Mmmmm….Alaskan Black Cod is one of my favourite kinds of fish. To me, it tastes like butter- just decadent and rich! I’ve only really had it in a miso based sauce before, so when I saw this recipe for it using a red coconut curry sauce (looove coconut curry!), I knew I had to make it.

Alaskan Black Cod in Thai Red Coconut Curry (adapted from here)

• 2 tablespoons butter (preferably from grass-fed cows)
• 1 medium sweet onion, cut into quarters lengthwise, then sliced crosswise
• 1 small red or green bell pepper, cut into matchsticks
• 1 14 ounce can coconut milk (unsweetened), shaken well
• 1 1/2- 3 tablespoons red curry paste (start with 1 1/2 tbsp, but taste-test and adjust accordingly- you may need more depending on the brand used)
• 1 tablespoon fish sauce (nam pla)
• 3 tablespoons fresh lime juice
• 1-2 teaspoons coconut palm sugar, to taste (optional)
• 4 dried kaffir lime leaves
•  2 or 3 tablespoons fresh cilantro, chopped
• 1/4 cup roasted cashews (optional)
• 1 to 1/2 pounds wild-caught cod fillets (I used 1 large fillet)
• sea salt

Can you believe it’s 2011 already? I literally remember being nine years old and counting down to midnight on y2k, wondering what would happen when the year 2000 hit. Hah!

Last night was a ton of fun. I invited five friends over for some snacks and drinks before we hit the town. I love entertaining, I wanted a really fun menu with everything miniature!

Everyone was greeted with a Mini Peach-Pomegranate-Grapefruit Drop Martini.

Peach-Pomegranate-Grapefruit Martini

• 2 oz Absolut Peach vodka
• splash of pomegranate juice
• splash of grapefruit juice
• sugar
• orange zest

Put a bit of sugar into a bowl and stir in some orange zest. Run a piece of orange around the rim of your martini glass and then rim with orange-sugar. In a martini shaker, combine ice, vodka, and juices. Shake! Shake! Shake! Pour into prepared glass. Garnish with an orange slice.

And we munched on a fresh platter of veggies n dip

I made these Fig & Brie bites, which were absolutely delicious. I think you guys know about my love affair with brie…and these were no exception. MAKE SURE YOU FREEZE THESE BEFORE YOU BAKE. I actually couldn’t serve these because mine weren’t cold enough, so the brie ran everywhere…..but the scraps were amazing haha. I have one more batch ready, which I will freeze first.

Fig & Brie Bites (adapted from Food Mayhem)

Sour Cream Pastry

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2″ cubes
• 1/3 cup sour cream
• 1 large egg yolk
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Filling

• 3/4 cup fig jam
• 10 oz wedge of brie cheese

To make the sour cream pastry, combine the flour, sugar, and salt in the food processor by pulsing a few times. Add the butter and pulse 4 times, then process for 10 seconds, or until it looks sandy.

Empty into a very large bowl and form a well in the center. In a small bowl, stir together sour cream, yolk, and vanilla extract. Place wet mixture in the center of the well and work from the inside out with a rubber spatula.

When the dough comes together, knead a few times with your hands and press together. Divide the dough in half and form a 3″x4″ rectangle with each. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 4 hours or overnight. (Dough can be kept for up to 3 days in the fridge or 1 month in the freezer.)

Remove one dough rectangle from the fridge and cut in 4 equal pieces. Keep un-used dough in the fridge.

Roll the piece of dough into a 14″ x 3″ strip on a lightly floured surface. Spread 1 1/2 tablespoons of preserves down the middle.

Cut the brie into thin slices a little less than 1/8″ thick. Cut off the rinds. Lay the brie down the middle on top of the preserves.

Lift the sides of the dough over the preserves and brie, folding one side over the other. Press down gently to seal.

Cut into 1-inch pieces.

Place them 1 inch apart on a baking sheet covered with parchment paper. Repeat with all the remaining dough, preserves, and brie. Place them in the freezer for 1 hour.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F about 30 minutes before you are ready to bake.

