The Munching Muse

Thai Green Curry Soup

1T canola oil
2T green curry paste (I buy it in enormous 2 cup tubs)
1" fresh ginger, peeled and in 1/4 slices
12 oz can diced tomatoes
3c stock (veggie or a light tasting chicken)
1 1/2 cups eggplant in 1" chunks (any kind, but I like the green Thai)
1 cup fresh shiitakes, sliced
1 cup crimini mushrooms, sliced
1 1/2 cups protein (cold Chinese roast duck or chicken, firm or fried tofu (aburage), etc.)
1T fish sauce
1T brown sugar
1/2 cup chopped cilantro and/or mint leaves
1 cup light coconut milk

Heat the oil in a large, heavy saucepan over medium high heat. Saute the curry paste and ginger, avoiding the fumes, until the paste begins to stick. Add in the tomatoes and all of the vegetables, then add stock to cover. Season with 1/2 teaspoon salt. On a very low boil, let the soup cook 15 minutes to bring out the vegetables' flavor. Add in the protein, fish sauce, sugar, herbs and coconut milk. Cook another 10 minutes to blend flavors, then taste for salt and serve. This keeps well for a day or two, and makes a soothing dinner on a cold night. For added bulk, add rice noodles.

VEGETARIANS: Substitute 1T soy sauce and 2t fresh lime juice for the fish sauce. Pressed and/or fried tofu are really delicious in this soup.

Notes: Clearly, this is a Thai-style soup, rather than Thai entirely. True Thai would involve cooking coconut cream to separate it, then frying the curry paste (which would be made specially for this dish) in the coconut fat. I'm trying to keep the flavors and lose the saturated fats. Let me know how you like it!

Braised Rabbit with Mushrooms and Polenta

For the rabbit:
1/4 cup olive oil
1 cup flour
1T paprika
1 rabbit, 2-3 pounds
2 ounces dried morels, soaked in 1 cup warm water for 2-3 hours, soaking water reserved (see below)
½ pound crimini mushrooms, chunked
½ pound chanterelles, torn in strips
1 large white onion, sliced thinly
1 tomato, cut into 1” dice
1 bottle dry white wine
zest of half an orange, finely chopped

For the polenta:
4c chicken stock (preferably organic)
2 carrots, peeled and diced to 1”
1 stalk celery in 1” dice
1 large white onion, cut into 1” dice
peppercorns
2-3 parsley sprigs
1 bay leaf
1c dry white wine (from the above bottle)
1 c soaking water from dried mushrooms, very carefully strained
1 cup polenta
2 rosemary sprigs

Polenta:
Start by soaking your dried mushrooms from the "rabbit" ingredient list. Let these steep several hours, then carefully drain. Reserve the mushrooms and soaking liquid separately.

Cut your rabbit into nine pieces. Forelegs, back legs, back into two pieces, "breast" into two pieces, neck. Pretend you're cutting a chicken. The physiology isn't that different. Cut off any remaining fat and discard. Place the neck, both back pieces and any other meaty leftovers into a large saucepan. From the "polenta" ingredient list, add from the beginning (chicken stock) through the strained mushroom liquid. Bring to a boil, then turn down and simmer for up to two hours, skimming any foamy residue. Cool and strain well. You'll need five cups total; if you have less, add the necessary amount of water.

Heat the strained, skimmed stock to boiling. Taste it and add salt as necessary. Crack in fresh pepper to taste and add the rosemary. Very slowly whisk in one cup of polenta. When all of the polenta has been added, turn the heat down to simmer, stir again with a utensil that reaches every part of the pan, and cover. Stir every ten minutes until the polenta is very thick and pulls away from the side of the pan. (Takes 40 minutes or so.) When you're ready to serve, add two tablespoons of butter and rewarm slowly, stirring often. When the butter has melted, stir in 2-3 ounces of soft cheese like Teleme. For a lower fat alternative, use the butter only or olive oil.

Rabbit:
Heat half of the olive oil in a large, heavy braising pan over medium high heat. Mix the flour and paprika in a plastic ziplock bag, adding a large pinch of salt and ground pepper. Pat the rabbit very dry and add to the bag, shaking to coat. Shake off all extraneous flour from three rabbit pieces and add to the pan, being careful not to crowd them. Brown on both sides and remove from the pan. Repeat with the other pieces, using the additional oil if necessary. Now add all of the mushrooms, the onion and the tomato, sauteeing them until the onions begin to take on color. Add three cups of wine to the pan, the rabbit pieces and any juices, and cover. Boil off the alcohol, about five minutes. Now cover the pan and let cook slowly over low heat for an hour, or until the meat falls off the bone. Alternatively, braise in a very slow oven (250 degrees) for two hours. Remove the rabbit, add the orange zest to the pan, and boil your mushroom sauce until it thickens slightly.

To serve, mound some polenta on a warmed plate, cover with several pieces of rabbit, and add mushrooms and sauce. Sprinkle with chopped parsley.

Fall Fennel Salad

Fennel bulb is a staple in my house almost all year around. It roasts beautifully, adds its lightly liquorice flavor to stocks, and tastes fresh during the darkest months of winter. This salad adjusts well; when pomegranates aren't in season, switch to sliced roasted beets. The feta can be omitted for a vegan salad that's equally delicious, just different. Nuts are another option; try toasted pistachios or walnuts, and use the corresponding nut oil for the dressing. Yum. To make this a main dish or more substantial appetizer, add poached or grilled scallops.

