Time to Thai one on!

...see what I did there?

In seriousness, though, my cravings for Thai food remain.  There must be some sort of essential nutrient or vitamin in curry for which I have a severe deficiency.  Luckily, I do believe I've found a way to have my curry and eat it too.

Mmm.  Matsaman. This one has beef in it; stay tuned for the (better) chicken version...

Have I talked about how much I love matsaman/massaman/masaman/however-you-spell-it curry before?  If I haven't, I need to now.  I have my dear Uncle-but-more-like-big-brother Pete to thank for encouraging me to try this Indian-meets-Thai dish.  Mmm, Asian fusion done right.  I don't even know how to accurately describe the flavour to you.  It's got the tangy tamarind, rich peanuts, warm spices like cinnamon and cardamom, salty fish sauce... it's a party in your mouth, and everyone's invited.  It's not particularly spicy (unless you want to make it so), just spiced.  Fan-freakin'-tastic.

My boys!  Figaro and Hubs joining me for curry.  I think I'll start calling this manifestation e-Hubs.

So, onto my figure-friendly recipe.  After pining for it, but not wanting to spend almost $40 to get it, I took Rick Gallop's G.I. Diet Cookbook out from the Winnipeg Public Library. This is adapted from the "coconut curry beef" recipe, which originally called for beef (duh) and yellow curry paste.  I tried the beef version, and to be completely honest, I didn't love it.  Chicken it is!  This is how I doctored it to be a reasonable, delicious facsimile of my favourite Thai menu item:

Better-for-you Matsaman Curry

Inspired by the G.I. Diet Cookbook by Rick Gallop

Makes 4 servings

• 3 Tbsp orange juice
• 2 Tbsp fish sauce
• 2 tsp cornstarch
• 2 tsp soy sauce
• 2 chicken breasts, cubed
• 2 tsp canola oil
• 2 small-medium onions, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 Tbsp (at least!) Matsaman curry paste**
• 1/2 cup light coconut milk
• 1 Tbsp light smooth peanut butter (since nobody seems to have caught on and made a light CRUNCHY pb... sadness...)
• 1 Tbsp lime juice
• 2 tsp Splenda
• 1/4 cup chopped cilantro (if you don't like it, you should probably sit this one out)
• 2 Tbsp unsalted peanuts, chopped

1. In bowl, whisk together orange juice, fish sauce, cornstarch, and soy sauce. Stir in chicken, tossing to coat. Marinade in the fridge while you get the rest of the ingredients together.
2. In large non-stick frying pan, heat oil over medium-high heat. Cook onion and garlic for 5 minutes until softened. Stir in curry paste and cook for 1 minute. Add chicken and stir-fry until thoroughly cooked (no longer pink in the middle)
3. Next, stir in coconut milk, peanut butter, lime juice, and Splenda. Stir well to ensure all ingredients meld together. Cook, tossing to coat meat with sauce, for another 2 minuts. Garnish with cilantro and peanuts.
4. Serve alongside steamed sugar snap peas and basmati rice!  Mmm.

**It might be slightly tricky to find Matsaman curry paste.  You MIGHT find it in your local large grocery store, if it has a decent "International" section.  If not, Google your local Asian food market.  Aroy-D makes a very delicious version, and I know I've seen their products at Real Canadian Superstore before... try your luck!  If not, substitute yellow or red curry paste instead; they tend to be easier to find.

For the love of Pete, do NOT forget to start cooking your rice before your curry if you're using a rice maker.  9 times out of 10, I forget this crucial step and end up waiting around for the telltale beep.  This time I remembered.  I sort of like how my kitchen is reflected in the surface...

Saucy!  This time, it's chicken.  MUCH better than the beef, honestly.  I think the marinade in the first step keeps it nice and tender and juicy!

Honestly, this curry is so flavourful and rich that I didn't believe it was actually healthy.  Then, I got proof!  In keeping with the goal to eat healthier and trim down, my dear sisters, Ni and Sar, convinced me to sign up for an account on fatsecret.com.  Now, ignore the horrific name.  This is basically a food-and-exercise tracking tool... it's pretty neat.  My favourite feature?  You can enter your own recipes, and the website will calcuate fat, calories, etc. based on the ingredients and number of servings.  It even lets you share recipes with the rest of the community.  This, obviously, is right up my alley.  I've already submitted several of my favourites.  Clocking in at (approximately) 8.6 g of fat per serving, and ~330 calories (including rice and snap peas!), this is pretty decent for a dinner.

