Thai Curry Noodle Bowl

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I received a review copy of The Complete Leafy Greens Cookbook and was blown away by how much I didn't know about the varieties of leafy greens out there.  In part, I think I'm a product of using greens that are easily accessible in Canada.  This book makes me want to go on some scavenger hunts to find and cook with leafy greens like Chinese Celery,  La Lot Leaf and Purslane (to name a few).  

I like the way this cookbook is organized.  Separate sections are devoted to each green.  Each section starts off with some background information, the varieties, where to buy, how to store, how to prepare and how to consume the green.  Then, some recipes, often vegan-friendly, are provided.  

I'm a visual person, so I really like that simple colour pictures of the greens are provided throughout.  I also like how the information is laid out in separate text boxes.  It reminds me of when I used to study my textbooks in university.  There's something about separating out information into different boxes and colours that makes it more digestible (don't mind the pun).  I used to look through my textbook chapters and make visual milestones for myself (e.g., ok -- I am going to read from here to the text box three pages from now).  Pages that didn't have any visuals or text boxes were always challenging for me to get through.  Kind of like the month of January (long, cold and nothing to break it up).  Anyways - I am digressing.

Another thing that I like about this cookbook is that each recipe contains the usual suspects (ingredients, quantities, directions), but there is also a "Tips" section on the left sidebar of the page.  It never really occurred to me, but having this tip section made me realize how often I have to Google information to understand a recipe.  Whether it be an unfamiliar ingredient, technique or figuring out substitutes, there can be a fair amount of research that goes into not screwing up a recipe.  With the tip section, these questions were answered.

I still have a lot of reading to do before I can fully comment on the recipes.  But, in general, I like the diversity and quality of recipes. Many of these greens are mainly found in certain ethnic cuisines.  So, I like that these uses are reflected in the cookbook (e.g., African Sweet Potato Leaf Stew, Taiwan Lettuce Mei Fun, West Indies Pepper Pot Soup). Here's the recipe I decided to make:

Thai Curry Noodle Bowl

6 oz snow peas (3 cups, loosely packed), trimmed and halved (the snow peas at the store looked really sad, so I opted for snap peas)
12 oz dried chow mein noodles
2 tbsp oil
2 large cloves garlic, minced
1 tbsp Thai red curry paste (I used more like 3 tbsp)
4 cups vegetable stock
1 can (14 oz) coconut milk
1 tbsp granulated sugar
4 oz baby spinach leaves (about 5 cups)
1/4 chopped fresh cilantro (we tend to never use this up, so I excluded this)
2 large green onions, slivered (not a fan of green onions, plus recipes has shallots, so I excluded)
kosher or coarse sea salt
1/4 cup crispy shallots (basically deep fried shallot rings -- I pan fried minced shallots)
1 red finger chilli (couldn't find, so I got Thai chilli peppers)
lime wedge

1. In a large saucepan of boiling salted water over medium heat, blanch snow peas for about 1 minute, until tender-crisp.  Using a mesh scoop, transfer to a colander (leave cooking water in a pan) and immediately rinse with cold water to stop the cooking.  Drain peas and set aside.
2. Return pan of cooking water to a boil over medium heat.  Add noodles and cook for about 10 minutes or according to package directions, until tender but firm.  Drain.
3. Meanwhile, in a saucepan over medium heat, heat oil until warm.  Stir in garlic and curry paste for 30 seconds.  Stir in stock, coconut milk and sugar until smooth.  When mixture comes to a simmer, reduce heat to low and add spinach, cilantro and green onions.  Cook for about 1 minutes, until heated through.

 4. Divide prepared noodles among 6 wide, shallow serving bowls.  Top with equal quantities of snow peas.  Ladle hot broth with spinach over noodles.  Pile crispy shallots in center of each bowl.  Scatter chilli slices over each serving.  Place a lime wedge at the edge of each bowl, to squeeze over the noodles.  Serve immediately.

Verdict: We both liked this dish.  Even E liked it.  I figured the sauce might be too spicy for her, but she was having a meltdown (didn't nap at daycare, don't want to sit in a highchair moment), so I had her sitting on my lap through dinner.  She pushed away her plain noodles and ate mine that had the broth on it.

My main beef with the dish is that I still cannot get my dishes to have the flavours I would get from a Thai restaurant.  I've tried to make my own curry paste before and that didn't work either.  I don't think this is the fault of the recipe because all it really says is to use a tablespoon of Thai red curry paste.  I think I need to take a trip to Thailand and take a cooking course.  OK - problem solved.

Curried Vegetable Bisque

I've always heard that having children and/or dogs is how you get to know your neighbours.  We don't have a dog, but certainly having a daughter and attending community events for children has given us the opportunity to meet more people in the community.

