Thai Red Curry

This recipe is from Cookie and Kate and is first born approved!

https://cookieandkate.com/thai-red-curry-recipe/

INGREDIENTS

• 1 ¼ cups brown jasmine rice or long-grain brown rice, rinsed
• 1 tablespoon coconut oil or olive oil
• 1 small white onion, chopped (about 1 cup)
• Pinch of salt, more to taste
• 1 tablespoon finely grated fresh ginger (about a 1-inch nub of ginger)
• 2 cloves garlic, pressed or minced
• 1 red bell pepper, sliced into thin 2-inch long strips
• 1 yellow, orange or green bell pepper, sliced into thin 2-inch long strips
• 3 carrots, peeled and sliced on the diagonal into ¼-inch thick rounds (about 1 cup)
• 2 tablespoons Thai red curry paste*
• 1 can (14 ounces) regular coconut milk**
• ½ cup water
• 1 ½ cups packed thinly sliced kale (tough ribs removed first), preferably the Tuscan/lacinato/dinosaur variety
• 1 ½ teaspoons coconut sugar or turbinado (raw) sugar or brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon tamari or soy sauce***
• 2 teaspoons rice vinegar or fresh lime juice
• Garnishes/sides: handful of chopped fresh basil or cilantro, optional red pepper flakes, optional sriracha or chili garlic sauce

INSTRUCTIONS

1. To cook the rice, bring a large pot of water to boil. Add the rinsed rice and continue boiling for 30 minutes, reducing heat as necessary to prevent overflow. Remove from heat, drain the rice and return the rice to pot. Cover and let the rice rest for 10 minutes or longer, until you’re ready to serve. Just before serving, season the rice to taste with salt and fluff it with a fork.
2. To make the curry, warm a large skillet with deep sides over medium heat. Once it’s hot, add the oil. Add the onion and a sprinkle of salt and cook, stirring often, until the onion has softened and is turning translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the ginger and garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds, while stirring continuously.
3. Add the bell peppers and carrots. Cook until the bell peppers are fork-tender, 3 to 5 more minutes, stirring occasionally. Then add the curry paste and cook, stirring often, for 2 minutes.
4. Add the coconut milk, water, kale and sugar, and stir to combine. Bring the mixture to a simmer over medium heat. Reduce heat as necessary to maintain a gentle simmer and cook until the peppers, carrots and kale have softened to your liking, about 5 to 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
5. Remove the pot from the heat and season with tamari and rice vinegar. Add salt (I added ¼ teaspoon for optimal flavor), to taste. If the curry needs a little more punch, add ½ teaspoon more tamari, or for more acidity, add ½ teaspoon more rice vinegar. Divide rice and curry into bowls and garnish with chopped cilantro and a sprinkle of red pepper flakes, if you’d like. If you love spicy curries, serve with sriracha or chili garlic sauce on the side.

My notes:
1. I pretty much followed the recipe exactly, subbing in whatever veggies I had (although her color scheme is pretty)
2. I sautéed tofu before adding it in.
3. Used lime juice, and some lime zest at the the end (not the rice vinegar) and really liked that flavor
4. Would happily make over and over because it’s pretty easy.

Cinnamon Rolls

So I've made cinnamon rolls exactly once before in my life, in college, in DH's small apartment in Chicago, and it was an unparalleled mess in every sense of the word. I put waaay too much butter in the filling, and it didn't so much bake in as it melted, and when I pulled the rolls out of the oven, they were uncooked and oily. So bad.

I was craving cinnamon rolls again, and now with the lockdown, I had the time to make them!

I used this recipe: https://www.melskitchencafe.com/perfect-small-batch-cinnamon-rolls/

INGREDIENTS

DOUGH:

•  1 cup milk (see note)
•  1/4 cup (4 tablespoons, 2 ounces) butter (I use salted butter)
•  1/4 cup (1.75 ounces) granulated sugar
•  1/2 teaspoon salt
•  2 1/4 teaspoons instant yeast (see note)
•  1 large egg
•  3 to 4 cups all-purpose flour (see note)

• FILLING:

  •  6 to 7 tablespoons butter
  •  2/3 cup (5 ounces) packed brown sugar
  •  1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
  •  2 teaspoons flour (optional; see note)

  FROSTING:

  •  3 tablespoons cream cheese, softened
  •  6 tablespoons (3 ounces) butter, softened (I use salted butter)
  •  1 tablespoon milk or heavy cream
  •  1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
  •  1 1/4 cups (5 ounces) powdered sugar

