WEEKNIGHT VEGETABLE CURRY

Weeknight dinners. These are looking different than they did pre kids. I remember thinking that people with meal plans were inflexible and rigid but I understand the intrigue now. It’s far more efficient and I loooove efficiency. I see now that it does not have to be about creativity, or lack thereof, but rather reducing your market runs. So sensical, you meal planners. I stay pretty adaptable within my plan, but paused are the days of wandering multiple grocery stores grabbing whatever looks good. They say there is a season for everything. I repeat meals far more often than I used to and I take a handful of shortcuts but I am still fumbling through my days with the wee people at my feet (or on my hip and in the cupboards, more specifically). I plan for two easy staples, try two new things and then leave room for something impromptu, going out or having people over. There are usually burrito bowls with lots of grilled vegetables and avocado, a chopped salad night, something in a big pot like tortilla or lentil soup and we’ve started weekly grilled pizzas. It's simpler and that's alright. I have also taken to making more than we need so I am halfway through another meal. For example, the leftover rice and grilled portobellos from burrito night, get blitzed with a few other things in the food processor for veggie burger patties. I find it some sort of personal challenge to use what I have. Anyway, this curry was from one of my big pot situations and I just kept adding vegetables to stretch the great sauce. It is creamy, full of spices and there is just enough peanut butter for richness without making it a “peanut sauce” - I got that idea from the True Food cookbook. I am aware it is not authentic in any sense of the word but it makes for a flavorful bowl of food and a pretty quick dinner.

I don’t get asked frequently about kitchen equipment, but when I do, it is for my opinion on high powered blenders. They are quite expensive and take up a lot of cupboard real estate; I understand wanting to do your due diligence. But until KitchenAid® sent me their new ProLine® model, I actually didn’t own a blender. Well no, I have a NutriBullet which is great and has done everything I’ve needed in a blender, but that’s not the answer people are looking for. So much depends on what you use a blender for, I think. I smoothed this curry sauce in there and good gracious that thing is powerful. I knew I didn’t need to chop the garlic or ginger or worry too much about the size of my onions because the blender would take care of that. And as far making enough for two meals, this sauce was better the second day. I added another handful of vegetables, lentils and a bit more broth to stretch it with success. 

This post was created in partnership with KitchenAid® and their new ProLine® Series Blender.

WEEKNIGHT VEGETABLE CURRY
Serves 4

The heat here will largely depend on your curry powder. I buy some from Penzey’s but know people are partial to paste versus powders as well. If you prefer paste, sub in about 1 tsp. red curry paste. Long as you use a sweet curry powder, the sambal oelek (chile paste) here should offer enough heat but adjust to your taste. You may add a pinch of cayenne if that is what you have. Taste as you good, I suppose. 

1 Tbsp. ghee or coconut oil
1 medium yellow onion, roughly chopped
4 cloves garlic
3 inch nub of peeled ginger
1 tsp. sea salt, to taste
1 tsp. ground coriander
2 tsp. curry powder
1 tsp. turmeric
2 tsp. muscavado or brown sugar
1/4 cup smooth peanut butter
1 14-oz. can coconut milk
1 tsp. fish sauce, optional
3/4 cup canned, diced tomatoes
1 1/2 cups coconut water or vegetable broth, as needed
1 tsp. sambal oelek (chile paste)
handful of cilantro and basil leaves
juice of two limes

