Thai Green Curry (Gaeng Kiaw Wan)

The Lowdown:

I'm not sure that I've ever gone out for Thai food and not ordered a variation of this dish. It always manages to catch my attention, despite my best efforts to explore the remainder of the menu. In the end, what does it matter? Get a doggy bag and take it all home for later. However, this post isn't an meant to be an ode to my favourite Thai restaurants in town. Nor is it meant to praise one of my favourite "poor me, poor me, I'm sick and need a cure" recipes (although seriously, all that garlic, ginger, and shallots is a wonderful preventative medicine). No, this post is intended for something far more devious -- playful revenge.

I feel that over this holiday season, a bit of public payback is in order. Being the perfect son that I am, I decided that my parents would probably love a break from cooking while I was in their neck of the [urban] woods. Given that I love cooking, and they were paying for the groceries, it seemed perfect. Oh god how much I miss them paying for groceries.

Winters in Toronto can be quite brisk, making a spicy Thai green curry the perfect dish to make. After braving the cold, then fighting tooth and nail in the grocery store (December 23 in a grocery store is near suicide) I came home to the question, "why didn't you just buy the packaged green curry paste?" Oh, the humility! If this wasn't enough, it was soon followed by, "if it's not good, you still have time to go to the store and buy the packaged stuff." Oh lord, please help me restrain myself. And now everyone knows the antics I must deal with.

The Playlist:

Curry Paste:
4 Serrano peppers, chopped
1 large piece Ginger, chopped
2 Shallots, chopped
3 cloves Garlic, chopped
1 bunch Cilantro, stems only
1 Lime, zest and juice
1 Lemongrass stalk, outer layer removed then chopped
1 tbsp Oyster sauce
1 tbsp Fish sauce
1 tsp Coriander, ground
1 tsp Cumin, ground
1 tsp Salt
1 tsp White pepper, ground

Ingredients:
1 lb Mussels, fresh
1/2 lb Prawns
2 cups Shitake mushrooms, coursely chopped (optional)
Vegetables, julienne (optional)
3 cups Sui choy, chopped
3 tbsp Vegetable oil
1 can Coconut milk
2 cups Chicken broth (optional)
5 Kaffir lime leaves
Thai basil leaves, to taste
Thai chili peppers, to taste
Coriander, to taste

The Skinny:

  
After trial and error, along with a helpful tip, I found that an immersion blender is the easiest way with the best results. Apparently it releases the fragrance and oils of each of the curry paste ingredients. Optimally, a stone mortar and pestle works best, but it takes much longer and I don't own one.

1. In immersion blender measuring cup (tall and thin): add lemongrass, ginger, and serrano peppers. Using immersion blender mince until a grainy paste forms. Then add shallots, garlic, and lime peels and repeat the blending process. Finally add the remaining curry paste ingredients and repeat the blending process.
2. The curry paste makes a dish for 5-7 people. Or it can be separated into two dishes for 2-3 people. The remainder of the instructions are for the smaller portion. For the larger portion you can double the ingredients or add them as you please. The paste can be refrigerated for two weeks or frozen.
3. In large wok: heat oil on medium-high heat. When oil is hot, add curry paste and cook until fragrant (about 5 minutes). This requires constant stirring so that the paste doesn't burn. Add 1/4 of the coconut milk and continue mixing until it becomes the same consistency as a thin guacamole. Reduce heat to medium-low, add the remaining coconut milk and bring back to a gentle boil. Add chicken broth and simmer for 30 - 45 minutes. 
4. Remove 2 cups of liquid and set aside.
5. To wok: If bell peppers and celery are desired add them now and cook for 5 minutes. Add Thai basil, Thai chili peppers, mushrooms, and kaffir lime leaves and remove from heat.
6. Remove curry from the wok and place in a serving dish and set aside.
7. In wok: on high heat add the liquid that was set aside and bring to a boil. Add mussels and prawns and cover. Cook until mussel shells open (about 2-3 minutes). Remove all mussels that remained shut. 
8. Add mussels, broth, and prawns to the serving dish.
9. Serve with rice and the chopped sui choy. Pouring the broth over the sui choy in individual bowls cooks it just enough so that it remains firm.

