When my husband and I decided that I stay home with our girls, I (as a financial manager of our household) was a bit nervous. A few months into my staying home, I also started to get the itch. I NEED TO MAKE SOME MONEY. I had been working full time for 13 years before I went on maternity leave with my little peanut (and did not go back to work), and I was not completely comfortable with the fact that I am not making any Mula. Then an email came from my old supervisor asking if I would be interested in short term part time position. I was tempted, of course, and looked at every possible way for this to work, but in the end it just was not worth it, with the cost of daycare, gas price, being away from our girls, pumping breast milk, etc. It was just about then when Mrs. C. asked me if I would be interested in cooking for her family. At first, I did not take her request too seriously, or rather I thought "this is too good to be true". As I talked to Mrs. C. about what she wants and how she wants this to work, however, I started to think that this might actually work. The first weeks was a trial, and yes, it was definitely a trial. Since then, Mrs. C. and I have been tweaking our arrangement. The best part of this arrangement is that I LOVE this job. There is not one job until now that I wake up in the morning, excited to "be at work". Mrs.C. and her family are semi-vegetarian, so many dishes I make are vegetarian dishes, which works for me because my family is Pescatarian. This week, I made something new that was requested from Mrs.C. When I saw the recipe, I was a little skeptical because the only spice it calls for is 2 tablespoons of Curry powder. But it turned out very tasty. I think the vegetable broth gave it a very good flavor, and it is full of vegetables.
Vegetable Curry (Adopted from Rainbow Vegetable Curry from The Vegan Chef)
1 large red onion, cut into half and slice it
2 Tbl Sp olive oil
2 Tbl Sp unbleached flour
2 cups vegetable stock (I used Rapunzel Vegetable Cubes)
2 Tbl Sp curry powder
1/2 Kabocha squash, peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes
2 cups broccoli, cut into small florets
2 cups cauliflower, cut into small florets
2 cups carrot, sliced 1 cup red pepper, destemmed, deseeded, and diced
1 cup orange or yellow pepper, destemmed, deseeded, and diced
1 - 14 oz. can coconut milk
1/2 cup frozen peas
1/2 salt
1/4 t. freshly ground black pepper
In a large pot, saute the red onion in olive oil until soft (5-7 minutes). Add the flour, stir well to coat the onions, and cook for a few minutes while stirring constantly to slightly cook the flour. Add the vegetable stock and curry powder, stir well, and cook over medium heat for 2-3 minutes or until slightly thickened. Add Kabocha, broccoli, cauliflower, carrot, red pepper, and orange pepper, and stir well to thoroughly coat the vegetables with the broth mixture. Cover, reduce heat to low, and simmer for 20 minutes or until the vegetables are tender. Add the remaining ingredients, stir well, and simmer an additional 5-10 minutes to allow the flavors to blend. Taste and adjust the seasonings as needed.
Serve it with steamed Basmati Rice.
Serves 6-8
