Thai Red Curry with Vegetables

I'm sure most of you have seen the news about how red and processed meat increases your risk for cancer. Of course I read the article the morning after I made my pork tenderloin recipe. While it isn't a new claim, it is a great reminder to limit weekly red meat intake. (Treat treats as treats) 

For me, a more interesting study came out of our neighbors at UCSF that puts hard facts against the claim that "a calorie is a calorie." When 44 overweight children changed their diet to dramatically reduce sugar, but kept caloric intake the same (eating hot dogs, potato chips and pizza) they showed significant improvements in health measurements in just 10 days. It is studies like these that will wear down the big sugar industry and government to eventually have to step their game up against sugar. This brings me to my recent life update - I signed up for an online General Nutrition course through Berkeley Extension! I'm excited to share things I'm learning in "class" on my blog, and put a little formal education behind all of my ranting and raving. 

This brings us to tonight's meal. My mom trekked across the bay to come to my house for dinner tonight. I made a seasonal thai curry with big chunks of velvety butternut squash and other vegetables in a spicy coconut broth.

Gratitude journal entry: I'm so grateful to have my mom only a few minutes away. We went many years across the country from each other, so we don't take any of our visits for granted. 

 
With mom's help, this dinner was done in just about 20 minutes from start to finish. I recommend pairing with a glass of red wine and Adele's new song "Hello" to get the full effect. 

Thai Red Curry with Vegetables

Recipe: Cookie and Kate

1 cup white rice, cooked per package instructions

1 tablespoon coconut oil

1 white onion, chopped

pinch of salt

1 tablespoon fresh ginger, grated

2-3 garlic cloves, minced

1 yellow bell pepper, chopped

2 cups 1" cubed butternut squash

6-8 baby carrots, chopped on diagonal

3 tablespoons red curry paste

1 can coconut milk

1 1/2 cups kale, roughly chopped

1 1/2 teaspoons rice vinegar

2 teaspoons soy sauce

1 teaspoon sriracha

squeeze of lemon juice

4-5 large basil leaves, sliced plus more for garnish

In a rice cooker or large pot, cook rice. Leave covered.

In a large skillet, heat coconut oil and add onions, butternut squash and salt. Cook onions and butternut squash for about 5 minutes until lightly softened. Add in bell pepper and carrots and cook for an additional 4-5 minutes. Add curry paste, garlic and ginger and cook until aromatic, a couple minutes. Add in coconut milk, kale, vinegar and soy sauce. Cook down until kale is wilted and butternut squash is tender. 

Stir in basil leaves, lemon juice and sriracha. Taste to make sure no additional salt is needed. Serve over rice with basil on top. 

Brown Sugar Spiced Pork Tenderloin with Whipped Sweet Potato

Two of my best friends and I went up to wine country this weekend for a couple free tastings, taking advantage of our respective wine club memberships. Wine country is never a bad idea... charcuterie boards, photo ops, the best kind of nature. And all the wine. First stop was Ram's Gate. 

I spotted a kale tree in their garden, which is apparently a thing.

The charcuterie board though... all local everything, including chocolate toffee bark. The star of the board in my eyes was the chicken liver mousse, and that's not usually my thing. 

Followed by a pumpkin and ricotta ravioli, #becausefall.

The last stop was Scribe, which I've written about many times on this blog. It never disappoints. 

The best part about this visit was that I already know I'm coming back in two weeks for the pick up party! 

Gratitude journal entry: I'm grateful to be able to visit California's wine country whenever I want. It is always worth the 45 minute drive away. 

So that dinner I was gonna make on Friday got rescheduled to Sunday. Sundays can be tough. I find myself fighting three separate fronts: the need to complete all life admin duties (laundry, groceries, eating vegetables, cleaning my apartment). Or the opposite desire, to hide under the covers as the Sunday Scaries wash over you (or simply taking advantage of the "day of rest"). And lastly FOMO (fear of missing out), the need to take advantage of your day off, be social, participate in Sunday Funday. I don't know what a successful balance looks like, but at least I'll eat well tonight and I have clean clothes to wear in the morning. 

This pork loin recipe is not new to the Plate either, but it's been a while. 

