Shrimp curry with coconut rice

I so wanted to love this dish.

I was so pleased with the chicken kebabs with nectarine salsa I made from Cooking Light recently that I wanted to throw myself into another recipe from the magazine. If eating lighter can taste as good as that chicken, sign me up. We are planning a Hawaiian getaway in a few months, after all--dropping a few pounds couldn't hurt.

Unfortunately, this one was a dud. I'm not even going to give you a link to the recipe--that's how boring it was. I will confess that I was missing one of the ingredients--mustard seeds--which I did not realize until too late. Perhaps that single component could have saved the dish. But, I doubt it. The curry turned out rather bland and thin, not creamy the way I like it. The coconut rice, which I was excited about because the husband loves coconut (and which I desperately want to like), was flat, in spite of adding a few extras of my own invention (a cinnamon stick and bay leaf).

As an aside, I'm a little turned off by some of the Cooking Light tactics. For example, this recipe called for instant rice. I guess I'm a snob, or maybe I'm just half Chinese, but who makes instant rice? I feel like in every recipe there is a shortcut I find off-putting. With the kebabs, it was bottled garlic.  Why would I buy bottled garlic? Should I pick up some Mrs. Dash while I'm at it? It just seems so dated.

Maybe I'm just not part of the target demographic. And anyway, I know the solution: ignore the parts of the recipe I don't like and do what I want. Yeah. I guess ultimately I am still (pointlessly) mourning the loss of Gourmet, the only food magazine I have ever really loved, which, in spite of being a little over the top at times, was nearly always on point with its recipes and current in its approach to cooking.  I can't seem to get on board with Bon Appetit (don't like the format and have had middling results with the recipes), Food & Wine is fine but doesn't really light my fire, and while I love the idea and look of Saveur, I never end up using the recipes.

So while the curry turned out quite photogenic (here's another shot, its last moment in the spotlight)...

it was dull, dull, dull. Not what anyone wants in a curry.

So, all kvetching aside, who has a good curry recipe for me?

Warm summer pasta with tomatoes, olives, ricotta, and zucchini

 

One of the best things about cooking in the summer is that the ingredients you have lying around the house are especially delicious. 

A few weeks back, both of us were too lazy to go to the grocery store but wanting to eat at home since we'd been going out a lot. With minimal rustling in the kitchen, I pulled together some heirloom tomatoes (a pound or so) and a couple of zucchini, both from our CSA box the week before; half a container of ricotta that needed to be used up; some pitted kalamata olives that had been hanging around the fridge for awhile; and a few kitchen staples (garlic, olive oil, parmesan, penne).

While the pasta cooked, I sliced up the zucchini into half moons and sauteed it very quickly in olive oil and garlic. I just wanted to take the raw edge off of it--I didn't want it soggy. I roughly chopped the olives and tomatoes (with skins and seeds intact--I was keeping the effort to a minimum) and tossed them into the pan with zucchini for one minute, just to warm them. A dash of salt and pepper and they were done.

When the penne was al dente, I tossed it with the ricotta until the pasta had a silky coating, then folded in the vegetables and a good handful of parmesan. A spoonful of starchy pasta water brought the dish together. 

I dished it up and presented it to the husband.

"Warm summer pasta with tomatoes, olives, ricotta, and zucchini," I announced solemnly.

In spite of his claim to not be very fond of vegetarian pastas, this was a hit with the husband. I resisted revealing that many of the ingredients had been sitting around a bit and needed to be used up. While I revel in finishing things off, this translates to him as "old food" and would have surely taken the luster off this pasta he was inhaling, which, for the record, made an excellent lunch the next day, served at room temperature.

Little coffee cakes with cardamom sugar

These little coffee cakes are just right for a weekend brunch. They're simple and delicious, moist from the sour cream, and fragrant from cardamom. Oh yeah, that's not part of the original recipe, but I thought it might be a good idea, and what do you know, it was. Every once in awhile I come up with a good one.

Since I'm a little pressed for time (and don't have anything clever to say anyway), I'll just point you in the direction of the recipe but also note my changes: 

1) I added 1/4 t. salt to the dry ingredients. I think all baked goods need salt.

2) I added about 1/2 t. cardamom to the batter. Next time I'll add more, but I'm a cardamom fiend.

3) I mixed up a little cinnamon-cardamom sugar to sprinkle on top.

Hope you like them. And, happy Fourth of July! I'm spending part of the weekend in Sonoma, wine tasting and celebrating my friend Amy's birthday. We will also be eating here, which I will be sure to report back on.