Stay Rad -h
Featured on: Premeditated Leftovers, 33 Shades of Green, Chef in Training, Food Renegade, Foodie Friday,  

 

Too Hot to Trot Trio

The Lowdown:

Pain is inevitable. We learn this from a young age when our parents temporarily ruined our lives by taking away our favourite toy. The kid would then storm off saying something along the lines of, "you'll never understand me!" This was followed by one to three door slams, depending on how brave the particular child was. After this, the pouting phase occurs, which can last up to an astonishing three weeks. Funny how kids can't keep a train of thought going in school for more than three seconds, but they can hold a grudge for three months when their Pokemon game is taken away. Ahem, pain is inevitable was the point.

But what about those times when you want to inflict pain on yourself? I'm not talking about leather whips, ball gags, or hot wax either. I'm sure if you're into that, you can find a copy of Fifty Shades of Grey. I'm talking about the real hot stuff. Meow (that sounded sexier in my head than typed out). I'm talking about heat. Spicy is the spice of life, after all.

After writing for nearly a year, I thought I'd confess my love for spiciness (again). That, and I thought it should be known that hot sauces are all relatively simple to make. Every recipe I browsed contained the same base ingredients: vinegar, salt, hot peppers. Of course, this was only the base and the rest was left up to creativity. Bring it on cold, miserable winter.

The Playlist:

Very Verdi Hot Sauce
15 Cherry bomb peppers (green), de-stemmed & halved
1 cup White wine vinegar
1 cup White vinegar
1/2 cup Lime juice
1/4 cup Cilantro
1 tsp Basil, dried
1 tsp Dill, dried
1 tsp White pepper
2 tsp Garlic powder
1 tsp Onion powder
2 tbsp Salt
3 dashes Green food colouring (optional)


Red-Hot Hot Sauce
50 Thai chili peppers, de-stemmed
1 cup Red wine vinegar
1 cup White vinegar
1 cup Water
2 tbsp Salt
5-10 dashes, Liquid smoke



Mellow Yellow Hot Sauce 
4 Banana peppers, de-stemmed
1 cup Champagne berry vinegar
1/2 cup White vinegar
1 cup water
1/2 cup Lime juice

3 Cardamom pods
2 tsp Turmeric
1 tsp Corriander seed, ground
2 tsp Garlic powder

The Skinny:

1. In medium sauce pan: add all of the ingredients, cover, and bring to a boil. Turn down the heat and simmer for 20 - 30 minutes.
2. OPTIONAL: you can cook half of the peppers, then add the remaining peppers in the blending process to get a more vibrant flavour, spice, and colour.
3. Allow to cool, remove the cinnamon stick/cardamom pods, add the uncooked peppers (if done the optional way), then puree in a blender. If desired you can strain so the seeds are not in the sauce.

Featured on: Premeditated Leftovers, 33 Shades of Green, Chef in Training, Food Renegade, 

Stay Rad -h

Nuts in My Mouth (keepin' it sweet & spicy!)

Holy Christmas batman!

...oh, and hello!...

I've been catching up with all my blog reading and blog writing and photography editing and pinterest ogling and everything else that keeps my computer turned on and running 12 hours a day and I am floored by all the Christmas that has infiltrated my computer already!

It's only the first real week of November and already it's like Christmas has puked all over my computer. Luckily, Christmas is puke that I welcome with open arms. And an open mouth!

That's right. I love me some Christmas. And I hold no shame when I say I am pleased as a pickle in punch at a party to put my tree up the day after Halloween. 

It isn't about the gifts - though there is nothing better than sitting in the dark with the glow of the tree lights radiating off beautifully wrapped presents. It isn't about the Jesus - I'm no Christian, swear to god. And it's definitely not about the fruit cake - blech! It's about the feeling that comes with the season.

The warm sparkle that flurries inside me and pours out of the shops and garland and cookies and crafts and music. It's about warm fires, glitter and Garfield's Christmas Special. 

BTW - I haven't been able to catch that particular show the past couple of years - if anyone has a copy I'd kill for it. Or at the very least send you a brilliant thank you card. 

Yes. I love me some Christmas.

Which is why I'm throwing a holiday recipe at you at the beginning of November. Because while John won't let me put the tree up until December, I can still make holiday friendly food. 

Sweet & Spicy Nuts

(printable recipe) - serves 6.

