Taking stock

Vegetable soup is probably one of my favorite ways to actually eat vegetables, and it's great because you can pretty much put whatever you want in there and if the rest of it is okay, you'll be fine.

I've made it before with just water, and it's fine, but it's better with vegetable stock. Save up all the stuff you would normally toss - peelings, cores, stems, whatever - and then just stew it in hot water.

I feel weird even giving a recipe here, because it kind of defeats the point, but here's what I used:
- peels from two yams
- stems of 4 portobello mushrooms
- cores from 2 crookneck squash and 3 zucchini
- leaves from 3 leek stalks

You want enough water to cover at least, maybe more if you've got some really nutrient-rich stuff in there like kale or something. (N.B. - we'll cover recipes that leave you with yam peels, mushroom stems, squash cores, etc. later).

Bring to a boil; reduce to a low heat and let stew for a few hours, maybe longer. Everything should have become waterlogged, and the water should be a different color. Find a suitable container (I used another pot) and use a colander or strainer to filter the veggies from the water. Squeeze remaining water out of the veggies with a spoon before discarding them.

As you can see, I got an earthy brown vegetable stock. I decided to split it into two containers and refrigerate one and freeze the other. One would go to the vegetable soup, and the other to something completely different...

Thai Curry Chicken with Fresh Veggies

Much like Brett's love interest in episode 2 of Flight of the Conchords, this dish is flippin' hot, like a curry. In fact, it is a curry - a Thai curry, which is my favorite kind. The main difference I see between Indian and Thai curries, aside from the spelling, is the presence of coconut milk (bwdik?).


It's important to make sure your meat is fresh, which is why I always bite off a giant mouthful of raw chicken before cooking. If you don't need to go to the hospital the next day, your chicken may not be fresh, and you should get rid of it so as not to run any health risks.

The basic ingredients (all quantities approximate):
2-3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (I buy the family size packages and freeze the rest)
1 can of coconut milk (you can go with light if you want)
2-3 tomatoes, cored and seeded, diced
1/2 a white onion, chopped
3 white mushrooms, diced
2+ cloves of minced garlic (I love garlic so I used 4-5)
1 lime (or lime juice)
1/4 tsp turmeric (just a dab'll do ya)
1 tbsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground ginger or garam masala
1 tsp paprika (or to taste)
2 tbsp fresh basil
salt and pepper to taste

In a ziploc bag, combine coconut milk, spices, and lime juice for marinade. Trim fat from chicken and slice into small pieces. Marinate overnight.

Empty contents into a large sauce pan or pot on high heat (the wider the pan, the quicker it'll cook). Add the vegetables. Bring to a boil, then reduce down to thicken the sauce. The chicken will gradually turn white as it cooks - when it's cooked all the way through, you can begin the editing process.

Most dishes I make go through some significant revisions before I serve it, although that may be because I'm making so much stuff up as I go along. I tried adding some allspice, cayenne pepper, and celery salt, which didn't seem to hurt, and cloves, which did.

You can add other veggies, too. One of the great things about curries is you can put in whatever healthy stuff you want and you'll primarily end up tasting the curry. That and the salmonella.