Tofu curry! Well, actually, this is a picture of chicken curry. I don’t really eat meat anymore much these days, but we still had some left in the freezer and I cooked it so I could get rid of it. But the original incarnation of this recipe was tofu coconut curry and I think it was much, much better. So, I’ll give the recipe and if you hate tofu, you can substitute with meat instead! But tofu doesn’t get stuck in your teeth. :B The one below is actual tofu coconut curry.

Tofu Coconut Curry

INGREDIENTS
* 1 pkg firm tofu (pressed)
* 1 can coconut milk
* 1/4 cup soy sauce
* 1/2 tsp brown sugar (or to taste)
* 1 Tbsp curry powder
* 1 Tbsp minced fresh ginger, divided
* 2 large ripe tomatoes, chopped
* 2 bunches green onions, chopped
* 1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
* 1 pkg baby fresh mushrooms, whole
* 1 clove garlic, minced
* salt to taste

1. Press the tofu so that it’s nice and firm. I learnt to do this somewhere, but I forgot where. Basically, I put a heavy iron pot on top of tofu wrapped in paper towel wrapped in clean dish rags for an hour. This makes the tofu firm and it absorbs the flavour better, I think. :)

2. I like to strain the coconut milk before Bring the coconut milk, sugar, soy sauce and spices to a boil. Only add half of the ginger and half the garlic and save the rest for later.

3. Add in tofu and cook until hot. Add vegetables but don’t cook them too long. You probably should add the mushrooms first and the tomatoes last. Cook until vegetables are tender but firm.

4. Lastly, stir in basil, ginger and garlic and turn off heat. Make sure to taste the food as you’re cooking to make sure it tastes the way you like it. I like to add lots of pepper because I love the mix of spicy, salty and sweet.

I think that’s it, but I really suck at giving directions because I tend to cook intuitively. But it should turn out okay. :) Serve over purple or jasmine rice! Purple rice is really good and it has more nutrients (namely fibre) than white rice. Try some!  I mixed them together for this recipe since I had so little purple rice left, but it really makes things taste richer than they would otherwise

So after some painful frogging and heavy reluctance, I’ve finally restarted my Seeded Cables Cardigan from Sensual Knits. I’m half-tempted to say, ‘forget it,’ and just put it away and wait for a new yarn because alpaca sheds much too much. I love alpaca, but I probably won’t ever use it again even if it is silky and soft. It’s just not worth having fibres all in my hair and on my clothes. I still have so much alpaca stuff yet. It’s merino and cashmere for me from here on.

Looking at this pattern, there is a bit of a problem on the left-hand side. The outermost cable in the centre pattern lays on top twice instead of weaving over and under like a cable usually does. This isn’t touched upon in the errata (and there was months worth of waiting for multiple error corrections), but I think I’ll go ahead and change it because I hate the way it looks. Unfortunately, I only analysed this after doing two runs through the pattern, so I’m not going to go back and change the few I’ve missed. But, at least it’s on the back and I saw it in time to make the correction of the front. I can’t wait to finish this… I wanted it to be all finished so I can wear it during the cool Seattle nights, but if I can finish it before the end of September, I’ll be happy. Then I can think about whether or not I want to burn myself out on holiday gifts. :D If I end up doing anything for the holidays, I’ll probably keep the list very short.

In other news, I’m finishing my last class before graduation and moving was a complete pain. Hopefully the next time I move, I’ll have much less accumulated junk!

I have a recipe to share later. In the meantime, cheers!