blackened cauliflower w/ roasted garlic pesto burger

Day 4 of #VeganMoFo #burgers is a Blackened Cauliflower Burger with Roasted Garlic Pesto.

By now we have all been privy to the notion that vegetables can become "steaks" and consider this my hat being thrown into the pile of already fast accumulating hats.

This recipe differs in a few ways. One, the cauliflower is first steamed to just shy of being tender, seasoned with blackening spice and then sauteed until tender and succulent.

The second difference is the Roasted Garlic Pesto. Put roasted garlic into a pesto and it becomes a hard to resist condiment.

That's not all, though. This burger is served with Garlic-Lemon Potatoes, which also happens to be an integral part of the recipe because the garlic for the pesto is roasted with the potatoes. Forget plain old fries! Bam! Side dish complete at the same time the burgers are. That's how we roll during MoFo!

BLACKENED CAULIFLOWER BURGERS PRINTER-FRIENDLY RECIPE

Blackened Cauliflower Burger with Roasted Garlic Pesto

Serves 4

1 large (about 2 pounds) cauliflower, green leaves removed, kept whole

Blackening spice, recipe below

2 pounds new potatoes, halved

¼ cup plus 3 tablespoons vegetable broth, divided

1 tablespoon olive oil, plus more for sauteeing

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

1 teaspoon dried basil

1 teaspoon sea salt, divided

Fresh ground black pepper, to taste

2 whole heads garlic, cut in half through the middle

¼ cup toasted walnuts

1 cup fresh basil leaves

½ cup fresh spinach, plus more for garnish

4 ciabatta rolls, split and toasted

Slices of red onion

1. Preheat oven to 425-degrees F. Cut the whole head of cauliflower into 1-inch slices through the stem. Sprinkle with 1 teaspoon of blackening spice and steam the cauliflower for 5 minutes. Transfer the cauliflower to a baking dish and rub the remaining blackening spice over both sides of the slices. Set aside.

2. Toss the potatoes with ¼ cup of broth, 1 tablespoon olive oil, lemon juice, dried basil and ½ teaspoon salt in a large bowl. Transfer to a baking dish, cut side down and tuck the garlic halves, cut side down among the potatoes. Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 30 minutes. Uncover, flip the potatoes and garlic over and continue to bake until tender, about 15 more minutes. Remove the garlic from the dish, cool enough to handle and pop out the garlic bulbs by gently squeezing the heads.

3. Combine the garlic, nuts, fresh basil, spinach, 3 tablespoons broth, ½ teaspoon salt and black pepper, to taste, in a personal blender or food processor. Blend until smooth. Taste and adjust seasoning. Set aside.

4. Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the cauliflower slices and cook until blackened and the cauliflower is tender, about 3 minutes per side.

5. Make the burgers by spreading each bottom bun with the pesto, topping with a few slices of spinach and slices of red onion. Add a cauliflower steak and spread with more pesto. Top with the bun and serve with the roasted potatoes.

Blackening Spice

1 teaspoon sea salt

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1 teaspoon thyme

1 teaspoon fennel seeds

2 teaspoons paprika

½ teaspoon red chili flakes

¼ teaspoon fresh ground black pepper

Grind all the ingredients in a spice grinder or personal blender until finely ground.

© 2014 Copyright Zsu Dever. All rights reserved.

farmer's market salad with eggplant vinaigrette

As many people are want to do weekly, we headed to the Farmer's Market on Sunday. It is amazing how Farmer's Markets have changed over the past few decades - completely aside from the fact that there are so many more than there used to be.

They have grown not only in numbers but in scope as well. I remember them being small events consisting of produce vendors, the occasional jewelry stand and a few scout groups selling their ware. Nowadays, it is full of organic produce, music, flowers, artisan foods of jams, cookies, tamales, baskets, pottery - you name it, chances are, whether it be food related or not, you'll find them at your nearest market. Here is a great site for locating a Farmer's Market: Local Harvest.

I could do without the animal body parts, which are also quite common these days, but overall, I'm very happy with how far things have come and am looking forward to seeing more support for the markets and, hence, even more progress.

In addition to going to the market for fresh produce, I also go for inspiration. You'll never know what special herb, or common one for that matter, will be the trigger for your next dish. For me, it was grape tomatoes and garlic chives.

Since I also subscribe to our local CSA box, I had an eggplant hanging around that needed to be cooked. That's when things really took off.

