Holy Cow!!! Mushroom Avocado Curry with brown rice

Well I am trying to eat more and more vegan type foods. I read, watch documentaries, research it all, and find that at my age, my body's needs need to come before desires. Well, and this other thing as well, this very beautiful young maiden I'm friends with is vegan and that's what prompted me to look more into it. Although I do feel that wild caught fish are still my best bet for Omega 3 fatty acids. So, to that end, I made this stuff. Pictures still need work, but it tasted pretty fantastic. 

So, I started out by coarse chopping 8 big crimini mushrooms, a medium onion and a red pepper, then chopped a couple ribs celery. Chopped some cilantro and cut up two avocados. In a big skillet, film with olive oil and add the crimini mushrooms. Cook and stir every few minutes until well browned. If you

desire, add some sea salt and pepper. I don't eat a lot of salt, so here this one is up to you. I believe Americans normally consume way too much salt and anyone that ever eats any processed food at all is getting a huge dose of the stuff. But then I weigh 270

(on good days) and my BP is generally about 115 over 60. Salt. Anyway, next add the chopped vegetables and saute about 4 or 5 minutes, just enough to begin to soften. Then add a half cup of the Mae Ploy Red Curry Paste. Stir it around and let it sort of begin to melt. Add a can of coconut milk and stir the whole thing until the paste mixes into the coconut milk. Add the avocado. Bring to a boil and turn down

and let simmer a couple minutes. Add the chopped cilantro and stir it in. That fresh cilantro adds a nice fresh touch to the dish. I served it with some brown rice. Easy peasy, I knew I was making this dish so last night I put two cups brown rice in a bowl and covered with water and let soak. I also took 12 ounces of garbanzo beans and covered with water and let soak all night as well. I drained the rice, put in a pressure cooker and added 3 cups water and brought to a boil, covered and pressure cooked for 20 minutes. Let the pressure drop on its own and served perfect brown rice with the curry. I also took the garbanzo

beans and rinsed, put into another pressure cooker (YES I HAVE 10 PRESSURE COOKERS) and covered with water an inch over the beans. Same, bring to boil, cover and bring to pressure, cook 25 minutes. Let cool, then drain some of the liquid and save for fake egg whites. (Aqua faba) Now, in a blender jar, juice a lemon, add about ten cloves garlic and dump in the beans. Add a quarter cup of good olive oil, a bunch of black pepper and blend until smooth. Spoon it out and serve the stuff on the side with the curry as beans and rice make a complete protein. Maybe to some that makes sense. I should do some stuff on protein complementarity some time to explain why it's good to eat a variety of foods to ensure that you get all eight of the essential amino acids. 

Anyway, just to mention here about the Mae Ploy. I like the stuff, it's my favorite curry. Paste type curries are a lot better than the dry powder stuff in the stores. Most stores have the stuff anymore although I love to shop at the oriental store near the house as lots of other cool stuff there. And seaweed as well. Been eating that a lot lately.I know, to some, curry is the easiest thing to make from scratch. I'm not some people though, I use Mae Ploy. But perhaps some day in the future.



Yep

Starbucks reinvents coffee

Well, that's the understatement of the century. They already did that in the twentieth century. Starbucks became the brand name synonymous with elitism and fashionista coffee based beverages. It's all in the way it's presented, and good ol' Howard Schultz, who bought the company in 1987, did the unthinkable; he promoted a company that produced mediocre sugar based hot and cold beverages to the ultimate in pomposity and elitism. And all at 5000 to 6000 percent markup. Yeah the crown jewel of wet dreams for Wall Street capitalism, with the share price of Starbucks stock valued at over 600 times its earning potential. 

Only in America

So Starbucks has got a pretty well deserved big head. I mean really, they've done what no one else could do except the likes of Gates, Jobs, the Woz etc. So now Starbucks knowing full well that they have the Midas touch and that anything they do will turn to gold because, well, because they have that elitist brand mentality. Next on the list, instant coffee. Yeah, I know, it sucked in the past, and Starbucks tells us that they can make it so everyone will love the stuff. Because the Starbucks name will be on it.

