Hi again, Mustang Sally, the pics on the blog look so good! We're back to hot and humid again (in Maine, if you don't like the weather, just wait a minute, ha-ha). I'm doing something on top of the stove tonight: a veg curry. When I went to England for the first time, I was amazed at how many great Indian restaurants there were. Even in the Yorkshire hills, there were fine Indian restaurants where I got a rose on my plate, and incredible food. I have a former co-worker who was born in S. India and whenever we went out to eat at an Indian restaurant here in the states, she would whisper, "I make this much better at home," or "this type of food is considered very rich, we don't cook like this at home." So I'm going to try and get some recipes from her. In the meantime, I have experimented with curry dishes, and came upon a website explaining how to make a "wet masala," composed of onion, garlic and fresh ginger, sauteed for a few minutes in hot oil. Then the pan is deglazed with either broth, water, or a can of tomatoes. Sometimes I'll add the dry spices before the deglazing and stir for a minute to let the aroma come out. Tonight, however, I'm making a Thai style curry dish, using coconut milk. I thought about adding tofu but I can't imitate the fried tofu that I love to get at Thai restaurants, so I'm leaving it out (regular tofu doesn't do much for me). 1/2 chopped onion (I use sweet onions because my husband likes them) 1/2 inch of chopped or grated fresh ginger (tip: freeze a fresh ginger root and you can grate off it easily at will and it won't get moldy) 1-3 garlic cloves, finely diced 1 cup fresh green beans 1 handful fresh or frozen corn kernels 1 10 oz. package of frozen spinach, thawed (or fresh, or any other green such as chard, chopped) 1 can of veg broth or 1 1/2 cups water 1 can of coconut milk, I use "lite" Handful of fresh basil 1 tsp-2 tablespoons of red or green curry paste (tip, buy your curry paste in a jar, or in a small can, use a spoonful and put the rest in the freezer, it thaws quite easily so you can use spoonfuls at a time) -- unless you love hot stuff, use less and then add more if needed, just like salt, you can't take it away once you've overdone it! Can of beans or chickpeas (I have white beans on hand today but love chickpeas, optional) Saute the onion, ginger and garlic for a few minutes on medium high heat, using a decent quality cooking oil, until the onion is translucent but not brown. Add the broth or water, then throw in the green beans. Let simmer 5-10, depending on how done you like your green beans, and then add the spinach. Add the corn after a few minutes more and simmer again. While waiting, prepare cauliflower for "cauliflower rice," recipe below. Add the coconut milk and heat till hot. You don't want it to be boiling, just a nice bubbly simmer. Add the curry paste, dissolve it by stirring and taste after a minute or two. If it's too hot, add a squeeze of lemon or lime. If it's still too hot, add a dollop of yogurt or sour cream, depending on what you have at hand. You can also add bamboo shoots and water chestnuts, or substitute canned baby corn for corn kernels. What I do is look at what fresh produce I have on hand and try and use that up and a curry dish is the best. Normally, I serve my curry dishes over rice, but found this neat recipe for cauliflower rice: http://lowcarbdiets.about.com/od/lowcarbsidedishes/r/caulirice.htm If you don't use a microwave, note that many of the comments on this article indicate they stir-fried it with good results. I will try it and report back! BarbB, I used to live with a vegan, and it was hard cooking with no eggs or no dairy, to be sure! I make no claims to be giving up dairy and I'm not a strict vegetarian by any means, but I have been cooking vegetarian a few times a week, and MM is a good way to jolt me back into, "oh, yes, I don't need to center my meals around meat, do I?" When you look at the vegetable kingdom, it has a lot more variety than the animal kingdom, and I feel a lot better when I eat vegetarian. I think every little bit helps, and it's a process, a journey. I look at it as an adventure: cooking can be very creative, and I like to solve problems, so it's like, "how do I do this?" and the pots become my palette and the foods my paint. If I get it right, I get, "oh, this is as good as a restaurant!" But unfortunately, no money, just applause. That's what we're livin' for, tho', right? 
You might like to try some Italian fare, such as portabello mushrooms sauteed with (plain) drained artichokes and a bit of chopped garlic. Serve over spaghetti or your choice of pasta with a good crusty bread, and it's marvelous! Another one I love is mushroom risotto. The first time I made it, I was in love with the taste, unlike the thick gooey casseroles of my youth using cream of mushroom soup. My husband's grandfather was French, as were my great-grandparents, and I think the French habit of going to the market and seeing what's there is my method. I keep a huge staple of spices in my cupboard (most from bulk, purchased at the health food store or any store that sells bulk from Frontier, for example), and always onion, ginger and garlic, a can of diced tomatoes, dried and canned beans, rice, pasta. Then all I have to do is make some sort of combo with all of it and pick a region, as tonight, I'm picking Thai food. Mustang Sally, I can see those feta things also being made with the little wonton wrappers. A lot of people I know have put fillings into wonton wrappers in the mini muffin baking pans and then baking for oh, 12 minutes or so on medium high. I admit the instructions for wrapping got the best of me and I'd order it out but be hard pressed to attempt it at home. That fruit salad looks delicious! As the Italians say, mange'! Eat! Hugs, ~~Marie
