Hearty Green Curry

Winter fairly begs for warm, toasty curries, soups, and comfort food. We've had quite a few grey days in a row and this morning I had some trouble dragging myself out of bed. A long day later, and comfort food sounded lovely.

I managed to cut all the vegetables without cutting myself, though it was touch and go there for a second.

When it all came together, it looked delicious. And happy. And yummy. And curry-y.

Simple, good food like this makes the end of the day a little happier.

Hearty Green Curry
Serves 4
1/2 butternut squash, peeled and cut into 1 inch dice
1 head cauliflower, chopped
1/2 onion, chopped
2 inches ginger, peeled and diced
3/4 c crimini mushrooms, chopped
1 c green beans
1/2 c white wine, chicken stock, or water
2 T olive oil
1 can coconut milk
1-3 teaspoons green curry paste, depending on your spice tolerance
salt
Soba noodles


Bring a pot of water to a boil and add the squash. Cook for 10 minutes, until nearly tender. Remove the squash with a slotted spoon and set aside. Add the cauliflower to the boiling water and boil for 4-5 minuutes, until nearly tender. Remove with a slotted spoon and set aside. Add the soba noodles to the water and cook until done; 5-7 minutes. Set aside.
Heat the oil over medium heat until shimmery and add the onion and mushroom to the pan. Sautee 5 minutes, until tender and slightly golden. Add the ginger and cook an additional 2 minutes, until fragrant and lovely.
Add the squash to the pan with the onions and reduce heat slightly. Cook 5-7 minutes, until the squash is slightly caramelized. Pour in the wine or stock to deglaze the pan.
Add the cauliflower and the green beans and stir to combine.
In a small bowl, combine 1-3 teaspoons of green curry paste with 2 T of the coconut milk and stir out any lumps. Add the mix to the vegetables and simmer for 3-4 minutes to toast the spices. Add the remaining coconut milk and stir. Simmer 5-7 minutes to heat it through.
Serve over soba.

Quinoa and Squash

I'm crap at math, so even though it's just me this week, I'm still shopping and cooking like there's two of us here. Since my shopping week started Saturday morning, I'm knee-deep in leftovers already and it's only Monday. I had roasted squash and pork roast from the weekend, so I added bacon, quinoa and onions and called it dinner.

It doesn't look like much, but onions sauteing in bacon made the house smell amazing. When I added the squash, everything got nuttier and richer. Please excuse the dark, grainy photos - I had to use the backup camera.


It may look a little plain and monochromatic, but this was serious comfort food and can easily be amended to make use of whatever leftovers you may have lurking in your fridge.

Quinoa with Squash
The beauty of it all is that since I was using leftovers, this came together in about 15 minutes.
1/2 c chopped onions
2 strips bacon, chopped
1 t salt
1 t pepper
3/4 c quinoa
1 1/2 c water
1 c pork, chopped
3/4 c roasted squash
1 small tomato, roughly chopped
1/2 avocado, chopped (optional)

1. Bring the water to a boil, then add the quinoa. Reduce the heat to medium-low and cook the quinoa for 15 minutes.
   
2. Put the chopped bacon into a saute pan and render until crisp. Drain all but 1 teaspoon of the fat. Add the onions and saute until translucent. Add the squash and allow it to get brown and slightly caramelized in places, 3-5 minutes.
   
3. Add the pork and tomato and stir. Cook 5 minutes, until heated through.
   
4. Serve with chopped avocado on top.

Squash and Mushroom Risotto

Seattle has been overcast for a few days now, and I was in the mood for some comfort food. Risotto is already happy comfort food, but if you add squash? So much more comforting and filling. This one's a keeper.



I've only recently started using crushed sage, and I think I like it quite a bit. It's not that it's less sage-y-ness than fresh sage, but I think the flavor is a bit more subtle. And it's delicious with squash.

Squash and Mushroom Risotto

1 1/2 c roasted squash
2 c arborio rice
1 1/2 c mushrooms
2 cloves garlic, minced
3/4 c white wine
1 1/2 c onion, diced
2 t sage, crushed
1 t salt
1 t pepper
1 qt chicken or vegetable stock
olive oil

1. Heat a large pan over medium heat. Add 1 T olive oil. Once the oil is warm, add the onions and mushrooms and stir. Cook 5-8 minutes, until the onions are translucent. Add garlic and stir, cooking 1 minute.


2. Stir in the rice and lower the heat to medium-low. Allow the rice to soften, stirring periodically (about 3-4 minutes).


3. Add the white wine and stir to deglaze, making sure to scrape the bottom of the pot. When the rice looks mostly dry, stir in 1/2 c stock. Stir once and lower the heat to low (2 on a 1-10 dial). Stir in the roasted squash. Once your spoon will leave a trail in the rice, add 1/2 c stock. Be patient and let the rice absorb the stock slowly. Continue adding the stock 1/2 cup at a time until absorbed.


4. Serve with freshly grated Parmesan.