Veggie Curry and Organic Lager

Tonight was "clean the fridge of all our veggies before we go away for the weekend" night.  My favourite.  Veggie Curry.  Nick was skeptical.  He doesn't jump up and down for veggies and tofu like I do, but he played along with a smile.   It all started with the huge bag of colourful swiss chard we had in the fridge.   We'll give you the recipe we used for our dinner tonight, but know that you can start with the curry onion base, and then add whatever veggies YOU have in YOUR fridge.

1 White Onion chopped
2 Garlic Cloves chopped
4 Tablespoons of Coconut Oil + more as you go along in case you need more moisture
1 heaping spoonful of turmeric powder
1 heaping spoonful of curry power
1-2-3 (depending on your taste) chopped whole chillies
rice - of your choice (we used brown and wile rice mixture)
Loads of veggies (what we used is listed below)
a chopped handful of cilantro (optional)
1 package of organic firm tofu
1 can of coconut cream
1 lime

Put the coconut oil and sliced onions in the pan to sweat the onions.  This means cooking them until they are moist, or 'sweaty.'   Add the garlic, turmeric and curry powder and stir until the powders make a thick paste around the onions.  Add the chilli.  This is something you have to play with a bit, adding more oil if it's too thick, and more powders if it's too runny.  You don't want anything to resemble liquid in the pan, but you don't want it so thick that it's not a paste.  Above all, don't worry too much because it should taste yummy no matter what.

Cook a pot of your favourite kind of rice to serve underneath the curry.  Follow the directions on the package.  We used a brown rice and wild rice mixture.
Now start adding veggies to the delicious curried onion mixture in your sauce pan.  We chopped 2 sweet potato (and cooked the pieces in a bowl in the microwave for 4 minutes to soften them first), 1 chopped zucchini, 1 chopped bell pepper, a whole bunch of swiss chard, a handful of cilantro, and 1 package of fresh peas.  Put the hard vegetables in first to give them a head start, and then add the rest of the veggies and a package of cubed firm organic tofu.  Then finish it all off with the peas and leafy greens.

Once all the leaves have wilted down, add one can of coconut milk or cream, and one can of water.  Let it all bubble away for 15-20 minutes on low so all the flavours can infuse the veggies.
Nick has been waiting a long time to say this next step with a serious face.  Squeeze the juice from one lime and "you put de lime in de coconut."  He laughed out loud.  Nick's been waiting to do that since he laughed at a moment on Top Chef Canada when Trista said that to Carl during the season finale.  Honestly.

We have traditionally always paired our meals with wine, but tonights dish was screaming for ice cold beer.  We went with Mill Street Organic.  Light, crisp, refreshing, organic, and local!  Beer tends to cut the spiciness of curry quite nicely (maybe because you can take a much larger gulp than a sip) but a cold white sweet wine will also pair with any spicy curry.

sprinkle with toasted coconut if you have.

bon apetit.

dinner is served.