Ingredients:

2 C Mixed Nuts - I like cashews, hazelnuts, almonds, pecans and walnuts.

1/2 C Brown Sugar.

1 Tbsp Cayenne Pepper.

1 Tbsp Ground Cinnamon.

1 Tsp Salt.

1 Tsp Pure Vanilla Extract.

1 Egg White.

1 Tbsp Water.

What to Do:

Pre-heat your oven to 300 degrees F.

As your oven heats, gently beat the egg, water and vanilla together until lightly frothy.

In a separate bowl, mix together the dry ingredients, save for the nuts.

Dump the nuts into the egg wash and then add the dry stuff. Mix well.

Pour onto a baking sheet and spread out so the nuts are one layer.

Place in oven and bake for 30 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir. 

Allow to cool completely - stirring every once in a while to ensure even coating of the sugar/spice mixture.

 Eat.

Do you love Christmas? Loathe it? What about it? 

 Is it too early to start celebrating?

I like it hot and cheesy!

I've missed you lovelies!

Due to a ridiculously busy week of also family visitations, work schedule fuck ups, Haydn's birthday, university convocation, hair appointments, and the need to finish the last book in The Hunger Games, I took last week off. And you know that? I'm damn glad I did!

It just needed to be done. 

Those of us with blogs know how time consuming they can be, but my wonderful friends who aren't obsessed with their computers don't realize that between 3 posts a week @ Gastronomical Sovereignty and 1 here, I probably waste spend near 40 hours a week cooking, taking photos, editing photos, posting, promoting, and doing general blog things. It really is about 10 hours a post - and while I love it, I needed a week off. 

But now I'm back! And that also feels damn good.

And to celebrate? How about a little cheesy spicy goodness? For this week's make-something-from-another-blog-post I decided to pull out a little trick from Kimberly @ Rhubarb & Honey.

The chick is fuckin' rad and so is her food philosophy. She also happens to partake in The Secret Recipe Club with me - and while I may not get as my SRC assignment, it doesn't mean I can't give the woman props and make something from her blog.

Her recipe has less fat in it than mine does but I have a slight fear of anything "low fat" or "non-fat".... If they take the fat out of an ingredient, they have to replace it with something. What is that something??? Ick! So instead, I went all-fat. And let me tell you, I'm pretty sure my thighs are feelin' it. But it's all good because anything that is cheesy and spicy makes me a happy girl... 

Speaking of which, have you read 50 Shades of Grey??? I'm on the first book right now and I've never read anything so outright cheesy and hot in all my life. But it's Summer time - when else during the year can you indulge in such sauciness?

Gooey Cheesy Baked Jalapenos
 (printable recipe) - serves 5 - 6.

Ingredients:

6 Jalapeños, halved and seeds & ribs removed.
1/2 Cup Cheddar Cheese, grated.
1/4 C Cream Cheese, whipped.
4 Scallions, finely chopped.
1/2 Cup Whole Wheat Flour.
1 1/2 Cups Panko Crumbs.
4 Large Egg Whites.
Course Sea Salt & Fresh Cracked Black Pepper.
1/2 C Sour Cream.

What to Do: 

Pre-heat your broiler and line a baking sheet with aluminum foil. Place a wire rack on top and lay jalapenos on rack, broil for approx 2 minutes or until they start to char. Allow to cool completely and turn the oven down to 400 degrees F via the regular element.

In a small bowl combine the cheddar, cream cheese and half the scallions. Gently spoon & tightly pack into eat half pepper.

Place the flour and panko crumbs in two separate shallow dishes, seasoning both with a little salt. In a third bowl, whisk the egg whites until foamy.

Dredge each jalapeno through the flour,s haking off the excess, followed by the egg whites, and then the panko.

Place back on the wire rack/foil lined baking sheet again and season with salt and pepper. Bake until breading is golden and cheese is melted, approx. 20 minutes or so.

As they brown, mix the remaining scallions into the sour cream and season lightly with salt.

Serve baked jalapenos with the sour cream on the side for dipping.

Eat.

What do you do to relax? How do you know it's time for a break? Good Summer read suggestions, darlings?

 

This post is linked up with Whole Foods Wednesday; Frugal Days, Sustainable Ways; Cast Party Wednesday; Simple Lives Thursday; Showcase Your Talent Thursday; Full Plate Thursday; Tastetastic Thursday; Fresh Bites Friday; Fight Back Friday.