Brown Sugar Spiced Pork Loin

Rub Ingredients:
2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
2 pork tenderloins (2 1/2 lb. total), each tenderloin cut into two chunks
2 tablespoons olive oil

Glaze ingredients:
1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar
2 tablespoons finely chopped garlic (about 6-8 cloves)
1 tablespoon tabasco sauce (or Sriracha)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a small bowl, stir together salt, pepper, cumin, chili powder, and cinnamon, then coat the pork with the spice rub. Heat the oil in an ovenproof 12-inch heavy skillet that is ovenproof (I used my cast iron skillet) over medium high heat until the oil is hot and rippling. Brown the pork, turning, about 4 minutes total. Leave pork in the skillet. If you don’t have an ovenproof skillet, brown the pork in a skillet and transfer it to a foil-lined baking pan (like a 9X13-inch). I’ve done both and either method works great.

Stir together the brown sugar, garlic, and Tabasco and pat on top of each tenderloin. Roast in the middle of the oven until a thermometer inserted diagonally in center of each tenderloin registers 140, about 25 minutes. Let pork stand in the skillet at room temperature for 10 minutes. The temperature will rise to about 155 while standing. Slice on the diagonal and serve, spooning the sauce from the skillet on top of the pork.

For the whipped sweet potatoes, I just roasted (2) whole yams at 400 for 45 minutes, until very soft. Mashed them in a bowl with a fork and added a few tablespoons coconut water to thin it out and a dash of cumin and chili powder.  

Off the Grid Dinner Date

The plan for tonight was to cook dinner, play board games, and watch house flipping shows. On the walk to the store to pick up groceries, we called an audible. The glowing lights, the savory smells of 20+ food trucks and and the sounds of all the people having fun derailed our low-key night in. 

The thing about food trucks is that you're always subject to severe food and drink envy because there is no way to have everything. Death by indecision. The no-brainer was the Magnolia Proving Ground IPA, San Francisco's finest.  

The other no-brainer was The Chairman's Coca Cola braised pork steam buns. We knew ourselves enough to know we weren't going to be those people in the 50-deep line for a lobster roll or the new Korean BBQ truck, so we opted to split some chicken and veggie dumplings in spicy vinegar sauce. Then the sub-zero temperatures hit (at least 52 with a breeze!) Yep, fall is here... and it's time to call it a night!

Clearly a steam bun and a dumpling isn't quiiite enough for a growing girl. So on a Safeway run to grab a banana, Nathan couldn't resist the cinnamon scented pine cones. Now autumn has really made it's presence known in my apartment. 

To top it off, some sourdough toast with peanut butter, banana and pumpkin... heavy on the cinnamon. 

Gratitude journal entry: In case it wasn't obvious...I'm grateful for all things fall!

Double Chocolate Chip Avocado Cookies

I was asked the other day what autumn means to me, and what I do in autumn that makes me the happiest. To me, autumn is hands down the best cooking season. The flavors and seasonal produce, the temperature outside, the holidays - food ties it all together. I am the happiest when I'm curating new recipes to make for people I love. My mom is coming over for dinner next week and I'm already excited about the recipe hunt for that special occasion. 

In the last 10 months, I've faced a new challenge: cooking without dairy. Now that I am with someone who is allergic to dairy, I've expanded my horizons to include vegan and dairy-free blogs, and taught myself the art of substitutions. These cookies are one of my first baking attempts employing the substitution technique. Because, gosh darn it, I will bake chocolate chip cookies for my boyfriend. 

Gratitude journal entry: I'm grateful for the dairy free cooking movement. There are now so many recipes and products available to substitute out the white stuff that I can cook the things I love in creative, healthier ways and share them with N.

I spotted this recipe on True Aim. 

Double Chocolate Chip Avocado Cookies

1 Medium Ripe Avocado

4-5 tablespoon Honey (Agave, or Stevia)

1 Egg

1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract

½ cup Peanut Butter or Almond Butter

½ cup Cocoa Powder

½ cup Chocolate Chips (Cacao chips, or dark/semi sweet)
Sprinkle brown sugar

Preheat your oven to 350 and prepare a baking sheet with parchment.

Cream together the avocado and sweetener until smooth. Then add the egg and mix until no lumps remain.

Next add the peanut butter and slowly add the Cocoa Powder 2 tbs at a time. If the mixture looks too sticky, leave 1 or 2 tbs out. You want the consistency to be smooth just like the peanut butter. Stir in the Chocolate Chips by hand and put the mixture in a plastic sandwich bag. Cut a hole the size of a nickle in one corner and squeeze out 1 inch rounds onto the parchment. (Or scoop them with a spoon, like I did.) *I also sprinkled brown sugar on the top.

Bake for 10-12 minutes or until the middle of the cookies look set, not shiny. Makes 12-18 cookies. Store in the refrigerator.

