Red Curry Tofu

My mother is known for her amazing curry. When I say "known for", I mean it's literally a taste you will never forget, it will remain in your immediate food memory for the rest of your life.  You'll compare all other currys to it, you will request it every time you come over, it will become your birthday wish dinner, it will be your answer to the "if you could only eat one meal before you die what would it be?" question  you'll crave it when you're PMSing (ok maybe that's only me...) POINT IS, it's glorious. I don't have her recipe, and to be honest I'm not sure if I want it- might take away some of the magic- but I wanted to make my first attempt at this tasteful dish.

Now she does a yellow curry, I wanted to do a tomato based curry (blaze my own trail!) 

Here is my recipe I put together: though I added lots of spices as it was simmering so the measurements might be a little off. I combined two different sauce recipe concepts together- sorta followed an outline, but it's a matter of taste (Spicy vs. sweeter.) 

Ingredients:

      BULK:

• 2 full packages of Tofu
• 1 bell pepper, chopped
• 1/2 head cauliflower 
• 1 cup snap peas, chopped
  
  RED CURRY SAUCE:

• 1/4 tsp. cinnamon 
• handful fresh basil 
• 1 can coconut milk
• 1/2 can vegetable broth
• 2-3 Tbsp. minced fresh lemongrass
• 1/4 cup green onion, minced
• 1 tsp ginger, grated
• 4-5 cloves garlic
• 1 tsp. cayenne pepper
• 4 Tbls tomato paste
• 1 tbls paprika
• 2 Tbls chili powder
• 1/2 tsp. ground cumin
• 1/4 cup Cilantro, finely chopped
• 1-2 Tbsp. brown sugar
• 2 squeezed limes (juice)
• 2 Tbls curry powder (yellow)
• 1 tsp salt
• add chili sauce for spice (if needed)

1. Cut up cauliflower and place in boiling water, soften and let simmer for about 20 minutes.
2. Cut up Tofu in cubes, bake (BAKE at 400) for about 10 minutes on both sides. Just lightly brown them, just for texture.
3. Combine all the sauce ingredients into food processor (Basil, Coconut milk, Vegetable broth, lemongrass, green onion, ginger, garlic, cayenne pepper, tomato paste, paprika, chili powder, cumin, cilantro, drown sugar, lime juice, curry powder, salt) pureed into a creamy sauce.
4. Combine tofu and cauliflower with the sauce in wok on high. Bring to boil, then reduce temperature. Add bell pepper and snap peas and cinnamon. Allow to simmer for 30 minutes.
5. Cook Sushi Rice (because it's extra sticky!) 2 cups rice, 2.5 cups water. Bring to boil then allow to simmer for 20 minutes.
6. Warm up naan for 2 minutes at 400 in oven. 

VOILA. 

This fed Juan and I PLUS I have enough for a couple more meals (LOVE curry leftovers, they get better every day.) I'll probably get four more full meals out of the leftovers :)

Bikram Yoga

I'm so behind in posts. I've been meaning to update for months, but work has been kicking my butt the past few weeks.

                 I.E. Today in one of my fifth grade classes I gave a speech on "legacy" (which I'm convinced fell on deaf ears..) Tried to explain that teachers feel things too! I said, "sometimes I think you guys forget we're human too and we get worn down too. The difference is teachers can't just decide we're not gonna do our work anymore, or we're gonna be rude or jerks because we didn't get our way- we have to keep up a positive attitude and push forward. You make it very difficult to do that sometimes. Just keep in mind, we get frustrated and hurt and tired too, and there is only so much disrespect a person can take before they start to lose all respect for you...." One of the girls started crying and ran up to me after class and said she thought I was talking about her and that she's sorry....so maybe one kid was listening. She said, "I want to be remembered for good things not for being disrespectful." One victory at a time...

That being said, I want to update on my Greensboro activities- like I said I would on this blog!

                                                                  Bikram Yoga. 

1. What:  26 postures that systematically work every part of the body, to give all the internal organs, all the veins, all the ligaments, and all the muscles everything they need to maintain optimum health and maximum function. 
1. Translation? You sweat all your toxins out of your body while balancing the heck out of your body!
2. What to Expect: You enter into a mirrored room and lay your mat on the floor. There can be anywhere from 25-55 people there. The heat is set to 106 degrees and you start sweating profusely about 3 minutes into your time int the room. The instructor will begin to call out the poses. It last 1.5 hours (which is incredibly long!) The hardest part about this type of yoga is the slipperiness of your skin- it was difficult to hold positions because my feet would roll off my soaking wet skin. 
3. Important facts: 
1. Seriously Hydrate for the the WHOLE DAY leading up to going. (The first time i went I made the mistake of hydrating only DURING instead of BEFORE and I got a stomach ache.)
2. They don't like you to leave to use the bathroom so make sure you pee before you go in...
3. Don't eat junk food or heavy foods before you go, it will weigh you down (i'm not kidding!!)
4. Bring your own mat if you can, because you sweat all over it and if you care about germs at all you won't want to use another person's mat
5. Don't wear any rings or jewelry! 
6. BRING WATER and a towel 
7. WEAR LITTLE CLOTHING you will not want layers, the bare min is best, most girls wear spandex shorts and sports bras (or a tank top in my case.)
4. Price: Grouponed this gem, the groupon reappears about four times a year and it's an unlimited month for $26 (though I think it's $36 now...)
5. Location: West Market right between the Sheetz and the Nazareth resteraunt (that I'm dying to try!)
6. Watch Kumare: This documentary is amazing and extremely entertaining.  This class will put you in an entirely different mindset if you watch that movie. HIGHLY reccommend.
   
Here's a Trailer- you can find it on Netflix.
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All in all it was a good workout, you burn a TON of calories and feel AMAZING the next day. During the actual class I felt kinda awful, the heat messed with my head and I didn't much care for the feeling. (Plus the girls in front of me were SICK at the poses and I felt completely ridiculous..ok not the one lady in the leopard print romper uni-tard, she was pretty terrible.I don't plan on ever going back (since that month) because the last time I went it gave me a migraine. The next day you feel like a whole new person! BUT it's not worth a migraine for me.

-Abigail