Simple Green Curry Soup

GRACIOUS ME do I love anything curry. Green curry, what will we do with you? I am in love. For life, green curry. I am yours for life.

So this post is less of a recipe and more of a love letter to green curry. I do love making my own curry paste from time to time, but this wasn't a cooking-intensive day so we shall save that recipe for another time.

Here's how I made this soup-for-one. It is literally easy. Literally.

Stuffs:

1 clove minced garlic
2 small yukon gold potatoes, washed and chopped
1/2 carrot, sliced
a couple stalks cauliflower, chopped
1/3 package tofu, drained and pressed
1 T green curry paste
1 tsp yellow curry powder
1/2 C spinach, chopped
salt and pepper, to taste
1/2 C coconut milk
1/2 C almond milk
1/2 C water

Bring oil to a current over medium-low heat, then saute garlic. Add potatoes and cook, stirring frequently, for 5 minutes. Add carrots, cauliflower and tofu, followed by curry paste and other spices, and stir to coat veggies evenly. Cook veggies another 5 minutes, stirring frequently, then add the spinach and cook another 2 minutes. Season with salt and pepper, then add coconut milk and simmer for 5 minutes. Finally, add almond milk and water, and simmer until evenly heated throughout.

Green curry, I'm not sure I could love you more. One of the most delicious meals I have ever had in my life (this is a very serious matter) was the green curry soup at Roots, on Bardstown Rd. in Louisville. I spared no emotion in relating my feelings to my server, Guy, who seemed to appreciate my appreciation. I feel silly just simply saying "it was a spiritual moment" -- I wanted to go buy Guy a Christmas present. I felt like we were friends. I almost got him hot pink socks from Urban Outfitters.

I confess, I was simply trying to replicate this soup tonight. Of course, it couldn't hold a candle, but I offer you this poem, green curry soup, as a token of my love for you.

He Wishes For the Cloths of Heaven

W.B. Yeats

Had I the heavens' embroidered cloths,

Enwrought with golden and silver light,

The blue and the dim and the dark cloths

Of night and light and the half-light,

I would spread the cloths under your feet:

But I, being poor, have only my dreams;

I have spread my dreams under your feet;

Tread softly because you tread on my dreams, green curry soup.

Spold Mac

One of my favorite restaurants in Portland is The Montage, located underneath the Morrison Bridge, just on the Southeast side of the city. It's a cajun spot with sassy servers, viking-style seating, dim lights and late hours. I love this place, and even more, I love their famous mac n' cheese dishes. So when I went vegan, I was a little bit sad (though eventually satisfied, to be honest) when ordering a black-eyed-pea salad at this spot.

Their most popular dishes are the Old Mac, the Spicy Mac, and the Spold Mac - a combination of both. I always order the Spold, so here's a veganized version of one of my favorite dishes ever. It's creamy, spicy, and super super nostalgic in just the right kind of mid-90's Portland sort of way.

3 cloves garic, minced
1/2 C cauliflower, chopped
1/2 C shredded carrots, chopped
1/2 package tempeh, cubed
1/2 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp oregano
salt and pepper to taste
1/4 C nutritional yeast
1/4 C soy sauce
2 T chili garlic sauce
1/4 C soy creamer

First, boil some pasta. I happened to have a mix of shells, rotini and macaroni and it was perfect. But I recognize this dish is indeed a mac dish, so feel free to just use elbows.

Meanwhile, saute your garlic, cauliflower, carrots and tempeh in olive oil, over medium-low heat for about 5 minutes. Then add your spices and nutritional yeast, and cook another two minutes.

Next, add your cooked pasta and toss with the veggies, stirring constantly for a minute or so to make sure the pasta is well mixed with the spice. Finally, reduce heat and add the soy sauce, chili garlic sauce and soy creamer, and simmer for another 5 minutes.

Enjoy with frog legs, alligator jambalaya and a Red Stripe beer! I mean. Or.

Sweet Quinoa Salad

This week has involved a lot of prep work to Thankscooking, therefore I have become even more lazy at lunch. This is my favorite go-to quick lunch, when I am busy, and on-the-go, and urban, and working, and…. ok it’s mostly for when I don’t feel like cooking and it goes well with Sports Center.

Health benefits of quinoa aside, this salad is bomb just for its sweet/earthy balance. The carrots and cranberries balance out the quinoa. It’s delish, and it will keep for about a week in the fridge.

All you do is mix these guys together (duh):

2 cups cooked quinoa
1/2 cup steamed edamame, shelled
1/2 cup chopped almonds
1/2 cup shredded carrots (I usually use a vegetable peeler to get really thin slices)
1/2 cup dried cranberries

Of course, adjust the measurements as you see fit. Easy peasy!

Glazed Carrot Pizza with Cauliflower Punk Sauce

I could count on one hand the things I love more than cooking for touring punk bands. Actually, while I'm at it, I might as well.

thumb: my family
index: marching bands
middle: Pho Hoa Binh lunch buffet
ring: talking to Ira Glass on the telephone

See, and I still have the pinky left over!