14-ounce package of extra firm tofu, drained well (or one 13.5 oz. can chickpeas)
3 medium carrots, 1” thick sliced on a diagonal
2 shallots, peeled and sliced thin
1 red bell pepper, cut in 2” pieces
8 ounces mushrooms, stemmed and chopped
3/4 lb. snap peas, larger ones halved

cooked brown rice, for serving

whole milk yogurt and cilantro, for topping

In a dutch oven over medium heat, warm the ghee or coconut oil. Add the onion, garlic, ginger and salt and saute until softened but not browned. About 5 minutes. Add the coriander, curry powder, turmeric, muscavado or brown sugar and saute another minute. Add the peanut butter, coconut milk, fish sauce (if using), tomatoes and coconut water or broth and stir to mix. Let everything simmer on low for 15 minutes. Add the chile paste and cilantro and basil and transfer sauce to a blender. Run the blender until the sauce is smooth and then transfer it back to the pot. Stir in the lime juice. Taste for seasoning. It should be somewhat thick, but still thin enough that the vegetables will cook in its heat. Add broth or coconut water , add more if needed. 

Cut the tofu into 1” cubes and prepare all your vegetables. Add the carrots and shallot to the pot first and cook for 8 minutes, then add the tofu, bell pepper, mushrooms and snap peas and cook another 10-15 minutes until all the vegetables are just tender but not mushy. 

For serving, serve each bowl with a scoop of rice and a generous portion of vegetables and sauce. Garnish with whole milk yogurt and cilantro. 

---

---

CRUNCHY TOFU CHOP

I rocked Cleo for a solid hour in that stained, suede chair. Nursing on either side of that just to try to calm her down while she screamed at me. She screamed even more at boobie-less Hugh. Pecking at his collar bone searching for one anyway while refusing to take a pacifier. Baby cries may not have a ton of gusto to them yet, but man can they grate on you. They make you empathetic for a little while but progressively become really frustrating. So I made cookies at 10pm because the only other sweet around here were date-coconut ball things and I needed something more serious than that. I didn't measure anything, I just eyeballed and trusted my experience to come up with something close. I referenced a recipe for how much baking soda or powder to use because it's the one piece of a cookie recipe I can't seem to log to memory. I added crisp rice cereal per Tara's instagram post and cut up a chocolate bar with scissors so I didn't have to wash a cutting board. We baked off a large one in the toaster oven to share as a late night snack and Cleo started crying again before it cooled. I know emotional eating is a real thing and that our relationship with food can greatly affect our long term health but sometimes, cooking for what you need in that moment, can be just the thing. Maybe it's cookies, but the next day, in light of a fresh start, I chopped up the vegetable drawer to make this easy lunch. You wore me down last night, little girl, but today is mine! That is how I felt as I stood over my largest salad bowl, eating this with a serving spoon. If food didn't connect us to things, to see the ebb and flow of what happens in our own kitchens, cooking would be nothing but a responsibility. The cookie nights versus the salad days, the big enough pots of pasta that I can treat someone to a last minute dinner delivery or share bits of "toddler food" with a friend who isn't sure what to feed her son. It's more than a responsibility. It's a gateway to so much more when you stand back.
I know at first glance it may look like a lot of ingredients here, but I think you'll find they are mostly pantry staples and it's more chopping and less cooking. When I asked a few months back what you all were looking for here, many of you requested easy, week-night, real-life sort of stuff and this is that for us. It's an even quicker version of this if you have rice leftover. I know I should probably just be cheerleading for salads here, but if a cookie is what you need, I hope you find that too. The sweetest spot is right in the middle.

CRUNCHY TOFU CHOP

I resisted avocado here because I wanted it to stay crunchy in the fridge but use one if you have it and may be eating this immediately. This could also be wrapped in a tortilla if you are going for a handheld situation. I used leftover rice, but quinoa could be a quicker cooking option. Most of the work here is the chopping as listed in the ingredients. Otherwise, it comes together in minutes. 

Serves 4

1 14 oz. pack extra firm tofu
1 heaping Tbsp. coconut oil
1 Tbsp. sesame oil
sea salt and pepper, to taste
2 large carrots, grated
3/4 cup cooked and cooled brown rice (or quinoa)
1 small hothouse cucumber, seeded and diced
1 bell pepper, seeded and diced
3 green onions, thinly sliced
1 small bunch cilantro
2 Tbsp. toasted sesame seeds
1/2 cup toasted cashews, roughly chopped

// dressing //

1 minced garlic clove
1 Tbsp. agave nectar
2 tsp. sriracha
1 tsp. tamari
juice of one lime
2 Tbsp. rice vinegar
3 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil

Drain the tofu and pat dry with a paper towel. Cut it into small cubes. 

