Fantastic Five and the Coconut Curry

What a fantastic run!!

I felt great, my legs/ankles didn’t hurt, and I felt like I could have gone further if I wanted.  I’m feeling much better about the upcoming Half Marathon.

Ran:  5  miles

Time: 58:45

Temp: 53 degrees

If it’s not the runner’s high I’m feeling now, it’s definitely the ‘runner’s sense of smug self-satisfaction. 

For dinner tonight, I made a Coconut Curry based on a recipe from Fast, Fresh and Vegetarian:

-3 Tbsp Olive oil

-2 tsps cumin seeds

-2 cups unpeeled, diced eggplant

-1 can white northern beans (supposed to be chickpeas)

-1/2 sliced yellow onion

-1 chopped red bell pepper

-1 bag frozen cauliflower

-1” minced fresh ginger

-1 ½ Tbsp Curry powder

-1/2 tsp tumeric

-1 tsp salt

-1 clove minced garlic

-1 can light coconut milk

-First off, heat up the olive oil in a skillet. Add the cumin seeds and toast for about 2 minutes, until the seeds appear darker.

-Add eggplant and drained, rinsed beans. Stir, and cook for about 5 minutes.

-Add everything else, except the coconut milk. (onion, cauliflower, pepper, ginger, curry, tumeric, salt, garlic) Stir and cook for about 5 minutes.

-Add the coconut milk, and bring to a boil. Turn heat down and simmer for about 10 minutes.

Serve over Rice! 

Now, I checked the book and it didn’t say it NEEDED to be served over rice. So I decided not to make it. But then when I saw the consistency of the curry… aghhh, I really wanted rice.

Rice, however, would’ve taken another 40-50 minutes to make! What to do?

PASTA! That’s right. East meets… Italy?

Oops, I forgot to take a picture before eating. BAD BLOGGER! Here it is! What's left, anyway:

I can tell you this, though. It was delicious, I plan to make it again, and I can’t wait to see what it tastes like tomorrow after the flavors have really melded.

 Also, I was supposed to chop up cashews and sprinkle them on top. But, I was excited about curry over pasta, and I forgot. I would absolutely try that addition, next time!