Bake for 10 minutes or until golden. Remove to cooling racks to cool for 5 minutes before serving. Best served warm.

I also served Smoked Salmon Blinis. I love smoked salmon, and all seafood for that matter. I try to avoid salmon because I have a sensitivity to it, but what the heck, it was New Year’s Eve!!

Smoked Salmon Blinis (recipe found here)

For the pancakes:

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 tablespoon fresh chopped chives
• 1 ounce cream cheese, softened
• 1 tablespoon butter, softened
• 1 egg
• 3/4 cup milk
• 8 ounces cold smoked salmon
• Freshly chopped green onions, for garnish

For the sour cream sauce:

• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1 teaspoon horseradish
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

In a medium bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, and chives.

In a small bowl cream together the cream cheese and butter until smooth.  Add the egg and whisk until completely incorporated.  Whisk in the milk.

Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and whisk until just incorporated and no large lumps remain.  Do not over-mix.

Heat a non-stick skillet over medium heat.  Spray lightly with non-stick spray then scoop the batter by the tablespoon into the pan.  Cook for one minute on the first side, flip, then cook for an additional thirty seconds, or until the cakes are golden brown and spring back when gently pressed in the center.  Remove to a plate to cool while you prepare the rest.

While the cakes cool prepare the sour cream sauce by adding the sour cream, horseradish and salt to a small bowl.  Whisk to combine then let stand ten minutes.

To prepare, spoon a heaping 1/4 teaspoon of the sauce onto the center of the cakes.  Top with a piece of the salmon.  Garnish with the chives.  These can be assembled up to one hour in advance.  Serve at room temperature.

I have always wanted to make sliders, and I decided to make these lovely Lentil Walnut Burgers from Oh She Glows, into sliders! They look so adorable and almost to cute to eat.

Lentil Walnut Sliders (adapted from Oh She Glows)

• 3/4 cup canned lentils
• 3/4 cup walnuts, toasted
• 1 piece bread, toasted OR 1/3 cup breadcrumbs
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 2 tsp ground coriander
• 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1/4 tsp sea salt
• Freshly ground pepper
• 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1 chia/flax egg (1 tbsp ground chia or flax + 1/4 cup water)

Directions: Preheat oven to 350F. In a small bowl make the chia or flax egg and set aside.

Toast the walnuts by placing the walnuts on a baking sheet and cooking at 350F for about 12 minutes until golden brown and delicious. Let cool.

In a food processor, process the garlic, walnuts, toasted bread OR breadcrumbs, spices & seasonings until combined. Now add oil and lentils and pulse until coarsely chopped (some lentils should be visible and left chunky). Add the flax or chia egg and pulse a bit more until combined. Now shape small patties with hands and place on a baking sheet lined with parchment or a non-stick mat. Bake at 350F for about 35 minutes, turning once. When almost done, add cheese (if using), and let melt in the oven for about a minute.

I served these on slider buns, with spinach, avocado, ketchup, mustard, and havarti cheese. Enjoy!

My friend Taylor said, “These are the best f*cking burgers ever!” LOL

As if we didn’t have enough shots in our near future, I thought I’d kick things off with a shot that wouldn’t make our stomachs (and livers!) cringe. A simple Thai-Spiced Pumpkin Soup served in shot glasses.

Thai-Spiced Pumpkin Soup (adapted from 101 Cookbooks)

• 2 acorn squash, pumpkins, or other smallish winter squash (I used one can of pumpkin puree, and one acorn squash)
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
• clove minced garlic
• 1 14-ounce can coconut milk
• 1 teaspoon (or more) red Thai curry paste
• water
• 2 teaspoons fine grain sea salt (or to taste)
• sprinkle of red chili flakes

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees and place the oven racks in the middle.

Carefully cut each squash/pumpkin into halves (or quarters). Slather each piece of squash with butter, sprinkle generously with salt, place on a baking sheet skin sides down, and place in the oven. Roast for about an hour or until the squash is tender throughout.