Preheat a large cast iron skillet over medium heat. Warm the coconut and sesame oil and once they are hot, add the tofu. Season generously with salt and pepper. Saute for 5-8 minutes until the outsides are just browned. The longer you cook it, the drier/crunchier the tofu cubes get so time it to taste. Set aside to cool.

In a large mixing bowl, combine the carrots, cooked rice, cucumber, bell pepper and onions. Very roughly chop the cilantro and add it to the mixture. 

In another bowl, whisk all the dressing ingredients together and toss desired amount with the salad to mix. Season to taste. Add the sesames and cashews. The salad may be kept dressed in the fridge for 2-3 days, slowly loosing some of it's crunch but still enjoyable.

NECTARINE, TOMATO + BURRATA CAPRESE

It's a version of the same conversation we had at our old apartment when I was pregnant with Curran. As a couple, you become so used to the cadence that is just the two of you. There is both quiet and dance parties and nights when you feel like cooking and others when it's refreshing to get dressed up and go out. Before kids, it's hard to imagine how he, she, they, will fit in to a rhythm that is not always easy, but familiar. But somehow, and not without tears and grace in the adjustment, it's as if I don't remember our son not being here. I don't pine for the quieter days or cleaner floors or less expensive grocery bill. I never felt something was missing, but he makes us feel more whole. "What will it be like with another little person around here?" I ask. It's more rhetorical. I don't expect Hugh to have the answer but suppose by asking, I want him to tell me it's going to be alright, that we can do it, that we will adjust just like we did the first time and he does. 

There is a big sliding mirror behind our bathroom sink and not a beautiful one. It is heavy, hard to open and has a yellow gold trim dating it's origin to the 70's when the house was built. I stand profile to it to take in the shape of my belly. My thighs and hips are showing the lack of exercise and bean and cheese burritos that have taken the place of my pre-pregnancy gigantic green salads. Same song, one year later, I feel like I was just doing this? I was. My body has carried a child, now growing another one, and in my own self consciousness' that can often steal all of the joy from those magical feats, I remember the work that that belly, thighs and hips are doing. The growing and the nursing, your body doesn't feel like your own for well over a year and I think it's ok to find that a little crazy making. I am growing a little girl, our daughter, and vanity aside, it's the most magical process. It feels different this time - harder, hungrier, less beautiful, if I may be so honest. They are babies and then they are PEOPLE! Curran has his own language that we can sometimes understand and gives hugs with a little pat and deduces that any toy that does not move or make noise needs a battery ("mommy. daddy. bowerry?"). He waves at airplanes and dislikes the car seat and really likes to throw things "awey". I, we, are completely taken by him. How does one do that twice?!?! So much to process and anticipate but come January, we will be welcoming a baby girl to the family and I may just burst from how completely I love my babies. 

Thank goodness I do recipe development for work because it forces me to cook when I otherwise can easily talk myself out of it lately. Ashley and I have been developing recipes for Electrolux this past year and they have a seriously delicious looking collection going on over there now. Because it has been blazing hot here and the less heating elements I have to turn on, the better, I wanted to point you towards this super simple salad. I realize we're seeing the end of stonefruits and tomatoes now but they are still sweet and juicy so get to it. 

NECTARINE, TOMATO + BURRATA CAPRESE

Serves 2-4

The full recipe can be found at Live.Love.Lux. along with a heap of other great tomato recipes this month. Think of this as less of a recipe and more an assembly of produce and creamy cheese at it's best. I like this with a bit of balsamic too or pile the goods on garlic rubbed toast.