RPI: Bodacious Beet & Barley Burgers

The Lowdown:

Oh beets. All purple and stuff. I promised myself that I wouldn't make any corny beet jokes. However, in light of MCA, I will supply a flute loop beat to read this beet post to (song here). This post, is our fourth episode of RPI. By now, hopefully everyone knows what RPI is. If not, the RPI subheading can be found on the homepage. I must admit, the two of us were a little more... how do you say it. We made a boo-boo and forgot that this week was RPI so we skipped the battle-royale and chose beets. So ladies and gentlemen, put away your white bell bottom pants (or am I the only person that has a pair?), because this is about to get messy. Not cute messy either. You're kitchen will most likely resemble a scene from Stephen King's Carrie when you're done. So obviously exercise caution when handling these babies... and don't make me beat it into you.

Although the recipe says burgers, I lied. Oh did I ever. You're plans were foiled again! Muaha! Muahahahahaha! My evil plan is coming to fruition! They were in fact sliders! The evil minions of the burger world. The devious imps set out to take over burger joints all around the world (as lightning crashes in the background). And just when you though you were safe to go out at night, the slider strikes again! Now rise my little purple minions! Rise and take over the burger world once again!

I know they aren't stylish anymore, but I don't understand why you would want one larger burger (that is static), when you can have 3 versatile little bad-ass burgers. It's true, sliders are bad-ass - just doin' what they want... all the time. They may even be a sure shot way to please your dinner guests (song here).

If you have A.D.D taste buds you'll understand my love for sliders. When constructing a slider, I always feel like the ninja turtles and their whacky pizza creations. Really, if you make slider that is less bad-ass than it should be - it just isn't like, like bodacious and stuff - it doesn't matter. It literally is three bites and you're on to the next constructed masterpiece - that's like so tubular dudes. No need for the typical two all beef patties, special sauce, sesame seed bun (I can't remember the song, but you get the picture). No need for the usual suspects is what I was getting at. So put away the French's mustard and Heinz ketchup. They are sliders and they demand fun! They even fight for their right to party (song here).

All of the beats were provided by the Beastie Boys, so I hope you enjoy their beats while preparing your beets. Without further ado, ch-check, check it out!

The Playlist:

4 local Beets, shredded

1 cup Barley, over cooked

1 Egg

1/2 cup Fine bread crumbs**

1 small Red onion, finely chopped

3 cloves Garlic, minced

2 tsp Red mustard seed, ground

1 tsp Hungarian smoked paprika

1 tsp Coriander, ground

1 tbsp Apple cider vinegar

2 tbsp Olive oil

1/4 cup Parsley, finely chopped
3 Morita peppers, finely chopped (optional)*

Salt & Pepper, to taste

*I like the smoky taste of morita peppers, but you could replace them with any hot pepper if you'd like. Or don't add a hot pepper at all, you're an adult.

**If you'd like to avoid gluten then you can substitute this for chick pea flour.

The Skinny:

1. On medium heat, heat oil and cook onions and garlic until onions become translucent then add beets and cook for another 20 minutes (or until beets become soft).
2. Add apple cider vinegar to deglaze pan and cook for 2 minutes, then add remaining ingredients (except for the egg and bread crumbs). Mix until everything congeals then remove from heat. Once the mixture has cooled down, add the egg and bread crumbs and mix thoroughly.
3. Form into patties and bake for 25 minutes at 375*. Once baked broil them on high to get them charred (about 5 minutes).
4. The beet burgers go exceptionally well with fresh basil leaves, goat cheese, and sliced tart apples.
5. If you have left over beets, you can turn them into "fries." Simply put non-stick spray on a baking sheet and cook the beet fries on 425* for 30 minutes, then broil them to crisp them up. I put crushed anise seed (not star anise, but the seeds within the star) and kosher salt on mine and they taste wonderful. 

