NORBERT'S NOODLES

My favorite farmer in the whole world is making pasta and it is good.  Norbert from Selwood Green has awakened a latent talent for noodle making and I am glad.  Although this means he isn't spending as much time growing phenomenal organic vegetables.  But at least he is doing good things no matter what he does.  And lucky for us it always involves food.

     We eat Norbert's Kamut Pasta with all kinds of sauces, but tonight we delved into our frozen green curry paste stash and whipped up this little yummy.

KAMUT NOODLES in a Peanut Coconut Sauce

1 pack of Norbert's Organic Kamut Noodles (equal to about 1/2 pound dry pasta I think)

1 pound organic local firm tofu, cut into cubes

1/2 cup arame seaweed, soaked in water for 5 minutes

1 organic onion, chopped

2 cups organic cabbage, cut into small pieces

3 organic carrots, chopped

1/2 cup organic peanut butter

1/2 can organic coconut milk

6 Tbsp organic tamari

4 Tbsp spicy thai chili dipping sauce

big pinch sea salt

2 Tbsp organic raw sesame oil

1 heaping Tbsp green curry paste

1/4 cup water

1/2 bunch organic cilantro, chopped

1/2 organic lemon

Method:  Bring a pot of water to boil and when ready cook noodles for about 5 minutes.  Preheat oven to 450*.  Marinate the tofu in 2 Tbsp of the tamari sauce and 1 Tbsp of the sesame oil.  Broil in the oven in a cast iron skillet for about 10-15 minutes, flipping halfway through.  Set aside.

     Heat a cast iron wok over medium high heat.  Add the rest of the oil and stir fry the onion, carrot, cabbage, arame and a pinch of sea salt for about 8 minutes.  Then stir in the tofu, coconut milk, curry paste, peanut butter, chili sauce, water and remaining tamari.  Cook stirring for about 5 minutes, then add the drained noodles and chopped cilantro.    Serve with a squeeze of lemon juice and chopsticks.

THAI FISH CHOWDER

My son and I fell in love all over again over this soup.  Scott is working a bit late tonight, so Faegan and I ate dinner early.  Things can get kinda frazzled and tensions can run high with a little two year old getting into EVERYTHING, but dinner saved us.  That is, once it was done being prepared and the two of us sat down together, with nothing else on our minds but pure sensual enjoyment.  We giggled and slurped and ate more, more, more of this soup as time slowed down and the setting sun's light shone through the window.

     You may have noticed I've been using Coconut Sugar quite a bit these days.  It is a sweetener made from the sap or nectar from the coconut palm tree flower.  It has a caramel sweetness that I like, and the best part is it has a glycemic index of 35 which is kind of low considering honey is a 55.  It will never, ever take the place of maple syrup, honey or brown rice syrup in my heart, but I like having options.  I especially like to use it in recipes that are tropical and use ingredients like coconut or mango. 

     This Thai soup was very simple and fairly quick to make thanks in part to the Green Curry Paste I had leftover and frozen from the other day.  I am pretty sure I could keep it in the fridge for quite a while, but freezing it ensures that it stays super fresh for a very long time.  Which is a good thing because how many Thai curries can I make before I get really sick of it? 

     Oh, and I bought a very swanky camera and lens today, the picture of this soup was taken with it, but I still haven't had a chance to practice, but soon, the tripod and fancy flash will be set up, and watch out!

THAI FISH CHOWDER

(adapted from REbar)

4 cups organic fish, vegetable or chicken stock

4 cups filtered water

1 lemongrass stalk, bruised and chopped

1/4 cup fresh organic ginger, grated

4 cloves organic garlic, chopped

1 Tbsp fresh green curry paste (http://prasada-eatingisdivine.blogspot.com/2010/03/thai-temptations.html) 

3 Tbsp coconut sugar (or honey)

3 Tbsp organic tamari

juice of 1 juicy lime

1/4 cup fish sauce

1 can organic coconut milk

1/4 pack brown rice noodles (I used vermicelli)

1/2 pack PC organic raw unpeeled shrimp

1 fillet hook and line haddock

4 dried kaffir lime leaves

1 carrot, sliced

1 bunch organic green onion

1/2 cup organic cilantro chopped

1/4 cup fresh organic mint leaves, minced

Method:  In a large soup pot, heat the stock and water and add the lemongrass, ginger, garlic.  Let simmer for about 5 minutes then strain the stock and stir in the curry paste, sugar, tamari, fish sauce, lime juice and coconut milk into the broth.  Allow the broth to simmer and then add the noodles, fish, carrots and lime leaves and cook until the noodles are tender.  Remove from heat, stir in the greens and serve!

Thai Temptations

My mother is in town visiting so a special meal was in order.  I am trying to keep her off dairy and wheat so Thai food is the perfect thing!  We started off the meal with Thai Salad Rolls, which I already talked about in another post, but I will share the amazing Thai Green Curry secret which was then followed by an incredible Caramelized Pineapple Sundae with Candied Ginger.  Now I know I used quite a few imported ingredients for this meal, but I figure a little bit of imported treats now and then is ok, and besides, I am so sick of winter fare......