I cooked the whole eggplant in a skillet until tender - reminiscent of Baba Ghanoush, where the eggplant is roasted whole, thereby imparting a smoky flavor. I chopped the cauliflower into pieces about the size of rice and sauteed it with garlic, I sauteed the green beans and tomatoes with lemon juice and, finally, I made the eggplant into a vinaigrette.

Sounds like a mouthful, but everything balanced out beautifully and it was a perfect, post-Farmer's Market meal. As a bonus, the remaining vinaigrette (which only contains a few tablespoons of oil) serves as a wonderful dip for raw veggies.

The best thing about this salad was that most of the ingredients went from ground to plate in twenty-four hours - almost as good as having my very own garden in the backyard.

FARMER'S MARKET SALAD PRINTER-FRIENDLY RECIPE

Farmer's Market Salad with Eggplant Vinaigrette

Serves 4

1 tablespoon neutral oil, divided

1 medium eggplant, about 1 pound

1 medium cauliflower, coarsely chopped

5 garlic cloves, halved, plus 2 teaspoons minced, divided

Sea salt and fresh ground black pepper

8 ounces green beans, trimmed

1 cup grape tomatoes

1 teaspoon plus 2 tablespoon fresh lemon juice, divided

¼ cup vegetable broth

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 tablespoon tahini

2 teaspoons chipotle in adobo

2 tablespoons chopped fresh chives

6 cups fresh spinach

1. Coat the eggplant with the oil. Heat a skillet over medium heat. Add the whole eggplant and cover the skillet with a stainless steel bowl. This will create smoke; use a kitchen fan to keep the air clean. Turn the eggplant a quarter turn when the bottom is charred. Turn as needed until the eggplant is tender. Cool the eggplant and peel. Set aside.

2. Pulse the cauliflower in a food processor until the size of grains of rice. Heat 1 teaspoon of oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the cauliflower, the halved garlic cloves, season with salt and black pepper, and stir and cook until golden, about 7 minutes. Set aside.

3. Toss the green beans, tomatoes, 1 teaspoon lemon juice, 1 teaspoon oil, minced garlic and season with salt and black pepper. Heat a grill pan or skillet over medium heat and cook the green beans until charred and crisp-tender, about 4 minutes. Set aside. Add the tomatoes to the grill pan and cook only until lightly charred, about 1 minutes. Set aside.

4. Add the peeled eggplant, vegetable broth, olive oil, tahini, chipotle, 2 tablespoons lemon juice, and any garlic you can pick out of the cauliflower saute to a personal blender. Blend until smooth. Season with salt and black pepper and stir in the chives.

5. Toss the spinach with about ¼ cup  of the vinaigrette and serve with the cauliflower, green beans and tomatoes.

© Copyright 2014. All rights reserved.

I am linking to these recipe parties: Healthy Vegan Fridays, What I Ate Wednesday and Virtual Vegan Linky Potluck. 

 

     

spinach pesto with fava beans and potatoes bowl

I've recently been on this kick of making food in a bowl. Robin Robertson has a whole chapter on bowl dishes in her new cookbook More Quick-Fix Vegan, and I know that a lot of people enjoy eating a great meal with all the components in one big bowl.

I designed this bowl of food around my produce box, hence it is seasonal and, as an added bonus, I got to use some unique ingredients that somehow always seems to find its way into my box.

Last week I received fennel, more new potatoes and fresh fava beans. Fava beans are incredibly delicious, if you ever have the opportunity to find them fresh. However, they are truly a labor of love, as the beans need to be shelled, quickly blanched and then peeled of their tough outer skin. Once the beans are blanched, the tough outer skin can be easy pierced and the delectable beans popped out of their skin.

Fava beans are buttery and creamy and I fell completely in love with them with the very first bite.

The potatoes are roasted with the fennel, which adds a wonderful light anise flavor and the ingredients are then tossed with an easy-to-make nontraditional pesto.

Squeeze some fresh lemon juice on top of each serving to cut through the richness of the potatoes and fava beans and enjoy! I served ours with some toasted French bread.

