pots & vans

Some nights feel like a curry night. Today was such a day, so I had a go at this yellow curry. In the van I make no apologies for using a jar of curry paste :-) rather than making the curry from scratch, although one day, with time, I'll give it a crack. Equipment chopping board and knife saucepan for cooking rice covered pan for curry measuring cup Ingredients olive oil salt and pepper onion (x1 small, segmented) yellow curry paste. I used ½ jar of AYAM Thai curry, I estimate it is about ⅓ cup coconut milk (small tin) chickpeas (x1 tin) veggies: I used eggplant (sliced and quartered, broccoli (flowers), green beans (cut in smallish pieces), spinach basmati rice (½ cup) cherries tomatoes (handful, cut in half) soy sauce x1 tbsp (or fish sauce but I don't have any in the van at the moment) raw sugar x1 tbsp (could use brown, but I have raw in the van) coriander to garnish (½ bunch chopped) Method heat oil in the pan add eggplant and season with pepper and salt add onion and cook...

This is a recipe from The Chicken Manifesto  and comes from the Konga Nadu area of India, which I adapted with simplified ingredients for the van. This meant using spices that I had, for example ground cumin rather than cumin seeds. I also added greens (broccoli and beans) and a dollop of yogurt to serve.  We've been in Brunswick Heads for a while, and even though it's not cold, the perpetual rain showers make it feel like soup weather. We're also cooking big pots of food to share with Johanna, Luke and Willow while they wait for a new little human to come into the world. I've been making pots of soup to fill their freezer ... Unlike most chicken soups I've cooked, this one cooks the chicken in water/stock, then adds it later to a paste flavoured broth prepared in parallel. Servings pot of soup, 4-6 people Time 2½ hours, most of that cooking time. Equipment (main) Chopping boards and knife Wooden spoon soup pot, plus saucepan for cooking chicken and rice pan for fry...

I love curry. Maria is less enthusiastic, so I enjoy getting some spices brewing when I get a chance. We had some chicken thighs from Kunara organic butcher and some veggies in the fridge that I wanted to use before we head to the farmers market again on Sunday. And I wanted to experiment and make up my own flavour too .... I also had the chance to be around the van late afternoon so I could baby sit the pot while it brewed away. Servings 4 Time 2½ hours, most of that cooking time. Equipment (main) Chopping boards and knife Wooden spoon caste iron enamel pot saucepan for stock and couscous Ingredients ghee 1x onion, chopped 1x tbsp minced ginger 3 or 4 cloves of garlic, minced / finely chopped 1 heaped tsp of the following spices for depth cumin coriander seed (ground) turmeric plus a few dried bay leaves ½ tsp of the following for 'brightness' cinnamon cloves (4) grated lemon rind (½ lemon) then the following for heat (although I mede this one very mild) paprika dried chilli c...