Vegetarian Thai Coconut Curry

This is not the prettiest picture, but it was yummy food! I saw a recipe for a sweet potato lentil curry that looked OK, but I thought I could make it better. Here's my version.

2 sweet potatoes

olive oil

salt

curry powder

chili powder

1 C dry lentils

2 C water or broth (I used chicken broth)

1 yellow or red onion

2 cloves garlic

1-2 inch knob of ginger

2 bell peppers

1 can coconut milk

1 1/2 TBSP Thai red curry paste

fresh basil or cilantro

2 1/2 C uncooked rice

1. Preheat the oven to 400.* Get your rice cooking.

2. Cut the sweet potatoes into 1-inch cubes and spread on two half-sheet pans. Drizzle with oil and sprinkle with salt, curry powder, and chili powder (about half as much as the amount of curry powder). Toss till they're fully coated and spread them out evenly on the pan.

3. Bake for 20 min, turn them over, and bake for 10 more min. 

4. While the potatoes are roasting, pour the lentils in a small pot. Cover with the two cups of liquid and bring to a boil. Then turn it to low and let it simmer. 

5. Meanwhile, dice the onion and saute in a large sauce pan over medium-high heat till soft, about five minutes. While it's cooking, mince the garlic, grate the ginger, and cut your bell peppers into 1/2" squares.

6. Toss the garlic and ginger in with the onions and stir for about a minute, until fragrant. Add the bell peppers and cook for 2 more minutes or until slightly softened.

7. Pour the lentils and any remaining liquid into the onion/pepper mixture and stir to combine.

8. Open the can of coconut milk and add it to the sauce pan. Stir in red curry paste. Let it simmer until the sweet potatoes are done cooking.

9. Once the sweet potatoes are out of the oven, check the lentils for tenderness. They may need up to 5 more minutes to soften to your desired texture. Mince your fresh herbs.

10. Once the lentils are done cooking, add the sweet potatoes and herbs to the pan and heat through for 1-2 more min. 

11. Serve over rice, with a side of garlic naan to entice any skeptical children to the table.

 

Thai Peanut Satay

http://tastykitchen.com/recipes/main-courses/chicken-satay-with-peanut-sauce/

Ingredients
2 pounds Boneless Skinless Chicken Breast, Cut Into Bite Size Pieces
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FOR THE MARINADE:
4 Tablespoons Low Sodium Soy Sauce
4 Tablespoons Lime Juice
2 Tablespoons Vegetable Oil
2 teaspoons Cumin
4 teaspoons Coriander
2 teaspoons Turmeric
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FOR THE PEANUT SAUCE:
2 Tablespoons Vegetable Oil
⅓ cups Onion, finely chopped
2 teaspoons Chili Powder
5 Tablespoons MARINADE
¼ cups Brown Sugar, Packed
½ cups Water, Or More If Needed
1 cup Creamy Peanut Butter, Do Not Use Natural Or Low Fat
1 whole Lime, Cut Into Wedges, For Garnish
1 bunch Fresh Cilantro For Garnish, Chopped

Preparation Instructions
1) Combine all marinade ingredients and whisk well to combine. Reserve 5 tablespoons of marinade for the sauce and refrigerate until you’re ready to make the sauce. Set the remaining marinade aside.
Cut the chicken into bite size pieces and skewer*. Skewer your chicken pieces on presoaked (in water) wooden skewers or metal skewers. Pour remaining marinade over chicken skewers being sure to coat thoroughly. (I use gloves, because the turmeric can stain your hands). Marinate chicken in the refrigerator for an hour.
2) For the peanut sauce, heat oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Sauté onions for 5-7 minutes. Add chili powder and the reserved 5 tablespoons of marinade, brown sugar, and ½ cup of water. Keep the pan over heat until very hot. Remove from heat and add peanut butter, carefully whisk until completely incorporated. Add additional water if the sauce is too thick. Loosely cover the pan and set aside. To warm the sauce, do so in microwave on 50% power for 30 seconds at a time and stir between. Heat until just warm. If you over heat the sauce, the oil will separate.
3) Preheat grill and cook skewered marinated chicken over medium high heat for 10-15 minutes. Serve chicken with peanut sauce and garnish with cilantro and fresh lime wedges. Makes approximately 32 – 6″skewers for appetizers or 8 dinner size portion skewers.*I like to skewer the chicken first before the marinade is added. It’s much less messy and when you’re entertaining, you won’t have to skewer the meat while you have guests. Again, I recommend using gloves.