In Augusta Georgia the company built a modern state of the art plant to make their new technological wonder, VIA instant coffee. At a cost of 178 million dollars, the facility can produce over 4,000 metric tons of instant coffee per year. And because of the modular design of the system, it can be expanded to increase production by another 2,000 metric tons per year. The new facility has 178 employees of which most are technical jobs. I mean they have to be, the process is proprietary and highly secret. I will tell you though that Starbucks did a fantastic job designing the facility. It's green throughout, highly modern energy saving and ultra ultra cool technologically. 

So, now they make their own instant coffee. It's termed VIA coffee. They used to contract it out. Now it's all their own stuff. How is it? Criminy, it's fucking instant coffee. I suppose that there are people out there that will pour in soy milk and spoons of fake sweetener and flavored syrup and drink the stuff. Because it's got that brand name on it, Starbucks. I don't know of a single person that drinks coffee, and I mean real coffee, black, no sugar, that ever buys their coffee at Starbucks. I'm pretty sure none will buy this stuff. 

But, I'm a realist. I understand that buying that cup with the weird logo on it and drinking frufru crap is what some people need to exist and feel superior to their coworkers or the other drivers on the clogged freeways each day. Brand name elitism, it makes the stock valuable.

Only in America.

Yep

More fiction from the Chef -- A Wisp of Air

Still recovering from the surgery, don't feel like writing anything new and researching is just a pain right now, so an old story I wrote a while back. A love story really

A love story
 
A Wisp of Air

By

Roy Marshall

In the swirling mist of fog, the approaching sunrise revealed the trees about the young couple as glowing visages that loomed skyward.  Foreboding masses in the strengthening daylight.  Heavy with child, she sank to the forest floor.  Sayli, sighed, and breathed in the mist.  Becoming one with the vapor, she gained strength.  Her mate, Boolay, floated above her, helpless, anticipating the birth that was so near. 

 Breathing in the life giving moisture, Sayli set herself for the ordeal.  The birthing cramps came, and she breathed deeply, ignoring the pain.  Within seconds, they came again.  Moments later, the child appeared.  A boy.  Wispy, he was newly birthed from the cloud of gases that formed his mother.  Breathing in the moisture rich air of the fog, he strengthened and rose above the forest floor to meet the dawn of the day of his birth.  This small thinking gaseous life form began a new generation.  Boolay dropped to the forest floor next to his mate.  There, the two caressed, intertwining boughs of semi cohesive gases in a gesture universally recognized as love. 

Soft and soothing sounds emanated from the pair, and soon, the new born child took notice of the parents below him.  Sinking to the forest floor beside them, he embraced his parents.  He allowed the love to slip into his very being.  Slowly, the child began to murmur, and then as recognition dawned about him, he started to speak.  He was after all, born with fully developed consciousness, and the memory of conversations that took place during the lengthy pregnancy. 

A wisp of air, a cohesive mesh of gases that form a complex gossamer web of living vapor; the family of beings inaugurated a new generation of their kind into existence.  The newborn was named Soolay by his mother.  Immediately he wanted to float away, to feel his freedom, to explore.  Freed from the prison womb of his mother, he floated with the mist and breathed in life giving moisture.  His hunger came about suddenly and he fed for the first time, enveloping airborne mold spores, bacteria, and organic dust particles.  Sated, he floated above the forest floor and disappeared into the fading mist.

His mother called after him as she saw him leaving, “Soolay, don’t go too far, and always remember, stay away from the humans.”

Pacing back and forth from the living room to the back door of the house, Candace walked as if in a trance.  She thought she had coped with the death of her husband, the funeral with all the cloying condolences from friends and his colleagues; but she truly hadn’t.  Max had been her life; he had been and done everything for her.  Now, today, she had to begin a life without him.  Here in this huge old house on the outskirts of Sausalito she had met with Max’s attorney and his five sisters with all of their children.  The attorney read the will and gave news that did not make the sisters very happy.  She was now very well off.  Thirty-two years of marriage and she had no idea of the wealth that Max had accumulated.   

