Did I ever tell you that Peter collects board games?
Yes, that card at the bottom really does say Gorgutt.
This ain’t your momma’s Monopoly board.
I would show you Peter’s board game collection, but like his kitchen knife collection, some things are better left unpictured. (You can, however, see examples of his typical kitchen knife in this post and this post. Be warned, however, that these knife pictures are not for the weak of stomach.)
Bonnie takes a roll across our neatly set game board.
What’s a hungry gamer to do? Why, fry herself up some rice, rebel style!
It’s Wild! Rebel Curry Fried Rice
Ingredients:
2 cups cooked rice (I used a mixture of wild rice and brown rice, because wild rice is expensive!)
2 eggs, beaten lightly
1 Tbsp oil
1/2 tsp ground cumin (I would have used more, but Peter is squeamish about too much cumin. Silly boy.)
1/2 Tbsp sweet curry powder
2 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
1 Tbsp Dijon mustard
1 Tbsp honey
Salt and pepper
After cooking rice, let cool, preferably overnight (I obviously did not do this). Meanwhile, heat 1/2 Tbsp oil over medium heat and scramble eggs. Remove eggs to plate and set aside.
Drizzle other 1/2 Tbsp oil to pan over medium heat and add cumin and curry. Stir for 30 seconds.
Add rice, vinegar, mustard, and honey. Toss like the professional chef you are.
Salt and pepper to taste. Taste and revel in your culinary awesomeness.
I served our rebel fried rice with a little something I call:
Swiss Chard Curls around Mustardy Onion
Ingredients:
1/2 tbsp oil
1 bunch Swiss chard, torn into medium-sized pieces
1/2 red onion, diced
1 tsp mustard powder
2 Tbsp porto wine
1 Tbsp maple syrup
Salt and pepper
Heat the oil over medium heat in a large saucepan. Add onion and saute until tender.
Add mustard powder and stir. Toss in Swiss chard and saute for one minute. Pour porto and maple syrup over all and let cook until chard is tender. Sprinkle with your favorite salt.
All together:
Happy Labor Day everyone!
Q: Do you play board games? Which games are your favorites?
More Happy 'n' Healthy:
Hi everyone! Hope you’re having a great Tuesday! I loved hearing about all the favorite snacks that you Eat for Energy in my last post. I’m going to compile them in a list (giving credit to each of you, of course) and put them under the “Healthy Eats” tab at the top. I know I’ll be using it as a reference to break me out of my snack rut!
Pop quiz: do you know what these are?
If you said goji berries, you’re RIGHT! (If you said Red Hots, well, I can’t help you.) Sometimes, I buy dried goji berries in bulk from Whole Foods to add to oatmeal and baked goods (such as SAWICs). When I saw these in the freezer case last weekend, I knew I needed to give them a try:
That’s right, my friends – frozen goji berries. PERFECT for morning oatmeal. I added them to my oatmeal thusly:
(I guess they kinda look like Red Hots.)
The frozen goji berries were pretty good, but they are blander than the dried variety (which is true for many fruits). They were fun to try once, but I think I’ll stick with my frozen blueberries.
Today, the other girls in my community nutrition group and I hauled on over to a Head Start preschool to teach the little ones about fruits and veggies. We split up and each one of us taught three groups of 18 preschoolers. LeQuan, you were right that I needed a lot of energy today – 3 and 4 year olds have more energy in their tiny pinkies than I have in my whole body! Even so, I love little kids, so this day was a blast :)
Story time:
“Do you like cherries? If you like cherries, jump up and down!”
During our break, we set up a nutrition and recipe table for the parents arriving to pick up and drop off their kids.
As you can probably guess, I picked out the whole grain cereal sample ;)
We were really successful at handing out info and recipes today, probably because we’ve had a lot for practice at roping people to our table. Also, the little kids kept clamoring for the pens and fruit-shaped key chains we were handing out. All in all, a satisfying community nutrition day.
Back at home, I embarked on a simple new recipe to share with you all. I call it:
Green Curry
Is that name too boring? How about:
A Lightly-Spiced Dream Curry with Crisp Tofu Squares
Is that better? Great, let us push on!
Ingredients:
1 shallot, chopped
1 can light coconut milk (can use skim milk if you prefer a thinner sauce, or you just don’t like coconut)
1/2 cup Amoy curry paste (no, I’m not kidding)
1 14 oz. block tofu, sliced thinly
1 package noodles of choice
Cook noodles according to package directions. Prepare tofu by favorite method (I pan-fried the slices briefly, but baking would work better).
Saute the shallot in 1 tsp canola oil for 1 minute. Add coconut milk and warm through.
Now, if you are a cooking purist, you may want to avert your eyes from this next photo.
Yes, I used jarred curry paste. How very Sandra Lee of me … I can’t believe I just said that (ugh). But, you know what? I’m a busy girl, and this stuff is fantastic. Yes, I’m making excuses, but I’ll be going to bed early tonight instead of grinding spices. If you want to know what’s in this paste so you can make your own, here are the ingredients: curry powder, water, sunflower seed oil, salt, garlic, shallot, Thai spices (ambiguous, I know), and sugar.
However you obtain it, add curry paste to coconut milk and shallot. Mix until the sauce is a beautiful shade of green.
Toss with noodles and tofu, and enjoy!
We also decided to roast a few orange beets we found at the supermarket.
Wow. Dark.
As for the beet greens … don’t throw them out!
Sauteed in a little walnut oil as per this day, beet greens make a tasty and nutrient-packed veggie side.
All together on my new plate:
Not the nicest pictures, but you get the idea. The green curry dream curry was rich and smooth – delicious with the crispy tofu.
Before I go: as my prize for winning the Cook’s Mission contest (thanks to all of you who voted for me!), I get to choose next week’s ingredients! I haven’t quite decided which ingredients I will choose yet, but I’m excited to see what people will come up with. Thanks again, Mae!
I’m working late tomorrow, so to preserve my sanity … no post. :) Good eve, all!
Q: Do you like to cook from scratch, or do you use a little “help” in the kitchen?
More Happy 'n' Healthy:
