until combined.
3. Divide cream into 4-8 molds and refrigerate for at least 4 hours.

*To un-mold, dip mold into hot water for 2-3 seconds and invert onto a plate and serve. I like to serve it in the ramekin that it's molded to so I never worry about that. But if you like fancier presentation, go ahead and un-mold it:)

Thai Coconut Curry
serves 4

I got this idea from Everday Food by Martha Stewart Living. I love Thai curry but had never made it before, so I decided to give it a try. I took a few liberties, though, and made it more authentic than her recipe seemed to be. If you don't like shrimp, I think this will help you to like it, or if you hate it that much, you can always use beef or chicken. But I really think Thai coconut curry is best with shrimp.

salt and pepper
about 2 T vegetable oil
1 lb shrimp (or chicken or beef tenderloin, cut into thin strips)
1 onion, halved and thinly sliced
2 bell peppers (I used red here, but I think green would also be great), thinly sliced
2 small Japanese eggplant or 2/3 of a big eggplant, diced
1 T Thai red curry paste
1 can (14 oz) coconut milk
1 C Thai basil leaves, torn into little pieces
1 T fresh lemon juice

Rice to serve it with

1. In a large skillet, heat 1 T oil over medium-high. Season shrimp (or chicken or beef) with salt and pepper and add to skillet until almost cooked through. (For shrimp, that is when it starts to get pink and opaque, but don't let it got cooked all the way through or it will be over cooked and rubbery later)
2. Put Eggplant in skillet and cook until slightly softened. Add onions, bell pepper, salt and pepper and cook until crisp-tender. 3-4 minutes.
3. Add curry pastes, cook scraping the bottom of the skillet, about 1 minute.
4. Return shrimp to the skillet and add coconut milk. Simmer until sauce thickens slightly, 4-5 minutes. Remove from heat. Stir in basil and lemon juice and season with salt and pepper.
5. Serve with Japanese white rice.

Chunky Banana Oat Muffins
makes 12 muffins

I got this idea from Ina Garten's cookbook. I can't remember which one. Since I've been pregnant I've been craving bananas like crazy and we always have bananas in our house. So I thought I'd try out her chunky banana bran muffin recipe, but I ended up changing it a lot because I like oat-ey muffins instead of bran-ey ones and I like a good crumb topping on them. So here is my successful experiment. And just to let you know, this is where I got the idea of the strawberry white chocolate muffins for Lisa Hall's shower. I just took this recipe and altered the add-ins.


1 1/2 C all-purpose flour
1 C rolled oats
1/4 C honey
1/4 C brown sugar
2 t baking powder
1 t baking soda
1/2 t salt
1/4 C melted butter
1 egg
3/4 C milk
2 t pure vanilla extract
1 8 oz package cream cheese, softenend
1 mashed banana
3 bananas, cut into 1/2 in chunks

Oat Crumb topping:
1 C melted butter
2-4 T cinnamon
about 3 C brown sugar
2 C flour
about 2 1/2 C oats

1. Combine flour, oats, sugar, bakindg powder, baking soda, and salt in a small bowl.
2. In a large bowl, beat the egg slightly. Stir in milk, melted butter, vanilla, and honey. Add the mashed banana, and combine thoroughly. Gradually stir in flour mixture until just combined. Once batter is combined, carefully add banana chunks.
3. Line a 12 C muffin pan with paper baking cups and divie batter among them.
4. Generously sprinkle crumb topping on all muffins.
   
5. Bake at 400°F for 18-20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
   

Japanese Cucumber Salad
Serves 21/2 onion, sliced very thin, soaking in water
2 T dried wakame seaweed
2 Japanese cucumbers, sliced thin at a diagnal
1 T rice wine vinegar
2 T sesame seed oil
salt and pepper to taste

1. put the wakame in a bowl with warm water until reconstituted. Drain.
2. Add cucumber, wakame, and onion and toss with vinegar, oil, salt and pepper.
3. serve cold.