Coconut Chili Fish Stew

Want to know a secret? I don’t think I’ve ever actually tasted fish curry. But somehow I’ve been craving it. I’ve been craving seafood in general, actually. I think fish is a simple way to get variety and nutrients into your diet. Kind of like roasted vegetables: spice both up with lemon and fresh herbs and you have an easy, delicious meal.

I made this curry the other night and found it to be quite tasty. Keep in mind that when you use ingredients that are heavier bodied (béchamel, coconut milk), the dish can withstand a little more spice so you might need to add more than the amounts I’ve listed in order to make sure the broth is super flavorful.

Mahi Mahi pieces (I used these from Trader Joe’s)

1 can coconut milk

1 lemon

1 lime

6-7 basil leaves

ginger powder, garam masala powder, chili powder, red pepper flakes (1/2 tsp each)

5 cloves garlic

4 carrots, julienned

½ cup bamboo shoots
*If I’d had them, I would have added 3 curry leaves and a couple kefir lime leaves as well

Marinate the fish in lemon juice for 30 minutes

Fry the garlic then add the carrots and bamboo shoots

Mix in your spices: ginger powder, garam masala powder, chili powder, red pepper flakes, and curry and lime leaves (if using).

Pour in the coconut milk and bring to a boil

Nestle the fish into the sauce, making sure the pieces are totally covered

Season with pepper and salt and add the chopped basil leaves.

Cook 15 min, covered.

Serve over rice or as-is, like a stew but make sure to sprinkle with a few fresh basil leaves and a squirt of fresh lime juice.

Magic Bars - for the Super-Sweet (Tooth)

Some days we just have a hankering for something from a memory. For me it was magic bars: you know, shortbread cookie on the bottom with chocolate chips and coconut on top. What pulls it all together is a layer of sticky sweet condensed milk. The chef at my dorm used to make them and they were the best - but very, very buttery. I always felt so guilty afterward.

And yet I found myself wishing for one so badly. Happily, I happened the have all the ingredients in my cupboards. Here is the recipe I used, from Martha Stewart Everyday Living.

Also! Did you know that Tollhouse has come out with dark chocolate chips!!! They are super, super yummy! Not on par with Ghirardelli yet, but still a very good consistency and a step up from the semisweet.

Magic Bars (aka Everything Bars)

3/4 cup butter, cut into small pieces

1/2 cup confectioners sugar

1 1/2 cups flour

1/2 tsp salt

3/4 cup oats

1 cup chocolate chips

1 15 oz can condensed milk, I used 2%

2 cups plus a little more shredded sweetened coconut

(the recipe also said you could add a 1/2 cup raisins and 1 cup walnut pieces)

Start by preheating the oven to 375 degrees. Prepare a 9x13 inch pan - use buttered parchment paper or Pam.

In a food processor pulse butter, sugar, flour, and salt. Then add oats and pulse again. Pack into the bottom of the pan and bake until golden brown - 20 minutes.

Once it comes out, let it cool for about 5 minutes. I added this step so the chocolate chips wouldn't melt all over the place. I like them to hold a little shape.

Sprinkle over the chips ans walnuts, and raisins, if using. Drizzle over this the can of condensed milk, then the coconut, making sure to cover the top completely.

Bake another 20 minutes until the coconut is golden - careful not to overcook otherwise the coconut might burn. Don't touch them because the milk is really hot when it comes out of the oven.

Let cool a little before cutting into 18 pieces. You can cut them smaller if you want, because they are really sweet and a little goes a long way.

Hey Puddin'

The other day I had a dream that I made rice pudding... I woke up with a terrible craving for it and in a haze I had a most brilliant idea to use the Silk Coconut Milk I had purchased for my smoothies. The milk overpowered the flavor of the fruits, so I was getting a bit tired of having flat-palate drinks; using the coconut milk in lieu of whole milk or even skim seemed like the PERFECT substitution for a rice pudding. Aaaand I did have a lot of basmati rice in the cupboard. So I threw off the covers and plopped myself in front of the computer, froggy pjs and all, in search of a recipe. I just wanted a plain and simple recipe since I'd never made rice pudding before and I wanted to invent my own flavors by steeping the pudding with a few cardamon pods.

