Anda (egg) Curry

Inspired by egg curry recipe That my friends mom made long time ago. She poached the eggs in the onion mixture and I decided to boil and keep them whole. These whole egg curry with caramalized onion are easy and scrumptious with rice!

 

What I did:

- Boil eggs

- Caramelize 2 small onions in oil on low heat

- When they are brown and sweet, add a little garlic, turmeric, paprika, white pepper and salt

- Add eggs, toss to coat. Top with cilantro.

 

Jalapeños and Kielbasa Cornbread

Easy peasy! Inspired by jalapeño stuffed with cornbread that my co-worked made for us. I decided to just cut up the jalapeño and make a cornbread instead. 

 

Here's how you make it: 

Ingredients: 1 box corn muffin mix (jiffy's is better... I tired the generic too so trust me), 1 jalapeño - de-seeded and chopped into little pieces, kielbasa chopped and roughly as much as jalapeño, cheddar or pepper jack cheese- cut into lil pieces and as much as kielbasa, 1/2 can sweet cream corn, 2 tsp sugar (can be skipped because corn is already sweet)

Make it: Pre-heat oven to 400F. Mix first 4 ingredients together, add the cream corn and sugar and stir. Let sit for 3-4 minutes. Pour in a greased loaf pan and bake for 25-30 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Kielbasa and Shrimp Gumbo

Smokey kielbasa made me think if Gumbo! So I decided to make some. 

Here's what you need:

Kielbasa, raw shrimp, frozen mix veggies, oil, flour, thyme, bay leaves, Worcestershire sauce, onion, garlic + ginger paste, jalapeños (de-seeded and as desired), cilantro (optional), canned tomatoes, water or stock, paprika 

Here's what I did:

Make the roux: Heat oil on high heat, whisk in flour and lower the heat to medium low. Cook this stirring frequently until it is the color of milk chocolate.The ratio of flour and oil is 1:1.

When the roux is done, add onions, jalapeños and ginger+garlic paste. Cook until veggies are soft and fragrant. Add tomatoes little at a time if the roux is too thick. Add all the tomatoes, veggies and cut up kielbasa, water or stock, paprika, worcestershire sauce, little salt (watch the salt if you are using stock) and simmer for at least 30 minutes. 

Add the shrimp and simmer for another 8-10 minutes or until the shrimp is curled and pink. Top with cilantro or parsley and serve with white rice! YUM!

Peach Sangriaaa!!

Spring is here! Although it brings very many allergies for yours truly, it also brings colorful fruits. And how best to take your daily dose of fruits? With some alcohol of course :)

I was looking for peaches but could not find them in the store I went to. Didn't wanna go to a different store so I used mangoes and strawberries for fruits. I love mangoes and miss them very much. What you find in the stores in the East Coast seems like a mango flavored fruit... Awesome for sangria!

Here's what you do:

1 bottle moscato or Riesling (I prefer moscato)

1/4 bottle (big) peach brandy or peach schnapps

2 oranges juiced

1 mango cut up into little pieces

8-10 pieces strawberry cut into little pieces

Mix everything in a jug and keep in the fridge overnight. Top it off with sparkling water or a little soda for fizz while serving! Drink at your discretion! Haha

General Tso inspired Tofu!

It's been a while since I posted anything but I think I am in the mood again! So here is a tasty treat vegetarians and non vegs will equally enjoy. I had everything at hand so I whipped it up quick. Yummy with white rice!

I had firm tofu so if you have that handle with care and cut bigger chunks. I don't measure anything but I did put too much ginger but I love it! For those of you who measure here is the recipe:
http://www.grumpyshoneybunch.com/2009/05/general-tsostofu.html?m=1

Chocolate Cupcake with Mocha Swiss Merengue Buttercream

What can be better than chocolate cupcake with yummy mocha buttercream frosting? Well nothing. For those days when you are craving chocolate.

What I did different (Cupcake):
*I don't like really sweet anything so only used 1/2 cup of brown sugar and about 3/4 cup of regular sugar. If you are not sure, make original recipe (half it first, experimentation needs lesser quantity and the original recipe makes about 2 dozen cupcakes) and adjust accordingly next time.
*Used instant coffee because I did not want to make fresh coffee so I put a cup of water in the micro and then coffee powder to hot water.
*I also didn't have cocoa powder so I just used 1/2 cup of Starbucks dark hot chocolate (I just added that with coffee to the hot water). If you use regular hot chocolate reduce the amount of sugar even further.
*Note: This really is very yummy and easy chocolate cake recipe. You just mix everything in, pour and bake. It might become my staple choc cake recipe :)

Cupcake recipe: http://www.diddlesanddumplings.com/2012/05/marshmallow-filled-buttermilk-mocha.html?m=1

Buttercream recipe: http://sweetapolita.com/2011/04/swiss-meringue-buttercream-demystified/

What I did differently: Only used 2.5 cups of butter. Melted chocolate and instant coffee and folded that to the buttercream after its done (about 5-6 chalets of dark chocolate melted in a double boiler)

Thai Red Curry Shrimp

So I bought this tin of red curry paste to try and see how I like it. It isn't bad but not as good as when you make it from scratch (which I have done before but that is another post).

What I used (coz I had them on hand): onion, ginger, garlic, frozen vegetables, mushrooms, coconut milk, red curry paste, fish sauce and shrimps

What I did: Sauté onions with garlic and ginger. Add frozen vegetables and a little curry paste (use your discretion as it can be pretty spicy). Add some coconut milk (I don't like it really creamy so I only added a little bit but adjust according to taste). Any extra coconut milk can be frozen in ice cube trays and then used as necessary. A little water or stock to thin the sauce out. Add fish sauce to taste (the paste itself is salty). When it starts bubbling add shrimp and mushrooms. Cook until shrimp is curled and pink. Garnish with cilantro (optional).

Serve over white rice (or any other rice you like). Vegetarians can skip adding shrimp and add any veggie you like. Thai eggplants are really good in this and so are peppers.