Tag Archives: curry

Kohlrabi Tofu Scramble

Posted on July 9, 2012 | 2 comments

This is a twist on a previous post:  Curried Tofu & Wilted Arugula Scramble .  I won’t bore you with the details, but this update is awesome when you add the garlic scapes and kohlrabi it turns slightly more sweet than the original.  Proof that really you can toss anything into a tofu scramble and it will taste good.  Flex your imagination, or simply look into your CSA bag for inspiration.

Ingredients:

  • 1 tsp canola or olive oil
  • 1 medium red onion, diced finely
  •  2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 2 garlic scapes, minced
  • 1 medium sized kohlrabi, peeled and diced into 1/4 to 1/2 inch cubes
  • 1 large handful, pea pods
  • 1 1/2 T fresh ginger, peeled and diced
  • 1 block extra-firm tofu, pressed and cut into 1/4-1/2 inch dice
  • 2 tsp regular (sweet) curry powder
  • 1 tsp hot curry powder
  • 1/2 tsp ground cumin
  • 2 T freshly squeezed lemon juice
  • 1/2 tsp. salt
  • a few pinches of freshly ground black pepper
  • 2-3 C baby arugula or spinach
  • 2 T crushed roasted peanuts
  1. Preheat a large, heavy-bottomed pan over medium-high heat. Saute the onion and kohlrabi in oil for about 4-6 minutes covered, until translucent and tender. Add the garlic, scapes, and ginger, saute for 2-3 minutes.  Add tofu and pea pods to the pan. Cook for about 10 minutes, stirring often, until the tofu has browned on some of the sides.
  2. Add the curry powder, cumin, salt, pepper, lemon juice & a few splashed of water if it’s too dry. Mix in the arugula. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the arugula is wilted (cover if you want this to go faster).
  3. Taste for spices and add another teaspoon of curry powder if needed. Plate, add crushed peanuts on top and serve!

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Posted in Brunch, CSA, Dinner, Meatless Monday, Quick Cooking, Seasonal Ingredients, Stir Fry, Vegan, Vegetarian

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Curry with Cashews

Posted on February 23, 2012 | Leave a comment

Confession:  I love cooking, but I could LIVE on take out.  In particular thai take out.  My fave place in GR is Angels Thai on Monroe Center.  This is my “go-to” curry recipe adopted from Heidi Swanson’s 101cookbooks.com.  I add some more num num’s and make it for a crowd so that I have leftovers!  Curry lasts surprisingly well in the freezer and makes a great quick meal over rice or quinoa in a hurry.  I picked some hearty veggies and a sturdy bean so they stand up well later going from freezer to table later.  You can add just about anything you want into this dish.  Clean out the fridge if you like.  Just be sure to write it all down if it tastes awesome, or you won’t be able to recreate it later…this happens to me more times than I care to mention.

  • 2 cups lite coconut milk
  • 1 Tbs HOT curry powder (I use Penzeys)
  • 3 Tbs Mild or Sweet curry powder (Penzeys here too)
  • 1/2 – 1 tsp fine grain sea salt (to your taste)
  • 1 large red onion, chopped
  • 3 medium garlic cloves, chopped
  • 2/3 cup water
  • 1 block firm tofu, pressed and cut into small cubes
  • 1 cup green beans, cut into 1-inch segments
  • 2 cups cooked garbanzo beans
  • 1 1/2 cups cauliflower, cut into tiny florets (one large head)
  • 1/3 cup cashews, toasted
  • a handful of cilantro, loosely chopped

Toast the cashews in a wok briefly, until just browned.  Remove the cashews and allow to cool.  Next, toast the curry over LOW.  Do not burn it or your pan will smell and taste like burned curry for all time.  For real.  Add to the toasted curry, half of the coconut milk and bring to a simmer.  Whisk in the rest of the curry powder and salt, working out any clumps. Now stir in the chopped red onion and garlic and cook for a minute. Stir in the remaining coconut milk and the water, and then the tofu. Cook down the liquid for a couple minutes before adding the green beans, garbanzos, and cauliflower. Cover and simmer for just about one minute, maybe two – or just until the cauliflower and beans lose their raw edge and cook through a bit. Remove the pot from heat and stir in the cashews. Taste and adjust the seasoning (salt / curry powder) if needed. Serve with a bit of cilantro topping each bowl over rice or quinoa.