Eggplant & Chickpea Curry

I ran into my wonderful ex-roommate, Carolina alumna, Caroline at our hot yoga sculpt class this past weekend (that's yoga + heat + weights, people). We were 9 months overdue on life updates, so we decided to get together for dinner to catch up. I hosted at my palace, and she supplied the Pinot.

She told me about her recent hiatus from work where she quit her job, went traveling through South America with her boyfriend, and came back to work part time for another company. I've always admired how she makes traveling such a priority in her life. Coincidentally, today Nathan (my boyfriend) and I booked our flights down to Santa Barbara for Christmas, and a weekend excursion to Seattle in November. I love having things to look forward to. 

Gratitude journal entry: I'm grateful for vacations. However long or short, close or far. To relinquish responsibility and get to spend quality time with my people has become more precious to me as I get older. 

Tonight I made eggplant and chickpea curry over quinoa. Eggplant found its way into my heart late in life, but it quickly became one of my favorite vegetables. It soaks up whatever flavor you cook it in, and has the most tender texture. But to be real, this recipe had me at dates. 

There's my messy plate of curry! Yum. I can't wait to eat it again tomorrow. Recipe inspiration from Be Well By Kelly.

Eggplant & Chickpea Curry

1 cup quinoa

1 eggplant, diced into 1" cubes

1 can chickpeas, rinsed and dried

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons coconut or olive oil

1 onion, diced

1 tablespoon coconut oil

1 can coconut milk

3 tablespoons curry powder

3 dates, chopped

2 tablespoons raisins

squeeze of lemon

salt and pepper

*sriracha

*cilantro

Preheat oven to 425. On a baking sheet covered with tin foil, toss eggplant and chickpeas in oil and spread out evenly. Roast for 15-20 minutes, until eggplant is soft. 

In a small saucepan, bring 1 cup quinoa and 2 cups water to a boil. Cover, and lower heat to a simmer for 15 minutes. Cover until ready to serve. 

In a large skillet, sauté onions until translucent. Add coconut milk, curry and dates. Once this cooks down a bit, 3-4 minutes, stir in eggplant and chickpeas, lemon juice, and salt and pepper to taste. Serve over quinoa with sriracha and cilantro. I didn't do this, but chopped nuts wouldn't have been a bad addition, either. 

Quinoa with Swiss Chard & Chickpeas

At just one month away from going a calendar year since my last post, I picked back up the pen (so to speak). I am three days into a 45 day "Wellness Reset" where I'm essentially making more time for the things in life that make me happy. Not surprisingly, I thought of my blog. After another year on the daily grind, I've let my own interests slip from the to do list. It's taken a toll on my stress levels, creative energy and positive attitude. Life's too short for that. To quote Mary Oliver, "Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?" Not sit around and stress about monitor arms, that's for damn sure. 

During this 45 days, I will be cooking 2+ meals a week (not just utilitarian cooking, but a meal with some creativity and planning), I'll be writing in a gratitude journal, and listening to educational and inspiring podcasts. So this is where I'm starting. 

Gratitude Journal entry: I am grateful for Farmers Markets. 

My accountability coach, who is leading me through this wellness reset, sent me a version of this recipe this morning. I took my grocery list first to the farmers market (and then Trader Joe's, clearly). There's something about a freshly picked bushel of swiss chard, or basket of cherry tomatoes from the farmers market that makes you feel like a better person when you're cooking with it. It has integrity, it was grown with care, and has only traveled a few miles to get to you. I haven't gone to them nearly enough, but maybe I'll start to now!

An old friend of mine used to say he could "hear me living longer" when I'd tell him about the healthy meals I was making. This would be a good example of one of those meals. 

Quinoa with Swiss Chard & Chickpeas

1 cup dried quinoa, rinsed

1/2 cup pistachio nuts, shelled

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 cloves garlic, minced

3 cups swiss chard, chopped

1/2 cup raisins

1 can chickpeas, rinsed and patted dry

3/4 teaspoon sea salt

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1/2 teaspoon cumin

1/2 teaspoon turmeric

Squeeze of lemon

*optional: Sriracha

Prepare quinoa per instructions on package. 

In a large skillet, toast pistachios for 2-3 minutes until fragrant. Remove nuts and set them aside. Return skillet to medium flame and heat olive oil. Sauté garlic until fragrant but not burned (about 1 minute) and add remaining ingredients. Stir until chard is wilted, about 7 minutes. 

Once quinoa is ready, stir it into the chard and chickpea mixture with a squeeze of lemon. Top with pistachios and serve.