La Platicona Habla: Tastes, Passions and Pursuits

If Shangri-La were in the Rocky Mountains, it would lay about 20 minutes west of Boulder in the community of Nederland, Colorado. "Ned" as it is called by locals, is the mountaineer's paradise, complete with the ever-famous Kathmandu Restaurant. I first heard of this Nepali restaurant from a friend in lawschool who extolled the combination of curry and Left Hand Porter on a hot summer day.

Labels: curry, Nepal, restaurant

I hate to admit it, but there is a vegetable out there that, to this date, I cannot say that I love with all the fervor I have for other green things. I have avoided cooking okra for some time now. The Baking Fool hates okra (even as a vegetarian), and so I never attempted to cook it for her. But on my most recent trip to Sunflower Market (so much cheaper than Whole Foods), I was sucked in by the pretty presentation of okra in little black boxes so I had to try it - just to see - just to make sure I didn't despise it as much as I imagined.

I decided to try a quick and light sautee of chopped okra in olive oil and spiced with curry powder to go neatly over a bed of Near East Mediterranean Couscous. While the smell was amazing, it was the texture of this oddball vegetable that really made my face green. I long dismissed Baking Fool's comments that okra was slimey and mushy as exaggerations stemming from bad experiences eating okra out of a can or in soup.

Boy was I wrong. First, let me just note that of the 8 cookbooks I own, not a single one had any reference to okra, much less an entire recipe devoted to it. So what is it with this okra that makes people avoid it? Here is my theory: texture. I had the most fresh and crisp okra you could imagine, but the seeds have a thick almost alien like coating of slime on them that makes the vegetable an odd juxtoposition of firm outside and oatmeal-like inside (I loathe cooked oatmeal). Making the texture even more repulsive was that the outer part of the vegetable is covered in tiny hairs it seems that make eating the okra akin to sucking on a hairy eyeball. So while the flavor would have been wonderful, the creeping slime of the okra seeds and hairy flesh ruined my so-called virgin okra experience.

I've given okra a really bad rap so far, so let me give you some facts about okra from Wikipedia: "Abelmoschus esculentus, commonly known as okra or lady's finger, is a flowering plant valued for its edible green fruits. The name okra is of West African origin . . . It was introduced to the United States via the African slave trade route, and is an annual crop in the southern states." It continues: "[Okra] is cultivated throughout the tropical and warm temperate regions of the world for its fibrous fruits containing round, white seeds. The fruits are harvested when immature and eaten as a vegetable."

Now I know most of you are not dependent on your texture taste buds to determine good flavor, so I will say, (so as not to offend the vegetable family generally) that you should give this simple recipe a whirl if you have some couscous lying around your cupboard.

You will need:

- 2 cloves of crushed garlic
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 2 c washed and chopped okra - stems removed
- 1 tbsp curry powder
- Coucous (I use instant from Near East, found in grocer's aisle by rice)

Step one: Rinse the okra, remove stems, and slice.

Step Two: In a saute pan over medium-high heat, add olive oil and garlic. Toast garlic until just slightly brown. Add okra and curry powder. Toss in pan cooking for about 4-6 minutes.

Step Three: Prepare couscous according to directions on the box. Serve okra over bed of cous cous and try not to wince when you eat!

Labels: curry, fried, okra

I wasn't sure how to rescue the baby carrots that were wasting away in the "rotter bins" as my roomie likes to call them, so I undertook the task of making them into a carrot soup puree. Rather than find a recipe, I did my usual stroll through Whole Foods Market and wrote down the ingredients in their carrot soup sitting in the deli section. I added my own touch, namely curry powder, turmeric, and white wine, and was pleased with the result. This soup has a heavy root taste that is cooled down by the spicy curry powder. Carrot soup isn't for everyone, but if you would also like to put those party favors to use, here is one way to do it.

You will need:
- 2 cups of baby carrots
- 1 yellow onion, sliced
- 2 cloves garlic, crushed
- 2 thumb size pieces of ginger, grated with a zester (this is not essential, but takes away the heavy taste of the carrots)
- 3 tbsp of butter
- 1 tbsp of curry powder
- 1 tsp of turmeric
- 1/2 c of white wine
- 4 c of vegetable stock
- optional 1/2 c of cream
- salt to taste

Step One: In a heavy bottom stock pot, heat butter, onions, garlic, ginger, and carrots over medium heat. Cover pot with a lid, stirring every few minutes until carrots are tender (about 15-20 minutes).

