Devour this

Curry Me Happy

Adam Kuban's (Slice, A Hamburger Today blogs - I don't know how to link to other blogs yet, but I'll get there) SeriousEats piece "Curried Away," piqued my own curryosity.  As I've previously mentioned, I'm currently curry-obsessed and this feature on Japanese curry made me think about all the different variations of curry out there that I have yet to salivate over.  A couple of months ago, I checked out Mangoes and Curry Leaves from my local library and fell in love.  Or perhaps it was lust; I don't know and I don't care.  The book is gorgeous, fascinating, enlightening, and provoking.  I have yet to buy it, or cook from it, but the day is soon approaching.  We'll see where the relationship goes from there.

Although I tend to think of mainly Indian and other Southeast Asian curries when considering take-out or restaurant-a-going, in my recent forays into cooking curry cuisine, I've tried my hand at mostly Americanized curries (Shrimp Curry from Ruth Reichl's Comfort Me With Apples, Curried Lentil Soup, and Tofu and Lentil Curry --both from Epicurious.com).  I'm now thinking this might be because I'm secretly apprehensive about taking on what's considered to be one of the world's most challenging cuisines.  I've been going through a new cookbook of mine, Curry Cuisine, and tabbing off recipes I want to make, and I've yet to try 1 of the 20 or so I have marked.  Maybe this weekend I'll trek to Kalustyan's (have been dying to check it out) and then get lost in a curry cloud within my little kitchen.

Or maybe I'll just go out and buy a package of Japanese curry mix and do it up JapanKansan style.  A serious consideration.

Lentils, curry, and the State of the Union Address

My current curry obsession fed into tonight's meal planning.  That and thinking about things in my cupboard and refrigerator that I need to use up.  Yes, I do try to clean house once in a while instead of buying a whole new batch of ingredients I can't afford.  I had a cylindrical jar of green lentils and garam masala I'd been neglecting, along with some cilantro and coconut milk aging in the fridge.  Tossed with pressed, fried tofu, red curry paste, and fresh ground ginger and cumin, and spooned over steaming rice --yum yum for all.  I tried not to throw it all up as I watched our president give an evading, holey speech with no depth of humility or genuineness.