Candace had paced the same route in the house for several hours now thinking about what to do.  She had the means to do things, things that most people only could dream about.  She and Max had gone on cruises before, and she had fun.  They had taken their nieces and nephews on trips, and enjoyed their excitement.  But everything she had done, had been with Max.  She missed him already, and couldn’t even imagine life without him.  For the first time in her life, she understood why people took their own lives.

Stopping her pacing, Candace had made the decision.  She went into the room that served as an office and hand wrote her last will and testament, evenly dividing her inheritance between Max’s sisters. She then took out a stamp pad and put her thumb print next to her signature.  Placing it into an envelope, she addressed it to Max’s attorney and placed it into the mailbox.  She then went up the stairs of the house, looking around at all of her treasured possessions.  For the first time realizing just how huge the old Victorian was.  And now just empty and lonely. 

The bathroom cabinet contained all of Max’s medications.  She took all the bottles and got a glass of water, then took it all into the bedroom where she lay down on the bed.  As she lie there thinking of all the good times with Max, she dosed off.

Feeling the freedom that only a creature of the mist can feel, Soolay drifted with the wind amongst the trees and soon the forest ended.  Confused for a moment, his limited experience did not prepare him for the sight before him.  A giant structure, dark, and curiously compelling to him.  The admonition from his mother was of little concern to him, he after all had no idea what humans were. 

As the light breeze allowed him to float closer to the old Victorian home, Soolay felt a kind of excitement growing in him.  When next to the house, he moved around the sides, inspecting the solidity of the walls.  Wood, he knew, but this was different; a thick substance covered the cut trees.  Periodically there were transparent openings that he was unable to move through.  Glass, a new experience for him.  Finally, on the upper level, an open area, an open window.  Moving inside, he was mesmerized with all that he saw around him.  The bathroom was a place full of new things, and food as well.  As he enjoyed a meal of mold spores, and bacteria, his faint luminescence spread and he developed into a wispy white veil of moving, glowing radiance.  Once again sated with his fill, he again turned to exploration.  Moving in front of a mirror, it was disconcerting to him.  The creature before him moved when he did, in exactly the same way, at the same time.  Unable to reach it, or to communicate, he soon left and floated out the door into the next room. 

There he discovered many wooden objects, and a sadness overcame him at the state that the once beautiful trees had become.  As he approached the large flat object in the room, he came upon Candace as she lay sleeping.  Drawing close to her, there was a sense of life about her.  And a sadness as well.  A sadness that permeated her sleep, her entire being, a feeling that Soolay could sense and was drawn to her because of it.  As he came close to her face, her breathes tickled him and he felt a mixture of emotions.  Excitement at discovering this huge living creature, perception of emotions from her, and wonderment were all mixing together to confuse and delight this newborn being. 

Tickling about her nose brought Candace awake and with a start when she opened her eyes and seeing the wispy glowing creature right in front of her face she sat up and screamed.  Soolay scooted to the end of the bed and floated there, watching with fascination as Candace jumped from the bed and cowered in the corner of the room, staring at him.  She began to bob her head around, looking at him, confusion and fear now evident.  But soon, her demeanor softened, she became at ease with his presence and she spoke to him, the first words he ever heard, “You’re a ghost.  I mean, a real ghost.  Are you, are you Max?”

Her words were harsh and cut through the air with a texture that he could feel as well as hear.  When he was in the forest, the sounds there were palpable, he felt them.  Those sounds were soft and melodious.  These sounds were jarring and bounced off the walls of this structure and reverberated within his being.  He shook his whole being, the glowing rippled in response.

