La Platicona Habla: Tastes, Passions and Pursuits

I usually like to make swiss chard one way, and one way only: with garbanzo beans, carrots, onions, red pepper flakes, lemon, and tomato. I took these same ingredients and decided to alter a recipe I found in a cookbook for vegetable curry and was met with a successful delight. If you've never had chard, it is sort of like a heavy duty spinach and not as muddy. If you like curry, than this recipe is definitely for you.

You will need:
- 1 can of coconut milk
- 1/2 c of white wine
- 1 or 2 ripe tomatoes, chopped
- 1 small white or yellow onion, sliced
- 2 tbsp of curry powder
- 1 tsp of cumin powder
- 1 can of garbanzo beans
- 2 carrots, finely sliced
- 1 handful of cilantro or Italian parsley
- 1 bunch of swiss chard washed and chopped
- 3 cloves of crushed garlic
- 4 tbsp of vegetable oil (you can also use olive oil)
Optional: 1 tbsp of turmeric powder, 1 tsp of mustard seeds

Step One: In the oil, cook up the garlic and half of the sliced onions over medium heat. While that sautes, blend the tomatoes and remaining onions in a food processor or blender. Pour this mixture into the pan with the garlic and onions. Add the curry powder, cumin, and salt and pepper to taste (add other optional ingredients here). Cook for another 5-7 minutes.

Step Two: Add the carrots and garbanzo beans to the pan and saute for 5 minutes. Cool off this mixture by adding the white wine and coconut milk. Let this simmer for 10 minutes (you may need to increase the heat to medium high). Add the swiss chard and Italian parsley at last and cook covered (use foil or a lid) for 5 minutes or until the chard begins to wilt.
Serve this dish over steamed brown or white rice.

Labels: coconut milk, curry, garbanzo beans, swiss chard

I sort of stole this recipe from the Whole Foods market as I passed the potato and soup bar and sampled a bit of what they called "mullagatawny" soup. The soup is a red lentil puree with coconut milk. I had to make up the proportions of the ingredients, so feel free to adjust them to your own palette. Also, if you liked the daal and tomato soup, this will be a variation of that soup that you may like to try.

You will need:
- 2 c of red lentils (daal)
- 5 c of liquid: 3 c vegetable stock, 2 c of water
- 1 can of light coconut milk
- 3 tbsp of tomato paste
- handful of chopped cilantro
- 2 tsp of cumin powder
- 1 thumb size piece of fresh ginger, grated on a zester
- 3 cloves of minced garlic
- 2 tsp turmeric powder
- juice of 2 limes
- salt & pepper to taste

Step One: cook the lentils in a small stock pot with the 5 cups of liquid. Cover the pot and simmer over medium-high heat for 1/2 hour or until cooked. Be sure to stir often so they don't stick. Set aside.

Step Two: in a blender, combine the spices (minus the cilantro), garlic, ginger, and the cooked lentils. Once blended, return mixture to the stock pot and cook over medium heat while you add the coconut milk, tomato paste, and lime. Cook for another 7-10 minutes until thoroughly heated. Serve with fresh cilantro and lime wedge.

The aroma of this dish is just fantastic. I suggest eating it with grilled pita bread and a side salad.

Labels: coconut milk, lentils, soup, spices, tomatoes

It's the season for warm food and that means lots of soup posts (in case you haven't noticed). Tom Yum(my) Soup is a Thai soup made with a paste of red chile, garlic, lemon grass, and lime. The paste is available at any asian grocery. The taste is a light version of hot and sour soup (not thick like the Chinese version). I personally like this soup with coconut milk and tofu and served with rice.

You will need: Tofu, white onion, green onion, mushrooms, cilantro, thai basil (optional), coconut milk (light), tom yum paste, veggie stock.

Step One: If serving this with rice, start cooking this first - you know how by now.

Step Two: In a large pot, add your 1 cup of rough chopped mushrooms, 1/4 white onion thinly sliced, 4 sprigs of green onion chopped into long pieces, 3 cloves of garlic thinly sliced. Cook this at medium high with 2 tblsp of vegetable or olive oil for 5 minutes or until vegetables start to sweat and become a little soft.

Step Three: Pour in 1 cup of vegetable stock, can of light coconut milk, 1 cup of water. Add 2 heaping tablespoons of Tom Yum paste and work it into the broth.

Step Four: Dice your tofu into bite sized pieces - again, I like to use the extra soft because it absorbs the most flavor. Bring the entire pot to a simmer. If you like thai basil, you can add a handfull of leaves at this point.

Step Five: Serve soup over a scoop of rice and sprinkle cilantro on top.

Labels: coconut milk, soup, tofu

Sorry for these late postings: cooking calls.
I love curry. If you enjoy eating chile, curry is something you should try - at least once. This green curry recipe is simply wonderful and it practically makes itself.
You need the following:

Cookware: 1 large skillet, 1 medium sauce pot for rice.

Ingredients:
- 1 green bell pepper,
- ¼ white onion,
- 1 clove of garlic (or more if you'd like),
- 1 tsp of fresh chopped ginger (optional),
- 1 cup of fresh sliced bamboo shoots (canned),
- 3 tbsp green curry paste,
- 1 can of light coconut milk,
- 1/2 c veggie stock,
- 1/2 c white wine,
- olive oil, cilantro (optional),
- 1 lb shrimp, tofu or chicken.

Step One: Prep the following before doing anything else: Cook the rice (1 cup of rice cooks in 2 cups of water, bring this to a boil in the medium sauce pot with a dash of salt and then cover immediately with foil or a lid, and reduce heat to LOW). The rice takes about ½ hour, the entire cooking time for this meal. Also, peel and devein 12 pieces of shrimp (you can buy it deveined). Shrimp should be raw and ready to go.

Step Two: In the skillet, add your ¼ white onion (slice it thin), 1 bell pepper (remove the seeds and slice long pieces), 1 c of bamboo shoots, crushed garlic, 2 tbsp of olive oil, ginger. Cook this for 5-7 minutes on medium-high heat. Be sure to stir it up.

Step Three: Add the shrimp or chicken (raw, boneless, cut into small pieces). Add the ½ cup of white wine. Cook this for 3 minutes (if cooking chicken, cook this for 5-7 minutes).

Step Four: Add ½ cup of veggie stock, 1 can of light coconut milk, 4 tbsp of chopped cilantro, and 2-3 tbsp of green curry paste (add more if you like it spicy). Cook this on medium heat so it simmers (a slight boil) for another 5-7 minutes. If you prefer tofu, add it here (chopped into squares, I like the extra soft texture). Make sure the meat you added is cooked through before you serve.

Step Five: Serve this yummy curry over a scoop of rice and salt to taste.

A tip about curry paste: This is essential to the dish. Your local Asian grocer will have a variety of curry pastes. Read the ingredients for purity (the paste should consist of recognizable ingredients like garlic, ginger, lemon grass, chile, lime leaves, etc). The paste I bought is very mulchy and dark, much better than that awful “Thai” brand (the tiny glass jar that costs 5 bucks a pop). There is a picture here of some basics I use over and over to cook. From the left to the right: capers, miso paste, tom yum paste for thai hot and sour soup, olive oil, green chile salsa from Bueno, green curry paste, butter (the real kind with cream), veggie stock, red wine vinegar.

Oh so spicy . . .

Labels: bell pepper, coconut milk, curry, shrimp, tofu