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Posted in Dinner, Fridge Finds, Leftovers, Make Ahead, Vegan, Vegetarian

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Curried Tofu and Wilted Arugula Scramble

Posted on January 5, 2012 | 5 comments

I have a mild addiction to the tofu scramble at Marie Catrib’s.  I finally got up the courage to make one at home.  To my surprise, I liked it better at home where I control the oil and tofu consistency.  Here is my adaption of Isa Chandra’s recipe found in her Appetite for Reduction cookbook.

  • 1 tsp canola or olive oil
  • 1 medium red onion, diced finely
  •  4 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 1/2 T fresh ginger, peeled and diced
  • 1 block extra-firm tofu, pressed and cut into 1/4-1/2 inch dice
  • 2 tsp regular (sweet) curry powder
  • 1 tsp hot curry powder
  • 1/2 tsp ground cumin
  • 2 T freshly squeezed lemon juice
  • 1/2 tsp. salt
  • a few pinches of freshly ground black pepper
  • 2-3 C baby arugula or spinach
  1. Preheat a large, heavy-bottomed pan over medium-high heat. Saute the onion in oil for about 4 minutes, until translucent. Add the garlic & ginger, saute for 30 seconds. Add tofu to the pan. Cook for about 10 minutes, stirring often, until the tofu has browned on some of the sides.
  2. Add the curry powder, cumin, salt, pepper, lemon juice & a few splashed of water if it’s too dry. Mix in the arugula. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the arugula is wilted (cover if you want this to go faster).
  3. Taste for spices & add another teaspoon of curry powder if needed. Serve!

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Posted in Breakfast, Brunch, Dinner, Fridge Finds, Meat Substitutes, Recipes, Vegan, Vegetarian

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Coconut Red Lentil Stew

Posted on April 28, 2011 | Leave a comment

You will just have to take my word for it sans pictures this time.  This stew is delightful.  Here’s the recipe, go play in the kitchen while I look for my memory card full of delightful food pictures that I have misplaced somewhere…damn.

Coconut Red Lentil Stew

Adapted from 101Cookbooks.com Heidi Swanson

  • 1 cup / 7 oz / 200g yellow split peas
  • 1 cup 7 oz / 200g red split lentils (masoor dal)
  • 7 cups / 1.6 liters water
  • 1 medium carrot, cut into 1/2-inch dice
  • 4 tablespoons fresh peeled and minced ginger
  • 2 tablespoons curry powder
  • 2 tablespoons butter or ghee
  • 8 green onions (scallions), thinly sliced
  • 1/3 cup / 1.5 oz / 45g golden raisins
  • 1/3 / 80 ml cup tomato paste
  • 1 14-ounce can coconut milk
  • 2 teaspoons fine grain sea salt
  • one small handful cilantro, chopped
  • cooked brown rice or farro, for serving (optional)

Give the split peas and lentils a good rinse – until they no longer put off murky water. Place them in an extra-large soup pot, cover with the water, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer and add the carrot and 1/2 of the ginger. Cover and simmer for about 30 minutes, or until the split peas are soft.

In the meantime, in a small dry skillet or saucepan over low heat, toast the curry powder until it is quite fragrant. Be careful though, you don’t want to burn the curry powder, just toast it. Set aside. Place the butter in a pan over medium heat, add half of the green onions, the remaining ginger, and raisins. Saute for two minutes stirring constantly, then add the tomato paste and saute for another minute or two more.

Add the toasted curry powder to the tomato paste mixture, mix well, and then add this to the simmering soup along with the coconut milk and salt. Simmer, uncovered, for 20 minutes or so. The texture should thicken up, but you can play around with the consistency if you like by adding more water, a bit at a time, if you like. Or simmer longer for a thicker consistency. The thicker this soup got, the more I liked it.

This stew freezes great.  I took it over to Ben and Janna for emergency freezer meals after the birth of their very lovely Olivia.

