"Sitting on a curb" Massaman Curry

The first time I had massaman curry was sitting on a curb with my now husband Brett. We had just begun dating and were craving Thai food after playing volleyball with some friends. We ended up getting our food to-go and sat outside the restaurant on the curb and scarfed down some delicious curry. I was hooked. I was also determined to learn how to make it myself. So I found a recipe that didn't look too intimidating and went for it. The result was deliciousness and since then I've made it a few more times. This past time I made some healthy substitutes and loved it just as much. Don't be overwhelmed by the list of ingredients. If you have a good amount of spices in your cupboard, you'll be in good shape. My husband and I eat it over brown rice and sometimes with some roti from our local Indian market. Yum!

Massaman Curry
(Serves 6, with rice)

• I block extra fim tofu, pressed and cut into cubes
• 1-2 medium sweet potatoes, cut into chunks
• 1 14 oz can coconut milk (I used lite coconut milk)
• 1 small red pepper, thinly sliced
• 2 Tbsp. olive oil
• 1/3 cup onion, sliced
• 1/4 tsp. ginger root, minced
• 4-5 cloves garlic
• 1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper
• 1/2 cup good-tasting chicken broth, or stock
• 3 bay leaves
• 1 tsp. turmeric
• 1 tsp. ground coriander
• 1 tsp. cumin 
• 1/2 tsp. white pepper
• 1/8 tsp. cardamon (or two green cardamon pods)
• 1 Tbsp. lime juice
• 1 Tbsp.  brown sugar

Heat a large frying pan or wok over medium-high heat. Swirl the oil in the pan and saute the onion, ginger, garlic, and cayenne pepper for 1-2 minutes.

Add the chicken broth plus the following: bay leaves, turmeric, ground coriander, cumin, white pepper, cardamon, lime juice, fish sauce, and sugar. Stir with each addition and bring to a light boil.

Add the coconut milk and potatoes. Stir and bring back up to a boil. Reduce heat to low, or just until you get a good simmer.

In a separate skillet, fry the cubed tofu in olive oil or Pam until light brown.

Simmer 30 to 40 minutes, stirring occasionally, until chicken and potatoes are tender. Add red pepper and Tofu during last 10-15 minutes of cooking time. I cover with a lid for the first 30 minutes and then remove the lid to let it thicken a little for the last 10 minutes. 

Remove the bay leaves and cardamon pods. Serve on top of rice. Enjoy!

Five-A-Day Smoothie

So, you know how we're supposed to eat five servings of fruit and veggies a day? The fruit part has always come easy to me. I. Love. Fruit. And while I love vegetables too, it's hard to eat five servings a day when you only get two meals a day to fit them in instead of three. Unless broccoli for breakfast is your thing. In that case, more power to ya.

I started putting spinach in my smoothies a while back, but the other day my husband Brett and I worked out with another couple and afterwards they made us smoothies...and added carrots to them. Now I know that there are tons of juices made with vegetables, but when you suck out all the juice from fruits and veggies, you end up missing out on all the fiber. We can't have that now can we? So after trying the smoothies with carrot in it and not tasting any carrot, I figured I should try adding both spinach and carrots in a smoothie and see what happens. And let me tell you, I was pretty pleased with the result.

Don't fear the spinach and carrots. Try it. You won't even know you're starting to check off your veggies for the day.


Five-A-Day Smoothie
Serves 1-2

• 1 banana
• 4 medium strawberries
• 1/2 cup blueberries
• 1 large carrot, washed and cut into chunks
• 2 handfuls of spinach
• 1 cup vanilla almond milk
• 1 T. flaxseed
• 1/8 t. ginger root, peeled and minced

Place all the ingredients in a blender (my fruit is usually frozen). Blend on ice setting. You will probably have to stop often and mix the ingredients. I don't like my smoothies too liquidy, so I don't mind putting in less liquid and having to stop in mix a few times. 

Share with someone else or keep it to yourself!

Look at all those awesome ingredients! So many nutrients about to enter your belly.