Featured in: Spain in Iowa, Food Renegade, Chef in Training, 33 Shades of Green, Premeditated Leftovers,  Lady Behind the Curtain
Amee's Savory Dish

Stay Rad - h

Citrus-Habanero Hot Sauce

The Lowdown:

I just returned from a lovely trip with my family from the Dominican Republic. It was great; however, the trip lacked one thing (other than a direct flight home without a million hours of lay overs), and that was food with a kick to it. I often forget that when I don't cook for myself, I don't get what I want. I'm a very craving-based person. I guess you could say that I'm the male version of a pregnant lady. I want what I want, and I want it now. What I want now, is some freakin' spicy food. Not spicy like, "I put this shit on everything." Spicy like, "I just shit on everything." I want sweat to form under my eyes. If any of you are into spicy food, you know that when your eyes sweat it's the real deal. I understand that the scoville scale describes heat levels in a scientific manner, however the under eye sweats (UES) were around way before anyone fathomed that scale. The scale is below for those of you who'd like to readjust the spiciness of the hot sauce.

cookthink.com (2012)

I suppose my cravings for spicy food started with my father. Bless his heart. It's nice going into any variety of ethnic restaurants and saying, "bring it bitches, I got what it takes." When I was a child, my father prepared several meals loosely based on dishes from one of Chef Paul Prudhomme's cookbooks. Of course, I complained about the heat back then, like any child that was good at annoying the hell out of their parents would. That is, until the timer was put on. Oh yes, the timer. It was my arch nemesis for many a year. The rule was simple: finish what you served yourself. If you didn't, the consequence was simple: a timer was set to finish your food, and if you didn't do it in the allotted time your food was doubled. I'm sure they did this out of pure torture so they could laugh about it in future years. But, it worked. Oh did it ever work. To be honest, it may be one the sole reason that I'm much more adventurous with my food now. I digressed. The point was that I was exposed to UES from a very young age, and I'm now at the point where I need a good UES every so often.

One point to make! Cut the onions before you handle your peppers! I've had habanero in my eye before and it is about the same pain as getting your balls run over by Optimus Prime. If you'd feel safer, or are particularly injury prone please wear gloves and don't wear contacts. Shit, if you still have your chemistry safety goggles I suggest you wear those. Habaneros are nasty little things and you'll regret your life if you screw up.

 

This all started when I looked at the ingredients on the back of one of my hot sauces. There was literally six ingredients, two of which were words that clearly weren't natural. Instead, they were man-made crap. Well six ingredients soon turned into 13 to add some flavour, so that when this is all said and done, it should be about 25,000 - 50,000 scovilles. So here begins another culinary escapade.Without further ado, I'm going to make a UES worthy citrus - habanero - total - destruction - mouth - numbing - ass - burning - under - eye - sweating hot sauce. Take that timer, who's the bitch now?! Apparently revenge is best served... HOT!

The Playlist:

13 Habanero peppers, stems removed

6 Morita peppers (slightly smoked red jalapenos)**

1 Orange, zested and juiced

1 large Carrot, chopped

1 medium Red onion, chopped

3 cloves Garlic, chopped
2 tsp Salt

1 tbsp Spanish paprika (for colouring)**

1 1/4 cup Lime juice

1 cup Apple cider vinegar (unfermented)*

3/4 cup Champagne berry vinegar*

1/2 cup Canola/Vegetable oil

1 cup Water

* I chose to use these for their distinct flavours, but you can substitute for white vinegar.

** Optional ingredients. I chose the morita peppers to add a distinct smoky flavour and the paprika is solely to add a nice red colouring without adding any flavour.

The Skinny:

1. Add all ingredients into a sauce pan except for the oil, paprika, orange juice, and habanero peppers. Cover with a tight fitting lid and bring to a boil. Lower the heat to medium-low and allow to simmer for 30 minutes.
2. Remove from heat and allow enough time to cool.
3. If you desire a liquid hot sauce like Frank's, then strain the liquid into a blender and add the whole habanero peppers, orange juice, oil, and paprika. Blend for 2-3 minutes until mixture is smooth with no chunks.
   
   If you desire a less spicy, but more flavourful hot sauce combined the contents of the pot with the remaining ingredients and blend all together. This will create a more viscous hot sauce. As previously stated, it is substantially less spicy, but more flavourful.
4. Put into glass jars and refrigerate. The sauce will become spicier over time, so be patient if it isn't quite up to snuff.

 Stay rad - h

Featured in: Mandy's Recipe Box 33 Shades of Green Chef in Training Food Renegade  Premeditated Leftovers