Gazpacho with roasted tomatillos and basil cream.

3 tomatillos, roasted at 400 for about 20 min.

3 med tomatoes

half a bell pepper

half a cucumber

half an onion

1 garlic clove

dash tabasco
1. Add everything to blender... blend!

Basil Cream

1 cup cream

1 cup basil

1. I used a stick blender but you can use a food processor.

Serve: Spoon gazpacho into bowl, drizzle with basil cream and mix in some avocado chunks! YUM.

Pesce spada alla Norma.

Pasta alla Norma, but with swordfish. YUM.

Pesce Spada alla Norma

1 4 or 5oz swordfish steak, cooked however you want (I broiled mine with some lemon).

1 eggplant, cut into 1/2 inch cubes, salted, drained and pat dry.

1 small red onion, diced

2 garlic cloves, diced

2 tomatoes, diced

4 celery tops, minced

1 cup basil leaves, cut in chiffonade

2 T tomato paste

Sprinkle of oregano

Goat cheese

1. Het some lard in a nonstick pan over medhigh heat. Fry eggplant in lard until soft and golden. Make sure the lard is good and hot so the eggplant wont just sop it all up. Having the eggplant WELL drained and pat VERY dry also helps. I used about 2 T lard and had some left when the eggplant was done. Trust me, if you do it right, you wont have oil sponge eggplant yuck.

2. At the last few seconds, sprinkle oregano onto eggplant so it wakes up a little. Remove eggplant from pan.

3. Turn heat to med. Add onion to pan, cook for about 2 min. Add tomato, garlic and celery tops to pan. Let cook about 10 min until tomato is soft and breaking up.

4. Add tomato paste and a little water to dissolve. Heat for a couple mins.

5. Add basil leaves at the last minute and serve. I put in on top of swordfish steaks but you can do whatever sounds yummy! Sprinkle goat cheese on top (supposed to be ricotta salata but I really like goat cheese).

Spring Catch-up.

Well this blog entry seems to be all side dishes. AND all Primal-friendly! Just wanted to get some pics out there so I could clear some files. Nothing crazy today...

Veggie stir fry. Zucchini, oyster mushroom, cabbage, carrot, broccoli stem, snap pea, celery. Add a little garlic, ginger, soy sauce and sesame oil.

Yum. Rabbit with tomato, onion, cream and parsley.
Zucchini and tomatoes with a little seasonings.

Asparagus and shallots with fennel pollen and a little lemon.

Sauteed veggies with lemongrass.

BLT salad with avocado. Dressing is yogurt, cream and some Mrs Dash table blend. It was quick.

I loooove me some bacon.

Taste & Create #2: Passion + Love + Patience = Good Food.

Well, here I am continuing the T&C trades! I really enjoy doing it. I missed the Dec/Jan one because I was in Ecuador, not gonna lie... I'm not too sad about the trade! But here I am stateside again and its time to get back to all my stateside things. Sooo, here for the 2nd T&C I was paired with Shilpa of Passion + Love + Patience = Good Food. I was originally going to do the Cauliflower Curry recipe, but I logged on again to get the recipe and saw a green curry recipe. It seemed so fresh and vibrant with herbs and it featured one of my fave things: coconut milk. So my mind changed , fast. Dory Green Fish Curry. I did everything the same except I substituted in zucchini for the fish. Why? I don't know, it sounded good and I like zucchini. A mild veg to really let the curry shine through.

Zucchini Green Curry
1 big yellow onion, chopped
2 zucchini, sliced
8-10 sprigs of parsley leaves
8-10 sprigs of basil leaves
3 sprigs of mint leaves
3 green chillies (I left this out because I am wimpy with de spice)
1 tsp ginger paste
1 tsp garlic paste
coconut milk
salt to taste

Method:
1. In a blender, blend coriander, basil and mint. Set aside.
2. Heat oil in a pan. Fry onions till it starts turning light brown.
3. Add ginger garlic paste. Fry for 1 or 2 mins.
4. Add the zucchini and fry for 1 or 2 mins.
5. Add the blended mixture and cook for 1 or 2 mins on low-medium flame.
6. Add the coconut milk for the consistency you desire. Cook on low-medium flame for about 4 mins.

Curry, done. The daffodils were blooming so I had to include them!

Close up, with a little extra coconut milk.

Mmmmmm...

I really liked this. It was super simple and very tasty. I love that. Minimal effort for max flavor. I suspect you could add anything to it, while keeping the sauce the same. Yum.

Thanks Shilpa!

Indian meal, in pictures.

MENU:

Vegetable-coconut curry

Veg pakora

Aloo tikki

Rice (no pic)

Naan (no pic)

Tamarind date chutney

Mango lassi

Rice Pudding with coconut and cardamom (no pic)

Making the tamarind-date chutney.

Making paneer.

Weigh it down.

Frying the pakora.

Finished pakora.

Aloo tikki... I LOVE THESE.

Really baaad pic of the raita.

Mango lassi. Delicious.

1.5 c yogurt

2 ripe mangoes, peeled and seeded

1/2 - 3/4 c water

1 t rosewater

honey to taste

Mix with a hand blender or blender. Serve very cold, I like it over ice.

Veggie curry.

Made with paneer, raisins, lots of veg (whatever you want) and a coconut curry sauce.