Ma, after months on hiatus I’m back. But I realized the recipe I brought with me is almost identical to the last post I made. However, it is for very good reason that I’ve posted similar recipes multiple times on our blog:

• Thai food, in general, is some of the best cuisine on the planet, imho.
• Curries, in particular are ideal veggie and protein dumps. It’s truly a mix-and-match. Pick your veggies of choice, and your protein of choice, and as long as you like them, you will like your curry. I do have a rule of thumb that you should have at least one crunchy veggie (red peppers, snap peas, green beans, carrots, etc.), one starchy veggie (potatoes, turnips, sweet potatoes, cauliflower, etc.) and one ace up the sleeve (mushrooms, corn, etc.).
• Curries can be made for even the most allergy-ridden humans. Vegetarian? Make your protein tofu. Gluten free? Already is, if you serve with rice or rice noodles. Peanut allergy? Use a different topping nut other than peanuts. Other nut allergy? Add some crunch on top with crisped onions.
• Curries make for some of the best reheated lunch, and are fairly cheap (depending on your choice of vegetables/protein), making them an ideal option for a single gal on a budget such as myself.

This weekend, I chose curry because I’ve been getting so, SO many zucchini and summer squash from my CSA that I’ve needed a reason to use a lot of it. Actually, there’s a few things from my CSA that I used in this recipe: scallions, jalapenos, squash, peppers, basil. Someone also brought habaneros into the office so I used a few of those.

There’s a few things you’ll always need for a good curry: coconut milk, coconut oil, red curry paste, lemon grass, and a solid aromatic base. Mine is always ginger, garlic, scallions, and something spicy. Sometimes I add onions, sometimes I don’t.

Oh! Two other things to add to the list!

• You can make curries as spicy or not spicy as you like. I’ve grown into spicy foods in my twenties, so I opt for spicy, but in HS I would have asked for the mildest curry I could have, thank you very much.
• If you include enough broth, it can be a curry-soup. If you don’t, it’s just a curry. Serve over rice or noodles either way!

Lately, I’ve been on a bit of a vegetarian kick (though if someone wants to buy me a steak, I won’t say no…) so I used some Twin Oaks extra firm tofu as my protein. A lovely woman in Whole Foods swore by this tofu for stir-fries and curries. She said you don’t even have to press it, it’s pretty much good to go out of the package, and how right she was!

My favorite tofu marinade lately has been soy sauce, sesame oil, and rice vinegar. Then I use chopsticks to turn the tofu so all sides get nice and browned.

Serve over rice noodles, top with lime juice, fresh basil and peanuts and you’re good to go! I’ve put more details on the other pages as to the method, so this post is more of an ode to Thai curry and my CSA. But it took me under an hour to make, I had enough to share with a friend and two more lunches, and was delicious to boot. If you want me to write out a recipe for last night’s curry though, let me know and I’ll include it at the bottom!

Also I took a picture of my friend at my new table/living room set up to a) prove I have friends and b) show the readers my lovely new corner table set up, which I’m really, really proud of.

I’ve got a huge backlog of recipes and posts, Ma, but for now, live long & eat well!

Guys look I have a friend! And a kick-ass light fixture!!