Alright.  Enough of that.  I promise I won't turn into a diet-obsessed blogger; just needed to spread the word about that neat tool, and how it totally justified this deliciousness for me.  Give it a shot if you like; you can find me listed as GeckoGurl1984!

Hoping she'll be able to continue finding more healthy-but-delicious international cuisine,
-Honeybee

La notte delle tre zuppe...

…or, in English, the night of three soups.  I just thought it sounded better in Italiano.  Don’t ask me what possessed me to make three soups in one night.  They all just seemed so easy that I couldn’t help but throw them all together, then package them and freeze individual servings for those busy nights before ASL class.  
 

It all started when I had a craving for pea soup, and wanted to use up a bag of frozen President’s Choice peas (or PCPs, as mom says :P).  Instead of the warm and hearty ham variety, though, I came across the Barefoot Contessa’s recipe for a summer pea and mint soup.  I didn’t have any mint, but basil stood in for it nicely; ditto for heavy cream vs. crème fraiche.  Quite a tasty and almost sweet little soup, which I chose to eat that night.

Next, I made an adapted form of the G.I. diet’s thai shrimp soup recipe, which features delicious flavours of ginger and lemongrass.  I didn’t have any bean sprouts or mushrooms (since I hate the latter), so I omitted the first and swapped halved cherry tomatoes for the second.  I also didn’t have any rice noodles at the time, so I threw in a handful of orzo pasta.  I’d give you the recipe, but overall I think it needs some significant tweaking before I’m ready to share it… the finished product was edible, of course, but not optimal.  I’ll get back to you on that one.

Lastly, I made a curried lentil soup, after seeing one on Food Network that made me start to salivate.  A quick Google led me here, where I adapted the recipe only by using canned lentils instead of dried, and Thai yellow curry paste (since it didn’t specify).  The only thing I would change: I was a bit overzealous with the paste.  If I had used less, I think things would’ve ended up tasting better… as Nonna always says, “You can always add, but you can’t take'm away”.  Questa donna e bellisima é intelligentissima.  I don’t think I need to translate that one.

Feeling a bit like a squirrel getting supplies ready for the winter,

-Honeybee

The Switch-Up: Thai Coconut Curry

The title might seem familiar for those Food Network affectionatos out there; Anna Olson, host of the former program Sugar, often finished off an episode by showing how one recipe could be easily and slightly modified (whether with ingredients, assembly, cooking methods, etc.) to become a whole new dessert.  She does the same in her Sugar cookbooks as well, which I came to own through a generous gift.  I actually met Anna Olson once at her former Port Dalhousie bakery; I never thought I’d hear a Food Network chef ask me to “just swipe your debit card with the stripe facing me”.  Surreal!  But I digress.

Today’s switch-up: Thai Coconut Curry.  I found the initial recipe when I was fancying something curry-based and had two gorgeous fillets of basa in the fridge that needed to be prepared.  So, I turned to the lovely Google and typed “Thai curry fish”.  I came across this lovely recipe, which I jumped on.  Only modification?  A teaspoon of red curry paste (I’ve talked about that before) instead of chili powder, whole coriander seeds (my food processor, alas, failed utterly at turning them into a ground form), and freeze-dried cilantro (since I neglect the real deal until it rots).  I also didn’t have banana leaves, so I opted for some parchment packets (using a technique that I learned, ironically, by watching Chef Olson’s new show “Fresh”).  I also prepared the suggested coconut rice accompaniment, along with some steamed snap peas… a fantastic little Thursday night dinner ensued, followed by an even better Friday lunch.

Wine certainly helps any meal be fantastic... ;)

Now for the switch-up: coconut chicken salad.  The recipe for the coconut curry sauce made way more than I needed, so I used the rest to marinate a chicken breast overnight.  I wrestled a bit with the best way to cook the chicken, since I don’t have a barbecue and pan-frying might burn the sugars in the coconut milk.  So, I opted to bake it (like the fish) in a foil packet in the oven.  I also inserted my handy-dandy President’s Choice meat thermometer, which has a gauge that is kept outside the oven, and will sound an alarm when the meat has reached proper internal temperature for chicken.  Hooray for preventing a salmonella infection and/or overbaking!!

After baking and cooling, I sliced up the chicken and arranged it on a plate with some tasty baby romaine, red onion, green onion, and cherry tomatoes.  I had wanted to use mandarins instead of tomatoes, but unfortunately the container I had in the fridge had outlived its usefulness (shudder!).  I finished it off with a quick drizzle of sriracha on the chicken, for some kick, as well as a Thai-inspired vinaigrette made with canola oil, lime juice, garlic, ginger, minced lemongrass, rice wine vinegar, and a hint of Splenda.  Quite good, and just right for a light-ish Sunday night dinner before a jog.

