My husband, who I will refer to from now on as “The Man in the Green Hat”, has flown the coop to his deployment in Afghanistan and I am now back home with the family. I am now officially an army wife, sleeping with the telephone on! It continues to be a journey and sacrifice for us both.

People have tried to be supportive and helpful, but some have been just a little annoying. Stupid things people have said to me, “oh you are so lucky!” which jackpot did I win? Or “don’t worry the time will fly”, of course it will because every day I wake up I will feel as though a week has gone by instead of 24 hours. My advice, if you don’t know what to say in a difficult situation, say nothing at all.

So folks I’m back! I plan on cooking up some good stuff pretty soon and there will be posts on our deployment experience and my adventures working Midtown Manhattan.

I found a park on 51st yesterday, between 3rd and 2nd, check out the great waterfall. Yes this is in the middle of the city!

After reading a recipe in Vegetarian Times and an article on about.com, I planned to use those recipes to make my curry. But in the end, I used the recipe on the Thai coconut milk can and made some additions of my own.  One important thing I did learn is, if you are vegetarian or vegan, you can replace fish sauce with plain old soy sauce.  My curry tastes great, and I believe I have created a Thai red curry that is very tasty and healthy!

Thai Red Curry

Ingredients
8 oz firm tofu, cut into bite sized chunks (fried)
1/3 cup green beans, cut in half
1/2 red bell pepper, julienned
1/2 cup eggplant, diced (do not remove skin)
1/3 cup baby corn
1/3 cup bamboo shoots
6 Thai basil leaves, chopped
2 Thai chiles, finely chopped (optional)
1 tbsp canola oil
1/2 cup canola oil (for deep frying tofu)
3 tbsp red thai curry paste
1 (15-oz) can coconut milk
2 Tbs low sodium soy sauce
1/4 cup water
2 tsp brown sugar

Directions
Deep Fried Tofu: in non-stick skillet or pan, heat oil until bubbling (very hot). While oil is heating up, cut tofu into triangles or cubes. When oil is hot, fry the tofu in batches, until  golden brown (frying them all at once will make the oil lose heat).

In a large pot, heat the canola oil over medium high heat. Add the curry paste infusing it into the oil. Add the soy sauce and the coconut milk.  Continuously whisk the mixture, until it is smooth (no lumps).  Add the bay leaves and the Thai chiles.  Let cook for about 30 seconds and then add water.

Add tofu, vegetables  and brown sugar.  Saute until they are coated with the curry sauce, about a minute.  Reduce heat to medium low and allow to sauce to simmer for about 15 minutes or until vegetables are just cooked).  Remove bay leaves, and chili peppers.  Sprinkle with basil leaves .

I was inspired to make this stir-fry by a post from Edward Williams James’ blog. His looked so enticing, I just had to make some myself.

The spicy tofu can be found at any Asian market.

Time to eat!

Vegetable Stir-fry with Fried Tofu
1 pack spicy tofu
1 small onion or 1/2 large onion
1 red pepper
3 garlic cloves
3 florets of bok choi
1/3 cup green onions, chopped
1/2 cup green beans, trimmed
1 cup button mushrooms, sliced
3 tbs vegetarian hoisin sauce
1 tb soy sauce
4 tbs sesame toasted sesame oil
2 tbs Garlic Chili Paste

Ingredients

Chopped mushrooms, green beans, red peppers, onions, and green onions

Oil in wok really hot!

Add sesame oil and make sure that wok or pan is very hot.

Add the garlic, green beans and mushrooms.  Stir fry for about 5 minutes.

Add the other vegetables and stir fry until vegetables are cooked but still firm, about 5-10 minutes.

Add the tofu, soy sauce, hoisin sauce and chili paste.  Cook for about 5 minutes or until nicely coated with sauce.

Serve!

I love this pasta, first had it in Italy and fell in love.  I cooked up some a quick “meat” bolognese, with veggie crumbles and some simple veggies, following Giada’s recipe.

Quick and yummy!

Bolognese slowly simmering - veggie crumbles, tomato sauce, carrots, celery, onions, garlic and basil

Dinner is served!

Mango Salsa

Ingredients
1 mango, not too ripe (diced)
2 tablespoons red onion (finely chopped)
1/2 red bell pepper (finely chopped)
1/2 green bell pepper (finely chopped)
1 clove garlic (finely minced)
1 tablespoon Cilantro
1 serrano pepper (finely chopped), use as little or as much as you want according to your spiciness level
1 tablespoon rice vinegar
Salt (to taste)
1 teaspoon olive oil

Directions
In a large bowl add all of the mango, peppers, onions, garlic, and serrano pepper.

Next, add the rice vinegar, and olive oil. Add the cilantro and mix together.

Add salt and put into refrigerator for about 30 minutes, to allow flavors to blend.

Reblogged from ByzantineFlowers:

Reblogged from The Magic Herb:

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Are you in shape except for this stubborn belly fat? Have you tried everything from crunches to cardio to make it disappear and it hasn't worked? What if I tell you that it takes a lot more to make that to make your midsection bulge history. It has to do with the foods you eat, your daily lifestyle, genes, and even the hormones in your body.

Read more… 857 more words

Jalapeno Cornbread

Dry Ingredients

Directions

• Preheat oven to 375, and spray an 8×8 baking dish with cooking spray.  

• In a large bowl sift together all dry ingredients – flour, cornmeal, salt and baking powder.  In another bowl combine the milk, vegetable oil and honey.  
• Add liquid ingredients to dry.  Add the egg and jalapeno peppers.  
• Mix all together until just combined. 

• Pour batter into pan and bake for 25-30 minutes, or until toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.