The Curry That Isn't Really Curry.

I'm not one of those girls who will claim that being able to cook will land you a man. (or that you ever need a man period) But... having a solid recipe or two can go a long way towards scoring points with a potential mate.

This was one of the first dinners I cooked for my now boyfriend, back when i was still wooing him. He sat there dazzled and in awe of my culinary skills. i only just told him tonight that it was merely 7 ingredients.

The curry that isnt really curry.

Combine in blender :

1 can of coconut milk
nearly one whole bunch of cilantro
1/4 cup lime juice
2 thumb sized chunks of ginger
1 tablespoon curry powder (i used a green curry paste that is like fire. but regular yellow works too)

blend until smooth.
heat and pour over some basmati. And to really make it a solid meal, some big slabs of portobella (i am sure chicken works too)

I was asking the boyfriend how he would describe this and his reaction was "it's like, it hits your mouth and its like zip, like impactful. Like you know how MSG.... i don't. know i just take the photos."
Which reminds me. Yes he does!

All of the pornographic photos as of late have come from him. its not a bad trade. He just has to arfully snap a few photos of dinner and then he gets to eat the subject, and I in turn can justify spending a days worth of wages on infused oils. Successful working relationship.

I am a sucker for food magazines. It's my splurge after exams to go and get the latest issue of bon appetit or saveur (in the past I was a strict gourmet connoisseur RIP).  This last month's issue featured Gweneth Paltrow as if I needed something so unappetizing on the cover.

The feature story was about Fergus Henderson; the one who pioneered the recent nose-to-tail movement in restaurants (aka why you are craving bone marrow suddenly). Anyways, it was about traditional sunday lunch, and only one photo in to it, I was hooked.

Radishes.

Radishes with salt and butter.

Luckily, the farmers market opened here for the season in NW at a new location on 19th and Everett. So local french radishes were mine.

We cut out the middle man, butter, and went straight for radishes with Cyprus flake salt. It may be the most simple and radically satisfying appetizer ever. The best part about buying them from a market is the greens are actually edible. I made them into a simple salad tossed with a Dijon vinaigrette.
Even the boyfriend (who hates bitter greens) liked them.

Now I just need to get my hands on some bone marrow...

Holy Humidity Portland!

yesterday's humidity reached 51% and for portlanders that is intolerable.
i was studying for finals all weekend, but yesterday was hard. i was sweating from sitting in front of my laptop. so, by the time the boyfriend got home i was ready for a break and a chance to get out of the little sweat box that is our apartment.
zupans is like what i imagine shoe shopping is for most girls.

This behemoth had to come home with me. even though it took over 2 hours to steam in said humidity (turning the apartment into an actual sauna) it was totally worth it.

even the cucumber couldn't stay cool.
but in the end we got to share an artichoke  that had a heart the size of a saucer and my new summer staple, the more veggie than pasta, pasta salad.

and because i am lazy in warm weather. it is also beyond simple

Israeli couscous
diced tomatoes
diced cucumber
diced radishes (I had some french radishes from the NW Portland farmers market!)
finely chopped parsley

and its all just tossed with the following
lemon juice (nearly a 1/4 of a cup)
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
 salt and pepper. 

the nice thing is that it makes so much its easy to have on hand to grab and go for a couple of days.

Scrambled!

                               

Photo pending
vegan breakfast has always made me a little sad. I mean, pancakes and waffles are great and all, but when it comes to weekend breakfast  I want a hearty, back to bed in food coma style breakfast.
when I got Indian black salt, I couldn't wait to make breakfast. its a salt that contains a high concentration of sulfur that smells just like boiled eggs (sick.)


So I haphazardly threw this dish together a week ago for the boyfriend with the ominous warning of "I have no idea what i made or if its edible but here" 
Turns out, its not only highly edible, but pretty addictive. It reminds me of deviled eggs (or at least the version my mother made with curry powder). Today's version was:

Tomatoes 
Diced Onion
Diced Jalapenos 
Crumbled extra firm tofu
A spoonful of non dairy sour cream (just to bring everything together)
Curry powder, turmeric, garlic powder, onion powder and Indian black salt. 

The veggies were sauteed ,tofu added, and then the sour cream and spices were added at the end and just heated through. so simple and just like I wanted, I am laying in bed writing this out.




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adventures in indoor gardening

While the boyfriend's away...I started a garden. Ok actually he got me seeds for basil and oregano a few weeks ago and today they sprouted! Inspired, I set out to get seeds for other indoor herbs, only to learn it was cheaper to get starters.
So lazy garden has begun. I have chives, rosemary, parsley and the previously mentioned.
I love having plants and it's just a bonus that they are edible.
With school out in 10 days i will finally have time to post the huge backlog of recipes. But until then...its back to the books.

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SALT!

I am sitting on a salt mine. A newly formed collection of salt that I am only mildly ashamed at how much money has been dropped acquiring them.  The first batch was an impule buy two weeks ago, when the boyfriend took me to zupan's. I had threatened to spend all my money on oils, but I think this was an excellent compromise.  I got himalayan pink, smoked sea salt, cyprus flake salt, alaea hawaiian salt and sel gris grey sea salt.

with downright glee I have been using them as finishing salts on just about everything, I don't have any recipes that showcase them yet, but expect some soon.

Today with some downtime I finally got in to the tea and spice exchange on broadway. Their collection of teas is dismal and they only have 4 kinds of peppercorns (yes, i am no longer impressed by just pink, white, green and black peppercorns).

But their little collections of salts are amazing. Smoked coconut lime, chardonnay infused and cocoa salt just to name a few. I ended up leaving with ghost pepper salt, indian black salt and black lava salt.
I was dismayed to learn they were out of the olive salt, but I was tipped off that there is a place over on mississippi called the meadow, that carry over 50 kinds of salt. this could be trouble.