The secret to successful curry--- fat

Made an amazing curry last night! Normally, when I make curries they come out watery and boring. Discovered last night the solution to this problem is coconut milk and greek yogurt. This curry has my three favorite curry additives, pea, cauliflower and potatoes. I like these because they are mild in flavour and pair well the strong flavour of the curry. The peas and cauliflower add a hint of sweetness, but mostly the veggies just serve the purpose of soaking up the delicious sauce. The more a vegetable tastes not like a vegetable the better, with a few notable exceptions. Per usual measurements were done to taste so this a general recipe where seasoning can be increased or decreased depending on how you like it.

Easy Weekday Curry

1 head califlower
4 rooster potatoes or about 10 medium sized new potatoes
3 cups frozen peas
1 large chili
1 can coconut milk
1 cup Greek yogurt
1 dash vegetable bullion (1/4 cube)
Garam  Masala- to taste, I added about 3 teaspoons
hot curry powder- to taste, I added about a 1.5 teaspoons
Tandoori seasoning- to taste, about 1.5 teaspoons
ginger- to taster, about 1 tablespoon
1 bunch fresh coriander

Bring a pot of water to a boil with vegetable bullion in it, add cauliflower and boil for 1 minute (I have no idea why you do this, but the recipes I looked at all had this instruction for cauliflower and potato curry). Remove cauliflower and set to one side. Keep the water for cooking the potatoes. Cube potatoes and add to a large pot/ pan (I used a large Dutch oven). Cover potatoes with cauliflower water, bring to a boil and cook until soft. Once potatoes are soft and water has boiled down some what add cauliflower, yogurt, coconut milk, chili and spices (Garam Masala, hot curry powder, Tandoori seasoning, ginger). Simmer till water has reduced and sauce has thickened (looking for a consistency that will soak into rice, but is thicker than soup, more a thick stew consistency). Depending on your stove and pan choice this could take 30 minutes, or ages. Mine took about 45 minutes. Add frozen peas and coriander. Cook until peas are heated through and soft.

If you like your veggies crunchy, you could wait to add them until more water has boiled down, or remove the potatoes, add the ingredients for the sauce and add your veggies towards the end. I think veggies in a curry should be amazing little sponges of flavour, so don't mind them soft.

The whole process takes about an hour, but the hands on time is minimal. The results are amazing. I am sure there is a considerable amount of technique in preparing a traditional curry, but for a quick week night dish this recipe will do just fine. Sam, the meat eater in the house happy wolfed this down for dinner. You could serve with rice, but I found that it was nice in a bowl like a stew. If you are fancier than I you could garnish with chili, yogurt and fresh coriander.

Oh...I think it's brain exploded, or Cooking Octopus for the First Time

Octopus from Gannets in the Galway Market

Finished product

Went to the Galway Market this morning, mainly with the intention of picking up some veggies. But, as always happens when I go to the market unsupervised, it turned into a bit of a shopping spree. Started off at the feta and olive stall, divine! Bought sardines, feta and olive. Then on to one of the organic veggie stalls, for the most beautiful cherry tomatoes I've ever seen. Then onto the cheese mongers, for goats cheese with fenugreek and gouda with cumin. Was heading home and passed the fish mongers stall, Gannets, saw octopus on sale had to buy it. Gannets recently won the Bord Bia (Irish food board) award for best restaurant supplier in Ireland.
I have never cooked octopus before, but when the opportunity presents itself, you have to give it a go. Bought two lovely octopi. Then on to an organic bakery stall for the ciabatta. YUM!!!!!
Cooking the octopus was a bit of an adventure. We had to gut it, which should probably not have been as difficult as it was. Instead I ended up accidentally poking the gut sack with the scissors. BRAINS EVERYWHERE! Note to self, be a bit more careful.
Washed the octopus, gutted it, cleaned up brains, then beat it to tenderize the meat. Tossed it in with a bit of garlic and olive oil and fried it til it changed from clearish to white. Squeezed on some fresh lemon and added a bit of pepper. I am not really one for cooking seafood. I don't really know how to and am always terrified of over cooking it. This has definitely encouraged me to give it a bit more of a go.
This has also made me realize what an amazing asset the Galway Market it. I've always liked it and would go there with some regularity, but today really drove home what a novelty it is to have such amazing food for so cheap within walking distance of my house. The advantage it, most of it is local baked, grown or caught and all the stalls are local small business owners. I am really fortunate to have access to such a fantastic array of fresh local food.

Easiest Sick Day Soup

I have a cold, a full blown head exploding, nose running, coughing, sore throat cold. Now I am prone as most people are to get these every so often, but this is summer!!! I cannot believe I have summer cold. So instead of frolicking about in the sun I am curled out under a blanket, looking longingly out the window. Boo, poor me, isn't life hard...ha.

But the bright side of having a cold (other than how amazing it feels when you wake up and feel better) is nothing really drives you to figure out simple delicious recipes like having no energy, but needing to cook. Thus, another recipe that probably shouldn't really be called a recipe....

Easiest Sick Day Soup-
this is chocked full of all the stuff you supposed to eat when you sick, measurements aren't important as they will very depending what heat/flavor you like and how messed up you taste buds are with the cold. I made this yesterday and left the seeds in the chilies, thought it was mildly spicy. Normally, I take the seeds out because I find they completely overpower the dish. Goes to show how much your sense of smell by extension taste gets all out of wake when you have a cold.


Ingredients
a) Chicken/Beef/Veggie Bullion/Broth/Stock (all they sell here is these stupid little bullion cubes that are so salty I think they are probably causing significant strain on my poor little heart, but we work with what we have). If available I would suggest using the awesome carton low sodium broth or home made stock.
b) 1 tablespoon of Ginger
c) 2 cloves garlic
d) 1 large or 2 small chili peppers (seeds in or out depending on tolerance)
e) 1 dash soy sauce
f) chopped fresh cilantro/ coriander to garnish
g) chopped green onion to garnish
h) lime juice to taste
i) 1 egg
j) Water (if not already using broth)

Cooking
Due to illness, the cooking method is fairly slipshod.
1) Chock everything (except the egg, cilantro, green onion and lime juice) in a pot, add enough water for a large bowl of soup. Chop green onions and cilantro (if you are lazy like me, use kitchen shears/scissors).
2) Whisk the egg with a fork in a bowl. When the water is on the verge of a boil, slowly pour in the egg while stirring the soup. This will create an egg drop soup effect. You could also just try poaching the egg in the broth, but when I tried that it did very weird and not nice things to it.
3) When egg is cooked, add chopped cilantro, chopped green onion and squeeze/dash lime juice.

Not terribly ground breaking stuff here, but delicious, healthy and full of all sorts of symptom fighting super ingredients-  Garlic, ginger, lime, chili and a good does of easy to eat protein and nutrients in the form of the egg. I would advise though if making this when not ill, you might want to pare down on the amount of each ingredient added in, depending on taste. Normally I would use about these amounts for a pot not a serving of soup, but it take a lot to blast through the cold. I also think this would be lovely with some greens, but I am currently living in a veggie free.

Cucumber Water

So this post is a bit of a cop out I admit. I have had some spectacular success with some recipes lately, but due to a mixture of house-sitting and moving house have not taken the opportunity to proper write them up. The last adventure was Greek food, something I miss terribly from home and you cannot find it in Ireland. Lucky enough, unlike Mexican cuisine, you can find all of the ingredients here, even if no restaurants have ventured into serving Greek. But, this post is not a post about Greek food, this post is about water. It has been unusually warm in Ireland the last week, and hydration has become more important than ever. Drinking water, glasses of tap water, does not seem to be a norm here, certainly not in my circle. I have concluded this is largely due to the fact that tap water in Galway is a bit horrid. Given I am coming from the Twin Cities (home to the best tap water in the US according to the totally no biased opinion of the people who live there) But, instead of buying bottled water, I have taken to masking the taste with the trusty cucumber. Nothing is better on a hot summers day than a tall glass of cool cucumber water. It is easy as pie to make, slice cucumber, place in water. Obviously this (not) recipe works for pretty much anything, mint (muddle it a bit), lemons, limes, raspberries (again muddle them a bit), but nothing in my opinion compare to delicious cucumber. Low calorie, one of your five a day if you munch on the slices, quick and pretty much exactly the same thing you get when you buy one of those fancy (expensive) flavored waters. So get slicing and stay hydrated!

And in contrast to the last post...American Goodness

Not a proper food post, just wanted to share a couple of wonderful discoveries for any ex-pats missing a taste of home.
Aldi is doing some sort of "America Week"; featuring such delicacies as real Marshmallow Fluff, knock off Cinnamon Toast Crunch, proper fake maple pancake syrup, giant pretzels and best of all Libby's Canned Pumpkin.
Now there is no point going to the Aldi in Westside for the canned pumpkin as I believe I bought them out of it last night. 24 cans of pumpkiny goodness all for me.
I love canned pumpkin and it was one of my pantry staples in the States. It may not seem like that versatile a food, but for all you skeptics out there I can tell you it is one of the best healthy convenience staples to have in your pantry. Stir it into pasta sauces for an added bit of veg, mix with yogurt and pie spice mix for a delicious breakfast or snack, mix with black beans, stock and spices for a great soup, mix with milk, onions and spices for soup, mix with re-fried beans for a healthy kick, and of course there are all the Ahmazing desserts involving pumpkin. Nom, nom, nom. It is almost impossible to find in Ireland, as understandably pumpkin is not exactly a staple of the Irish diet. I can normally only find it at specialty grocers for a ridiculous mark-up. Being still on somewhat of a student budget, that just is not a purchase I can justify, but 1.49 per can, though still more expensive than the States, is a delicious and affordable taste of home. (For the record, I am not some sort of crazy hoarder, and I do not normally purchase items in bulk).
Also, for anyone who is a fan of sweetened flaked coconut, which you cannot find in Ireland at all, Aroma, also in Westside stocks like 5 lb bags of the stuff. I had never ventured out to Aroma in which is sad because it is about 30 minutes away from my house, but let me tell you in tiny Galway that feels like FOREVER! I finally went yesterday, and was pleased to find it is stocked the brim with more exotic and delicious noms. It stocks more Southern Asian cuisine than the Asian markets I am familiar with, so a lot of ingredients that I don't have the foggiest idea how to use. But, I did buy a ridiculously large bag of Bombay Spice Snack Mix for less than they sell a tiny bag in Dunnes, Rose Syrup, which though sweet is divine with sliced cucumber, soda water and gin, Lychee soda, Wholewheat roti (which to my uncultured palate are essentially the same thing as tortillas and are a fraction of the cost of tortillas) and bulk spices. Definitely worth a visit to stock up on dry ingredients.

Local Goodness

One of the best tips for living the champagne life style on a beer budget came from my Mom. She always says you could treat yourself to whatever you wanted at the grocery store, because even if you bought the most expensive thing there it was unlikely to break the bank.
Galway is the perfect place to put this philosophy into practice. One of my favorite aspects of life in Galway is the constant fixture of food markets. There is the weekly market by St. Nicholas's Church, a great place to scout out organic veg., olives, homemade doughnuts and the best Matar Paneer I've ever had courtesy of the Harri Krishna run Govinda's food truck. If you don't mind a little hippie with your Indian food it's well worth getting it just to listen to the conversations of the other people waiting in line. Last week I got to listen to a very serious conversation about the huge amount of radiation you are exposed to when you fly, and that it should be avoided at all costs.  I wish someone had told me this before I moved to an island :)
At regular intervals throughout the year Galway is also host to a number of artisan food markets full of to die for fudge, sushi, bread, and my absolute favorite home made jams, condiments and marmalade. The best of the bunch, in my opinion is Memory Lane http://www.bluebellcottageireland.com/
Their Rhubarb Ginger jam has changed my life. I am sure it is simple enough to make if I put my mind to it, but for around 3euro I can my very own jar that I don't have to make myself. It is absolutely divine paired with Brie, Camembert or Goats Cheese and served on oatcakes. My new favy snack for when I am a bit peckish in the afternoons. It's the perfect consistency,. which can be difficult to find in homemade jams and the ginger adds just the right amount of spice and complexity. 
In other news, I am moving to a proper town house. This means I can finally unpack and get to cooking. The house is conveniently located within 5 minutes of Lidl, Tesco and Aldi. So watch this space for actual cooking posts, complemented by actual photographs if I can find the battery charger for my camera.