Step Two: Add white wine, turmeric, and curry powder and cook for five minutes. Ladle carrots into a food processor or blender and puree. If the mixture is too thick to puree, simply add some vegetable stock to loosen. Puree all carrots and return mixture to stock pot, slowly pouring in vegetable stock (add cream if using optional ingredient). Cook until warmed through, serving with a side of warm bread or a simple salad.

Overall I have to admit that this soup was a bit "rooty" for lack of a better description, however, cooking the carrots through until they are very soft is important for reducing this taste and getting a sweeter flavor from the carrots. Also, very old and dry carrots will be bitter, resulting in a not-so-pleasant taste.

Labels: carrots, curry, soup

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

Whether you are cooking in your dorm room or setting a table with your finest china, a good dinner party begins with good food. I played host many times in my college dorm kitchen and am confident that you fare better times with conveniences such as a microwave, freezer, fridge larger than a cooler, and a dishwasher. I went without all these things and managed to serve up quite a feast with a small range gas stove and 4 pans (one large stock pot, 1 medium sauce pot, 2 sautee pans). Should you like to play host/ess, I suggest a themed dinner. Mine included pineapple shrimp curry, jasmine rice, samosas, salad, and a chocolate dessert made by my flatmate.

For the Samosas you will need: russet potato, frozen peas, cardamom pods, carrot, salt, pepper, parsley, butter, corriander, cumin, white onion, garlic cloves (1 or two to taste), puff pastry or wonton wrappers. These are my imitation version of samosas which are fried or baked wrappers (like pastry dough) filled with seasoned potatoes, peas, and spices.

Step One: Peel your russet potato, dice into small pieces. Boil the diced pieces in a small pot of water with salt until soft. Drain and return papas to the pan.

Step Two: Add 2 tblsp of butter, dash of salt, 3/4 cup of frozen peas, cardamom pods (about 8-10), minced carrot (one), minced 1/8 white onion, 1 clove of garlic minced, 1/2 tsp of cumin and corriander. Sautee these ingredients until peas are hot, stir to keep from sticking.

Step Three: Set this mixture aside and take out your wonton wrappers or puff pastry. If you want low fat samosas, use puff pastry. Cut the pastry into triangles and place 1 tblsp or more worth of potato mixture on each piece, foling over and sealing edge to make a small triangle shape. The samosas should look like hand held appetizers at a party in the shape of triance wedges. If using wonton wrappers, do the same, sealing the edges with a dab of warm water on your finger. Set these aside.

Step Four: If baking puff pastry version, bake triangles at 350 degrees for 5-8 minutes or until pastry is light brown. If using wonton wrapper version, take a small sautee pan and pour 1/2 cup of vegetable oil in pan, adding more if necessary. Put pan on medium heat and carefully fry each side until light golden brown. Set fried samosas on a paper towel to drain off excess oil.

Step Five: Serve this as an appetizer with a small side salad of simple spring greens, red onion, and balsamic vinegar and olice oil dressing. Eat samosas with a side of tamarind sauce, you can buy this at the store pre-made.

For the Curry you will need: a red curry paste from your local asian grocer (thai style), bamboo shoots, white onions, ginger, thai basil, garlic, potatoes, coconut milk, veggie stock, white wine, salt, pepper, shrimp (deveined and peeled, raw).

Step One: In a large sautee pan, add 1/4 thin sliced white onions, 3/4 cup of bamboo shoots, 2 finely sliced cloves of garlic, 1 thumb sized piece of ginger minced, 1 plug of olive oil, and 1 russet potato peeled and diced. Sautee this for 4 minutes on medium high heat.

Step Two: Add 1 cup of white wine, 2 tblsp of red curry paste, 1 can of coconut milk, and 1 cup of veggie stock. Bring to a simmer and turn down heat.

Step Three: Pluck the leaves from 5 sprigs of thai basil (or more to taste) and throw these into the pan. While this cooks, you should make your rice according to the directions.

Step Four: About 3 minutes before serving, add your peeled, raw, deveined shrimp to the pan and bring to a simmer. Take pan off heat as soon as shrim turn pink (about 3 minutes). Serve this over the rice.

The chocolate pie luxury dessert is all Susan, so she will have to post her recipe if she believes you all worthy.

Serve the samosas and the salad first. If you eat on paper plates or china, you should serve this as a first course. Serve the curry and rice next, making sure to add the shrimp only before serving as it cooks very fast and will turn rubbery if you add it too early. Finish off with dessert. Should you wonder about proper dinner service, I can add a posting on that at a future date if need be. In any case, serve and enjoy with friends.

Labels: curry, patties, peas, potato

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