SPINACH PESTO WITH FAVA BEANS AND POTATOES PRINTER-FRIENDLY RECIPE

Spinach Pesto with Fava Beans and Potatoes Bowl   

Serves 4

6 garlic cloves, minced and divided

5 tablespoons vegetable broth, divided

3 tablespoons olive oil, divided

Sea salt and fresh ground black pepper

2 pounds small new potatoes, halved

2 small fennel bulbs, cored and thinly sliced

2 pounds fresh fava beans, shelled (about 2 cups)

3 cups fresh baby spinach

1 ounce fresh basil leaves

1 teaspoon neutral oil

Lemon wedges, garnish

1. Preheat the oven to 450-degrees F. Combine 4 minced garlic cloves, 3 tablespoons vegetable broth, 2 tablespoons olive oil  and salt and black pepper, to taste, in a small personal blender. Blend until smooth.

2. Mix the potatoes, fennel slices and garlic-mixture in a medium bowl. Transfer the potatoes to a baking sheet. Bake until tender and golden, about 30 minutes.

3. Bring a medium pot of salted water to boil over medium heat. Add the shelled fava beans and cook for 3 minutes. Immediately transfer the cooked beans to a large bowl of ice water to cool. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the beans to a separate bowl. Add the spinach to the boiling water and cook for 1 minute.Transfer to the bowl of ice water to cool. Drain the spinach and squeeze out excess moisture. Transfer the spinach to a food processor and set aside.

4. Peel the blanched fava beans. Each bean is encased in a tough outer-skin that needs to be removed.

5. Add the basil, 2 minced garlic cloves, 1 tablespoon olive oil, 2 tablespoons vegetable broth and salt and black pepper to the food processor with the spinach. Process until smooth as possible and set the pesto aside.

6. Heat 1 teaspoon of oil in a medium skillet over medium heat. Add the peeled fava beans and saute until golden, about 3 minutes. Add the roasted potatoes and pesto. Mix well to combine and cook to reheat the potatoes and pesto, about 3 minutes. Taste and adjust seasoning. Serve the potatoes and beans with lemon wedges.

© 2014 Copyright Zsu Dever. All rights reserved.

asian ginger soup

ASIAN GINGER SOUP PRINTER-FRIENDLY RECIPE

Sweet Tomatoes restaurant has an Asian Ginger Soup that is not just vegan, but so easy to fall in love with. My youngest, who as recently as last month, didn't mind if ginger never existed at all, decided that ginger, at least in this form, was acceptable. This is a simple broth with added condiments -- spinach, mushrooms, tofu, green onions, carrots -- whatever the diner would enjoy. Not only was it acceptable to her, but it became a soup that both girls insisted I try to make at home. 

I began searching the web for a recipe for this soup, and wouldn't you know it, Sweet Tomatoes itself has published the recipe on their blog. Happily I began to cook. A red flag went up when I noticed that the recipe called for cornstarch; the broth at the restaurant was not thick at all. Nevertheless, I made it as written and hoped I was mistaken about the thickness.

Turns out, I was't. The recipe they have printed, in my opinion, is not the one they serve. At least not as written. Also, their recipe calls for vegetable broth base and I wanted a back-to-basics broth.

I began by making my own broth using carrots, onions, ginger, garlic and celery. After letting it simmer for an hour, I strained it and added it to some sauteed ginger and garlic. That did the trick! No need for any vegetable base or broth mix. Simple, down home cooking.

I have since made a few more gallons of the stuff and the kids have asked that it be placed on rotation. Although this is an easy recipe, I can't say it is quick since there is an hour of simmering involved. It is hands-off, however, so give this recipe a try.

Cost Breakdown

tofu, spinach, green onions, mushroom: $4

carrot, ginger, garlic, celery, onion, parsley: $3

Total to make 10 servings:

$7.00

creamy italian polenta pie

This Creamy Italian Polenta Pie is easy to make and really delicious. I made mine very creamy - to the point that it had a little difficulty setting up when cold; if you make this with the intention of having firm polenta, you can use less liquid, about 2/3 c less milk. The added liquid from the diced tomatoes gives the polenta the decidedly un-traditional hue of pink and adds the extra liquid which makes it so creamy. 

In addition to the polenta (cornmeal) and tomatoes, this 'pie' has kidney beans, baby spinach, baby kale, cauliflower, onions and a healthy dose of garlic layered on top.

You can make this, let it sit up and add add cheese and bake it until warmed through and the cheese melts. This is a wholly unnecessary, but delicious, alternative. Otherwise, just serve this as soon as it is assembled. 