Candace looked at him and saw the movement, interpreting it as acknowledgement.   As she began to cry, her entire demeanor changed from the fear, to one of love.  Soolay understood love and was attracted to the emotion.  Floating toward her, she sucked in her breathe, the held out her hand toward Soolay.  Unsure of the gesture, curiosity overtook him again and he floated toward her hand and gently caressed it.  Silky, luminous, almost a mist, Candace felt him against her hand as an unworldly caress of what she now believed was the soul of her dead husband Max. 

“Oh my god, oh my god, this is unbelievable, Max, you came back to be with me.  I knew our love would be forever.  You’re being here must be to stop me from doing something so stupid.  Really, now that I think about it I see how it was the wrong thing.  So stupid.  I’m so sorry Max, I’m so glad you are here.”  And with that last outburst, Soolay shuddered and floated out of the room toward the open window.  Candace stood and walked after him.  “Max, come back, please, I need you!”

Soolay stopped, turned and shimmered.  He could feel that universal love that she emoted and was pleased.  He thought about the easy feeding here in this giant wood structure, the emotions and just the unique curiosity factor.  Soolay knew he would return, the noises this creature made were not that bad.  He turned, shimmered and then floated out the window.  Candace watched as he disappeared into the darkness toward the forest back from the house. 

“Max, Max!”  She called out after him.  Staring out the window at the forest, she stood there watching the gloomy darkness.  After an hour, she walked back into the bedroom, then threw all the pill bottles into the trash.  Walking the wastebasket out to the garbage bin, she hummed a little tune, for the first time in over a week, happy.

  Over the following years, Candace would live her life full of joy as she enjoyed the family that Max had left behind.  His sisters, their children and even his friends from work.  She became the dutiful widow, generous with her time and fortune.  And most every evening, she waited for the spirit of Max to return and spend time with her.  On occasion he did, Soolay came to the unique structure to feed, and to shimmer when the inhabitant spoke to him. 

The end.

Cajun Swiss Chard Yukon Gold Hash

This is a wondrously fantastic side dish or an accompainment to some nice pasture raised eggs you fried in organic butter. Nice breakfast, yeah. So stuck at home instead of out and about on a Wednesday evening when I could be at a bar listening to a friend's band and drinking beer. But, sadly, health concerns. So,

playing with some stuff. Made a few things this afternoon. This one was just ever so fantastic. I love Cajun spiced foods. It's just that combination of cayenne, garlic and thyme with lots of freshly ground good black pepper and the Holy Trinity of Cajun, onions, peppers and celery. Well, this dish doesn't have celery, but the chard just makes it pretty spectacular. First off, take 4 Yulon Gold potatoes and cut into large dice. In a big skillet preheated to high medium add some olive oil and then toss in the potatoes. Stir a bit to coat and cook about ten to twelve minutes, turning over every three to four minutes.

When good and browned, add the chopped stems of the Swiss Chard and a diced red onion and diced red pepper.Toss a few times and continue to cook until the onions are beginning to soften. Now comes the fun part. Add a quarter cup or so of Cajun seasoning. Toss well. Add a half cup of good red wine. Toss well. Bring the wine to bubbly, turn down the heat and then add all the chopped chard leaves. Cover the skillet and let the leaves steam for about ten minutes. Remove the lid and stir the mix well. Remove from heat and allow to cool slightly and then serve with those fried eggs. Well, that's how I ate them. You know, comfort food for when you don't feel so hot. This will heat you up a bit, well, depending on the Cajun spice mix you use, it might just heat you up a lot.

My Cajun spice blend - Mix together 2 oz. Cayenne pepper, 2 oz. sweet basil, 2 oz. ground thyme, 2 oz. garlic powder, 2 oz. onion powder, 1 oz. ground chili, 1 tsp. ground mustard, 1/8 tsp ground clove.  When using this mix, always add plenty of freshly ground black pepper.