So overall, this little curry recipe is quite versatile.  Amazing what Google will lead you to… I really had no idea that About.com ran to instructional international cooking articles.  You learn something new every day!

Encouraging continuing gastronomic education through search engines,

-Honeybee

This is what I deal with at every meal: cats who want my food.
Great companions, but terrible table manners. 

 

 

A Foodie exploring First Fridays

My coworker Jess and I are very similar in that we're originally from Ontario, did our GC training at U.S. institutions, and then found ourselves practicing our profession in the 'Peg.  Having lived in some very chic metropolitan centres, Jess is very keen on finding unique and fun establishments and activities in the city, while I'm intent on exploring all the culinary culture.  As she joked to me, "I think you and I are going to end up knowing more about Winnipeg than people who were born and raised here!!"  She might be right.

This past Friday, Jess invited me to come out and experience First Fridays, a phenomenon new to Winnipeg but well known to other major cities.  It's popular enough to warrant its own Wikipedia article.  The idea is to attract residents to an area known for art galleries, eclectic shops, and restaurants, particularly if the area is in a state of renewal.  Such is the case for Winnipeg's Exchange district, a historic area that used to be the hub of the grain exchange in the late 1800s.  Since Hubs is the history buff, not me, I'll just point you in the direction of some links that will tell you more about this amazing district.

The Exchange District, also known as "xchange" or simply, "The District". 
Image from fellow Winnipeg food blog Food Musings
(I just discovered this site, and it looks wonderful... I'd better get caught up!)

Now, I'm not artsy or crafty, as anyone can tell you.  I can't even cut paper in a straight line without a paper cutter.  The extent of my artistic manual dexterity lies in cooking, and even then I don't think it's anything to write home about.  Luckily, though, I found First Fridays to be very accessible, and Jess was a great companion.  I didn't have to engage in deep conversations about the artist's message or textures or light play or the use of colour... as with wine, either I like it or I don't, and I might not be able to say why.  Not all the participants were art galleries, though... I particularly enjoyed browsing a vintage clothing store, an artisan yarn shop, and window-shopping at a bona-fide haberdasher.  Maybe Hubs WILL get that fedora he's been wanting...

One of the participating establishments, Cake-ology.  Of COURSE this appealed to me.  Read on to learn more...

Part of our outing did involve some food.  This was a good thing because all I'd managed for dinner after getting home from work was a slice of leftover sun bread toast with some Nutella.  Not exactly substantial.  First was a stop at Cake-ology, an incredibly tiny but adorable bakery.  I imagine that Charm City Cakes might have had humble beginnings such as this; the product on display certainly looked of a similar calibre.  I looked over at a work station, where a lovely baker was hard at work sculpting a STORM TROOPER HELMET CAKE.  How cool is that?!  I wish I could've taken a picture, but I foolishly forgot both the Canon and my phone at home!!

Wondering what I'm holding?  It was, quite simply, a bundle of Cake-ology deliciousness. Details below...

The lovely ladies of Cake-ology have come up with the perfect way to let guests enjoy some of their delicious cake flavours: cakettes.  Think: timbits, but a million times better.  These are little spherical pieces of cake, coated in buttercream icing and dipped in chocolate for a hard, moisture-sealing coating.  It was like a cross between a bon-bon and a cupcake.  Fantastic.  Jess had a raspberry-flavoured one; I opted for the popular-in-the-Praries red velvet version.  Mmm.

After checking out a couple of cool shops and a VERY active sculpting gallery (I'd never seen a diamond saw that close up...), I smelled onion rings.  And started salivating.  So, Jess humored me and I followed my aquiline nose to The Line Up, a diner offering everything from fish n' chips to deep dish pizza to asian noodle bowls.  It smelled AMAZING in that little place.  A very quick scan of the menu failed to reveal onion rings, but did include curry fries.  Hmm.  I was imagining some fresh-cut fries sprinkled with a dried curry powder as a seasoning... but what I received was SO much better.

Patience, Pebbles, we're getting to the good stuff.  You just KNOW that anything in a cute Chinese take-away box is going to taste fantastic...