2 fennel (anise) bulbs, feathery tops trimmed off (I use mine for stockmaking) and tough outside layer pulled off
2 oranges, supremed (instructions below)
1 pomegranate
2 ounces feta, preferably Israeli, crumbled (optional)
1 tablespoon rice vinegar
olive oil
salt
pepper

Slice the fennel bulbs horizontally (that is, so that each slice goes across every layer of the bulb) as thinly as possible. A mandoline, even the cheapie German one I have, is very helpful, but a newly-sharpened chef's knife will also do the trick. Place in a large bowl.

Supreme the orange: Slice off the top and bottom 1/2" of each orange, revealing the flesh. Cutting in sloping strips, use a sharp knife to remove the rest of the orange's skin. Now cut the individual wedges apart into the bowl, leaving behind all pith. You're left with just beautiful pieces of orange flesh. Squeeze the pith and all peel pieces into the bowl to release their leftover juices.

Seed the pomegranate: Cut the pomegranate into quarters. Run water into a large bowl that's been set in your sink. Put the pomegranate pieces into your bowl, and, using light touches, remove all the seeds. The seeds float to the bottom of the bowl, while the creamy yellow webbing floats to the top. Rinse with additional water several times, then set the pomegranate seeds to drain.

Measure out 1/4 cup of the pomegranate seeds into your bowl with the sliced fennel and oranges. Toss in one ounce of the feta, then add a sprinkle of salt and freshly ground pepper to taste. Add in a tablespoon of olive oil and the rice vinegar. Toss the salad with your hands. Taste it. You're looking for a balanced mix of sweet and salty, crispy and soft.

To serve, lift up portions with your hands and place them in bowl. Sprinkle with the remaining feta and a few more pomegranate seeds. Depending on how large your fruit/veg ingredients were and how hungry your eaters are, this serves anywhere from 2-4. Usually it makes two large lunch salads for me.

Healthier Pumpkin Bran Muffins

As part of my never-ending quest for healthier baked goods, I altered a standard bran muffin recipe to come up with this spicy edition. It's a lower-fat product, which means that they won't stay fresh as long. After a day or so, freeze any leftovers. They're at their best warm, spread with either butter or cream cheese mixed with a little honey or orange juice for flavor. Also, if you're not used to eating much fiber, be sure to drink some extra water. This is a *lot* of bran. Check your pumpkin; you don't want to use "pumpkin pie filling". If pumpkin isn't available, frozen squash is an excellent substitute. You could also use another fruit puree, like apple or fig.

2 cups 100% bran cereal
3/4 cup canned pumpkin
1/2 cup nonfat milk
1/3 cup water
1/8 cup orange juice concentrate
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 whole egg and one extra egg white
1/4 cup canola oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Mix the above in a large bowl. Let sit for at least an hour to let the bran soften. This can be refrigerated overnight if you wish.

Pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees.

In a separate bowl, stir together until all lumps are gone:

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom

Quickly combine the flour mixture with the bran mixture, being careful not to overmix. Muffins are toughen quickly because the gluten in flour starts to develop as soon as it hits the moisture in the rest of the batter. To avoid toughness, mix just enough to get rid of pockets of flour.

Scoop into muffin tins lined with papers (or sprayed with something like Pam) and bake for 25 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the center of a muffin comes out just a tiny bit sticky.

Spicy Lentil Soup

This is cheap, easy and delicious.

2 slices bacon
1/4 teaspoon (or to taste) chile flakes, preferably the mild urfa pepper
2 small or 1 large white onion, chopped finely
3 carrots, peeled and chopped finely
2 stalks celery, chopped finely
1T tomato paste
3 stalks fresh thyme
1 bay leaf
1c brown lentils
salt
pepper
water to cover

In a large saucepan over medium heat, slowly brown the bacon until crisp. Drain off and discard the bacon fat from the pan, but leave the delicious crispy bits at the bottom. Let the bacon slices drain and cool. Reheat the pan over medium high heat. Add the chili flake and stir just for a moment. Do not let the chile burn. Add the onion, celery and carrots, sauteeing until the onion goes clear. Now add the tomato paste and stir constantly, letting the tomato sugars caramelize to add depth of flavor. When you smell a slightly sweet odor and the tomato paste has darkened, add the thyme, bay leaf and lentils, plus 1/2 teaspoon salt. Grind in a little fresh pepper. Stir, then add water to cover the mixture. Let it come to a boil, then reduce the heat and cover. Let the soup simmer for roughly half an hour or until the lentils are very soft, stirring often and checking that the mixture is loose enough. If the mix begins to stick or get too thick for your taste, just add more water.

If at all possible, let the soup cool and rest for a few hours before serving. When you reheat, taste for salt - it will likely need more. Thin with water if it's grown too thick for you. Be sure to remove the thyme stems and bay leaf before serving.

To serve, crumble a bit of the bacon over each bowl. I like this very much with a simple salad of spinach, red onion and mango chunks. Also good eaten out of an often-washed Tupperware container with an apple while on your lunch break.

VEGETARIAN ADJUSTMENT: Remove the bacon. Cook the veg and tomato paste very, very slowly in 1T olive or canola oil, being careful not to let the tomato burn. Cooking slowly will help the veg render their juices, break down their fiber and caramelize, which adds to the rich flavor. Serve topped with well-buttered bits of toast.