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Curried Noodle Pot

Posted on April 22, 2011 | Leave a comment

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Curry on the brain this week I guess.  Monday I wrote about Curried Hash and now, we have the Curried Noodle Pot courtesy of the lovely Heidi Swanson from 101cookbooks.com.  This recipe comes from her cookbook Super Natural Cooking.  Why buy one of her books?  Her photography.  You can thank me later for the copious amounts of food porn present.

Curried Noodle Pot

  • 8 oz whole-grain wide Asian noodles ( I used whole spelt udon)
  • 2 T coconut oil
  • 4 cloves garlic finely chopped
  • 1 onion chopped
  • 1-1/2 tsp red curry paste
  • 12 oz extra firm tofu pressed and cubed
  • 1-14 oz can coconut milk
  • 2 C veggie stock
  • 2 tsp ground tumeric or curry powder
  • 2 T shoyu sauce (or any other type of soy sauce)
  • 1T agave syrup
  • juice of one lime
  • 2/3 C peanuts (optional)
  • 1/3 C slivered shallots
  • 1/3 C chopped fresh cilantro

Cook noodles in plenty of water until just tender.

Start making curry while noodles cook. Heat coconut oil in large saucepan over medium-high heat.  Stir in garlic, onion and curry paste and mash the paste around the bottom of the pan a bit to distribute evenly. Cook until fragrant – just a minute or two.  Add the tofu stir until well coated with curry. Stir in the coconut milk, stock, shoyu and agave, bring to simmer for 5 minutes.  Remove from heat, stir in the lime juice and add the noodles.  Turn to coat.

To serve, heap big piles of noodles into individual bowls and top with a ladle or two of curry. Top with peanut and cilantro and shallots.

Note:  I thought this needed a bit of salt because I used unsalted peanuts for garnish.  From start to finish, this took me less than 20 minutes to make.  Bonus points for quick dinner.

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Clean Out the Fridge Sweet Potato Hash

Posted on April 18, 2011 | 2 comments

I consider it a personal challenge when I have a few stray veggies in the fridge and a container of eggs.  It’s not really a food emergency or worth going to the store unless I am out of half and half for the coffee.  With the eggs, I could make an omelet (how predictable), or I could bust out some spices and a piece of stale naan bread from the freezer and make the following:

Curried Sweet Potato Hash with Egg Over Easy and Grilled Naan

This is a toss it all together recipe, so I didn’t measure.  Do the best you can with what you have on hand.  In these photos:

  • 1 small onion diced
  • 1 jalapeno pepper diced
  • ½ green pepper diced
  • 1 handful edemame from the freezer
  • 1 medium sweet potato diced
  • 1 egg, over easy
  • 1 piece of Naan bread, grilled
  • 1 tsp hot curry powder
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp black pepper

Dice up the veggies, approximately the same size.  In a sauté pan or whatever is clean frankly, spray a little oil and add the sweet potato dice first, it will take a little longer to cook, when that becomes a bit soft, add all the rest of the veggies.  Cook until just tender.  Sprinkle mixture with curry, pinch of salt and pinch of pepper.  While the hash is cooking, push to once side of the pan and fry the egg over easy.  Over an open flame or in the oven warm up the naan bread.  To assemble.  Naan on the bottom, hash, fried egg.

Feelin’ really crazy?  Butter your naan bread with peanut butter and slice up a banana on top of it before adding the hash and egg…this is called a Tickle.

For lunch this same day, I took the leftover hash, put it in a sauce pan, with a can of coconut milk, a can of water and some additional curry powder.  Soup.  🙂

Crazy for Cumin?  Try this one from Pinch my Salt, one of my fave food blogs.

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Posted in Leftovers, Recipes, Vegetarian

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Spicy Lentil Soup

Posted on November 2, 2010 | 2 comments

Lentils are wildly simple to use, satisfying and filling, cheap and quick to cook.  Now why is it that you haven’t tried them?  Yeah, I’m not sure either.  Give this recipe a try.  It’s pretty tame as far as curry flavors go, so you can ease your friends/family into the whole lentil idea.  🙂

