All Photos © Christine Elise McCarthy 2014
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Well – once again – I took an extended break from the blog – because my mom was in town from Boston. We spent the week eating & drinking in public. See? Here are some highlights (and a few pictures of my mom, me & my pal, David J. Wayne). I will state where they were taken beneath the images.



Spitz (Los Feliz)


Robbie Mac’s

PF Changs (Sherman Oaks Galleria)

Silverlake Ramen House

The Thirsty Crow

La Poubelle


Cheesecake Factory (The Americana)

Sushi Stop (Hollywood)

La Poubelle

Oh my fucking God – the awesome TOSCANA! Treat yourselves. Seriously.

La Poubelle


Figaro Bistrot


Chi Dynasty

La Poubelle


The 101.
OK – so – all that happened (and more) – but now I will move on to this delicious & easy curry!
I made this, as I so often do, from stuff I had around. I have a freezer full of Beyond Meat’s amazing vegan chicken. I also had a head of cauliflower & some mushrooms that were on their last legs & a can of garbanzo beans (chick peas). If you do not have any of these or loathe one of them – 86’m. I had this gorgeous-looking harissa stuff here (that I got at TJ Maxx – a great resource for exotic but cheap ingredients):

and a can of lite coconut milk. If you don’t have harissa – use sriracha or another hot sauce. And feel free to use full-fat coconut milk, if that’s what floats your boat.
You could make this in a slow-cooker if you desired. You could make it with real chicken. It is a pretty forgiving recipe but it is delicious!!!! And easy!



Spicy Vegan Chicken and Mushroom Curry with Cauliflower and Chickpeas
Makes a lot – enough for 4 easy – maybe more
INGREDIENTS
9 oz vegan chicken – thawed a bit & cut into cubes
1/2 lb mushrooms – sliced
1 onion – diced
1/2 head cauliflower – broken into small florets (optional)
1 (15 oz) can chickpeas – drained & rinsed (optional)
1 (13.5 oz) can coconut milk (I used lite)
2 TBS coconut oil (or olive oil)
6 oz tomato paste ( I used some leftover, homemade spicy red pasta sauce)
3 garlic cloves – minced
1 tsp ginger – minced
2-3 TBS mango chutney (or use an apricot preserve – if chutney is not available)
1 TBS harissa sauce (or sriracha or other hot sauce)
1 tsp ground coriander
2 tsp garam masala
1 tsp curry powder ( I used red curry powder but any will do)
2 tsp turmeric
1 tsp chili powder
S&P
Cilantro as garnish
Cornstarch (only if your curry is too thin)
Cooked rice






DIRECTIONS
This is not rocket science. You would have to try pretty hard to fuck this up. Short of burning it – I can’t really think of what one could do to ruin it. The order things are added is a guide but little more.
Cook up some rice. I used brown basmati.
Heat the coconut (or olive) oil in a large saute pan over high heat. Saute the onions & mushrooms until soft – stirring frequently. This should take about 5 minutes.





Add the garlic & ginger & stir for about a minute. Try not to burn the garlic. Then – add the coconut milk & combine.
Then – you can pretty much just add everything else. Lower heat to medium & simmer for a while. If you wanted to – once you added the garlic & ginger – you could just dump everything into a slow cooker & let it cook there on high for a few hours or more.
Either way – it is done when the cauliflower is tender.
If the curry seems too thin, maybe whisk in a TBS of cornstarch. Mine got too thick & I ended up adding a good cup or two of water. I imagine you will be doing the water addition, too, but the thickness is up to your personal taste.
Season with S&P & maybe more chutney or hot sauce – depending on your palate.
Serve over rice & garnish with cilantro. And there you go! Easy, right? 🙂






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