Elle's Kitchen: Green Curry w/ Tofu

 

I'm spoiled, I've been lucky to be able to travel

to Thailand and eat the fabulous food of that

country.  I still wake up craving Thai food ~ it

is hot ~ it is spicy ~ it is delicious!

The downside is I live in a small Midwestern

town and I can't always find ingredients to

recreate the tastes I experienced in Asia.  But

this recipe has ingredients that I can find in

the foreign food aisle of a local grocery store.

 

 

Ingredients:

 

2 14 oz. cans coconut milk  (I

used one regular and one lite)
4 oz. jar green curry paste  - Please note:

I love screamin' hot food and the brand of 

curry paste I used was not very hot.  Start with 

a tablespoon or 2 and see how it tastes for you.
 1 pkg. extra firm tofu, cubed
3 Tbsp. brown sugar
3 Tbsp.  oyster sauce (you can find vegetarian

oyster sauce or use 1 tabl. soy sauce instead, 

if you want it completely vegetarian)
 1 8 oz. can bamboo shoots
1 c. frozen peas
1 small onion chopped
1 red pepper and 1 orange pepper, sliced thin

 

Okay, so I consulted with my Asian food guru

(my brother) and he said the green curry pastes he

gets from the Asian markets are very hot.  So,

use a bit and see how it tastes, you can always

add more if you want it hotter.  He also found

an Asian market within an hour of my home

that I had never noticed before... thank you!

 

 

In a deep pot combine the coconut milks

and the curry paste and heat on medium.

 

Add brown sugar and the oyster sauce.

 

Add tofu, onions and peppers.

 

Add peas and bamboo shoots and simmer

on low for 20 minutes so everything is

heated through.

 

 

Pull out your Asian dishware and serve over

rice.  See where I get my dishware here:

 

http://americanhomestead.blogspot.com/search?q=pearl+river+mart

 

Then get together and eat with the ones

you love.

 

Enjoy!

The Long Lost Bennington

 

Many years ago when I spent most of my

free time rummaging through boxes at

garage sales, church sales and flea markets,

I bought this Bennington Pottery loaf pan.

It was a perfect cooking vessel, the design

was simple and clean and it held the heat

well.  And it was just so New England.

 

 

From researching the date, I guess this was

made sometime in the 1960's.  That 1874 is

a model number and not a date and the dg

is the guy who reopened Bennington.

 

 

Somewhere in the past 20 years, in making

room for toys and kid stuff, I realized it was

gone.  I couldn't remember selling it, I often

searched for it but always came up empty.  I

was afraid I had had one of those regrettable

purging moments and sent it off to the thrift

shop.  One night last January, I was having

dinner with a friend and was talking about

this long, lost piece.  The next day I was

searching the house for something else when

voila ~ there it was, stuck in a box with some

of my childhood toys and college memories.

 

So last night as the air was turning cold, I

whipped up some pumpkin bread in the

Bennington.  I predict I'll be having some

for breakfast this morning.

 

 

A Day in the Country

 

It is Harvest Time in the American Midwest and

Mr. Wonderful and I are both at home at our

American Homestead, Avalon.

We decided to get out on this beautiful day and

spend the day getting lost in the country.  Oh, this

photo is not our home, it is a photo I took as we

sped along a country lane ~ isn't it adorable?

 

 

As we passed through the downtown of a

nearby city we spied this sign.  We decided

we had better eat since we didn't know what

we'd find in the middle of nowhere.

 

 

I had the Cheeseburger Pie, it was tasty!

 

 

Then we were off!  Stopping at antique

shops along the way.

 

 

We had the whole day ahead of us. We

stopped to talk to the animals we found.

 

 

I was making kissy noises and telling

these horses they were so beautiful and

as we pulled up a bit further on the road

I saw there was a man standing just behind

the tree on the left.  I smiled and waved,

and then turned red...

 

 

Don't they look like they are kissing?

 

 

I love how this silo has been repurposed.

I'd like for that to be my reading nook.

 

 

The farmers were out harvesting their

crops.  I could watch those corn-pickers

all day.

 

 

There is the harvest.

 

 

We stopped at a farm where we used to take

our kids pumpkin picking many years ago.

 

 

Some more antiquing in a tiny town in the

middle of nowhere.  They had great pieces

here.  Where do they buy and how do they

stay in business in this sleepy town?

 

 

I love seeing the old courthouses

in the county seats.

 

 

And then it was on to Purdue University. 

If you look closely, you can see the Boilmaker

train going by.  It was a beautiful Fall day and

the campus was alive with activity, the band

was practicing and parading along 3rd Street,

people were strolling and skateboarding...

 

 

Here is the gorgeous Engineering Fountain,

it was designed by my friend Becky's Dad.

 

 

The clocktower ~ if you zoom in to the clockface

you will notice the 4 is IIII, not the typical Roman

numeral IV.  They thought that looked too much

like IU, their archrivals, and they couldn't have

that.  Our Kate tells us, at football games a cheer

will always go up saying, "IU sucks!" ~ no matter

who they are playing.  Often the players from

Michigan, Iowa or wherever will look up in the

stands, perplexed.  So they tell them, "yeah, it

doesn't matter who we're playing, IU still sucks."

Now as parents of an IU student as well, we have

to be fair.  Our IU "Hoosier" tells us, they don't

even respond to this, they just KNOW they are

better...

