Cocktail Friday

Today was the hubby's last day at work. He's on to a new adventure! To celebrate we decided to pick up the fixings for Mexican Martini's. The recipe I googled is supposed to mimic the famed drink from Trudy's in Austin. It called for contrieu but we opted to stay in the Patron family and instead picked up some Citonage. We're happy with the results.

Patron Mexican Martini
2 oz Patron Tequila
1 oz Patron Citronage
2 oz orange juice
2-3 oz sprite
Juice of 1/2 of lime

Mix and enjoy! Garnish with olives, jalepeno stuffed if you dare!

Cambodian Curry

I've discovered a new treasure in Colorado and online. It's called Savory Spice Shop. They have a new locations around Colorado and have started some franchising- if I had cash I would totally want to open one here in Austin. But alas that's bot looking too promising so lucky for me they ship! On a recent trip to Denver I got a chance to visit their Boulder location. Loved it. Could have spent hours in there but I wasn't afforded the time:(
But I didn't come away empty handed. We've been on a curry kick lately and so I picked up several of their cuurry blends- a mild thai yellow, a green curry, tikka masala and cambodian lemongrass curry. Also got some curry leaves, cardamom, new mexico green chili powder, greek seasoning and some fennel pollen. Yeah, I know kid in a candy store!

Last week used the greek seasoning on chicken, yum.

Tonight was curry night! I let my 15 year old smell them all and she wanted to try the cambodian lemongrass curry- great choice!

Pan Fried Curry Tilapia

4 Tilapia loins
2 eggs
Splash of milk
3/4 cup flour
1 tbsp cambodian lemongrass curry powder
2-3 tbsp butter
Salt/ pepper
1 lemon

Mix the curry powder, zest of lemon and salt/pepper into flour on a shallow plate.
In another shallow plate mix egg/milk and season with salt/pepper. Melt butter in skillet. Dredge fish first in egg wash and then in flour to coat. Fry in butter 3-5 minutes on each side until cooked though. Squeeze lemon on each piece before serving.

Cambodian Lemongrass Curry Veggies (adapted from recipe provided by Savory Spice Shop)

1 large sweet onion halved and sliced
2 yellow potatos quartered lengthwise and then sliced
4-5 Carrots sliced
Other veggies of your choice- i used two kohlorabi and 2 fennel bulbs from our CSA
Olive oil
Water
1 c coconut milk
Curry paste - mix powder with equal parts water and olive oil. I did 3 tbsp each but adjust for the qty of veggies you're using.

Heat olive oil in large pan. Add onions, saute a few minutes and then add carrots and potatoes. Saute over medium heat 5-7 minutes until potatoes are almost tender, add in any other veggies and some water 1/2 to 3/4 cup tops, just to keep the potatoes from sticking and help to steam everything. Cover and cook a few more minutes on lower heat while you work on the fish or your protien of choice.

When veggies are tender, add in the curry paste and coconut milk. Stir well to coat everything. Serve over rice.

Enjoy! Get some of these spices, prices are reasonable and quality is so good.

Two great side dishes

Today was a day off work so I had some extra time to cook. We had some frozen chicken cordon bleu (not everything has to be scratch, right?) and so I focused on sides.

First a great dish from Mark Bittman's How to cook Everything, slow cooked green beans. Sounded interesting as I usually just steam or saute green beans with a little bacon/onion. It takes an hour so make sure you have some time. The results are worth it!

On to the potatoes! I did some googling for something with new potatoes and leeks. Found several interesting recipes and decided to combine a few and make something new. The result was a delish dish- dijon potatoes and leeks.

Enjoy!

Slow Cooked Green Beans
(get the book or the iphone app- or both like me, you won't regret it!!)

1-1.5 lb fresh green beans trimmed
1 sweet onion chopped
2-3 small tomatos seeded and chopped
1/4 c olive oil
3/4 c vegetable broth (or water)
Juice of 1 lemon
Salt & pepper

In a medium pot heat the olive oil and add the chopped onion. While the onion is softening chop the tomatoes and add to the pot. Trim the greenbeans and add them along with the broth or water. Squeeze in the lemon juice and season with salt and pepper. Bring to a boil,cover, lower heat to medium low and simmer for an hour. Check and stir every 15 minutes. You want most of the liquid to be obsorbed but don't allow it to completely dry out. Add additional broth or water as needed. Mine were delish after one hour, Mr. Bittman says an extra hour won't hurt them:) Add a drizzle of olive oil and a bit of lemon juice to each serving. So incredible.

Dijon Leeks and New Potatoes

1 lb new potatoes scrubbed and quartered
2 large leeks chopped
3 tbsp butter
1 c vegetable broth
1/2 c white wine
2-3 tbsp dijon mustard

Melt 2 tbsp butter in a large skillet, saute leeks 5-7 minutes until soft. Remove from skillet and set aside.
Melt 1 tbsp butter in same skillet and add chopped new potatoes. Saute for a few minutes, stirring to coat with the butter. Add wine, broth and dijon mustard. Stir well and bring to a boil. Lower heat to simmer, cover and cook 15-20 minutes until most liquid is absorbed and potatoes are tender. Add reserved leeks, season with salt and pepper. Cook a few more minutes to allow the sauce to coat leeks. Wow- these were the hubbys fave.

CSA bounty

GeoTagged, [N30.58021, E97.85357]

I've come to love Wednesday because it is the day each week that I pick up my share from Johnson's Backyard Garden at the Austin Farmer's Market at the Triangle. I joined the CSA in February and have been very happy. Today was the best box ever! Don't get me wrong, winter veggies were delicious and I had fun trying new things, but Fresh Green Beans!! And tomatoes and oh the wonder that is huge bundles of basil!!

As you can see we got this week leeks, cucumbers, new potaoes, green beans, broccoli, garlic, red and white onions, zuccini, yellow squash, tomatoes, collards, beets and basil! Not bad for $30 a week. Heck that much basil at the HEB would be $12 alone. And it's organic and local, I am a convert. Now into menu planning- the fun part for me; digging through cookbooks and figuring out how to use it all before next week. I can already see caprese salad in my future.....