I *sniffle* hate the f*sniffle*ing Santa Anas.

What is it about these annual winds that makes everyone crazy? I grew up with them, and they're basically the weather equivalent of a full moon. People. Act. Nuts. Besides the normal nutty behavior associated with having to deal with downed trees and power lines, destroyed hair, dirt in your eyes, and head congestion, I mean. It's probably all the electricity in the air? Serious, check Wiki's Health Effects section. It's legit crazytime.

Anyway, I just got back from visiting my parents in the Inland Empire‚ which is like, Santa Ana central. Their house even shakes in these winds, which is actually cool to me, because in So Cal we often like weird things that terrify normal people (i.e. earthquakes, eating raw fish, flip-flop tanlines.) Anyway, it also means I returned with a head full of snot and completely plugged up ears. They got so pressurized on my drive home over the mountains that I literally couldn't hear E whining in the back seat. So, not all negative, I guess.

I woke up this morning and the sore throat was gone and I can hear out of my left ear, so it's getting better, but I still wanted something soupy for lunch. I was going to make this, but I had tofu that needed to be used, and some bean thread noodles my mom sent home with me (she may have discovered they weren't actually another form of bean sprouts and some hilarity may have ensued, but that's for another day), so I did some substituting. And it was delicious. And easy. And I will definitely be making again.

You could probably substitute green curry paste, if that's more your thing (I will be next time, cause I love it), but I had red in the fridge so I went with it.

Red Curry Coconut Soup
1 tsp peanut (or canola) oil
2 tbsp red curry paste
6 cups chicken broth
1 can light coconut milk
5 tbsp fish sauce
juice of 1.5 limes
3 tbsp sugar
1 package extra firm tofu, cubed or thinly sliced
2 small bundles of bean thread noodles (or about 4oz any asian rice noodles)
cilantro, chopped, to top

Heat the oil and curry paste in a stock pot over medium heat. Add broth, coconut, lime juice, sugar and fish sauce, bring to a low boil. Add noodles and cook until soft, anywhere from 5-10 minutes depending on the kind of noodle.

NOTE: If you used really thin noodles (like bean thread) take a sharp knife or some kitchen shears, stick it in the soup, and cut, cut, cut. It'll still be a bitch to serve (and will require chopsticks to eat) but this helps a ton.

Add tofu and let cook another minute. Turn off the heat and let sit a couple minutes to let tofu get hot.

Add more lime juice to taste and top with cilantro.

You should make this curry after you hire me.

As usual, the new year has brought some changes around my house…Hubby's still busting his ass, getting paid far less than he's worth, E's been requiring more and more attention (and therefore requiring more nanny hours), and this exhausted mama has officially gone freelance, meaning way more flexibility, way more new work needed, way more say over the projects I do choose to work, and unfortunately, (for the time being, anyway) way less regular income. In other words, we're broke asses, and having to meal plan again.

And this is where I ever so gracefully segue into telling you how to reach me for any freelance design projects you may need: Pamhuberdesigns.com. And I'm currently working on jobs in Cali (branding, packaging design and a direct mail campaign), Kentucky (logo), and Florida (wedding invites) so I'm freakin' national right now. Email and Skype are my BFFs. Fingers in the hang loose sign, wiggling by my ear. Call me! 

And so I've been trolling the usual sites, looking for new ideas. I'm hoping that when they do work, I'll be lucid enough by the end of the day to actually write them down for you.

This original recipe is actually called Chickpea Curry with Basmati Rice, so when my basmati-obsessed Hubby walked into the kitchen, saw me measuring brown rice and subsequently glanced at my recipe, he of course so helpfully offered, "It says Basmati…?"

1. Read the ingredients, buddy. It says OR brown rice. 2. I'm cooking, you're eating. Shhhhhh.

Also awesome as leftovers with cooked red meat heated up with it. We used leftover tri-tip, but next time Hubs wants to try lamb.

Vegetarian Chickpea Curry
Cooked brown rice (Get a bag, follow directions for 1 cup. Heads up: it takes about 45 minutes)
Canola oil (about a tbsp)
3 large shallots, thinly sliced
5 garlic cloves, minced
3 tsp garam masala
2 tsp madras curry
 large pinch (fresh white) pepper
2 cans chickpeas, rinsed/drained
1 29oz can crushed tomato
1 6oz package baby spinach
About 1/2 cup nonfat greek yogurt
Large handful chopped cilantro
Salt to taste (1/2 tsp or so)
Good squeeze fresh lemon juice

In large soup pot or dutch oven, heat oil over medium high. Add shallot and saute a couple of minutes. Add garlic, cook another minute or two. Add garam masala, curry and pepper and saute 30 seconds or so.

Stir in chickpeas and tomato, and cook about 4 minutes over medium heat or until hot. Gently stir in spinach until wilted, a minute or two. Turn off heat and stir in yogurt, cilantro and salt. Stir in lemon juice. Serve over rice.

Cambodian Curry

I know that I'm a fortunate girl to know the founders of The Pepper Project personally. Not only are Tom and Cris both wonderfully talented people, but their generosity astounds me. (So go buy something. 100% of the profits go back to various artists and causes in Cambodia. One Hundred percent. That's called working for free. Well, that's what I call it. Tom and Cris call it donating their time for something they believe in, but they are obviously better people than I am.)

Tom—the chef half of the couple—knows I love to experiment with ethnic dishes, so it's not unusual for him to return from one of his trips abroad with a little something extra tucked into his bag for me—fish sauce, pho stock (A pho-kit, if you will. Ahem.), sea salt or spices. A couple months ago, he grabbed me some Cambodian curry powder, which is amazing. I've used it in place of Indian curry powder, which worked excellently, and last night I tried it in an actual Cambodian recipe, which was similar in flavor to a Thai curry.

My point is that you probably can't get your hands on this stuff (but if you can, do it!), and so feel free to substitute Thai curry powder or paste in this recipe.

Cambodian Chicken & Veggie Curry
Peanut oil (or canola)
12 oz. chicken breast, cut into smallish chunks
2 tbsp curry powder
2 carrots, peeled and sliced 1/4 in thick
1 medium sweet potato, peeled, halved lengthwise and sliced 1/4 in thick
One medium brown onion, peeled, ends removed, and quartered
4 tbsp fish sauce
1 tbsp brown sugar
1 can light coconut milk
Small eggplant
Cooked white rice, to serve

Wash the eggplant and halve it lengthwise. Slice into pieces (about 2 cups worth) about 1/4 in thick and place on paper towels. Sprinkle with salt. Let sit about 15 minutes as you chop the other vegetables, etc. Rinse well. (This step cuts the bitter flavor of the eggplant, if you were wondering.)

Heat about 1 tbsp of oil in wok or large skillet over medium high heat. Add chicken and stir-fry until cooked, about 5 minutes. Remove chicken and set aside. Add another 1/2 tbsp of oil and curry powder. Stir-fry about a minute, then stir in fish sauce and sugar. Add carrots, potato and onion, and toss well. Stir-fry about 10 minutes, stirring often, then add coconut milk and about 1/4 cup water. Bring to a slight boil, then add eggplant, combining well. Continue stir-frying, stirring often, until potatoes are tender, another 5 minutes or so.

Serve over hot rice.

About 1055 calories (not including rice):
211/5 servings
264/4 servings
352/3 servings

Best Yet Chicken Curry

You know what's amazing? I prepped everything for dinner last night (chopped potatoes, onion, garlic and ginger then measured out all the spices) and then settled in the living room to get some work done before I started cooking...and I kept getting enticed by some serious aromas wafting my way. It smelled amazing, and nothing was even cooking...No wonder my house always reeks smells like spice for 2 days after we make curry.

I've posted some curry recipes before, but Hubby told me this was my best yet (of all time! Hooray!) and so I felt I owed y'all the recipe. I'm calling this Indian curry, but I actually used Cambodian curry powder, as it was all we have right now. I'm really not 100% sure what the differences between the two are...I do know that the Cambodian stuff is a tad sweeter and often is used in coconut based curries, much like Thai curry, but it worked just fine for this dish, and I wouldn't worry about the difference too much. Use what you've got or can find.

Oh, and Hubby is convinced that if we keep feeding me spicy food, the kid will end up a fan, so it's been a bit of a trend lately. (I even added garlic pickle to mine to amp it up, but that's totally me.) This one is spicy, so adjust the cayenne accordingly, or top with some extra yogurt and lime at the end if it's too hot.


Chicken Indian Curry
4 boneless, skinless chicken thighs
salt
1 tbsp olive oil
1 brown onion, peeled and chopped small
4 garlic cloves, minced
about 1 inch of ginger root, peeled and minced
1 heaping tbsp curry powder
1 heaping tsp cumin
1 heaping tsp turmeric
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp cayenne (less or none if you prefer less heat)
1 tsp garam masala (see note below)
1.5 cups chicken broth
1/2 a 15oz can diced tomatoes
3 medium yellow potatoes, peeled and chopped about 3/4in thick
1/2 cup greek or plain yogurt
handful cilantro, chopped
chopped green onion
lime wedges
Hot cooked basmati rice to serve

NOTE: If you don't have garam masala and don't want to buy it, you can either make your own or just use a bit more cumin and 1/2 tsp all spice.

Heat olive oil over high heat in large stock pot. Sprinkle chicken with salt, then add to pot and cook about 3 minutes a side or until browned. Transfer chicken to a plate.

Reduce heat to medium. Add onion, garlic and ginger, and saute about 3 minutes. In small bowl, combine all the spices (curry through masala) and about 1 tsp salt and add a splash of broth, mixing to make a thick paste. Add paste to onion saute, and continue cooking another 2 minutes.

Add chicken (and any juices that have joined it), tomatoes, potatoes, and the rest of the broth. Bring to a boil, then reduce to medium low and simmer about 10 minutes or until potatoes are cooked (taste one).

Turn off heat and stir in yogurt and a tbsp or so of chopped cilantro. Add salt as needed.

Serve over rice with lime (the juice will cut the heat), and top with a sprinkle of green onion and cilantro.