Cost Breakdown

polenta, oil, seasonings: $1

milk, tomatoes, beans: $5

cauliflower, onions, baby greens, garlic: $3

Total to make 6 servings:

$9.00

applebee's make over

Applebee's is another of those casual-dining chain restaurants. Very much like Chili's, T.G.I.F and The Cheesecake Factory. Applebee's was among my first make overs in my first year of MoFo. That time I recreated their Oriental Chicken Salad and Ribs. This time around I took up the challenge of Grilled Shrimp 'n Spinach Salad. This salad tosses shrimp, peppers, onions and spinach in a hot bacon vinaigrette. 

Bacon and shrimp are the problem children here. I could have replaced the shrimp with tofu or seitan (more cost effective), but I decided on hearts of palm. I marinated the palm with a little dulse, a seaweed, and used Bac'uns for the bacon. Typically tvp doesn't stand up to cooking in liquid because it looses the crunch, but because this was a hot dressing, I cooked the Bac'uns in the oil before adding the vinegar. This worked out perfectly.

After the hearts of palm marinated, I sauteed them to a golden brown.

Disclaimer. The result was not shrimp. But it was delicious. The palm was a bit vinegary because it is pickled and the dressing was smoky and the bac'un in it crispy. The almonds add another crunch to the dish and the veggies are just right. Nothing is overwhelming and there is a hint of the taste of the sea. 

Applebee's charges $10.99 for a serving.

Cost Breakdown

spinach: $3
hearts of palm: $8
tomato, pepper, onion: $3
almonds, dulse: $1
spices, oil, vinegar, Bac'uns: $2
mustard, smoke, sugar: $1
Total for 4 servings:
$18.00

Their charge per Serving: $10.99

Make-Over cost per Serving: $4.50

GRILLED HEARTS OF PALM AND SPINACH SALAD PRINTER-FRIENDLY RECIPE

pesto lasagna

Since the family requests lasagna so often, I try to get creative with this layered pasta dish. I've made the traditional American Lasagna, Kate's favorite, the traditional Italian Lasagna Bolognese, Catt's favorite, and a Grilled Vegetable Lasagna, my favorite. It is now Mikel's turn. He adores Pesto and requested a Pesto Lasagna. Well, maybe not in so many words, but I interpreted that way.

I decided to make this lasagna with traditional pesto sauce (no spinach or tofu added, as I like to do), but instead using olive oil, basil, garlic and pine nuts. Very straightforward. He would have been happy with just the noodles, pesto and cheese, but I wanted to add something more. I made the tofu-spinach ricotta that I normally make for the American Lasagna and layered that in there as well. To add a touch of sweetness, I also layered in grilled onions and roasted pepper. This way the dish wouldn't be "pesto pasta with cheese," but an actual Lasagna dish. 

He was enchanted with how it turned out. I was worried the pesto would be too much and overwhelm the dish, but the other components of the recipe balanced the pesto nicely.

Cost Breakdown

Daiya: $4.50

noodles: $4

basil: $8

red pepper, onion, garlic, spinach: $4

lemon, pine nuts, olive oil: $2

tomato sauce: $2

Total to make 10 servings:

$24.50

Pesto Lasagna Recipe

cream of spinach soup

Amazing how time flies! It has already been a week since my last post, so I better catch up.

I've always loved spinach creamed. My fondest food memories involve Sunday family suppers, right before our restaurant would open for business. My dad would always insist on us kids having chicken soup before we were allowed to dig into the Good Stuff. One of my favorites was, and still is, Spinach Fozelek, a sort-of creamed spinach. As Hungarians, we had a fried egg on top and served it with boiled potatoes and sauteed purple cabbage. For me, that was the epitome of a gourmet meal. So good!

 But I get side-tracked. I only meant to impress on you how I love spinach. Cream of Spinach Soup evokes that same feeling of spinach love. Easy to make and very tasty. Hungarians - or at least my family - never added nutmeg to any green leafy vegetables. In fact, the time I did suggest such a thing to my mother, she thought I had left my faculties somewhere far behind, but you can give it a few grinds. Mikel picked up on the 'odd' flavor of the nutmeg right away and pronounced it not his favorite. I actually enjoyed it, but most likely will go at it with a lighter hand in the future for the sake of the family. As with all new things, baby steps.

Cost Breakdown

spinach: $5

milk: $.75

stock: $1

onion, flour: $.50

cream cheese: $.75

Total to make 4 servings:

$8.00

CREAM OF SPINACH SOUP PRINTER-FRIENDLY RECIPE

boston market (MoFo 29)

Boston Chicken has gone through its ups and down. In the early 90's they were at the top of their game, so much so that they began offering other menu items. In fact, they became so popular for it, that they decided the name Boston Chicken was no longer apt for the business and so changed to Boston Market. Woo-hoo! Until, that is, they so over-extended themselves that by 1998 they filed Chapter 11. Who do you think came to their rescue? I'll give you one McClue... 