Saute garlic clove in a bit of olive oil in a soup pot. When the pumpkin/squash are cool enough to handle scoop it into a large pot over medium high heat. Add the coconut milk and curry paste and bring to a simmer. Remove from the heat and puree with a hand blender, you should have a very thick base at this point. Now add water a cup at a time pureeing between additions until the soup is the consistency you prefer – a light vegetable stock would work here as well. Bring up to a simmer again and add the salt and chili flakes (and more curry paste if you like, I used about 10 teaspoons of curry paste, but the kind I used was very mild.)

To round out the evening before we headed downtown, was a selection of festive cookies. I made shortbread 3-ways, snowflake sugar cookies, and rumnog pecan cookies (vegan, and to die for!) .

One of my all-time favourite foods is butternut squash. I love it simply roasted in olive oil with some pepper and lots of sea salt! I got through a lot of squash throughout the fall and winter. While attending a local summer market that is held every couple of weeks, I found a vendor selling delicious thai sauces. Man, was he ever generous with the samples!!! I ended up buying a Sesame BBQ sauce and a Yellow Coconut Curry sauce, and my boyfriend bought one of our favourites- Green Coconut Curry Sauce. We ate the Sesame BBQ sauce over stir fried vegetables and tofu and it was wonderful. I had a butternut squash to use up and at the suggestion of the vendor, I tried the Yellow Curry sauce over it. It was DIVINE. The sauce had a nice kick to it and all the flavour from the roasted squash went perfectly- yet exotically with it. The sauces come from Thai Princess and they are available on Granville Island in Vancouver, or at Whole Foods in Vancouver. I really recommend picking some of their sauces up if you are in the area- they can be frozen for up to six months and are perfect for days when you are short on time around dinner.

Roasted Butternut Squash

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Peel squash and cut up in small cubes, place on parchment-lined tray

Drizzle with olive oil and season with pepper and salt.

Cook for 40-45 minutes until squash is nicely carmelized. Toss once or twice throughout the process.

If you have a sauce, warm it up on the stove and pour over squash. Enjoy!!

One of my favourite memories from Thailand was when my boyfriend and I (as well as a bunch of other people) were feeding a group of monkeys on a beach. All of a sudden, one of the monkeys went running across the little river and climbed right up my leg and onto my HEAD! I absolutely adore animals so while I should have been scared, I was so excited! After getting plenty of peanut shells and banana in my hair (ick!!), he was coaxed back onto the ground.

This week I’ve really had the urge to make nice dinners for myself. Sometimes I am just too tired after work, but not this week! I recently was given a new cookbook and started a little project from it (more on that in a later post!) and then I got to work on dinner. I had some tofu in my fridge and I’ve really been trying to up the protein in my diet, so I was thinking about quinoa as well. After a quick search on Tastespotting, I found a delicious-sounding recipe from Vegan Yum Yum and adapted it. The result? A wonderful Thai-inspired dish packed with protein! The tofu was wonderful- I had never dry-fried tofu before and I loved the texture it took on. It was almost crusty on the outside and the glaze that coated it was deeeeeelish! It was great to pick some fresh lime from my garden, as well. I didn’t use a vegetable in this dish though, as I have been drowning in swiss chard lately (courtesy of the garden) and that was all I had on hand that would fit.

Thanks for a wonderful recipe Vegan Yum Yum!

Kaeng Khiaw-Waan Kai…or Green Curry with Chicken for those of us who are struggling with their Thai language skills is an absolute must-try meal. When I first arrived in Thailand, I ate a lot of Pad-Thai and stir-fried vegetables or seafood until I discovered this winner. I can’t count how many times I ate this dish over the course of my five weeks in Thailand- I couldn’t get enough! This curry varied from restaurant to restaurant and I tried some with purely vegetable ingredients, and others that had seafood from prawns and squid and fish to a combination of them all. The first time I made this recipe at home I replaced the chicken with prawns and squid, as I don’t eat meat. The second time I made it, I added zuchini, pineapple and pistachios and a couple of scallops. Serve this over rice and experience this divine dish from February’s Cookbook of the Month.

