When Life Hands You Bland Curry...

Well, life really didn't hand me bland curry...Cooking Light did. And even so, I can't blame Cooking Light entirely for a not-so-tasty recipe since I didn't follow it. In my rush to make the curry, I had to use frozen shrimp. I was supposed to thaw it and then marinate the shrimp in the coconut curry sauce. After marinating it, the shrimp had to be steamed in a wok. Long story short, I didn't do any of this and ended up with what could only be called shrimp curry soup. I put too much coconut milk and added a touch of chicken broth. It was okay- not completely inedible. It just was boring.

Well, I didn't want to throw out a whole batch of curry "soup" and rice. What a waste that would be! With a little bit of creativity I actually came up with this recipe, which is much better.

Coconut Curry Shrimp Fried Rice
*adapted from Cooking Light

1/2 can light coconut milk

1/4 cup chicken broth

1 small red pepper, diced or sliced into thin strips

1 tbsp of fresh lemon juice

1 1/2 tbsp fish sauce (or pad thai sauce)

1 tsp honey or brown sugar

1 tsp curry powder

1 1/2 pounds shrimp, peeled and deveined
1/4 cup chopped salted and roasted cashew

3 tbs olive oil

a sprinkle of chopped green onion

1-2 cups of cooked basmati rice

Lime wedges

To make the curry sauce:

In a medium pot, saute red pepper with 1 tbsp of olive oil until softened. Pour in coconut milk and chicken broth and heat together until a light boil. Add lemon juice, fish sauce, honey, curry powder, and salt and pepper to taste. Let the whole sauce simmer for about 15 minutes on medium low until all the flavors have melded together. Add in shrimp and cook shrimp until pink.

To make the fried rice:

In a wok, heat up 2 tbsp of olive oil. Once the oil is hot, add in cooked rice. Stir fry rice for about 3-5 minutes. Add in curry sauce slowly, one ladle at a time, to make sure the rice is not soupy. You want the curry to just infuse flavor through the rice, having no extra liquid settling at the bottom. Stir fry all together, adding the cashews toward the end. Take off heat and garnish with green onion and lime wedge. Optional: Add in an egg at the very center of the wok half way through the process, scrambling it in the center as you cook the rice.

Classic Comfort Food (for me at least)

The weather has been dark and rainy lately. I wish I could say it was colder, but here in Orlando, Florida it is still a balmy 90 degrees. Even so, I still love gray days when you can hear the sound of the rain and thunder. It is almost relaxing and perfect for a bowl of veggie chili! This chili is based on my best friend Mel's dad's recipe. It was a favorite of mine and has become a "usual" in our house.

Veggie Chili

*adapted from Mel's dad's recipe

1 16 ounce can of kidney beans (drained and rinsed)

1 larger size can (I think it's a 20 ounce can) of chili beans in zesty sauce

2 16 ounce cans of diced tomatoes, with green chili and/ or in chili ready sauce

1 medium bell pepper, diced

1 small onion, diced

1 small garlic clove; minced or pressed

1/3 can or bottle of your favorite beer

1 small box of frozen corn

1 tbsp olive oil

1 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder

1 tbsp chili powder

1 tsp cumin powder

1 tbsp brown sugar

1 tbsp worschestire sauce

In a large pot, saute onion, garlic, and diced bell pepper in olive oil until tender and slightly brown (not burned!). Add in beans, can tomatoes, and beer. Let it simmer for about 10 minutes. Then add cocoa powder, chili powder, cumin powder, brown sugar, and worschestire sauce. Let it all simmer together for another 30-40 minutes. Five minutes before serving, add in the frozen corn. Once all the flavors have infused in each other and the corn is heated, serve with shredded cheese and a dollop of sour cream. Also works great with cheese quesadillas on the side!

Mmmm...Strata

So, my first no-pasta meal was a very delicious concoction. I know, I basically replaced bread for pasta. Since A and I don't eat much meat, it is so much easier to use starch to bulk up a meal. Either way, this was a fabulous dinner and I am definitely adding this to my list of nightly meals. It was easy to put together and you can experiment by adding different ingredients (such as leftover veggies) to make it a whole new creation. I love versatile dishes!

Tomato, Goat Cheese and Feta Strata

*Adapted from Food and Wine

4 large eggs

1/2 cup low fat or nonfat plain yogurt

3 tbsp chopped fresh parsley (basil would also work nicely)

1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1 medium thinly onion, thinly sliced

1 large garlic clove, finely chopped

1 tbsp dried sage

1/2 tsp crushed red pepper

1 14.5 oz can of diced tomatoes, Italian style (with garlic, basil, and oregano)

5 oz. of whole wheat artisan peasant bread, cut into 1 in. cubes

1/4 cup feta

1/4 cup crumbled goat cheese

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. In a medium bowl, whisk eggs, then whisk in yogurt and parsley. Add salt and pepper (a few pinches of each). In a pan cook onion in olive oil until slightly caramelized, then add in garlic, sage, crushed red pepper, and salt and pepper to taste. When garlic is slightly browned (not burned) add whole can of diced tomatoes with juice and stir together. Take pan off of heat and add in the bread cubes. Mix all together so that each piece of bread is coated in the tomato mixture.

Spray a medium size baking dish (close to 10x10) with non stick spray and add bread mixture. Pour over the egg mixture and goat cheese and mix lightly to be sure the egg and cheese seeps through all the cracks. Top with feta and bake for 20 min until golden brown. Let it cool slightly and serve.