Comfort food for when you not feeling so hot

Was not feeling so hot today, sort of leftover problems from my lithotripsy a couple weeks ago. Sharp edged gravel making new excursions in pain for me. So I made this. It's pretty cool, and really pretty easy. Ten minutes prep, then cook about 45 minutes and it can be pretty impressive. Mine didn't make the turn, but hey, was feeling crappy. Try it out anyway, a couple fried real pasture raised eggs and whole wheat toast and it's great comfort food.

Slice thinly six Yukon Gold potatoes. Slice some bell

peppers and a half a big onion. Heat some olive oil, about a quarter cup, in a big saute pan. As it heats, place half the potato slices in a spiral into the bottom of the pan. Season with pepper, salt if you desire and then spread out the sliced onions and peppers. Season again

with pepper and now would be a nice time to add some fresh rosemary leaves. I didn't, I felt crappy remember. Then just use the rest of the potatoes to make another spiral to cover the onions and peppers. Cover and lower to medium low. Cook about 25 minutes and

then just check the bottom of the potatoes and if well browned, then remove from heat and place large plate over the pan. Quickly turn it over and the potato mix should plop down onto the plate. Gently slide the potato mix back into the pan and cover, cook about ten

minutes on medium low, then remove the cover and raise the heat to medium. To make the top really crispy, you can put the saute pan under a broiler and crisp it up. Serve it with anything really. Had I felt better I

would have made some salmon cakes, but the eggs were nice. And the pictures show how uneven mine came out, but you get the idea, it can be a pretty impressive dish.

Yup

Recipes here on my blog

When I began this blog I had no idea it would continue for so many years. A lot to say about our world, and quite a few interesting recipes in there as well. Here I have listed them, click on the title to go to the recipe.

Ribs, potatoes, asparagus -  Done in a very cool way

Vegetarian Tacos -  Actually pretty cool, any one can eat these and get that spicy fix

Mushroom Avocado Curry - Spicy, flavorful, what else can you want out of life. Vegan too

Potato Swiss Chard Hash - I find that I now make this about every other week it's so good in the morning

Comfort Food - Sort of a pinwheel potato pan fried vegan wonderkind dish of epic flavor

Smoked Salmon    Basics on how to prepare salmon

Stuffed Rolls  Meat and cheese stuffed whole wheat rolls

Heartiest Soup Ever    Vegan soup with Rye, Lentils, and Brown Rice

Pigs in a Blanket  My version of football food

Cajun Delights  Cajun inspired potato cakes and a nice Cajun gravy

Baking Little Bits of Delight part 2  My health cookies

Baking Little Bits of Delight  Whole wheat rolls stuffed with sausage and eggs, a breakfast miracle

What the heck is wrong with you Chef Roy  New healthy versions of British classics

How I eat my steak  Yes, the vegetarian ate steak. And a wonder it was

Weird, but ever so delicious   My version of healthy and Cajun chicken and waffles

Italian Sushi - Fusion Cooking the Chef Roy Way    Sounds weird, it isn't

Meat Cake   Yeah, this one is a wonder, meatloaf that looks like a layer cake

Fusion Cooking    Corned beef stuffed chilies, hey, I said it was fusion

Cooking like a Pro   Some recipes from a catering job I did, bacon wrapped meatloafs, lasagna rollups

How to ferment your bread  More basic bread

Healthier Healthy Food part 5  A series on how to get the most our of food
Healthier Healthy Food part 4
Healthier Healthy Food part 3  
Healthier Healthy Food part 2
Healthier Healthy Food

 Chocolate Lasagna Recipe   Sounds odd, but it is ever so delicious

Food, Good, Bad, Scary. A few recipes, meatballs, savory cheesecake, salads, arroz con pollo

Breakfast should never be dull or boring   Some pretty cool things

Tapas Time   Some of my favorite little bites

Ravioli Recipes   Ravioli are easy to make, Lobster, Chocolate and Scallop ones

It's all about sex  Not really, it's about vegetable selection

Brown Rice, Kale, Mushrooms and Cod   Yeah, I love brown rice

Vegan Bacon Greens  Yes, greens so good you will believe they really are made with bacon

Ribs  Yep, it's about ribs

Lasagna Rollups   actually very elegant

A recipe for every gourmand   Eggs poached in salsa

Stuffed Rattlesnake  Just a fun thing to make, no rattlers, chicken. They taste the same right?