The company was purchased in 2000 by the McDonald's Corporation with the intention to get their hands on the real estate and dump the name and menu. However, after McD's cleaned house of the constipated BM's (I have a joke here that I will not indulge in...too late), the Market began to flourish again (rats!) and McD's decided to leave well enough alone. If it makes money...ya know.

Apparently things weren't quite as rosy in McLand though, because by 2007, the Market once again changed ownership.

The Boston Market Meatloaf was one of the menu additions from the original folks, and here I have reinvented it in all its vegan glory. While theirs is made of a cow, mine is made of veggie burgers. Pretty sure any veggie burger will work, but I made mine with Boca. The burgers are mashed up and mixed with onions, seasonings and barbecue sauce. The sauce is added at mid-cooking, as well. 

The sides at Boston Market are something that vegetarians, at least, can indulge in, but why should vegans be excluded? And why not make it vegan, anyway, for that matter?

Here I have made three of the side dishes, Creamed Spinach, Macaroni and Cheese, Sweet Potato Casserole and Poultry Gravy. The mashed potatoes are my creation and not one of their "Gourmet Sides."

All of them are fantastic, but as far as it goes, this place should be called Boston Butter, not Market. They use a ton of butter, cream and cheese in almost every side dish - at least the ones I chose to make. A note: To make this as good as it can be, you must use unsweetened, plain non-dairy milk. Anything else will make things taste way too sweet.

Vegan Meatloaf with Gravy

Creamed Spinach. Macaroni and Cheese, Sweet Potato Casserole

Meatloaf Recipe

vine and dine - horseradish crusted tofu

Vine and Dine

This week's Vine and Dine by Tami is being reported from a hotel in Maryland! We are on vacation and made the Vine and Dine last week before we left. As vacations tend to be, our leaving was too hectic to do the write up earlier so, we are now wracking our brains to remember what the meal was like and how the wine complemented it.

We'll do our best.

The cookbook chosen this time was the first Horizon book and the recipe out of that was the Horseradish Crusted Tofu with Roasted Red Pepper Sauce. While I believe part of the idea of V&D is to get us to dig out forgotten cookbooks and explore new recipes, this happened to have been one of the only recipes we actually tried and loved. I wonder how many out there who have this book also made this very recipe since it simply sounds great. One thing is for sure, this book doesn't get the attention in our kitchen that it richly deserves. Nice to have dusted it off.

Out of the same cookbook the Spinach with Pine Nuts was recommended; garlic, olive oil, spinach and pine nuts. I'm there. Do not omit the pine nuts from this - it adds so much flavor and texture. You don't even have to add a lot of pine nuts, but don't substitute it since it is so worth it.

The tofu dish we made gluten free. Kate is at least gluten or wheat sensitive, so we subbed Glution Breading Crumbs for the bread crumbs. I also made our own baked tofu by first pressing (Tofu Express) it and then baking it in a chicken-like marinade. My daughter was complaining that tofu tastes like nothing. All this time I thought I had been making tofu well, and then all it takes is a reality check from my eleven-year-old who should be avoiding seitan now. She set me straight and now I am working on getting flavor (more flavor?) into a slab of tofu. I guess I was onto something since she really liked this horseradish tofu - and of course, the recipe from the book didn't hurt either.

As for the V&D itself, the tofu with mashed potatoes, the spinach and the red pepper sauce was phenomenal. Oh, and the wine was darned good as well! I'm going to spoil it for David by saying it first, but it was a delightful screw-top Merlot. But then I'm a sucker for a good red wine anytime. This one made me happy.

Roses are red,

Violets are blue,

This wine was good,

With this tofu.

-- David (or his wife)

Stellar Organics

roly poly sandwiches

Here is a delicious concept for a restaurant: wraps. Not just ordinary wraps, but grilled panini-style wraps. That is Roly Poly Sandwiches. The fillings are fresh (I'm only counting the veggies, folks) and the creativity is great.

When we lived in Dallas, we lived near a Roly Poly, hence my initiation to the sandwich shop. Naturally, the pickings were slim for a vegan, and most of the sandwiches had to be taken home to 'doctor', but that was the way to discover the ins and outs of the roly magic.