THAI GREEN CURRY with Mixed Vegetables, Shrimp and Tofu

Green Curry Paste (adapted from REbar Modern Food Cookbook):

3/4 Tbsp organic coriander powder

1 1/2 tsp organic ground cumin

1 tsp organic ground black pepper

4 cloves organic garlic

3 Tbsp organic ginger root

5 shallots, peeled

1 large jalapeno pepper (keep seeds in if you want hot curry, take them out if you want mild)

2 lemongrass stalks

4 green onions

1 cup fresh cilantro

juice of 1 lime

1 Tbsp sea salt

1/4 cup organic coconut oil

1/4 cup organic sesame oil

Method:  Toast the coriander, cumin, and peppercorns in a small skillet over medium heat until fragrant.  Chop the ends off the lemongrass, and discard along with the top two thirds of the stalk.  Chop into a few pieces and throw into a food processor along with all the other ingredients.  Puree to a smooth paste and then transfer to a jar in the fridge until ready to use.

1 pound organic firm tofu, cut into cubes 

2 Tbsp organic tamari

1/2 Tbsp organic sesame oil

1 can organic coconut milk

4 Tbsp green curry paste

6 dried lime leaves

1/4 cup organic chicken stock

1 organic potato, cut into thin quarter moon slices

1 Tbsp organic coconut sugar (or maple syrup, honey or brown sugar)

2 Tbsp organic tamari 

4 Tbsp fish sauce

2 crowns organic broccoli, divided into florettes

1/2 pound button mushrooms, sliced

1/4 organic butternut squash, peeled and cut into thin quarter moon slices

2 organic carrots, chopped

1 organic onion, chopped

1 bag organic raw, unpeeled shrimp

juice of 1 lime

1/3 cup cilantro, chopped

1/4 cup organic cashews, roasted and chopped

Method:  In a bowl, combine the tofu, tamari and sesame oil.  Then broil in a cast iron skillet or tray in the oven for about 10-15 minutes until golden brown, stirring occasionally.  Set aside.

Heat a wok or large pot over medium heat and add 1/3 canned coconut milk.  Heat to a simmer and add the curry paste.  Stir the paste into the milk and then add lime leaves and stock and bring to a boil.  Add the potatoes and squash, cover and cook at a gentle simmer until the potatoes and squash are tender.

     Stir in the coconut sugar, tamari and fish sauce, broccoli, mushrooms, onion and remaining milk.  Cover and continue to simmer until all the vegetables are tender.

     Turn up the heat and add the tofu and shrimp.  Simmer until the shrimp are cooked through and sauce thickens a bit.

     Just before serving, stir in the lime juice, cilantro and season to taste with more tamari or fish sauce if necessary.  Serve with jasmine rice garnished with the cashews and more cilantro.

CARAMELIZED PINEAPPLE SUNDAE with Crystallized Ginger on Coconut Ice Cream

1 organic pineapple, peeled, cored and cut into half moon slices

1 cup organic coconut sugar

2 Tbsp organic butter

5 Tbsp organic coconut oil

1 tub organic coconut milk ice cream

5 pieces crystallized ginger, minced

Method:  Preheat oven to 375*.  In a bowl, combine the sugar, butter and coconut oil.  With your fingers, rub the butter into the sugar.  Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper and drop smidgens of half of the butter mixture all over the sheet.  Place the pineapple onto the sheet and top each piece with the rest of the butter.  Bake in the oven for 30 minutes.  Flip the pineapple pieces over, bake another 150-20 minutes or until the pineapple begins to brown and caramelize.  Scoop some ice cream into a bowl, top with some of the pineapple and the pan juice, sprinkle with the ginger.  Enjoy!

Sunday Night Dinner Party

We invited our neighbours Terry and Serena over for dinner tonight.  I had some wild shrimp from the Farmer's Market and thought they'd be great in some Pad Thai noodles.  I still haven't perfected my pad thai recipe so I am not going to post it yet, but my Thai Salad Rolls are pretty awesome, as was the dessert of Thai Fried Bananas.  There were lots of laughs and a good time was had by all.

THAI SALAD ROLLS with Peanut Chili Dipping Sauce

Rice papers

Organic lettuce

Organic cilantro leaves

Organic carrot, very finely sliced in matchsticks

Organic green onion, thinly sliced

Organic tofu

Organic tamari

Organic sesame oil

Method:  Cut the tofu into long chunks, toss with a bit of tamari and sesame oil and broil in an oven until they start to brown.  Remove and cool.

     Fill a bowl with warm tap water.  Take one of the rice papers and soak in the water for a couple of minutes, or when they just start to soften.  Lay it on a flat surface and fill with a bit of each of the veggies and tofu.  Roll like a burrito and place in an airtight container until ready to eat.  These are best made not too long before they will be consumed, as the papers dry out easily.

PEANUT CHILI DIPPING SAUCE

3/4 cup organic peanut butter

1/2 Tbsp organic tamari

1/4 cup sweet thai chili sauce (the kind for dipping)

1/4 cup warm water

2 tsp thai hot chili sauce ( i think it's called saracha chili sauce)

Method:  Mix all ingredients together and serve with the Salad Rolls.

FRIED BANANAS with Coconut Ice Cream and Crystalized Ginger

4 organic banans, cut in half and then into four pieces

1 cup rice flour

1/4 cup tapioca flour

1/2 tsp baking soda

2 Tbsp organic sugar

1 tsp sea salt

1/2 cup organic unsweetened coconut

1 cup water

1 organic egg, lightly beaten

organic palm oil for frying

4 pieces crystalized ginger, cut into tiny pieces

So Delicious Coconut Milk Vanilla Ice Cream

Method:  Heat the palm oil in a deep fryer to 375*.  Mix all the dry ingredients into a bowl. Slowly add the water and then the egg.  Dip 4 pieces of banana into the batter and deep fry until the bananas are golden.  Serve with some of the ice cream and sprinkle with the ginger.  Repeat.