Tuna Pie  Not what you might be thinking  Prickly Pear

Desert Foraging    Some fun stuff to make and eat that literally grows in our backyards

Healthy and Delicious  they are called 'behoon' and are the Dutch version of Egg Foo Yung

Healthy Bread   Info, recipe and interesting concepts

Ever have a HOT Date?  Yeah, I know what you were thinking

Fermented Food   how to make your own sourkraut kimchee type of goodies

Chocolate Ravioli   By itself here, elsewhere with other ravioli recipes

That little old tamale maker, me   Some picts and instructions with ideas on flavors

A trash bag   the basis of pretty much all great cooking

Piloncillo Chipotle   A very unique concept of mine

Olive Stuffed Whole Wheat  sort of a theme with me

Ketchup   make your own that is free of poisons and sugars

Cajun Fusion   garbanzo waffles and seafood ettouffee

Real Mayonnaise   The secret to making the good stuff with no poison added

Whole Wheat Rolls   Basic bread dough info

Carbonara Lasgna   a big big fav with my son and the guys at the cigar shop

Healthy Cookies   love love love them


Basics on Shopping and getting the most for your money at the store

Making Smoked Salmon, step one for the ultimate feast

I picked up some salmon from Kenny the FishHugger on Sunday. Matt's home from the hospital and so I plan on a very nice meal for him. Today was the first step in making the stuff. Of course this being the preliminary step it is a nice way thing to have the knowledge of how to make because you can make all kinds of cool things once you learn to make your own smoked salmon, and really anything else as well. It's easy, and smoked salmon makes fantastic salad for incredible sandwiches, or put into omelletes, or stuff into jalapenos that you cored and then stand them in a pan and roast them. Or, like what I will do tomorrow when the salmon is cooled and I feel better, Smoked salmon and red onions stuffed into red pepper ravioli in a smoked mushroom and creamy Riesling sauce.

Anyway, check out Kenny and his family at the Roadrunner market on Saturdays and at Ahwatukee on Sundays. Or look

at his website at KENNY    Once you have the salmon, thaw it and rinse well. Then the hard part comes, remove the pin bones. If you rub a finger along the flesh from the head end to the tail end, you will feel little bones sticking up. Take your hemostat left over from holding roaches back in the sixties, or well, last week depending on the individual. Or tweezers work as well. Anyway, latch on, and pull it up and toward the head end. Repeat until they are all out. Then place the fish into a pan and if you need to cut into smaller pieces now is the time, after you removed the pin bones. Now is when you can get creative, sprinkle the fish with herbs or spices of your choice. I know, dill is traditional, but I am not a fan of dill, it's kind of nasty. But lots of black pepper for a simple one, or add a bunch of taco seasoning, Italian stuff, or just think about it and do something that exemplifies your personality. Me, some weird crap man, but usually pretty tasty.




After you slather the spices on, pour on some sea salt and give a nice coating of salt. Stick in the fridge for a couple

hours. Or, here's an idea, leave in the fridge for a day and a half. Then rinse and serve as Gravlax, one of my favorite ways to serve salmon. Sort of semi-preserved and the texture is fantastic. Anyway, after sitting for a couple hours, rinse the salt, dry and stick into the smoker. If you have one. I have one, and use it all the time. And I'm a vegetarian so if you're a meat eater, you should get one. I also have a stove top smoker that is pretty cool and works well for small things. And they are reasonable in price. Any way, smoke them. A short time and you will have nice full juicy flesh. A long time and you will have the dry some what leathery hard version. Either way, the stuff is great for making a wide variety of very cool dishes, and stayed tuned for the ravioli recipe coming up.

Yup