Guest Chef or why Cream is the Best Sometimes Food Ever

Well, as I am only two posts in and have yet to actually post anything I've cooked I suppose a more appropriate title will be only chef.
Today, Sam being the domestic goddess he is prepared his delicious seafood pasta. This is a simple, quick, high salt, high calorie dish, so contains pretty much everything I consider essential in a good meal. Ingredients are simple and amounts aren't set in stone so add in whatever seafood is in season, or some veggies if you are a better person than I. It does taste lovely with some fresh tomatoes thrown in at the last second, but Sam considers that an abomination, so the recipe below is the dish in it's purest form. This is not for everyday, but is a great special treat and tastes exactly like something you would order at a restaurant, I believe this is largely due to the copious amounts of cream used.
I never cooked with cream until I met Sam, and oh my goodness it has changed my life. I never understood why food at restaurants always had a creamy rich goodness that I could just not achieve a home. Then I realised that goodness, was in fact, MASSIVE AMOUNTS OF SATURATED FAT in the form of cream. To off set the ridiculous unhealthiness of this meal Sam uses (at my insistence) whole wheat pasta. Tastes just as good and makes it that tiny bit healthier.
This is also the dish that wholly converted me to the ridiculous amazingness of Le Creuset, you need to use much less oil as the ceramic is naturally non-stick.

Sam's Spectacular Seafood Pasta

1 package whole wheat pasta
1.5 cups of cream
2 large yellow onions
5 cloves garlic
1 package smoke salmon
1 package mixed seafood (prawns, squid and mussels)
1 dash of soy sauce
1 dash of olive oil

First chop your yellow onions. The smaller you cut tme, the faster they cook.
Heat pan on the stove. When hot (you can tell this by dropping water and the pan, if it sizzles it is ready to rock n' roll) add just a dash of oil and chopped onion.
Cook onion till it is soft and clear, but not quite caramelized.
Add in the garlic and pour in cream.
Keep simmering at low medium heat, this reduces down the liquid in the cream and ensures a thick, rich sauce.
While your cream is reducing you can start cooking your pasta.
Add just a dash of soy sauce (this may seem ridiculously salty, but just dash adds so much dimension to the flavour).
Chop your smoked salmon into thick rough portions. The salmon will naturally fall apart and you want it to retain some of its shape. Open you pack of prepped seafood if you are lazy an on a budget like us, or prepare whatever delicious fresh delicacy your bought for the occasion.
Right before you are ready to serve add seafood and salmon. Cook it just long enough to ensure seafood (if your using raw) is cooked. If you over cook, the seafood can get tough. The dish is still delicious, but not as delicious as it could be :)
Pour pasta into the pan and stir to coat the pasta with the cream sauce.

Enjoy!

Mexican arrives in Galway.

Well ladies and gents it seems Galway is finally getting an upgrade to its offering of Mexican food. La Salsa, long the standby and essentially the only option for cheap quick Mexican food is being upstaged by a new arrival http://www.boojummex.com/. As an American with a serious addiction to proper Mexican food I am delighted to find that my options are broadening in Galway. Though not as good as proper American Mexican or even the best proper Mexican Mexican, it is a step in the right direction. Boojum is more Chipotle than http://www.taco-bus.com, it still does a pretty savage barbacoa. Just in time for summer, let the celebration being with cerveza and burritos. Maybe this is a foretelling of things to come, with Tesco now stocking some halfway decent mole paste, and tomatillos showing up in Dublin. This gringa has her fingers crossed.
The only downside to this development is the ridiculous closing time of 6pm on a Sunday. Surely sunny summer sundays in Galway were made specifically for nomming on food, drinking beer and sitting out by the river.