  INSTRUCTIONS

  1. For the dough, heat the milk in a medium saucepan until the milk is scalded (which is basically heating it until right before it simmers - it will start steaming and little bubbles will form around the edge of the pan; you can also do this in the microwave). Pour the milk into the bowl of an electric stand mixer fitted with the dough hook (or you can do this by hand with a large bowl and wooden spoon).
  2. Add the butter, sugar and salt. Mix until the butter is melted and let the mixture cool until warm but not hot. Add the yeast and egg and mix until combined.
  3. Gradually add the flour until the dough clears the sides of the bowl. The exact amount will depend on the temperature, humidity and how you measure flour. I usually end up with right around 3 1/2 cups of flour. The dough should be soft and just slightly sticky without leaving a lot of residue on your fingers. Knead the dough for 2-3 minutes.
  4. Transfer the dough to a lightly greased bowl. Cover with lightly greased plastic wrap or a kitchen towel and let it rise until doubled, about an hour. Roll or pat the dough into about a 14X10-inch rectangle. Spread the softened butter evenly across the top.
  5. Stir together the brown sugar and cinnamon (and flour if using) and sprinkle it evenly over the butter. Pat it in slightly with the palms of your hands. Starting with one long end, roll up the cinnamon rolls as tightly as possible without stretching the dough, pinching the seam lightly to seal.
  6. Using a serrated knife, cut the large roll in half. Then cut each half in half again (forming four equal portions). Cut each of the four portions into three rolls for twelve cinnamon rolls total.
  7. Lightly grease a 9X13-inch baking dish. Place the rolls in the pan (3 across, 4 down), tucking the loose end of the cinnamon roll underneath, if desired. Cover the pan with lightly greased plastic wrap or a kitchen towel and let the rolls rise until double, about 1 to 1 1/2 hours.
  8. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Bake the rolls for about 18-22 minutes until only very slightly golden on top.
  9. While they cool (or before), prepare the icing by adding the cream cheese and butter to a medium bowl. Whip with a handheld (or stand) mixer until creamy. Add the salt, milk or cream, and vanilla. Mix again. Add the powdered sugar and whip until light and creamy. Spread the slightly warm rolls evenly with the icing. Serve immediately or let cool completely and serve at room temperature (or warm lightly before serving).

  NOTES

  I prefer using whole milk or 2% milk in this recipe. If you don't have instant yeast and want to use active dry yeast, use the same amount and dissolve the yeast in 1/4 cup water with a pinch of sugar. If doing this, you may need to add a bit more flour due to the extra water. 

  Don't worry so much about the exact amount of flour called for in the recipe and instead judge the dough by the feel of it. It should be soft and smooth and stretchy without leaving an overly sticky residue on your fingers. Elevation, humidity, exact temperature of the milk, how we each measure flour - all of these things can affect the precise flour amount, so don't worry if you have to add a bit more or less than the recipe calls for.

  I like adding a tiny bit of flour in the filling (thanks to this recipe). It helps bind the filling together so the rolls don't gap as much after baking (like sometimes happens). It's definitely optional whether you want to add it or not.

My notes:
1. I used whole milk, unsalted butter, table salt, and for the flour, I used a mix of APP, whole wheat pastry, and flour from Grist and Toll (the sonora blend).
2. My instant yeast was a bit old, so I made sure to heat the milk to 120ish and let the yeast foam a bit in the liquid before adding the egg to make sure it was still active.
3. I mixed 3 cups of the flour in the bowl, and worked probably a 1/2ish cup more into the dough as I kneaded it. I kneaded the dough for probably 8-10 minutes on top of a silpat to reduce mess. It doubled after an hour to an hour and a half.
4. I used 6 TBSP of butter for the filling, and a mix of brown and white sugar. I did not use the flour in the filling.
5. I would in the future (if time permits) take the rolled log, wrap it plastic, and then let it chill before slicing into rolls to achieve tighter, better looking rolls.
6. Once I sliced the rolls and placed them in the 9x13 pan, I stuck them in the refrigerator overnight because I was tired, lol. I figured I'd continue on the next day.
7. The next day, I took them out of the oven, let them rise for 2.5-3 hours or so until they were all touching in the pan, then baked per recipe. I made a quick small cream cheese frosting (didn't really measure) and used the TJ's cinnamon bun spread (on the saltier side) to top.
8. Yum! Not super crazy sweet but really yummy out of the oven. Would totally consider making again.


My photos: