Beef Curry in Coconut Sauce

I've made green chicken curry before, just following the basic recipe on the back of the green curry paste jar. The other night I decided to try a red curry, a bit milder I'm told. The original recipe called for flank steak but I didn't have one around so defrosted a tri tip steak instead.

10 ounces trimmed beef steak, cut into 1/4 x 2 x 1 inch pieces roughly (easier if partially frozen)
1 16 oz can unsweeteed coconut milk
1-2 Tbs red curry paste
1 tsp fish sauce
1 small can bamboo shoots (about 1 cup)
1 tsp sugar
3 Tbs water
20 fresh basil leaves
1/4 to 1/2 red pepper, cut in strips
2 Tbs green peas (I used frozen)
steamed rice

Heat 1 cup of the coconut milk in a large deep frying pan or wok and stir in the red curry paste. Cook on high heat for 5 minutes, until the sauce thickens a bit. Stir in the fish sauce, the rest of the coconut milk and the beef strips.

At this point the recipe called for adding 2 lime leaves, torn in thirds. I didn't have any so didn't add them.

Stir for 30 seconds and add the bamboo strips and sugar. Add the water and cook, stirring, for 5 minutes or so, until the beef is cooked through. Add most of the basil leaves, reserving a few for garnish. Add the red pepper strips and peas and cook, stirring, until they're warmed through and slightly cooked.

Serve topped with a few basil leaves for garnish, with plenty of steamed rice.

Corn Fritters and More...

A friend dropped off a few ears of corn tonight, as she'd bought it yesterday then not cooked it and was going out tonight. I made corn fritters with some of it and then just sauteed the rest in a bit of butter, salted it, then added some 1/2 and 1/2. This very rough recipe came out of Home Cooking by Laurie Colwin.


She also mentioned some corn fritters, but I've always been lazy about beating egg whites separately, so I went back to my Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook for an easier version.

I cut the kernels off all the ears, measured a cup out for the fritters and did the rest up a la Colwin.

1 cup corn kernels
1 cup milk
1 egg
1 1/2 cups flour
1 Tbs baking powder
1/2 tsp salt

Mix the dry; mix the wet; mix it all together.

Heat enough oil in your pan to provide some depth (an inch is what I did). Drop by spoonfuls into the hot oil and cook a few minutes on each side, until lightly browned. Drain on paper towels. Serve warm with maple syrup.

We didn't eat all the sauteed corn so in true CheapCooking fashion, I dumped the leftover into the cheeseburger soup I'd made last night. I sent a few of the fritters over to a neighbor I thought might enjoy them. I'm never sure how good fried food will keep.

Fried Dough / Sfingi

Also from an old Italian cookbook... Pizza Fritta says the cookbook but I think my ex MIL called it Sfingi. To me, they are like a raised doughnut without the hole.

You can use any basic white bread dough. If you don't have a favorite recipe, try

1 Tbs yeast
1 3/4 warm water
1 tsp salt
4-5 cups all purpose flour

Mix the yeast into 1/4 cup of warm water and let sit for 10 minutes until foamy. Add the rest of the water and the salt. Mix. Add the flour one cup at a time. You can use your hands or a food processor to mix it, but I prefer my big standing mixer with a dough hook. Mix in the flour until it forms a ball, then knead for 5-10 minutes (3-4 minutes in the mixer).

Take balls of dough about the size of a small lemon and flatten them until they're about 3" in diameter. Place on a floured towel or cookie sheet and cover with another clean towel. Let rise in a warm spot for 30 minutes.

Heat vegetable oil in a deep fryer or a large pan until it's about 375. To test, drop a small piece of dough in. It should puff up and sizzle. While you're waiting, mix together

1 cup sugar
1 Tbs cinnamon

Put this in a paper bag and mix together.

Fry the dough about 3-4 minutes, until lightly browned. Drain on brown bags or paper towels, then shake in the bag with the cinnamon and sugar. Mmmmmm!

Fried Cauliflower

I've been trying to find some ways to get more of a variety of vegetables into our diet. I know frying isn't healthy, but if the oil is hot enough, the food doesn't absorb too much. And the kids loved this!

1/2 head cauliflower
1 eggs, beaten
1/4 cup of so of flour for dredging
1/4 cup or so of bread crumbs

Take the cauliflower and trim it into pieces with 1" stems. Boil in salted water for 5 minutes and then drain. Heat the oil in a frying pan, just a thin layer really, less than 1/2" deep. Use pie pans or small plates or bowls and line up the flour, the egg, and the bread crumbs. Using a couple of forks to handle the cauliflower keeps your fingers from getting too messy! Dredge the cauliflower pieces in flour, then the beaten egg, then bread crumbs. Then set gently in the hot oil, letting the breading brown before turning. When all sides are browned, lift the pieces out and lay on brown paper or paper towels to absorb some of the oil. Salt and pepper the pieces and serve.

This was from an old Italian cookbook. I used half a cauliflower because I wasn't sure whether anyone would eat it. We had 2 adults and 3 kids for dinner last night and there was not one piece left by the end.

Cauliflower, Carrots and Zucchini

I made this last night to mixed reviews. It was a bit salty for my taste, but I was halfing the original recipe and it's conceivable I forgot to halve the salt! Mistakes do happen now and then. But even thought it was salty, 1 child and the other adult pronounced it good. And my kids have not eaten a lot of Indian food so i was a bit nervous, to be frank. Not nervous enough to stop me from trying more though. They're good sports!

1/2 head cauliflower, trimmed and cut into florets
1 carrot, sliced 1/4"
1 zucchini, slice 1/4"
2 tsp oil
1/4 tsp ground cumin*
1/2 tsp minced fresh ginger
1/8 tsp turmeric
3/4 tsp salt--or less
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper (optional)
1 1/2 tsp coriander powder
1/2 tsp garam masala
1 tsp chopped fresh cilantro for garnish

Heat 1 tsp of the oil in a heavy lidded skillet. Add the cumin seeds if you're using them and cook a few seconds, until lightly browned. Add the vegetables and stir. Add the ginger, turmeric, salt and cayenne. Stir. Cover with a lid and reduce the heat, cooking until vegetables are tender but still firm, about 8-10 minutes. Stir them now and then.

Sprinkle with the rest of the spices except the cilantro, stirring carefully so you don't mash the vegetables. Most of the liquid from the vegetables should be evaporated. If not, increase the heat and evaporate it. Add the rest of the oil (1 tsp), pouring it around the edges of the pan, stirring now and then so the vegetables get lightly fried.

Garnish with the cilantro and serve.




* original recipe called for cumin seeds, but I didn't have any so I used ground cumin instead. It also called for 1/4 tsp mango powder, which I didn't have so left out. Also, a pinch of asafetida, which I've never heard of but may look up next time I'm at the Indian grocery.

Indian Cooking | Chai

Embarking on some new experiments, courtesy of this book I just picked up. Tonight I'm going to start marinading the chicken for some Tandoori Chicken, which I'll cook tomorrow. I've already had fun making the Chai. I love the smell of cardamom.

1 cup water
2 Tbs milk
1 cardamom pod, crushed
1 tsp tea leaves or a tea bag
sugar to taste

Bring the milk,water, and cardamom pod to a boil. Turn heat to low, add the tea, and simmer a minute. Then turn off the heat and let it sit for a few more minutes. Strain and add the sugar. I found an old newspaper clipping I'd cut out ages ago with a variation to this, which had a slice of ginger added.

Applesauce 7-up Jello

When I was at the library book sale the other weekend, I picked up a handful of "community cookbooks," those that are put together as a fundraiser typically for some organization and various members contribute their favorite recipes. Some of them were old and they're fun to read through for forgotten ideas. One of them had a whole bunch of different gelatin salads. It reminded me that jello with fruit cocktail, and sometimes miniature marshmallows, used to be a fairly common after-school snack for us. My mom had a few fancier salads that she would make in these copper molds. I used to have a few of the molds and then "lost" them. However last time I went to my niece's I saw them hanging on her wall and remembered that I'd given them to her! I told her if she got tired of them, I'd take them back for fun, but was glad to see they were in the family.

I did take out for dinner last night, a reward for some good test scores for my eldest. She chose In-n-Out Burgers. The meals all come with sodas and I don't drink soda very often, although it's a big treat for the girls. I remembered one of the salads I'd seen had soda in it, so got a Sprite for myself and used it to make the salad. The measurements were a bit sketchy: one package of gelatin--uh, what size? I thought that when I was a kid jello only came in one size so I used the smaller box. Then it was a 303 can of applesauce. Huh? Luckily one of my old cookbooks converted that to 2 cups for me. And one can of soda--I presumed they meant 12 ounces. The salad didn't set up quite as firm as I'd have liked so I think it might be better with less liquid or more gelatin. Maybe 2 smaller or 1 larger box of jello next time so I'm putting that below.

2 3 oz packages of cherry jello (or the larger 6 oz size obviously)
2 cups applesauce
12 oz lemon-lime soda

Heat the applesauce to boiling and stir in the jello until it's dissolved. Add the soda and refrigerate until firm.

Indian Butter Chicken

I went out to lunch the other day with a couple of friends and we went to a Thai restaurant, within walking distance of my suburban home. I suspect all you city folk find this inconceivable! But I can easily walk to Thai, Indian, Chinese, Japanese, Italian, French, Spanish, Mexican, and more... When I was growing up, I lived in Sonoma (CA) and Mexican was about as exotic as we got--although my parents were big fans of Juanitas, out in Boys' Springs. But now, in the SF Bay Area, you can't keep track of the various "ethnic" restaurants. The first time I ate Chinese food that my mother hadn't tried to fix after taking a cooking class was when I worked for a Chinese/Bostonian architect just out of high school. He would take me to dinner if we had to work late--but only after calling my mother to ask permission! Indian... I can't remember the first time. But I loved it. I worked for a few years with a group of Indians and it was fun to go out to lunch and have some of them order food (Indian or Chinese or whatever) extra spicy and others extra mild.

I found the basics for this in a Cooking Light magazine. I made it for a "date night" a couple of years ago and it was a big hit but I was nervous about fixing it for the kids somehow. But tonight, because of the Thai lunch somehow, I really wanted something with some different flavors. But I didn't want to go shopping just for one meal and I had one girl to feed. I made this with some plain steamed rice and it was a big hit--although she insisted on putting soy sauce on her rice. Ugh.

1 onion, chopped
2 Tbs minced fresh ginger (or that jarred stuff that I love!)
1 Tbs oil
2 Tsp garam masala (or see note below)
1 6 oz can tomato paste
2 cups chicken broth
1/2 cup half and half
1 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 3/4" chunks
1/2 tsp pepper
salt to taste
1/4 cup butter
steamed rice

In a large saucepan, heat the oil and cook the onion and ginger, stirring often until the onion is lightly browned. Stir in the garam masala*, then put it all in a blender, add the tomato paste and chicken broth, and whir until smooth.

Put back into the pan, add the half and half, and simmer, stirring often, about 5 minutes until reduced to about 3 cups. Pour sauce into a bowl and set aside. Rinse the pan and reuse for the chicken.

Heat 1 Tbs of the butter over medium-high heat and add the chicken, cooking a few minutes until the outside is no longer pink, 2-3 minutes. Pour the sauce back in and bring to a simmer. Cook for another 4-5 minutes, until the chicken is no longer pink inside. (Take a piece out and cut in half to make sure.) Cut the remaining 3 Tbs of butter into chunks and stir in until melted. Serve over steamed rice. If you like, sprinkle with fresh chopped cilantro and a squeeze of lime.

* If you can't find garam masala in the grocery, you can use this as a substitute, which I did the first time. A few weeks ago during a spice sale at the grocery store, I saw a mix of garam masala and bought it. We also have a local Indian grocery store and I mean to go back there soon. Last time I bought some cardommon for pfefferneuse cookies, some bulk sesame seeds, and a few other things.

1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1/4 tsp crumbled bay leaves
1/8 tsp ground cloves

Easy Alfredo Sauce

2 Tbs butter
1/3 cup cream cheese
2/3 cup milk
pinch of nutmeg
pinch of pepper (white is best!)
1/3 cup grated Parmesan plus more at the table

Melt the butter. Stir in the cream cheese while stirring with a wire whisk. Add the milk slowly, stirring constantly. Bring just to a very low simmer and cook a few minutes. Stir in the nutmeg and pepper. Add the Parmesan, stirring until melted. Cover and let sit until your pasta is done. This sauce is a bit runny but good.

Frozen Foods and Kids' Sports

A confession. Tonight I "warmed" (hard to say cooked!) frozen ravioli and breaded fish filets for dinner! I did make an easy mock alfredo sauce for the cheese ravioli but the rest of dinner was high on convenience and suitable for our sports' night dinner. My girls swim from 5:15 to 6:45. It's just down the street but I like to walk and pick them up so I try to get dinner almost ready by 6:35 when I leave to get them. We get back about 7pm and I try to have at least one child shower while I finish dinner.

So with this menu I could plop the fish filets in the oven, bring the water to a boil and then turn it off until I got back, and finish dinner in 15 minutes upon our return. I brought the water back to a boil while I made the Alfredo Sauce, flipped the fish filets over, put some cut up carrots on the table, put the ravioli in the boiling water--and everything was ready at the same time.

I have to confess I chose the menu partially based on the fact that I splurged on a great burrito at lunch and was not at all hungry. I knew the kids would love it and I wouldn't have to eat much!

Vegetable Soup

My new theme for Sundays is "Soup and Sandwiches." Sandwiches tonight was tuna melts and vegetable soup. I'm open to new ideas for the sandwich part of the Sunday menu. I have an endless variety of soups, but the sandwich part seems to alternate between grilled cheese and tuna melts.

Vegetable Soup

2 carrots, sliced
2 celery stalks, sliced
1 onion diced.
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 small cabbage, sliced
12 leaves kale, chard or some combination
1 turnip, diced or 1 potato, peeled and diced (optional)
1 cup green beans
3 cups diced tomatoes or equivalent canned
8 cups chicken broth
1 can beans (white, kidney, whatever you like), rinsed and drained
1/2 tsp pepper
1 summer squash, green or yellow, sliced
1/4 cup fresh basil, diced
salt to taste

Saute the onion, carrots, and celery in the olive oil for a few minutes. Add the chard/kale and cabbage and cover and cook for 5 minutes, until wilted, stirring periodically. Add the green beans and turnip or potato, cover and cook another few minutes.

Add the diced tomatoes, chicken broth, pepper, and beans. Cover and cook 20 minutes.

Add the summer squash, basil, and salt (after tasting). Cover and cook another 20 minutes.

This is a very flexible soup, of course, as most are! Saute the firm vegetables, wilt the green leafy ones, then cook everything up in the chicken broth basically. Tonight I used Roma tomatoes and basil from the garden, frozen green beans, homemade chicken broth, and everything else from the store. It always comes out good and my girls will happily eat a big bowlful as the first course to just about anything, knowing it counts as the vegetable. I've taught them to be aware of variety, a la the 5 a Day campaign, which I like since it makes it easy for the kids to count up colors!

Chocolate Chip Squares

Here's a treat from Lost Recipes that's great for the lunchbox and easy enough to put the kids in charge of making them! The original recipe called for TWO CUPS of chocolate chips. I made them last night with 1.5 cups but think next time I'll go down to 1 cup.

1 1/2 cups flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup sugar
1/3 cup oil
2 eggs
1/2 cup chopped nuts
1 to 1 1/2 cups chocolate chips

Mix together the flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar. Add the eggs and oil and mix well. Stir in the nuts and chocolate chips. Spread into a greased 8x8 pan (pressing down with your hands to flatten).

Bake at 350 for 30 minutes. Let cool on a rack and then cut into 16 squares.