My friend Cody, who often books house shows in this beautiful, zero-venue town, decided that this last house show would be pizza party themed. Really, pizza and punk rock, is there a better combination? So I brought this little ditty to the show, which was devoured quickly, alongside Domino's.

As always, I made the dough using Isa's recipe, which I have referenced here and here. The real belle of the ball here is the cauliflower punk sauce, which is savory and earthy and perfect next to the glazed carrots.

First prepare your crust. Then, in a food processor, pulse

1 1/2 cup chopped cauliflower
1 T minced garlic

Once finely ground, slowly add

1/2 C almond milk
1 tsp salt
1 T nutritional yeast

Leave in the processor until you're ready to use. Meanwhile, gather the rest of your sauce ingredients:

1/2 C minced onion
2 T olive oil
1/2 tsp marjoram
1/2 tsp basil
1/2 tsp oregano
1 tomato, diced
1/4 C water

Heat the onion in the olive oil and cook until translucent. Then add the spices and tomato, and cook on low another 2 minutes. Finally, add the water and bring heat to medium. Cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, then add the cauliflower mix from the food processor and reduce heat to simmer. Let simmer for 10 minutes.

Allow your sauce to cool before assembling your pizza. While it's chilling out, prepare your toppings:

1 C shredded carrots
1 T honey or agave, whatever you're into
1 C kale, or however your heart is feeling at the time. You might need more.

In a small pan over medium heat, saute the carrots in the honey/agave for about 5 minutes, then remove from heat. Meanwhile, chop your kale, and toss with a small amount of olive oil in a medium sized bowl - enough to coat all the kale with oil.

Once your toppings are prepared and your sauce is cooled, now's a good time to remember that you never preheated the oven. So go ahead and turn it up to 475 "or as hot as you dare," as Isa says, and go watch last week's episode of How I Met Your Mother.

Once your oven is ready and your pizza is assembled, pop that thing in for 20 minutes.

And go check out Child Bite, from Detroit. One of them is vegan! So... that a good reason for you to listen to their music, right?

Quinoa Stuffed Avocado

I will make any excuse to include avocados to my cooking. In this dish, however, they are the star of the show. Rejoice!

To make the filling: cook quinoa with veggie broth. Sauté chopped mushrooms in olive oil for 5 minutes. Add chopped spinach and grated carrot, and cook another 2 minutes. Add quinoa and mix all together. Voila!

To prepare the avocado, half the avo and scoop out a hefty dent (you can then use this flesh to… I don’t know, snack on? What else would you do with perfectly ripe avocado right in front of you?!). Stuff with quinoa filling, top with sriracha and broil for 5 minutes.

Roasted Red Pepper and Carrot Soup

It’s fall. And red peppers were cheap at the farmer’s market this week. Ergo! Roasted red pepper and carrot soup. Goes well with the sweet potato cornbread shown below. If you’re into that sort of thing. And you are, right? 

First of all. Do yourself a favor and get these peppers local, if you can. They’re like, hella expensive at the store ($1.90 a pop at Krogers [pronounced Krod-jers]), and I got all 4 of these peppers at the Community Farmer’s Market for 2 bucks. Farmer’s market elitism my ear, right?

Other stuffs you’ll need:

4 red bell peppers (ok folks, we’ve been over this already)
2 large carrots, minced finely in your food processor.
half a small onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 cups almond milk
1 can whole tomatoes, peeled
1 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/2 tbl oregano

You’ll need your food processor plenty for this recipe, so don’t be lazy about cleaning dishes as you go. Seriously. Those carrots are lethal orange.

First, roast your bell peppers. Cut them in slices and toss them in olive oil. Sprinkle with a little sea salt and roast under your broiler for 5 minutes.

While those are cooling, heat some olive oil on medium in a large pot. Add the garlic and chopped onion and C.U.T. (see topless lasagna post below), about 3 minutes. Add the minced carrot and cook for 10 minutes.

While the carrots, onion and garlic are cooking, run your red peppers and tomatoes in a food processor until liquidy. Add this mixture, along with your milk and spices, to the pot. Cover and cook on low for 20 minutes.

The only other anecdotal note I have on this recipe is that it suits one well if preparing for a hangover. Sits in the tummy well. Remember: beer before liquor, makes a man sicker.

Cheesy Topless Lasagna

I’m sure you’ve learned by now, being a consumer in 2012, that our lives are all about branding. Some of the smartest people in the world are working at Starbucks (um) because they don’t know how to brand themselves. But here I am to help! You’re welcome. This recipe is for Topless Creamy Vegetable Lasagna. I made it for my dear friend Jordan’s wedding, which included a potluck reception. (BRILLIANT. There was even vegan cheesecake there.)

