Kerala-Style Edamame Curry...Eat.Live.Be. for a Better 2011!

I wish that all of you could see my room.

It's in so much disarray that you would faint and then never speak to me again.

You see.  I know I come across as kind of organized.  I post three days a week.  Like clockwork.  (Better than the United States Postal Service, which occasionally is late and occasionally also bangs up your packages enough that they are unrecognizable.  I may be messy.  But a vandal, I am not.  I swear it.) 

And I'm usually at least 90% prepared for our exams.  Sometimes.  Except for twice when I was really not prepared.  But do the heart and kidney really matter in the scheme of things?  Don't you just love existentialism this early in the morning!

But that's at the expense of my bedroom floor. 



It's just that sometimes at night, my clothes don't feel like making it into my hamper.  Sometimes they really want to sleep on the floor.  And I'm usually too tired to argue with them.

And then on Saturdays I really mean to clean them up.  But then I run 17 miles.  And decide not to move for the rest of the day.  It happens.

And don't let me forget about the cookbooks that I sleep next to.  And the food magazines.  They're my significant other inspiration.  I can just reach over before I go to bed and page through them and get all excited about all the wonderful things I can cook.  It really is a warm and loving relationship.

This week at Eat.Live.Be. we are talking about what books, cookbooks, and resources help us with our healthy goals.  Some of my favorite places to go when I'm looking for inspiration are my vegan/vegetarian cookbooks and Vegetarian Times, which is a food magazine that I subscribe to (and which the recipe for this curry is from!).  Now I don't really mean to say that meat is not healthy and eating vegan/vegetarian always is.  Not true in any way.  I just like that vegan and vegetarian recipes typically call for a lot of vegetables. And lots of whole foods.  And, really, I can always add meat if I want to.  So I end up getting the best of both worlds.

What is on your healthy living recommended reading list?  Write a post about it and submit it here or tell us in the comments!



And be sure to check out what other Eat.Live.Be-ers are reading!

• Sarah Caron - www.sarahscucinabella.com
• Cate O’Malley - www.sweetnicks.com
• Maris Callahan - www.ingoodtasteblog.net
• Chris Arpante - www.melecotte.com
• Faith - www.clickblogappetit.com/
• Kristen - www.dineanddish.net
• Emily - http://andersonfamilycrew.blogspot.com/
• Jenna - FireMom - http://stopdropandblog.com/
• Casey - http://www.thestarnesfam.com - e-mail
• Patsy - http://familyfriendsandfood.blogspot.com/
• Tri-Fit Mom - http://trifitmom.blogspot.com/
• Claire - http://cookiedoc.blogspot.com/
• Allison - http://sweetflours.blogspot.com/
• Jen - http://njepicurean.blogspot.com/
• Leslie - www.thehungryhousewife.com.
• Rivki Locker - http://www.healthyeatingforordinarypeople.com/
• Claudia - Journey of an Italian Cook
• Jennifer Schulz - http://lick-a-plate.blogspot.com/
• Sarah Rogers - http://sarahssweetcreations.blogspot.com
• Denise and Lenny - http://www.chezus.com
• Gwen of Simply Healthy Family
  

I've gotten Vegetarian Times in the mail for at least five months now and this is the first thing I've ever made from it.  Every month I page through it and want to make everything.  But then Michael Symon usually comes along and takes over my life and weekends and occludes my mind.  God, he is so demanding.

But this week I said, "ENOUGH!"  I closed my eyes, opened the latest issue to a random page, and pointed.  Ending up with this curry.  That had butternut squash in it.  The fates were smiling down on me.  This much I know for sure.

So what did I do to it?  Well I had to change it around a little bit, you see.  I upped the butternut squash because the only one I could find was humongous and I wasn't about to only use the 4 cups that the recipe suggested.  No, no, no.  That would be shameful.  So then I also upped some of the spices and added more coconut milk and voila.  Here we are.  This curry has a light hint of sweetness from the anise (or fennel.  If you are so lucky to have fennel seeds in your spice cabinet. I thought I did.  But apparently I don't.) and coconut milk and butternut squash.  Add in a little bit of sriracha or hot sauce.  And your mouth will be so happy with the play on sweet and spicy that you might feel compelled to subscribe to Vegetarian Times and then sleep with it under your pillow.

Not that I do things like that.  I just sleep next to it.  Big difference.



Kerala-Style Edamame Curry
Serves 5-6, adapted from Vegetarian Times

1 tbsp anise seeds or fennel seeds
1 tbsp brown mustard seeds
2 tsp cumin seeds
2 tsp olive oil
1 large onion, half chopped, half sliced, divided
4 cups low sodium-vegetable broth
1 can light coconut milk
1 large butternut squash, seeded and diced (about 4 lb)
1 medium head cauliflower, cut into bite-sized pieces
2 tbsp minced fresh ginger
1 tsp ground turmeric
1 tsp coarse salt
2 cups frozen shelled edamame
sriracha, to taste
6 tbsp unsweetened flaked or shredded coconut
1/2 cup chopped cilantro

1. Heat anise/fennel, mustard, and cumin seeds in a dry skillet over medium-low heat.  Cover and cook 2 minutes or until mustard seeds begin to pop, shaking the pan occasionally.  Turn off heat and keep skillet covered until popping subsides.

2. Heat 1 tsp oil in large saucepan over medium heat.  Add chopped onion and saute 6 minutes.  Add 1 cup broth, stirring the bottom of the saucepan to lift off any brown bits, then add remaining 3 cups broth and coconut milk.  Stir in squash, cauliflower, ginger, turmeric, salt and toasted spices.  Bring mixture to a boil.  Reduce heat to low and simmer, uncovered, 25 minutes.  Add edamame and cook 10 minutes more.  Add sriracha/hot sauce and salt to taste.

3. Meanwhile, toast coconut in a small skillet over medium heat for 3-4 minutes or until browned and fragrant.  Set aside.

4. Heat remaining 1 tsp oil in medium skillet over medium heat.  Add sliced onion.  Saute 12 minutes or until golden.

5. To serve, spoon into 6 bowls and garnish each serving with golden onion slices, toasted coconut and cilantro.

I am submitting this to:
Souper Sundays hosted by Deb of Kahakai Kitchen
Meatless Mondays hosted by Chaya of Sweet and Savory
Midnight Maniac Meatless Mondays hosted by Rebecca Jean of Midnight Maniac
The Hearth and Soul Blog Hop