 

 

Then we spent the evening at a lecture

given by Madeleine Albright.  Our Kate

fit us into her busy schedule ~ between

classes, pumpkin carving and late night

studying.  Glad you could join us Kate!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dixie Diary ~ September

The Hands of Strangers

 

 

We are quilting along with Barbara Brackman's

Block of the Month, Dixie Diary.

http://civilwarquilts.blogspot.com

 

Today I realized I somehow missed September,

I chalk that up to too much work and some

travel fun thrown in.  I'll post October's

sometime later in the month.

 

 

Fabric Requirements:

 

Fabric A: Red

1 - 7 1/4'' square

 

Fabric B: White, Red & Green Print

1 - 7 1/4'' square

 

Fabric C: Blue

4 - 3 1/2'' x 6 1/2'' rectangles

 

Fabric D: Green & White Print

4 - 3 1/2'' squares

 

 

Make Half Square Triangles:

Mark a diagonal line on the back of the
Fabric B 7 1/4'' square.

Pair the 7 1/4'' squares with right sides

together.  Sew 1/4'' away from each side of

the drawn line. 

 

 

 

Press seams to the dark fabric.  Square to 6 1/2''.

 

Note: you will need only 1 of the half square

triangles, save the other for another project.

 

 

Sew a Fabric C rectangle to each side

of the Half Square Triangle.

Press seams to the Fabric C.

 

 

Sew Fabric D squares to each side of

the remaining Fabric C rectangles.

Press seams to the Fabric C.

 

 

Layout units as shown and sew together.

 

 

Square to 12 1/2''.

 

 

I added the sashing and applique as

described in month 1.

http://civilwarquilts.blogspot.com/2013/01/dixie-diary-1-her-flag-flying.html

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



A Night At The Museum

 

The Children's Museum of Indianapolis has been a

big part of our lives for many years.  When Our kids

were young we had a family membership and spent

many days exploring all the fun things the museum

had to offer.  It is the largest Children's Museum in

the world and considered one of the best.

 

 

This year is the 50th Anniversary of the museum's

Haunted House.  This is the longest continuous

running haunted house in the nation.  Mr. Wonderful's

company is one of the sponsors so we went to a VIP

night last night.

 

 

There was a lovely dinner and the museum

was open for us to explore.  Since it is fall

break at Purdue, Kate and a few of her friends

drove down from West Lafayette.

 

 

Kasey, Sarah and Kate were all set

for Halloween.

 

 

A great band was playing in the main lobby.

 

 

There is a fabulous Dale Chihuly glass

sculpture in the center of the museum,

it is 4 stories high.

 

 

But if you go to the lower level you can recline

on this lounge and it slowly spins so you can view

the lit up glass ceiling.

 

 

It is spectacular!

 

The girls were like kids in a candy store,

they had to climb in all the exhibits.

 

 

And we finished with a few rides on the

beautiful carousel.  Tonight, Wonderful

and I are going back for the Black Hat Bash.

Good to have some fun together, tomorrow

we start flying around the country again.

 

 

Which is Worse??

 

Whenever I feel the first sign of a cold coming

on, I get myself to our local Chinese take-away

for a steaming bowl of Hot and Sour Soup.

Did you notice I said take-away?

It is a necessity.  As much as I call this my miracle

cure for cold symptoms, it causes another problem.

From the first spoonful I get wild, unstoppable

and very loud hiccups ~ I could never eat this in

a restaurant, I would disturb the other guests.

 

Anyone have any idea why this happens to me

with this soup?

Elle's Kitchen: Curried Vegetable Stew with Couscous

 

I found this recipe on Pinterest the other day

and since it is Fall we are trying to include a

soup in our weekly menus.  The recipe linked

to Fitness Magazine.

* Please read the end of this post to see my

recommendations for improving the recipe.

 

 

Ingredients:

 

1 tabl. ground cumin

1 teas. ground coriander

1 teas. curry powder

1/4 teas. ground allspice

1/4 teas. ground cinnamon

3/4 teas. salt

1/4 teas. pepper

1 1/4 cup water

3 tabl. olive oil

1/2 cup chopped onion

1 tabl. chopped garlic

1 tabl. chopped fresh cilantro

1 head cauliflower, cut into florets

2 zucchini, diced

1 cup green beans, cut into 1/2'' pieces

1 cup canned chickpeas, drained and rinsed

1 cup diced fresh tomatoes

cooked couscous

 

 

Stir spices, salt, pepper and 2 tabl. of the

water together in a small bowl until smooth.

Set aside.

 

 

Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium

heat.  Add onion, garlic, cilantro and spice

mixture.  Cook, stirring, 1 minute or until

onion begins to soften.

 

 

Add cauliflower, zucchini and green beans;

cook 2 minutes. 

 

 

Add 1 cup plus 2 tabl. water; bring to a boil. 

 Simmer, covered for 5 minutes or until

vegetables are just tender.

 

 

Stir in chickpeas and tomatoes; simmer 5

minutes more.  Serve over couscous.

 

 

*This recipe looked good, had a nice mix of

 textures but was bland.  When I first added

the spices, Mr. Wonderful was outside on the

deck and yelled into the house that it smelled

great.  We expected it to be delicious and spicy.

In my opinion, the spices were added far too

early, the flavor of the spices were cooked off.

I would add the spices later in the cooking.

I would try it again, but do it my way.