Red Pumpkin Curry with Shrimp

Serves 4

Ingredients

1 tbsp EVOO
1 medium onion, sliced 1/8" thick
1 Orange bell pepper, med dice
1 Poblano pepper, med dice
1 can Taste of Thai coconut milk
1 c Organic canned pumpkin
1.5 cups Organic chicken broth
3 tbsp Thai Kitchen Red Curry Paste
7 tbsp Thai Taste Lemon Grass
1 tbsp fresh ginger, minced
20 oz shrimp, peeled and deveined

Directions

1. Heat oil over medium heat in a medium sized sauce pan
2. Saute onions in oil until slightly translucent
3. Add peppers and saute for 5 min
4. Meanwhile blend coconut milk, broth, and pumpkin with an immersion blender
5. Add curry paste and saute for an additional 3 min incorporating into vegetables
6. Add coconut pumpkin mixture to pan along with ginger and lemongrass
7. Cook with the lid off for approximately 30 min, stirring occasionally
8. Add shrimp and continue to cook until shrimp are fully cooked
9. Serve hot over Jasmine rice or enjoy a bowl alone!

Braised Lamb with Kalamata Olives and Sun Dried Tomatoes

Fall, as you may or may not be aware, represents to unofficial opening of braising season.

That's right, break out your glazed ceramic La Creuset roasting pots and slow cookers because it is time to tackle those tougher cuts that get left out of the grilling line up. Soups, stocks, fragrant stews teeming with layer upon layer of intricate flavors that only 4-8 hours of slow cooking can illicit are back on the menu my friends and I couldn't be happier. There is nothing more comforting on a crisp, fall evening than curling up to a bowl of my favorite slow cooked concoction and watching the sunlight fade through the vines that are still clinging to both summer and the screens over my windows.

For my first braise of the season I've decided to expand on my new found, and might I add long overdue, love of olives in a Medditeranean flavored lamb braise. The sun-dried tomatoes, which I prefer not packed in oil, hold up wonderfully and the quick tapenade from the roasted garlic and olives adds just enough of a briney, earthy bite to counter the grassy, unique flavor of the lamb.


Braised Lamb with Kalamata Olives and Sun Dried Tomatoes
Serves 6 people

Ingredients:

2 tbsp EVOO
1.75# lamb stew meat
sea salt
Fresh ground pepper
27 Kalamata olives
8 roasted garlic cloves, or 6 raw
1.5c canned organic whole tomatoes
1/3 cup organic tomato paste
4 tbsp Balsamic Vinegar
2 c organic beef broth
1 package Sun-Dried tomatoes, julienned
1 12 oz can Artichoke Hearts packed in brine, quartered
2 cups cremini mushroom, sliced 1/4 thick
1 medium yellow onion, sliced 1/4" thick
1.5 red bell peppers, sliced 1/4" thick
2 sprigs rosemary, leaves removed from stem
1/2 c feta cheese, crumbled

Directions:

1. Heat oil on high heat in a large saute pan
2. Pat lamb dry and season with salt and pepper
3. Brown the lamb pieces, working in two batches and careful not to crowd the pan
4. Remove lamb to a slow cooker
5. Deglaze the pan with beef broth and pour over lamb
6. In a food processor, pulse olives and garlic until it it resembles a rough chop then add to slow cooker
7. Blend tomatoes, tomato paste, and balsamic vinegar with either an immersion (stick) blender or in a blender and pour into slow cooker
8. Set slow cooker for 8 hours
9. Meanwhile, prepare the remaining vegetables and set aside in fridge
10. At 4 hours, add the remaining vegetables and rosemary to the slow cooker fully incorporating them into the braise
11. Ladle the braise into bowls and garnish with feta cheese

Refreshing Fall 'Slaw

So it has been some time since I have last posted due to various and sundry reasons, but I am back both in school and in my kitchen stretching my admittedly creaky culinary limbs. Unfortunately, I still do not have a camera worthy of catching mouth-watering moments but, dear reader, I think you will find your taste buds piqued despite the less than 1000 word worthy photographs.

If there is one thing I love about fall it is the feeling of living in suspended season. Especially in Upstate NY, where the weather can vacillate from humid and smothering to crisp and chilly with only a 24 hour turn around time. Fall means I can finally break out my myriad of colorful shawls that I could never quite pull off as a fashion statement in summer and wear my uber comfy Birkenstock slip-ons just about everywhere.

It also signals a new culinary season rife with apples over flowing the bins at the farmers markets, GOUSS's (Gourds Of Unusual Shapes and Sizes), and root vegetable bonanzas. So as we stand on the precarious cusp between a fading Indian Summer and the Arctic Frontier I've decided to blend the best of both worlds and hold onto a little bit of summer while giving a nod to fall.



Refreshing Fall 'Slaw
Serves 8-10 people

Ingredients:

1/3 c sliced almonds
7 cups Red cabbage, shredded
1 package Rainbow Salad, or about 5 c shredded cabbage, broccoli, and carrots
1 large organic Gala apple, grated
1/3 c Golden Raisins
1/3 c dried unsweetened cherries
2 oz Go Raw sprouted pumpkin seeds, or regular if you can't get sprouted
2 tbsp Raw Agave nectar or honey
2 tbsp EVOO
7 tbsp Organic Apple Cider Vinegar
1 tsp sea salt
1/2 tbsp caraway seeds

Directions:

1. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees F
2. Place almonds on sheet tray and roast for approximately 10 min or until lightly golden brown
3. Combine the rest of the ingredients in a medium sized mixing bowl and mix throughly, but slowly with a pair of tongs
4. Add almonds straight from the oven and combine into slaw mix
5. Cover and refrigerate for at least 6 hours, although overnight is preferable
6. Take out of refrigerator and let sit at room temp for bout 20-30 min before serving for best flavor