Vegetarian Thai Red Curry

Living in England helped me develop an appreciation for curries and I am always on the look-out for new recipes. The following Thai curry was super easy to make and just as good as a dish you might get in any restaurant. The recipe is from BBC Good Food but given what I had in my kitchen, I made a few substitutions/exceptions. Instead of jasmine rice I used rice noodles, and I substituted jalepenos for red chillies. I also skipped the snap peas and mushrooms but I think this dish is quite versatile and any vegetables you want to skip or add should be fine. Also, the original recipe tells you how to make red curry paste from scratch but I simply substituted store bought to save time. Hopefully you enjoy this one as much as I did!

Ingredients:
3-4 tablespoons red curry paste
200g firm tofu , cubed
4-5 tbsp soy sauce
juice 3 limes
2 red chillies, 1 finely chopped, 1 sliced into rounds
2 tbsp vegetable oil
400ml can reduced-fat coconut milk
1 courgette , chopped into chunks
1 small aubergine , chopped into chunks
½ red pepper , deseeded and chopped into chunks
140g mushrooms , halved
40g sugar snap peas
20g pack basil , leaves picked
1 tsp brown sugar
jasmine rice, to serve

Directions:
1. Marinate the tofu in 2 tbsp soy sauce, juice 1 lime and the chopped chilli.
2. Heat half the oil in a large pan. Add 3-4 tbsp paste and fry for 2 mins. Stir in the coconut milk with 100ml water, the courgette, aubergine and pepper and cook for 10 mins until almost tender.
2.Drain the tofu, pat dry, then fry in the remaining oil in a small pan until golden.
3.Add the mushrooms, sugar snaps and most of the basil to the curry, then season with the sugar, remaining lime juice and soy sauce. Cook for 4 mins until the mushrooms are tender, then add the tofu and heat through. Scatter with sliced chilli and basil and serve with jasmine rice.

Tofu Saag with Brown Rice and Curried Cauliflower

Last night I tried another one of Kim Barnouin's recipes, Tofu Saag with Brown Rice. It was super easy and quite good. I even cheated a little bit and used frozen spinach since that was all I had on hand. Looks a bit like baby food.....but regular saag paneer does too so I suppose its acceptable for this dish.

Oh and I made a side of roasted curried cauliflower from another one of her recipes which was also delicious so I will include that as well.

Tofu Saag with Brown Rice

Ingredients:
2 Tb grapeseed or vegetable oil
1 yellow onion chopped
1/4 cup vegetable broth
1 pound spinach, stems removed
1/3 cup light coconut milk
2 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 ( 8 oz ) package firm tofu, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
Salt and pepper, to taste
2 cups freshly cooked brown rice



Directions
1. Place the oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add the onions and saute until translucent, about 6 minutes
2. Add the broth and spinach, cooking until the spinach begins to wilt.
3. Add the coconut milk, cumin and cinnamon, and simmer 7 minutes.
4. Pour the mixture into a blender or the work bowl of a food processor and process until smooth.
5. Transfer the mixture to a large saucepan and place over medium heat. Gently add the tofu and cook 8 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
6. Serve over hot brown rice.

Roasted Curried Cauliflower

Ingredients:
¼ cup olive oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 teaspoons curry powder
¼ teaspoon chili powder
¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
Salt and pepper
1 head cauliflower, cut into florets
1 tbps minced parsley



Directions:

Preheat oven to 350F
In large bowl, whisk oil, garlic, curry, chili powder, red pepper flakes, salt, and pepper. Add cauliflower and toss until well coated. Pour into a 13x9 inch baking dish and bake until tender, 25-30 minutes.



Quick Vegan Corn Chowder

Living in New England, it is imperative that I can make some version of a chowder to see me through the winter. This corn chowder is a delicious and easy vegan substitute for the rich, creamy clam chowder that is so popular here.

Quick Vegan Corn Chowder

6 small red potatoes, diced in medium sized chunks
1 small onion, diced
½ cup celery, diced
2 cloves garlic, chopped
olive oil for sautéing
4 cups vegetable broth
2 cups almond milk
2 springs fresh thyme
2 cups corn
1 tablespoon flour
3 tablespoons water

 Sauté the onions and celery in olive oil until onions are transparent and veggies are starting to soften. Add garlic and sauté another thirty seconds. Add the broth, milk, potatoes, corn and thyme. Simmer for 20 minutes until all the potatoes are tender. Wisk the flour and water together and add to the soup, simmering for another five minutes.

Provencal Tomato Sauce with Pasta

Pasta is the ultimate comfort food for me. And having spent so long in Italy, I like to think I can whip up some pretty special pastas when the need arises. Sadly, eating pasta every day is not very diet friendly. In order to still allow myself some of the joys of pasta while watching my calorie intake, I like to follow Mark Bittman's advice  - more sauce & less pasta. It is so easy to whip up a tomato based sauce, load in some veggies, and pile it on.....and all the while keep things vegan of course. :)

Provencal Tomato Sauce with Pasta

Ingredients:

1 medium eggplant, cut into large cubes

Salt

3 tablespoons of olive oil

Black Pepper

2 small zucchini

1 small onion, chopped

1 tablespoon minced garlic

1 can chopped tomatoes, juices drained

1 teaspoon Herbs de Provence

8 oz pasta

Fresh basil, for garnish

Vegan Parmesan

 

Directions:

Sprinkle eggplant liberally with salt, let rest in colander for 20 minutes, rinse, pat dry. Bring large pot of water to a boil and salt it.

Put 1.5 tablespoons of oil in a large skillet over medium heat. When it is hot, add the eggplant, sprinkle with pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft and golden, about 6 minutes. Remove from the pan and drain on paper towels.

Put the remaining oil in the pan and add the zucchini, sprinkling with salt and pepper. Cooke, stirring occasionally, until its tender, 7 minutes. Add the onion and garlic and cook until soft, another 3 minutes or so. Add the tomatoes, herbs de provence, and cook until the tomatoes start to release their juice. Return the eggplant to the pan, stir, and turn off the heat.

Cook the pasta until al dente. Drain the pasta, reserve some cooking liquid in case the sauce is too thick. Serve with torn basil and vegan Parmesan.