Spicy Red Lentil Soup

  • 1 cup yellow split peas
  • 1 cup red split lentils (masoor dal)
  • 7 cups liters water or veggie broth
  • 1 medium carrot, cut into 1/2-inch dice
  • 2-3 tablespoons fresh peeled and minced ginger
  • 2 tablespoons HOT curry powder (which if you purchase from Penzeys turns out to not be very hot, more spicy than hot)
  • 2 tablespoons coconut oil (butter for non-vegans or ghee)
  • 2 cups or 1 can rinsed chickpeas
  • 8 green onions (scallions), thinly sliced
  • 1/3 cup golden raisins
  • 1/3 cup dried currants
  • 1/3 cup tomato paste
  • 1 14-ounce can low fat coconut milk
  • 2 teaspoons fine grain sea salt
  • one small handful cilantro, chopped
  • cooked brown rice or farro, for serving (optional)

Give the split peas and lentils a good rinse – until they no longer put off murky water. This takes quite a while but believe me it is totally worth it.  The first time I made this, I rinsed just so-so and it was a no-go.  Ick.  Place them in an extra-large soup pot, cover with the water, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer and add the carrot and 1/4 of the ginger. Cover and simmer for about 30 minutes, or until the split peas are soft.

In the meantime, in a small dry skillet or saucepan over low heat, toast the curry powder until it is quite fragrant. Be careful so as not to burn the curry, this is a huge #fail.  Set aside. Place the butter in a pan over medium heat, add half of the green onions, the remaining ginger, currants, and raisins. Saute for two minutes stirring constantly, then add the tomato paste and saute for another minute or two more.

Add the toasted curry powder to the tomato paste mixture, mix well, and then add this to the simmering soup along with the coconut milk and salt. Simmer, uncovered, for 20 minutes or so. Add the cooked chickpeas just at the end so they don’t turn to mush.  The texture should thicken up, but you can play around with the consistency if you like by adding more water, a bit at a time, if you like. Or simmer longer for a thicker consistency. The thicker this soup got, the more I liked it.  Sprinkle each bowl generously with cilantro and the remaining green onions.

As Heidi Swanson so frequently does, I served this concoction over leftover brown rice that I would have tossed the next day.  It’s like upcycling for food.

Turns out this freezes beautifully for single-servings throughout the week.  It thickens up a bit, but just thin it out with water if you don’t like the consistency upon reheat.  I’ve found a container of this in the back of my freezer and enjoyed with delight up to four weeks later.  🙂

 

recipe adapted from 101cookbooks.com

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Posted in Less is more, Make Ahead, Seasonal Ingredients, Uncategorized

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My Friends Cook Too! Anne P., Guest Post

Posted on September 9, 2010 | 1 comment

I get really excited when my friends make veg friendly food.  Fall is a great time for soup, and what is cheaper right now than winter squash?  Not much, so stock up and keep it in a cool dry place, it will last through the winter.  Or, as Anne mentions below, cut it open, place face down on a cookie sheet, pop into the oven at about 350 degrees until soft, scoop out the flesh (sans seeds-save those to plant in the summer next year), drop it into a freezer bag and you have most of the work done and in your freezer for pies, soups, muffins, breads etc all winter.  Great idea Anne.

Squash Soup a la Anne

Anne Porter-I got the original recipe off the Food Network website. It’s an Alton Brown recipe, but I have altered it quite a bit.

It called for butternut squash, but I used a blend of acorn and carnival squash in the batch, I have used butternut in the past.

  • 6 cups of prepared squash
  • 2 cans of fat free vegetarian vegetable broth
  • 2 T. Splenda brown sugar
  • 1 tsp. minced ginger
  • 1 can lite coconut milk (used Thai Kitchen brand)

Directions:  In a large stock pot combine squash, broth, brown sugar and ginger. Simmer and then puree with immersion blender (or in your blender, food processor, food mill). Stir in coconut milk and return to a low simmer. Season to taste w/salt, pepper and/or nutmeg.

Approximately 8 – 1 cup servings at 115 calories per serving.

My squash was in the freezer from what I had frozen last fall, so it took me less than 20 minutes to make this, so it’s super easy and so tasty!

