Creamy Lemon Thai Inspired Noodles

Some weeknights, you feel totally wiped just because it is the end of the week. All things considered it was not a bad week as things go. The weekend is not quite measuring up, the dad and the son are rather sick which does not make for fun.
The end of my weekend was a rather fascinating and unusual train encounter.

When you are a regular commuter you do learn to make the train your own space. I do this too, in fact there are certain things that I actually look forward to doing in the train, on most days it is a calm 35-40 minutes of uninterrupted time that I do not usually get other times of the day.
Anyhow this Friday evening, the train was exceptionally crowded, it was a smaller train and here I encounter a gentleman who was ready to unwind for the weekend on the front four seat booth. He was seated in one of the seats and had his book and bag on the seat that was right across him and had perched two cans of bear on the seat adjacent to him and was reading peacefully oblivious to the train beginning to fill up. Well, daunting as the thought was I moved in and informed him that I would be sitting on the fourth unoccupied seat. His look of welcome (not) was not going to make me travel stand on this lone Friday evening.
I returned amidst all the slush and wetness and after changing and my evening cup of tea, I faced my usual ritual of fixing dinner and scoping out the possibilities with the odds and ends in the refrigerator. This dish that I made to accompany the fish curry that I had waiting in the refrigerator was a winner. Rich, quick simple and comforting how can you go wrong?

Creamy Coconut Lemon Thai Inspired Noodles

Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Serves 4 people

Ingredients

4 cups of water
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup raw peanuts
1 tablespoon oil
1 tablespoons butter
4 cloves of garlic
2-3 green chilies, minced
2 tablespoons fish sauce
1 tablespoon sweet Thai soy sauce
1 teaspoon Sriracha (chili garlic sauce)
3/4 cup light coconut milk
1 package fresh fettuccine pasta (the fresh does make a difference, I used basic Buitoni though)

1/2 cup finely chopped Bok Choi
1 lemon
1/2 cup minced cilantro

Method of Preparation

1. Place the water and the salt to boil, while this is happening you can actually proceed with the chopping and prepping of ingredients.
2. Lightly roast the peanuts coarsely chop in a food processor or grinder and set aside.
3. Heat the oil and the butter and add the minced garlic using a garlic press. Working very quickly stir the garlic to brown lightly.
4. Add in the chilies and stir for 20 seconds.
5. Mix the fish sauce, sriracha and the sweet soy sauce together and add the the chili garlic mixture and cook for about a minutes.
6. Add in the coconut milk and bring to a simmer on low heat.
7. While the sauce is cooking add the pasta to the water and cook for about 3 minutes.
8. Drain the pasta and add to the coconut mixture and stir the Bok Choi.
9. Cut the lemon, remove the seeds and squeeze in the juice and mix well. Add in the cilantro and the crushed peanuts and serve immediately.

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Peanuts

CPR - Chili Peanut Relish

What an accronym - CPR - does that get you into action mode or what? But this is what is funny, this really tasty, full-flavored creation took me all of 15 minutes to make. I made a later variation of chicken with this, much like an Indian chimichurri chicken, believe me when I tell you, this was good. Anyhow, down to the relish.

CPR - Chili Peanut Relish

Prep/Cook Time: 15 minutes
Makes 3/4 cup

Ingredients

3/4 cup raw peanuts (shelled)
4 green finger chillies
1 small tomato
3-4 tablespoons cilantro, coarsely chopped
1 teaspoon salt
1 lime

Method of Preparation

1. Dry roast the peanuts on a skillet for 2-4  minutes, until fragrant and beginning to turn gently aromatic and gently golden brown at edges.
2. Place in the bowl of a food processor.
3. Remove the tops of the chilies and place in the same container.
4. Chop the tomato and place in the food processor with the salt and blend until the mixture is coarsely blended.
5. Remove and place in a mixing bowl.
6. Stir in the salt, cut the lime and mix in the juice and stir well.

This and that for the little one's birthday whims - Spicy Sweet Potato Fry Medley

What fasinates my daughter is unusual food, it is less that she wants to eat is as much as hear about the possibilities. She cannot handle a lot of spicy chili peppers but loves smelling fresh herbs and is a little nutty about lemon and lime. More often than not, once I complete a dish I have gotten programmed to adding chopped minced green chillies as a garnish or folding it towards the end. What I did with these potatoes was a shoestring crisp creation, drizzled with fresh lime juice and spinkled with some crushed roasted peanuts for crunch, they were so good..., now I had bought five of these potatoes, I have to figure out what to do with them.



Spicy Sweet Potato Fry Toss

Serves 4

Ingredients

3 sweet potatoes
1/3 cup good olive oil
2 tsp cumin seeds
1 tbsp freshly grated ginger
1 tbsp grated garlic
2 tsp salt
1 fresh lime
2 green chillies, minced
Lots of freshly ground black pepper
2 tbsp roasted powdered peanuts
1 tsp grated fresh coconut (optional)

Method of Preparation

1. Cut the sweet potatoes into thin matchstick/shoestring fry sized pieces.
2. Set aside.
3. Heat the oil and add the cumin seeds and ginger and garlic and cook for 3-4 minutes.
4. Heat the oven to 375 degrees.
5. Spread the sweet potatoes in a baking sheet without crowding them, do this in batches if needed.
6. Drizzle the oil over the potatoes taking care to fish out the cumin, ginger and garlic.
7. Cook for 13 minutes, turn and cook for another 5 minutes.
8. Bring out of the oven and toss with the salt and squeeze the lime juice over the fries.
9. Toss lightly with the remaining ingredients and enjoy!

Gobi Moomphali - Cauliflower with peanuts

There are few things that work better for a quick weeknight dish than a classic simple dry vegetable dish infused with the basic goodness of a few staple spices. The peanuts in the recipe are an inspiration to get my daughter to eat.

So here you have it, Gobi Moomphali

Serves 4-6

Ingredients

2 tbsp oil

1/2 tsp mustard seeds

1/2 tsp cumin seeds

1/8 tsp asafetida

2-3 dried red chillies

1/2 tsp turmeric

1 cauliflower cut into floretts

1 tsp salt

1/2 cut peanuts roasted

Method of preparation

1. Heat the oil, and add the mustard and cumin seeds, when they crackle add in the asafetida, chillies turmeric and cauliflower.

2. Cook on medium heat turning frequently till the cauliflower begins to brown lightly.

3. Add the salt and peanuts and cover for 10 minutes and cook on low.

4. Check seasonings and serve.