This lasagna was a labor of love. It will have you doing dishes for days, so it might be best to stagger the preparation over a few days so as to not overwhelm you. It’s worth it though! I promise.

First I made the sauce and filling. Here’s what you’ll need:

some olive oil (duh)
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 tbl finely minced garlic
1 cup chopped fresh basil
2.5 tbl flour
3 cups almond milk, soymilk or what have you
1/2 cup coconut milk
1 cup raw cashews
2 tbl nutritional yeast
1 tsp sea salt
1.5 cup chopped carrots
1.5 cup chopped mushrooms
1.5 cup chopped broccoli

In a medium saucepan, heat some olive oil. Add the onion and garlic, and sauté until translucent. (Is now a good time to whine about how often I find myself typing the phrase “sauté until translucent” or “cook until translucent”? Am I famous enough to coin the acronym SUT or CUT? I know those don’t flow off the tongue so much, but we’ll go with it until I find it irritating.)

So cook those suckers, then add the basil. Cook about 2 minutes or so. You need the basil to be wilted, but not too dark. Transfer this creamy goodness to a bowl, and set aside to cool.

Use that same saucepan (efficiency!), heat some more olive oil. Whisk in the flour and cook for about a minute. The flour should smell toasty. But don’t burn it, you silly goose! Add the coconut milk, then add the almond milk 1/4 a cup at a time, whisking constantly. The mixture should thicken, but if it doesn’t, don’t sweat it. This can happen later. Just relax. Add this mixture to the cooled (hopefully) basil mixture, and whisk it all together as one happy, dysfunctional basil family.

Meanwhile, while the sauce is cooling as much as it knows how, process the raw cashews in a food processor. (It will be loud. If your roommates are watching Duck Dynasty in the living room, apologize and bring them cocktails.) The cashews should be crumbly and fine, almost powdery. Refill your roommates’ glasses, and add the basil sauce, along with nutritional yeast and sea salt, and process for a minute or so. Until nice and creamy. AGAIN, if it’s not too creamy yet, it’s fine. Relax.

Add this sauce to that VERY SAME SAUCEPAN (#efficiency!) and return to heat. Add the chopped vegetables.

If you’re making the whole lasagna on the same day, now would be the time to simmer this vegetable sauce on LOW for 40 minutes, stirring occasionally. Otherwise, simmer for 15 minutes and you’re good to store the sauce for a later day.

Another part of this dish you can prepare beforehand is the tofu ricotta - the recipe for which I unapologetically ganked from Isa. It’s super simple. Here’s what you need:

1 package of well-pressed, firm or extra-firm tofu
2 tsp lemon juice
1 clove minced garlic
1/4 tsp salt
dash of black pepper
about ten leaves fresh basil
2 tsp olive oil
1/4 cup nutritional yeast

In a large bowl, mush up the tofu with your fingers, until it’s crumbly. Add the lemon juice, garlic, salt, pepper, and basil. Mush it all together real nice-like, with your hands, until it gets sort of ricotta-y. Add the olive oil, and stir with a fork. Add the nooch and mix it all up. This will hold in the fridge for about a week.

And now we get to lasagna day!

Yes! First and foremost, haul out your vegetable cream sauce and simmer on low for about 40 minutes. Make sure to stir on occasion.

Next, decide how many layers you want to put in your ‘sagna (check that slang I just coined). Boil enough lasagna pasta to fulfill your layer needs, for about 8-10 minutes depending on your pasta. Drain and rinse with cool water. Line the bottom of your casserole dish with the pasta, and preheat your oven to 325.

When your sauce is done simmering, it’s time to build your ‘sagna. I layered mine like this:

pasta
vegetable sauce
Daiya mozzarella shreds
pasta
ricotta

And so on and so forth. Now the Daiya shreds are a bit of a luxury, one that I would omit were I to be making this dish just for myself. BUT we ARE, after all, making topless lasagna. And thus we shall press on.

Cover the final layer of pasta with Daiya shreds. Bake at 325, covered, for 20 minutes. Then bake another 15 minutes, uncovered.

Here’s the important part! When it’s done baking, turn the broiler on high. Leave the lasagna under the broiler while you go dry your hair. Make sure to stage your roommates in the kitchen, to alert you when they see smoke coming from the oven.

Storm into the kitchen, visibly upset at the sight of your burnt creation, remove lasagna, DON’T CRY WHATEVER YOU DO, and let cool while you finish drying your hair, reminding yourself that this is exactly why you’ll never own a successful, famous vegan food cart in downtown Portland. You’ll always be a barista.

Wait! This part is important! Ten minutes later, remove the top layer and consider your time served. It’s still delicious.

Fresh Spring Rolls

Favorite quick lunch: spring rolls filled with spinach, shredded carrot, tempeh and vermicelli.

Sauce is a mixture of Braggs, chunky peanut butter, brown sugar, apple cider vinegar and garlic chili sauce.