Splendid Sustenance

Archive for September, 2008

Can we get a collective “AWW”?

September 23, 2008 at 4:44 pm · Filed under Random

This is what happens when a child crash lands from a father induced airplane ride (dad wouldn’t mind a collective “AWW” himself, poor guy). After 4 very long hours in the ER with a writhing/screaming grown man in the next room, re-runs of Family Guy, 2 X-Rays later we have a broken elbow. Total.drag. They ended up splinting it with some crazy 3M fiberglass product that hardens with air, I was thinking about snagging the box to make a sculpture with it but figured if I got found out the hospital would charge me $10,000 to replace it. The ER DR did say August was by far his best patient that evening, not surprising seeing as he was snoring while being splinted. Dr’s orders: the arm has to stay immobile for some indefinite time, can not get wet, and must make life a giant pain in the ass. I am NOT thrilled at all that it is his right arm that broke, the apple sauce does not make it to his mouth with the same finesse. Any tips or hints regarding caring for a broken baby arm much appreciated.

I owe you all about a gazillion recipes, so how about 2 successes!

Curried Cauliflower Sweet Potato Soup

1 tbls vegetable oil or ghee
1 cup chopped red onion
1 tbls minced ginger
3 cloves minced garlic
1/2 tsp cumin seed
1/8 tsp cayenne powder
1 tbls curry powder
2 cups vegetable broth
1 cup water
3 cups cauliflower florets
1 med sweet potato skinned and diced (not jewel yams, the lighter skinned variety)
1/4 tsp salt, more or less

In a soup pot heat the oil and add the onion, ginger, garlic, cayenne, and cumin seeds. Cook stirring until softened. Add the curry powder and stir until absorbed.

Add the broth and water, bring to a boil. Add the sweet potato, cauliflower, and salt. Bring back to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and cover until vegetables are tender, about 30 mins.

Remove from heat and use an immersion blender to puree the soup to your liking. Serve with a dollop of plain yogurt if that’s your thing.

Recipe deux…

Red Curry Vegetable
This isn’t really a precise recipe but I love it because it is fast, healthy, and terribly delicious, terribly.

About 2 tbls Red Curry paste ( I like Thai Kitchen brand, it’s a bit hot so you might add less at first)
1 tbls brown sugar
1 14oz can light coconut milk (or regular, whatever)
splash or 2 of tamari/soy sauce
splash of Ginger People Ginger Juice, or grated fresh ginger
3 cups chopped vegetables/fruit (mushrooms, green beans, cauliflower, cherry tomatoes, fresh jalapeño, pineapple, onion, broccoli, peas…you get the idea)
3 cups cooked white or brown jasmine rice

In a large deep skillet or wok, add coconut milk, curry paste, brown sugar, tamari, and ginger. Stir until simmering making sure the curry paste is dissolved. Taste for flavor. Add the veggies in order of cooked preference, i.e. cauliflower first, then mushrooms, green beans third, then when the veggies have cooked to your liking then add the cherry tomatoes right before serving (you dont want the skin to come off the tomatoes, so don’t cook them). Serve over rice.

It should look something like this:

Add some cooked shrimp, chicken or pork too for a meat option.