Pizza- even better

This dough is also from smittenkitchen. I finally buckled and bought some cooking wine to try this recipe, and boy am I glad I did. Last night's pizza was the best I've eaten in a long time, and although I did have some great toppings (like Trader Joe's quattro formigia shredded cheese, fresh mozzerella, and basil I grew myself), I really think the crust was the deciding factor. The first measurements are for "one small thin crust." I quadrupled it to make 3 large (12 inch?) pizzas which fed 6 adults, 4 toddler/preschoolers, and a baby. Adjust as you will.

6 Tbsp warm water
3/4 tsp active dry yeast
1/2 tsp honey
2 Tbsp white wine
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 1/2 C all-purpose flour
1 tsp salt

1.5 C warm water
1 Tbsp yeast
2 tsp honey
½ C white wine
¼ C olive oil
6 C all-purpose flour
4 tsp salt

Directions:
1. Dissolve yeast and honey in warm (100*) water. Let sit till frothy.
2. Measure out flour into large bowl and stir in salt. (I substituted one cup of white whole wheat flour in mine to no ill effect)
3. Add wine and olive oil to water. Add liquids to flour.
4. Use a spatula to stir it all up until it's clumpy, then use your hands to mash it all into a ball, making sure to incorporate all the floury bits.
5. Knead on a lightly floured counter/pizza peel until smooth and mostly uniform in consistency. (This shouldn't take long)
6. Oil the bowl your dough was in, roll the dough in it, and cover with plastic wrap.
7. Let rise until doubled, 1-2 hours.
8. Lightly press the air out of the dough and let it sit for 15 minutes or so while you prep your ingredients. Preheat your oven to 500* with the pizza stone inside it.
9. Roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface/pizza peel. Fold one side over and sprinkle the surface with cornmeal, then do the other side.
10. Add your toppings, and bake 10 minutes or until everything's browned and bubbly.

Here are some of my favorite topping combos:

For a traditional, tomato sauce pizza, I like to herb my crust. First, I lightly rub it with olive oil. Then I sprinkle on garlic powder, oregano, thyme, and sometimes rosemary. Then, I just use jarred spaghetti sauce and sprinkle some parmesan cheese on top of that rather than making or buying special pizza sauce.

Tomato sauce pizzas:

Fresh mozzarella, fresh basil, tomato slices, and bacon.

Fresh mozzarella, shredded sharp cheddar, bell peppers, red onions, olives, and pepperoni.

1/2 red sauce, half pesto, mozzarella, and italian meats.

White pizzas:

Alfredo, chicken, brocolli, or zucchini

olive oil, goat cheese, pear, caramelized onion. once you cook that, add fresh arugula, and candied pecans.

equal parts ricotta and sour cream, seasoned with salt and pepper, topped with bacon and caramelized onions

Other pizzas:

sour cream and salsa, topped with sharp cheddar cheese, grilled chicken, red onion, and grilled corn. once you cook that, add fresh cilantro and avocado slices

peanut satay sauce topped with mozzarella, grilled chicken, carrots, and onion. top with fresh cilantro.

Pad Thai-- Gluten Free

I found this recipe at my friend Marci's dinner blog: On My Menu. She got it from Kill.The.Gluten blog and tweaked it. I like her additions (in italics) and have added my own (*starred*). The ease and deliciousness of this dinner have made it a regular at our house. The photo is from Marci who takes excellent pictures of all her dinners.

Ingredients:
1 box Original Pad Thai
2 boneless skinless chicken breasts, sliced thin---season with 1/2 t. each pepper, garlic salt, onion salt and 1 t. curry---*We have used either 1 lb shrimp or a mixture of shrimp and chicken. The shrimp makes it oh so rich.*
3 Tbsp oil, divided---I use 1/2 sesame oil, 1/2 canola or veggie oil---*I used peanut oil*
1 egg, scrambled (we like 2)
2 green onions, sliced
2 Tbsp cilantro, chopped
1 lime...optional (I forgot tonight and it still tasted great)
2 Tbsp peanuts, coarsely chopped
1/2 c. shredded carrots


Directions:
- Boil 4 cups water. Add the noodles and remove from heat. Let the noodles soak for about 5-8 minutes, then drain and run under cold water.
- In a large skillet, heat 1 Tbsp oil. Add egg(s) and cook until done. Remove the egg, chop, and set aside.
- Add the other 2 Tbsp oil and heat. Add the chicken (and carrots) to the skillet, cooking until just done, about 3-5 minutes. *If you're using shrimp, stir fry it 2-3 min on each side until it's done, then remove until the end. If you over cook them, they'll be rubbery*
-Add the noodles and the sauce packet. Stir fry for a few minutes, or until the noodles are done, adding water if necessary to keep them from sticking to the skillet.
- Add the egg, green onions, cilantro, and squeeze the juice from the lime over the top. Stir for 1 minute and remove from heat.
- Garnish with peanuts. (and some soy sauce if desired)