*I just made this soup tonight-with butternut from my garden!!!  To her base recipe I added:

  • 1/2 frozen banana (out with the brown sugar)
  • 1 medium onion, saute’ with garlic
  • 4 cloves of garlic, saute’ with onion
  • 1 can garbanzo beans
  • 1 & 1/2 tsp hot curry
  • 1 tsp sweet curry
  • 1 T Frank’s Red Hot
  • 1/2 C fat free half and half

Instead of blending the whole thing, I blended 1/2 and left the other half chunky. I like texture in my soup.  It was delish served with Nantucket Baking Company Sourdough Bread.

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Posted in Fall Food, Michigan, Recipes, Seasonal Ingredients, Soup

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101 Cookbooks Serving Up My Meals For A Solid Year (at least!)

Posted on June 29, 2010 | Leave a comment

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If you aren’t checking out what Heidi Swanson is doing at least once a day, you might not even be able to consider yourself a lover of food.  She’s everything that a food blogger aspires to be and she happens to actually make and photograph good food NOT just write about it like some of those other bloggers.  Heidi is the master behind 101 Cookbooks and will make you look good no matter what recipe of hers you choose to try.  I recently received her book Super Natural Cooking for my birthday, and I don’t read it for the recipes, her food photography is beautiful.

Last night, Mr. Wonderful and I feasted on Coconut Red Lentil Soup (it did get down to like 58 degrees last night after all) over long grain brown rice.  #Walterthewonderdog helped in picking up the peas that fell to the floor while I harvested them, and also, by stealing carrot sticks when he could.  Yes, my dog eats veggies.  I’m not gonna lie, this recipe is maybe the most delicious thing I’ve made at home, ever (and I make a lot of tasty stuff at home).  It totally tastes like restaurant soup, but not super buttery/greasy which equals perfection.  If you haven’t tried to cook with lentils before, try this, it’s an easy win-win for your first time in the lentil arena.  If you just read the word lentil 2 or 3 times there and have no idea what I am talking about, here is the WIKI for it.  They aren’t frightening, they happen to be CHEAP, the little guys taste delicious in fact, and make an excellent base for tacos for vegetarians.  Try them out.  I like running my fingers through them while rinsing them under water to clean ’em up a bit.  It’s heaven.

So in true Veggie Bon Vivant style here are my recipe revisions for what I had on hand last night for the Coconut Red Lentil Soup.  Try it!

  • 1 cup / 7 oz / 200g yellow split peas
  • 1 cup 7 oz / 200g red split lentils (masoor dal)
  • 7 cups / 1.6 liters water (I used 8 as I like mine a little thinner to start)
  • 1 medium carrot, cut into 1/2-inch dice
  • 1 medium sweet potato, cut into 1/2-inch dice
  • 1/4 c fresh shucked peas
  • 2 1/2 Tablespoons fresh peeled and minced ginger
  • 2 heaping Tablespoons curry powder
  • 2 Tablespoons coconut oil
  • 8 green onions (scallions), thinly sliced-greens and whites
  • 1/2 cup / 1.5 oz / 45g golden raisins
  • 1/3 / 80 ml cup tomato paste
  • 1 14-ounce can coconut milk
  • 1 14-ounce can light coconut milk
  • 2 teaspoons fine grain sea salt
  • one small handful cilantro, chopped
  • cooked brown rice or farro, for serving (optional)

Give the split peas and lentils a good rinse – until they no longer put off murky water. Place them in an extra-large soup pot, cover with the water, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer and add the carrot and 1/4 of the ginger. Cover and simmer for about 30 minutes, or until the split peas are soft.

In the meantime, in a small dry skillet or saucepan over low heat, toast the curry powder until it is quite fragrant. Be careful though, you don’t want to burn the curry powder, just toast it. Set aside. Place the butter in a pan over medium heat, add half of the green onions, peas, the remaining ginger, and raisins. Saute for two minutes stirring constantly, then add the tomato paste and saute for another minute or two more.

Add the toasted curry powder to the tomato paste mixture, mix well, and then add this to the simmering soup along with the coconut milk and salt. Simmer, uncovered, for 20 minutes or so. The texture should thicken up, but you can play around with the consistency if you like by adding more water, a bit at a time, if you like. Or simmer longer for a thicker consistency.

Enjoy a ladle or two of this over your fave cooked whole grain with green onions and cilantro sprinkled on top.  This recipe, minus the sprinkles and rice, freezes beautifully.

Serves 6-8.

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