These curry fries were more like poutine, but with a medium-spicy yellow curry sauce filled with tomatoes and onions instead of regular brown gravy.  Oh my goodness.  I was in heaven.  I got a little blasphemous and dipped some of the less-drenched fries in ketchup... didn't do anything to dampen the curry valhalla I'd found myself in.  I will, without a shadow of a doubt, go back to The Line Up, particularly since they boast an extremely reasonably-priced Dinner and a Movie deal.  SOLD!

Just LOOK at these.  Smothered in cheese and curry sauce... absolute perfection (even if they do look a bit sloppy...)

Messy, and almost gone. Mmm.

Not food, obviously, but when I saw curry fries on the menu I thought they'd be especially fitting given my artsy hair accessories :)  Don't worry, I reserve these chopsticks for styling applications; I have others for noshing purposes.

Overall, I considered First Fridays to be a resounding success; I can't wait to go again in October!!  This time, I'm thinking we'll have to specifically plan a time to eat, instead of just grabbing and running, whether we go back to The Line Up or try out some of the other tempting restaurant offerings in the Exchange.

Trying to resist a repeat visit solely to buy a box of red curry beef noodles,
-Honeybee

Red curry shrimp pasta, and a confession

Ever wanted to make a particular recipe, only to be repeatedly thwarted by lacking the right ingredients?  Or, in my case, using up a key ingredient in ANOTHER recipe before getting to the intended one?  Yeah.  That's the case here.  The ingredients in question?  Red curry paste and cilantro.  A note on that herb, confusingly also referred to as coriander and/or Chinese parsley.  Some love it, some hate it... it really seems to polarize people that way.  I'm part of the former group, which I discovered some years ago at my favourite Thai restaurant in Windsor (Basil Court.  You should go, right now, and order the Matsaman curry, Thai spicy noodle, and/or sweet and sour chicken.  I'm not kidding.  Tell them I miss them desperately).

There you are.  I'm so sorry I left.  Nothing in Winnipeg compares to you... not that I'm trying to replace you, I swear. *Sniffle*
(Image shamelessly and somewhat stalker-ishly ripped from Google Street View).

Ahem. *Discreetly dries tears*.  Sorry, back to cilantro.  I had bought a bunch, stuck it in my fridge, and then ended up using most of it for guacamole a few weekends ago when I had my friend/coworker over for some vino (more on that sinful liquid later).  As with pretty much any herb I bring into my house, I forgot about it, and it got all wilty and mushy.  Ew.  Not good eats, as Alton would say.  I had originally bought it with the idea of re-making this pasta, which I made for Hubs and myself several months ago with mid-level success.  In a fit of laziness, I had substituted drained, canned diced tomatoes for the fresh ones called for, with the results being somewhat lackluster.  

Not to be defeated by a pasta recipe (my ancestors, I'm sure, were rolling over in their graves at the prospect), I decided to give it another go this past Friday.  I was especially keen since it was a "green-light" dish from my glycemic index diet book (stay tuned for more on that; I'm just not ready to face the fact that I haven't been strictly following that book for the past month or so).  The stumbling block was a lack of red curry paste.  Despite a microscopic examination of the shelves at my local Superstore (which, strangely, also has a hard time keeping cilantro in stock), I have been curry-less for the past two months.  It wasn't until I tried switching supermarkets to Safeway (a Big Deal, since the Loblaws family of companies helped pay for my undergrad degree), that I found the coveted little jar of deliciousness.  Safeway also had an ample stock of what can only be described as the most luscious-looking cilantro I've seen in all my born days.  Full steam ahead!!!

Mmm, steamy.  See what I did there??

Now, I've been wrestling with the idea of posting this recipe, since my second attempt (with fresh tomatoes, GOOD wine, and better-quality shrimp) was so very successful.  Since I modified things slightly, I think I'll go ahead with it... mostly because I can't deny any shrimp and/or curry lover the means to try this delish dish.  I mean, c'mon.  Just look at it.

The acidity of the lime and cilantro really balance out the heaping spoonful of red curry I added, so my "version" of the recipe contains considerably more curry than the original.  I like it spicy.  If you don't, you know what to do: just cut back.  Marinading the shrimp in the paste is genius... not only are the shrimp infused with the flavourful heat, but any residual paste marries into the resulting sauce.  If you're not afraid of a departure from your standard American-Italian spaghetti and meatballs fare, give this a whirl.

Check out that cilantro in the foreground.  Gorgeous.

 Red Curry Shrimp Pasta

(Barely adapted from the "G.I. Diet Clinic" by Rick Gallop. 

