Vegetable curry

Vegetable curry is one of my favorite vegetarian dishes and a great way to use broccoli and cauliflower. Carrots are another delicious addition, but I just used what I had on hand!

If you want to know more about the history of curry and spice blends, here is an excellent article from Slate magazine.

To make this dish you will need:

¼ cup pecans, toasted

½ cup onion, diced

1 tablespoon oil

Salt and pepper

¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes

2 tablespoons curry paste

16 ounce can low-fat coconut milk

One head of broccoli, rinsed and broken into flowerets

One head of cauliflower, rinsed and broken into flowerets

I hate to wash dishes, so I did all the steps for this dish in one pot. Use a large stockpot and heat the oil over medium heat. Add the pecans and cook until they are lightly toasted.

 

Remove the nuts and cool on a paper-lined plate.

To the pan add the onion and cook until it is translucent.

Add salt, pepper, red pepper and curry paste to the onions.

 

Stir all to combine.

Add coconut milk and blend completely.

 

Add broccoli and cauliflower, and cook for about 10 minutes.

Before serving, crumble the toasted pecans and sprinkle on top.

Braised cabbage to feed a crowd

My children and I were able to take several family trips this summer, including one to Sampson County, N.C., where my father was raised. He grew up on a large family farm outside Autryville, N.C. We gathered with kin from Virginia, Tennessee, North Carolina, and Kentucky. It was a wonderful experience for me to share with my children.

My Aunt Peggy (remember her awesome hot crab dip recipe?) kept a steady stream of food flowing out of the kitchen. She is a fantastic cook and she made countless batches of cornbread, green beans, pork roast, biscuits – you name it and we had it. I really loved her braised cabbage. Most days she was feeding a dozen or more people, so recipes like this really stretch a dollar and feed a crowd!

Here is my own take:

One head of cabbage, cored and shredded

3-4 slices of bacon

Medium onion, diced

Salt and pepper

½ cup water

1 chicken bouillon cube

Cut the cabbage in half, remove the core and shred the cabbage.

 

I used a soup pot to make this dish – to the pot add your bacon and cook until crispy. Add the onion to the bacon fat and cook until translucent (about 5 minutes).

Add the cabbage to the pan and cook over medium heat for 15-20 minutes until wilted. I added about a half cup of water and a chicken bouillon cube for extra flavor.

Here’s the finished dish:

 

This makes about 8-10 servings, but my husband and my youngest won’t eat it. I gobbled it up over two days!