My recipe is loosely based off this one from Ina Garten. Although right now, I must say I am not happy with her after turning down the Make-A-Wish child's desire to cook with her not once, but twice. I mean, it looks pretty bad, Ina, no matter how you slice it...

Now, don't be intimidated by the thought of making your own rice pudding. It really is quite simple, but you need to be sure to cook the rice through before taking it off the heat, because once it's in the fridge, it really won't get any - um - mushier.

Creamy Coconut Rice Pudding

What you need:

3/4 c basmati rice

1/2 tsp salt

5 cups vanilla coconut milk - in the half gallon carton, not the canned stuff - that's wayyy too fatty and expensive

1/3 c sugar

1 egg, lightly beaten (this is optional)

1 1/2 tsp vanilla

5 cardamom pods

What you do:

Combine the rice, salt, and 1 1/2 cups of the milk in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Stir once, then lower the heat to a simmer, cover the pot, and cook on the lowest heat for 8-9 minutes. Don't open the lid - the rice is steeeeeaming :) If you have a hot stove, keep the pan halfway off the heat because you don't want the bottom to scorch.

Take off the lid and add 3 more cups of coconut milk, sugar, and cardamom pods. Taste to see if it needs more sugar, but using vanilla coconut milk helps reduce the normal amount in most rice puddings.

Simmer, uncovered for 30-35 minutes -until the rice is tender to the bite. Towards the end of the time, the pudding will thicken a lot so stir often. Add the vanilla. This is when Ina says to add the egg, but you could skip this step. I did it but tempered the egg first in a bit of the pudding - still, tiny specks of cooked egg formed. They didn't bother me, and I think the egg helped tighten up the pudding, but I like mine loose so I could have done without it.

Take off the heat and serve warm, or put in the fridge for later. Take the pods out before storing, though, otherwise they overpower the pudding and it can taste a little "off.

Hodge-Podge Curry

So...it's hard to cook during the week when you've got class from 8am-2pm. Last weekend I decided I'd make one big meal over the week and eat it throughout - that way I get home-cooked food, but I also don't need to take time away from studying to eat it. It can be boring eating the same old thing day in and day out, though. So make something that's absolutely worth it :)

I haven't made a curry in AGES, so I decided on that. Thanks to a very nice person in my CERT program who drove me to the grocery store, I was able to go shopping for the necessary ingredients.

Here's what I did:

To make the curry, it's actually really, really easy. Fry about 1 tsp black peppercorns, cardamon pods, 1 cinnamon stick, some whole cloves, and a bay leaf until the cardamon pods start to puff up. I usually throw the spices into the hot oil and cover with a pot lid, then shake it- that way the hot oil doesn't burn me. Take the spices out of the frying pan when they're done and, in the same oil, saute 1 large onion, thinly sliced, and about 3 cloves of minced garlic. Let these get really crispy looking - this means they are sweeter which is always a delicious thing!

In a pot, let some coconut milk come to a simmer and add the spices and some yogurt. Then I added a can of garbanzo beans. Meat is expensive, and beans have some great nutrients in them - so this is a great hint. I also put in the leftover chicken I had saved from my stir-fry . You can also add tofu or feta cheese if you want. Let this whole thing cook on low heat for about 1 hour, adding some milk to thin it out as necessary.

Serve over rice or yogurt.

The best thing about curry/soup/stew is that it tastes better the longer it sits so by the time I finished my leftovers today, they were 5 x better than when I made the dish on Sunday. Not many food items have this special quality.

It's Labor Day weekend, so hopefully I'll be able to put up another post later this week!