Please don't sue me, Mr. Gallop, you won't get much)

Makes 2 servings

• 1/2 lb (half of a ~400g bag) large raw shrimp, peeled and deveined
• 1 1/2 tbsp Thai red curry paste(see note below*)
• 1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
• 4 cloves garlic, minced (don't skimp, or I'll hunt you down)
• Zest and juice of 1 lime (2 if all you have is key limes)
• 2 large tomatoes, seeded and chopped into about 1 cm squared pieces
• 1 cup white wine (see note re. skimping above)
• Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste (maybe 1/4 tsp for salt, 1/2 tsp pepper)
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
• 4 oz (~1/4 lb or 226g) whole wheat linguine (I have no idea what 4 oz of pasta looks like.  I went for a quite small fistful.  I know that's not incredibly helpful.  You want enough pasta for two servings)

1. In a large zip-top bag, add shrimp and curry paste.  Squeeze the excess air out of the bag and seal it, mushing it around to coat the shrimp with the paste thoroughly.  Place in the refrigerator.  If the shrimp is frozen (as mine was), you can leave it frozen and let it thaw overnight with the curry on it; if it's fresh, leave it for anywhere from two to eight hours in the fridge.
2. When the shrimp is done getting happy with the paste, get a medium-large pot of salted water on to boil.  To a large non-stick frying pan, add oil and garlic and heat on medium until the garlic starts to get golden (~1-2 minutes; you'll hear it sizzle.  Don't let it burn).  Add tomatoes, wine, lime zest and juice, salt and pepper; bring to a boil.
3. Reduce heat and simmer until sauce reduces and thickens, about 8 minutes.  Add shrimp to the sauce and cook, stirring, until the shrimp are pink and firm (about 3-4 minutes).  Stir in cilantro.
4. Add the pasta to your water (which should be boiling by now) and cook until al dente (read the package, I'm still not very good with cooking times for whole wheat noodles.  Recipe says 8 minutes, I think I did 10-12).  Drain and add pasta directly to shrimp mixture in frying pan.  Toss to coat with sauce.
5. Devour.  Preferably, consume with a glass of the same wine you used in the recipe.

Note: I use Thai Kitchen authentic red curry paste; it comes in a small 112 g glass jar, and can be found in the "ethnic" section of most large grocery stores (though apparently not the one at Sargent and St. James, so don't look there).  Do NOT use President's Choice red curry sauce; this is NOT the same thing, as it contains large amounts of coconut milk.  Whatever you buy, it should be a concentrated deep red colour.  Oh, and I was joking about hunting you down.  Probably ;)

Those last two shots bring me to the "confession" promised in today's title.  I love wine.  Really, I do.  However, I know next to nothing about it, which I find somewhat shameful given my ethnic background(s) and level of adoration.  Oh, sure, I've been on tons of wine tours, and swirled and sipped and trilled with the best of 'em.  Just please, don't ever ask me to describe the bouquet, comment on the notes, or expertly pair a wine with a meal (unless I've already sneaked a look at the back label).  I'm an expert on two things: either I like the wine, or I don't.  Don't expect me to tell you why, with one exception: if my tongue goes dry and my cheeks pucker in, there's too much tannin for me, and I don't like it.

One of the few reds that doesn't have me chugging from a water glass...

As you can see in the pictures of my delish shrimp, I was drinking a bottle of Pelee Island Gewürztraminer (my all-time fave white).  The recipe originally called for a "dry white wine".  This ain't it.  It's a 2 on the sugar scale (read: pretty darn sweet, the very opposite of dry).  It's suggested as an apértif or as a dessert companion.  Bah.  It was the only white I had on hand that I was willing to crack open and cook with, and the label also describes it as "spicy and fruity".  Hmm.  My curry: spicy, check; fruity (owing to the tomatoes and lime), check.  Seems like a good enough fit for me, so I used it in the recipe and to drink alongside.  No complaints here.  Though I'm a million steps below a sommelier, I do know that you should use wines you'd actually drink in recipes, and then drink them.  At least I follow SOME rules.  I'm also pretty good with trying to find reds I like (merlot, shiraz) to go with my infrequent red meat binges:

Are you tired of seeing this burger yet?  I'm not.  Sorry.  But I think this'll be the last of it.

That's it for now.  Just needed to get that wine confession off my chest... I don't want anyone to think that my examples for wine/food pairing should be followed in any way whatsoever.  I know nothing.  Do as I (well, the recipes) say and not as I do, and all that.

Cin cin, à votre santé, and sláinte!
-Honeybee