Thai Coconut Mushroom Soup

I had a maddening craving for Thai Coconut Soup yesterday (and no, I'm not pregnant, to assuage your fears) and HAD to have some. No one was available to go get any, and I had made a pact with myself. I have grown so many vegetables this year that I have more produce than I can possibly eat, more produce than a small farm. My pact was to only eat food that I have made at home until the gardening season has expired. That way I can be sure to eat most of what I've grown and know what and when to give away when I can't.

Anyways, I did have to pick up groceries (isn't that the irony?) as I surely didn't cultivate mushrooms or grow coconuts or rice noodles for that matter. I groceried, then I cooked and it was fantastic.

Recipe:

1 medium onion slivered

5 cloves garlic

2 tsp chopped ginger

1/2 block tofu (didn't grow that either)

1 jalapeno

2-3 tomatoes chopped into large chunks

Lots of small crimini mushrooms, whole

Lots of fresh basil, whole leaves

1 can coconut milk

olive oil

braggs

garlic chile oil

Ok, so I put some olive oil and onions in first, peeled garlic, pressed it and put it in too. Then I chopped the ginger, threw that in. Then the jalapeno (unseeded, don't be a sissy). Then the ginger, cubed. Then the chile oil. Then the basil. Then the mushrooms. Then I stir fried it for a bit. Then I added the coconut milk plus about a can and 1/2 of water. Then I added the braggs to taste. And lo and behold, it tasted practically identical to what I've had in restaurants (and I made it up:).

Cucumber Salad

Cucumbers are one of, if not my favorite vegetable/fruit (you know that confusing distinction: some say it is a fruit if it has seeds, therefore cucumbers are a fruit (scientific logic), but others say that if it is sweet it's a fruit (common knowledge), I'm siding with them). Regardless, fruit or vegetable, they're crunchy, fresh and delicious. Especially if they're Armenian (curly, skinny, and weird), fresh out of your garden, and prepared the following way...

This simple recipe is easy and can be eaten immediately or left to marinate. Don't let it marinate too long or the cucumbers will turn soft and maybe soon enough have metamorphasized into...pickles!! Well anyway, according to your taste.

Cucumber Salad

One sliced cucumber (mine were Armenian but anything fresh will do)

1-2 Tbsp. of olive oil

1 Tbsp. of vinegar*

Salt and Pepper to taste

3 Tbsp. crumbled feta

*I've used both apple cider and balsamic. Both work great though surprisingly balsamic was less vinegary and therefore blended better.

Mmmmmm enjoy.

Poblanos Rellanos

Dearest Followers (all 8 of you, if you're still reading..),

I apologize. My/our camera was stolen on our honeymoon and I/we have not gotten another. I did however get a jailbroken iPhone for tmobile but am still not sure how to get the computer to see it as a device without wanting to upgrade it in itunes. Oh technology: once in love, yet rejection. Therefore, I did take some lovely photographs of recent meals intending to post and unfortunately am unable to post them. You will just have to deal with an abbreviated version of a recipe without photographs.

Another message I must relay to you, my readers, is that I will no longer be researching my posts as thoroughly as I would like. One, I feel it is hindering me from posting on a regular basis and two, I think you really just read me for the recipes anyway.

Love love, and read often,

brussel

That being said let's get to the meat of it (expression! don't get so literal on me.) Fine, let's get to the vegetable of the hour: poblanos chiles.

I am growing the most beautiful fantastic poblanos chiles you have ever laid eyes on. If you've never laid eyes on a poblanos chile it is a gorgeous foresty velvet green. The shape is a bell pepper who had sex with a green chile. Yeah, I said it, sex. Their baby is slightly spicy when roasted and meatier (an expression!) than a green chile. Mmmmmm.

First you must roast these beauties. I do this on an open stove top flame. Some recommend the oven on broil, I usually forget about them and they are burnt by the time I remember. On a stove top I am held accountable. However this does imply that you must have a gas range. If you do not, follow the later recommendation.

Then you cut a T-slit, not a technical term but a visual description for those of you who are visual learners. A horizontal slit at the top near the stem and in the center of that slit another one vertically down toward the tip. Use your fingers to dig out the seeds.

Next slide in the cheese. I used a blend of cotija, mozzarella and muenster. Twas lovely blend.

Dip them suckers in blue corn meal (the thicker, the more textural and the better so choose your meal by those standards). Dip em' again in egg batter (some eggs in a bowl whipped).

Then fry em' up in some hot veggie oil. Enjoy doused in chile sauce (recipe following, parts/ingredients list at the bottom).

Green Chile Sauce

*You must have some roasted green chiles on hand. If you have fresh chiles follow the instructions above for roasting poblanos chiles.

Put some peeled garlic in a pot with some butter, saute. Add about a 1/4 cup white flour, stir. Chop the chiles, add. Pour in some water (like 2 cups). Simmer, add salt, taste.

Parts/Ingredients List

For Poblanos Rellanos:

Poblanos Chiles (I used 6)

Cheese (I used a blend of cotija, mozzarella and muenster)

Blue Corn Meal

Eggs (2)

Vegetable Oil (I used safflower, like 1/2 cup in a large frying pan)

For Green Chile Sauce:

Roasted Green Chiles (ours are especially hot so it is up to you how many according to your taste, we used too many)

Flour (1/4 cup)

Salt (teaspoon)

Garlic, crushed (lots)