Todays' Menu

[sahgwa]

on the menu today was making little freezer meals from the curry i made yesterday. store-bought freezer meals have declined in quality and increased in expense! so, i make my own now, and i am much happy for the curry i made yesterday, a night in the fridge only made it tastier! this is the first time i have made a curry without using "curry powder" spice, which is not from the curry plant at all, but rather i mixed all the various spices myself and the result is much better! so i am sharing the recipe here, to conclude "food not politics" week:

mixed vegetable curry

3 tbsp butter
2 tbsp vegetable oil
1/2 tsp black mustard seed
3 garlic cloves, minced and pressed
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground cardamom
1 1/2 tsp ground cumin
1 1/2 tsp ground coriander seeds
1 1/2 tsp ground fennel seeds
1 tsp turmeric
2 tsp grated ginger root
1/8 tsp cayenne prepper
1 tsp salt
2 cups chopped onions
2 medium carrots, chopped
3 cups golden potatoes, cubed
1 medium cauliflower florets, cut small
3/4 cup water
2 medium tomatoes, chopped
2 cups green peas
1/4 cup green peppers i had left over, chopped

directions: wow that is a lot of ingredients! so first you melt the butter and oil over medium heat, then add the mustard seed. cook those until they pop or give off bubbles, you might need to crush them a bit first, perhaps. then add all the spices including the garlic and ginger root. cook a few minutes, on a not too high heat, so as not to burn, and use a flat wooden thingie to scape and stir. then add the onion and saute a bit, stirring to coat. then you add the carrots, then potatoes, then cauliflower, each a few minutes apart, stirring and scraping to coat everything and keep the bottom of the pan cleanish. then add the water and stir and cover it, lower the heat a little and simmer for about 15 minutes, or until the potatoes are not quite cooked, stirring occasionally. then add the tomatoes, peas, and green peppers (optional), and cook for about 10 or 15 more minutes, covered. that is it! whew. serve it over white rice, and maybe garnish it with cashews, raisins, banana slices, and or yogourt.

i like my curry mild so if you want it more rajasic add more cayenne i guess. and perhaps next time i will only use 1 1/2 cup green peas. here is picture i made that tries to look fancy but doesn't quite but is very delicious! haha:

okay thank you for tolerate my sharing and being part of my motivation to not eat like horrible unhealthy person.

Thanks for sharing your recipes and fotos, it's a lot of fun. I think I will get the wife and I to make the solyanka casserole soon :)

I cooked a nice pork stir fry last night. It's largely improvised, for 2 people, but I do the similar thing each time;


EASY PORK STIR FRY

While the rice cooker does 1.5 cups of rice;

Sweat/heat 1 and a half large onions, sliced, in skillet, along with 2 large bell peppers sliced, and some fresh parsley. 

Meanwhile slice about 1 lb of pork loin chops into thick strips, then season them with coarse salt, garlic powder, paprika, and some cholula sauce and let sit. Can also add chili powder/gochu karu if desired.  If you want a bit more kick 2 or 3 Thai chilis on top of the pork is also awesome, sliced up.

After the veggies are all cooked turn down the heat and let the pork simmer on the bed of veggies until mostly done.  Then a few mins before the finish stir fry everything together for more heat. Make sure it is nice and juicy but still not mostly pink.  Mostly white but a bit of pink is okay. 

Serve with sticky rice and munch happily.