I remember growing up and knowing who lives in what house, ringing on the neighbours' doorbells without planning a play date, being involved in things at the community centre, etc.  That's the type of experience I'd like for E.  So, now I'm more invested in participating in the community and being a part of planning events within our community, which is transitioning from older couples to younger families.

One simple thing I did was start a neighbourhood Facebook group.  It's such an easy thing to do and already we have 90 members.  Communication has increased so much and I'm seeing that there are a number of people in my neighbourhood that are passionate about community building.

Recently, one of my neighbours planned a neighbourhood soup swap.  Basically, you make 6 one-litre jars of soup and leave with 6 different one litre jars of soup.  I went with 6 litres of vegetarian minestrone soup and I walked out with ginger-carrot, mushroom, broccoli-cheddar, harvest butternut squash, and curried vegetable bisque.

Truth be told, one mason jar cracked in my freezer and two didn't taste very good.  In fact, I had a hard time even eating one because the appearance and storage of it reminded me of an episode of Intervention when a woman purged in ziplock bags (sorry TMI).  I still have one left.  However, one soup was really good.  So, I got the recipe and made it for myself.

Curried Vegetable Bisque:
(Simply in Season)

5 cups tart apple (peeled and chopped)
2 cups onion (chopped)
2 cup red pepper (chopped)
1 cup zucchini (chopped)
1 1/2 cups carrots (chopped)
3/4 cups celery (chopped)

7 cups vegetable broth
3 cups of potatoes (chopped)
1/2 cups raisins
3 tablespoons curry powder

3/4 tsp ground cardamom

1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme

3 cups milk

1 1/4 cup milk powder (for a creamier bisque)
1/3 cup tomato sauce

2 cups cooked shrimp or chicken

1. Saute apple, onion, pepper, zucchini, carrots and celery in vegetable oil until vegetables are soft.

2. Stir in 3 1/2 cups of the broth, potatoes, raisins and spices. Reduce heat, cover and simmer, stirring as needed, until potatoes are soft, 12-15 minutes.

3. Puree soup using a hand blender.
4. Add the rest of the broth, milk and tomato sauce. Reheat soup over medium heat until hot. Add in the cooked shrimp or chicken.

I made a slight variation on this recipe -- found here.  Whatever I did, it didn't taste as good as the soup I got at the swap.  It was too sweet.  Maybe it was the apples I used being too sweet.  In any case, I would try again but stick closer to the recipe.  Maybe even eliminate the raisins to cut down on the sweetness.

Portobello Philly Cheese Steak Sandwich

Happy New Year!   We have so many recipes to post!  It's just about carving out the time to do it.    Lately R has been on my case.  Turns out, he really relies on the blog for storing his recipes, but isn't willing to actually write the post himself.

A couple of years ago, R decided that his special sandwiches had to go.  Between the sodium levels in processed meat and the very fact that he was consuming meat daily, he felt that it just wasn't healthy and stopped, cold turkey.  Instead, he actively searches out new recipes, pretty much exclusively vegetarian, and often not at all appealing to me.  That's fine.  If I don't like it, he puts it into portion-sized containers and takes it for lunches.

Here' s a recipe that R found that is something we've had for dinner a couple of times.  Disclaimer : I've never had a real Philly cheese steak, so I didn't go into this with specific expectations about how it should taste.

Portobello "Philly Cheese Steak" Sandwich

INGREDIENTS

• 2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 medium onion, sliced
• 4 large portobello mushrooms, stems and gills removed (see Tip), sliced
• 1 large red bell pepper, thinly sliced
• 2 tablespoons minced fresh oregano, or 2 teaspoons dried
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
• 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup vegetable broth, or reduced-sodium chicken broth
• 1 tablespoon reduced-sodium soy sauce
• 3 ounces thinly sliced reduced-fat provolone cheese
• 4 whole-wheat buns, split and toasted

PREPARATION

1. Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion and cook, stirring often, until soft and beginning to brown, 2 to 3 minutes. Add mushrooms, bell pepper, oregano and pepper and cook, stirring often, until the vegetables are wilted and soft, about 7 minutes.
2. Reduce heat to low; sprinkle the vegetables with flour and stir to coat. Stir in broth and soy sauce; bring to a simmer. Remove from the heat, lay cheese slices on top of the vegetables, cover and let stand until melted, 1 to 2 minutes.
3. Divide the mixture into 4 portions with a spatula, leaving the melted cheese layer on top. Scoop a portion onto each toasted bun and serve immediately.

TIPS & NOTES

• The dark gills found on the underside of a portobello are edible, but if you like you can scrape them off with a spoon.