Slurp-tastic Herb Noodles

I recently tried this recipe from Heidi Swanson over at 101 Cookbooks. I love pretty much all kinds of curry regardless of where they’re from or how spicy (or not) they are. This one calls for either green or yellow curry paste—I tried green, which I’d never cooked with before, and I’ve eaten it for at least three meals in the past week. I think you could say I liked it.

4 oz thin, dried spinach pasta
1 cup coconut milk (light is fine)
Scant 1 tbsp green or yellow curry paste
1 1/2 cups lightly flavored vegetable broth
1/4 tsp salt (more or less depending on the saltiness of your broth)
6 oz tofu, cut into small cubes or pieces
1/4 cup chives, minced
1/3 cup cilantro, chopped (I left out the cilantro)
1/4 cup basil, chopped just before using
Pinch of crushed red chili peppers (I used a lot more than a pinch--I like a little kick)

Bring a large pot of water to a rolling boil. This is eventually going to be the pot you cook the pasta in.

In a separate large, thick-bottomed pot, bring 1/4 cup of the coconut milk to a simmer, mash and stir the curry paste into the coconut milk so there are no lumps. Now add the rest of the coconut milk and the vegetable broth and bring to a boil, reduce heat to a simmer and stir in the tofu. Taste and decide if you need to add more curry paste or salt—if you do want to add more curry paste at this point, make a slurry by combining the additional curry paste and a bit of the broth, working any lumps out—add this to the pot.

Back at the pasta pot, salt the water generously and cook the pasta per package instructions. Drain.

Just before serving stir the chives, cilantro and basil into the curry pot. To serve, place a nice helping of noodles in the center of each bowl and finish with a ladle of the curry and tofu along with a tiny pinch of crushed red chili peppers.

Two-Bean Tamale Pie

Here is another lovely recipe from another lovely blogger—Leslie over at Definitely Not Martha.

Leslie notes that her recipe was stolen and lightly modified from Better Homes and Gardens.

I like this dish for three reasons:

1. It’s quick and easy to make.
2. It’s spicy hot.
3. I think it might actually be good for me.

1 tbsp oil
1 green pepper, chopped
1 onion, chopped
2-3 cloves garlic, minced (I love garlic so I threw in four or five cloves)
1 tbsp chili powder
2 tsp cumin
1 can kidney beans, rinsed, drained and slightly mashed
1 can pinto beans, rinsed, drained and slightly mashed
2/3 c vegetable juice (Leslie used 1 cup fresh salsa instead and so did I—the hot stuff)
1 (4-oz) can diced green chili peppers, not drained
1 box corn muffin mix
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped (I left this out)

1. Grease a 9x13 glass pan (I used a cake pan that wasn’t glass and it didn’t seem to matter). Set aside. In a large skillet, cook green pepper, onion and garlic in oil until tender. Add chili powder and cumin. Stir.

2. Add kidney and pinto beans, vegetable juice, and chili peppers and stir. Heat through. Dump into 9x13 pan and smooth out evenly.

3. Preheat oven to 400F. Prepare corn muffin mix according to package directions.

4. Add cheese and cilantro, stirring just until combined. Spoon cornbread mixture evenly over the top of the bean mixture. Bake, uncovered, for about 25 minutes or until golden. Leslie grated a little more cheese over the top of the pie before baking so I tried it too. Highly recommended.