Since it is much more economical to make one of these at home than to pay full price for a quarter of the fillings, we have been making these Roly sandwiches in our kitchen for years.

The method is really simple: go to their website, find a sandwich you would like to have, sub the meat for the optimal veggie ingredient, roll, grill in a cast iron pan with another pan over it, flip and repeat. Dig in.

I chose to make #71, Chipotle Chicken, using a veggie burger for the chicken. Tender Seitan cutlets would have worked even better, but you work with what you have. I used Tofu Bacon for the bacon (Fakin' Bakin' would have been nice, too), Daiya for the cheeses, veganaise mixed with enough chipotle adobo sauce for my taste (a lot!) and used some vegan ranch I had in the fridge.

There were a few reasons I chose to make this sandwich: one, I love chipotle; two, I had a burger in the freezer; three, I had made BLT's a few days before and had some of the tofu bacon left; four, there was vegan ranch in the fridge as well. See? I only had to make the chipotle veganaise.

Kate's sandwich was #13, Hot Honey. I used Tofurkey slices, Daiya, Tofu Bacon, tomato slices (use the sun-dried if you have it) and skipped the spinach. For the Honey Mustard Sauce, mix some maple syrup with a little Dijon mustard and veganaise.

Cost Breakdown:

wraps: $.50

burger, Tofurkey: $2

Daiya: $.50

tomato, spinach, chipotle: $1

veganaise, Dijon, maple: $.50

tofu bacon: $.50

Total to make 2 sandwiches:

$5.00



#71 - Chipotle 'Chicken'




#13 - Hot Honey, without spinach



italian big bowl

What do you get when you mix Post Punk Kitchen with American Vegan Kitchen?

One fabulous week of Tami's recipes!

PPK has been hosting Cookbook Kitchen 2 - cooking from cookbooks each week for a total 12 weeks. I have been holding out to join during AVK's turn and here it is.

First up is Italian Big Bowl.

This is the prime place to use the pasta sauce to infuse flavor into the noodles. Just add the noodles to the sauce along with a cup or two of the pasta cooking water and cook the whole thing together for a few minutes. This pasta contains sausage (I used Gimme Lean), fennel seeds, tomato paste, red peppers, olives, capers and I threw in some spinach leaves.

De-licious! Like most of Tami's recipes, this is another one that is fast and simple.

Cost Breakdown

sausage: $3

tomato, garlic, olives, capers, veg. broth:  $2

pasta: $3

spinach, spices: $2

Total to make 5 servings:

$10.00

thai winter curry

Asian Night

Curries are a simple and easy way to get dinner on the table fast. That is, as long as you have a curry paste. There are as many different kinds of curry pastes as there are people who make them. And just as many levels of heat to each paste. You can make your own paste easily enough - although it is a little time consuming. When you do make a curry paste there are a few things to keep in mind:

(1)

You want to get your paste as smooth as possible. A food processor works well as long as you process the paste long enough. A blender is better.

(2)

Make a lot for three reasons: (a) Your machine will work better (meaning it will actually move the food around and will be able to process the ingredients) if you have enough stuff in there. If you have a few tablespoons of stuff in the machine, you are making it very difficult on yourself and the appliance. (b) You don't want to go through making it again any time soon; it is time consuming.  (c) The extra paste doesn't take up that much room in your freezer, especially if you divide it into serving amounts and tuck them in here and there.

Thai curry pastes usually have these ingredients in common:

chilies (the amount and type will determine the level of heat in your paste), lemongrass, kaffir leaves, onion, vinegar, garlic, ginger (or galangal), coriander seeds

Optional ingredients range from:

cumin seeds, cilantro, peanuts, cardamom, cinnamon, nutmeg, etc.

For my Thai Winter Curry, I used a basic red curry paste (The color depends on the chilies you use. If you use fresh green chilies you will have green chili paste.) I have an assortment of winter veggies in my curry: onion, cabbage, cauliflower, butternut squash, tofu, spinach and, of course, the coconut milk. To cut the fat I also used vegetable broth, but make sure you don't make curry soup instead by not using enough coconut milk.

Since I had the curry paste in the freezer, dinner was ready in under 30 minutes.

Cost Breakdown

onion: $.75

cabbage, cauliflower: $3

butternut squash: $2

tofu: $2

paste, tamari, lime, sugar: $1.25

spinach, pepper: $3

rice: $1

Total to make 6 servings:

$13.00

Thai Winter Curry Recipe

Basic Red Curry Paste Recipe