Green Curry with Chicken

• 60ml (1/4 cup) coconut cream
• 2 tablespoons green curry paste (**I always add extra!)
• 350g (12 oz) skinless chicken thigh fillets, sliced (** or an equal amount of prawns, squid, scallops, etc. If you want this dish to be vegan, add extra eggplant or some zuchini and pineapple. Tender steak can also be used.))
• 440ml (1 3/4 cups) coconut milk
• 2 1/2 tbsp fish sauce
• 1 tbsp palm sugar
• 350g (12 oz) mixed Thai eggplants (aubergines), cut into quarters, and pea eggplants (aubergines) (**When I don’t have these Thai eggplants on hand, I simply use regular or japanese eggplant, and zuchini. Adding pineapple is a wonderful touch and a handful of pistachios is great, too.)
• 50g (2 oz) galangal, julienned (** I have never had this ingredient on hand and therefore I just omit it. Galangal is a rhizome with a hot, peppery flavour.)
• 7 makrut (kaffir) lime leaves, torn in half (** This is so key in this dish that I often add several extra leaves.)
• a handful of Thai sweet basil leaves, for garnish (**As you can see, I used regular basil)
• 1 long red chilli, seeded and finely sliced, for garnish (**I added red pepper flakes for that extra spice as I didn’t have a hot chilli on hand this time)

Put the coconut cream in a wok or saucepan and simmer over a medium heat for about 5 minutes, or until the cream seperates and a layer of oil forms on the surface. Stir the cream if it starts to brown around the edges. Add the curry paste, stir well to combine and cook until fragrant.

Add the chicken (or seafood) and stir for a few minutes. Add nearly all of the coconut milk, the fish sauce and palm sugar and simmer over a medium heat for another 5 minutes.

Add the eggplants (and zuchini, pineapple and pistachios) and cook, stirring occasionally, for about 5 minutes or until the eggplants are cooked. Add the galangal and makrut lime leaves. Taste, then adjust the seasoning if necessary. Spoon into a serving bowl and sprinkle with the last bit of coconut milk, as well as the basil leaves and chilli slices (or flakes). Serve over rice.

This is the first recipe from my February Cookbook of the Month. The prawns I happened to use were GIGANTIC. They were meaty and beautiful. This recipe was incredibly easy, the longest task was peeling, deveining and butterflying the prawns. The cooking takes no time at all. These prawns taste sweet, tangy, and garlicky. If you’re easing yourself into Thai food, give these a try!

Stir-Fried Garlic Prawns (Kung Phat Kra-Tiam)

• 500g ( 1lb 2oz) large raw prawns
• 18-20 coriander (cilantro) root, roughly chopped
• 4-5 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
• 10 black peppercorns
• 1 tablespoon light soy sauce
• 1 1/2 tablespoons oyster sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon sugar
• 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
• a few coriander (cilantro) leaves, for garnish
• 1 long red chilli, seeded, and finely sliced, for garnish

Peel and devein the prawns and cut each prawn along the back so it opens like a butterfly (leave each prawn joined along the base and tail).

Using a pestle and mortar or a small blender, pound or grind the coriander roots and garlic into a rough paste. Add the peppercorns and continue to grind roughly.

Mix the light soy sauce, oyster sauce and sugar in a small bowl.

Heat the oil in a wok or frying pan and stir-fry the coriander paste for 1 to 2 minutes or until the garlic starts to turn light brown and fragrant.. Add the prawns and light soy sauce mixture and stir-fry another 2 to 3 minutes or until the prawns open and turn pink. Taste, then adjust the seasoning if necessary. Sprinkle with coriander leaves and chilli slices.

I’d also like to give you guys a glimpse into my experience with Thailand!

This was the first meal my boyfriend and I had when we arrived at the Bankok airport- Pad Thai.

This was in our favourite Thai chain restaurant, BBQ. You add minced garlic, peppers, and lime juice to a tangy sauce until it reaches the flavour you want! The garlic fried rice here was to die for.

The two above pictures are from Bangkok’s floating market. The fruit here was unbelievable. I have never tasted a banana as good as the one I had from this market. I also tried a whole bunch of fruits that I had never even heard of!