What's for Dinner? Wednesday: Red Curry Pork

Curries are one of my favorite go-to meals for incorporating a medley of veggies, whatever meat is available and quick rice or rice noodles. It can be as spicy or as mild as you prefer. The key ingredients may not be your standard pantry fare, but they can typically be found in the Asian food section at your local grocery store (curry paste, coconut milk, fish sauce).

I cooked a curry for the first time in college (Green Curry Chicken -- still a favorite), but can't recall where I found the recipe. I've prepared it many, many times over the years and the recipe tends to vary a little bit each time. It's the kind of dish you can experiment with and tweak to your taste. Don't have the vegetable the recipe calls for? Try using whatever's in the fridge! It works well with chicken, pork, beef, and seafood (shrimp is tasty). Hope you enjoy this dish as much as we do!

Red Curry Pork

Serves 4

Ingredients

• 2 T vegetable oil
• 1 onion, coursely chopped
• 2 garlic cloves
• 2 T Thai Red Curry Paste (the brand I use is called A Taste of Thai)
• 1 lb pork filet, sliced thickly
• (I used a tenderloin from our local CSA, also a website client, Grass is Greener Meats)
• 2 cups green beans
• 1 cup cherry tomatoes, quartered
• 1 can coconut milk (14 oz)
• 1 1/2 T soy sauce
• 1 T fish sauce (also A Taste of Thai)
• 2 T brown sugar
• Handful of fresh cilantro, chopped
• Rice noodles or rice, to serve

Directions

1. Heat the oil in a work or large skillet and saute the onion and garlic for 1-2 minutes, until they are softened but not browned.
2. Add the pork slices and stir-fry for 3-4 minutes, until browned all over. Add the green beans and curry paste. Stir to coat with the curry paste.
3. Add the coconut milk, soy sauce and fish sauce; bring to a boil. Simmer for 4-5 minutes.
4. Add brown sugar and stir well. At this point, you can season the curry sauce to taste (I generally add 1-2 tsp of salt, maybe a dash of pepper). You can add more brown sugar to taste -- this reduces the spiciness of the dish
5. Add the tomatoes and cook another 1-2 minutes before serving with noodles or rice. Garnish with cilantro.

The wine is a Malbec by Alamos. I generally really enjoy Malbecs and this was an easy grab from Walmart. This one was a bit tart for my taste, or maybe just because I paired it with a spicier dish. I'll give it a shot again tomorrow night with Skillet Chicken.

Fabulous February Calendar

It's a day late, but here's my February Desktop Calendar. Enjoy!

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Toes in the Sand

Whew! Is January really almost over? This is the first time in recent history that I haven't spent January fawning over my list of New Year's Resolutions, and I have to admit it's not half bad. Not that I don't have plenty of goals and big intentions for 2015 -- but it seems I'm more likely to accomplish them if I just get down to it, rather than taking the time to write a list.

In the meantime, it's been a busy month filled with exciting new projects, a bachelorette party blow-out, and visits with family in the South. Here is one of my favorite photos from our visit to Ormond Beach, Florida, where Cormac experience his first taste of sand and salt water. He loved it and I'm looking forward to another trip down during the summer months!

{ Testing the waters }

{ Building castles in the sand }                                       { Squinting into the sun }

We also spent a couple days in Georgia with my parents, enjoying the comparatively warm "winter" weather (I was wearing flip-flops... guess the Midwest is rubbing off on me!) and giggling at Cormac's antics. It was thrilling to see how quickly he recognized his grandparents just from regular Facetime chats. I'm so thankful for the technological advances that allow us to stay connected, even over long distances.

Our road trip also included a special bachelorette party in the mountains for my baby sister who is getting married in March. This was my first visit to the Gatlinburg/Pigeon Forge area in Tennessee and it was a trip! Definitely lots of touristy stuff to do in the middle of the mountains, which I really didn't expect. We had a rousing time celebrating the bride, and I can't wait for the big day in March! Family weddings are simply the best.

And now we're back home, settling into the routine again, and looking forward to warmer days with visions of beaches in our heads...