Curry has many ingredients, but once you gather everything together and chop a few items, it’s real easy from there - and fast! This is one of my favorite curries to make, especially in the summer when it’s hot and you can sweat a bit. It’s adapted from a Bon Appétit recipe. It’s very herbaceous and colorful and has a rich source of spices that stimulate the digestion and help with weight loss and even joint pain. Pile some extra fresh herbs on top with wedges of lime and you have a perfectly balanced meal with all 5 food flavors - pungent, sweet, sour, salty, and bitter. 

Thai Seafood Curry

You can substitute several of these items - use tilapia or shrimp as your seafood or a combination of two would be great (halibut, although pricey, is perfect in this), use a red chili for the fresno pepper if you like spice, use soba noodles instead of rice, or make vegetarian with zucchini and green beans added in (although the seafood gives it a wonderful flavor you won’t have otherwise!). Whatever you do, don’t use tempeh - it was a big, huge downer. 

1 Tbsp coconut oil

1 red bell pepper, large chop

3 shallots, chopped

1 red fresno pepper, fine chop

1 in. piece ginger, grated

2 limes, use zest (~1.5 tsp), squeeze one lime for 2 Tbsp juice & reserve other

8-10 shakes of fish sauce

3 tsp red curry paste (maybe 4 if you like it spicy)

1 can UNsweetened coconut milk 

½-¾ lb fresh fish; halibut, tilapia, shrimp work well or a combo

½ C each basil and cilantro, chopped (think about thai basil)

Saute first 4 ingredients on medium heat for 5 minutes until peppers soften. Add next 4 ingredients (with lime zest and juice) and stir well. Add coconut milk ½ can at a time, stirring often to get spices well blended and simmer while stirring about 5 minutes. Lightly season fish or shrimp with salt and pepper and add. Simmer until just cooked through about 5 minutes more. Add most of both herbs, stir to incorporate 1 minute, then serve hot in bowls with ½ cup rice, more herbs on top, and a wedge of lime. 

Wow. This morning was one of best days at the farmer’s market I’ve seen all year. Just walking through and seeing so many colors, varieties, & smells of produce is enough to give you inspiration for one hundred meals. Greens are abundant, small and tender in their bundles – ideal for salads and light cooking; bags of baby arugula with that irresistible fresh spiciness; roasting and root vegetables are bright and colorful - the perfect easy side dish. Johnson’s Backyard Garden with THE MOST perfect, sweetest carrots I have ever eaten did not disappoint. I felt guilty to have been there alone without Adam - he really missed out on a perfect Texas winter morning. 

My farmer’s market dishes this week:

Roasted brussel sprouts, purple cauliflower (beautiful!), and peewee potatoes with salt and olive oil.

Bison rib-eyes with arugula salad and shaved brussel sprouts. 

Red quinoa bowls with carrots, purple cabbage, chives, red chili, tamari, and toasted sesame oil. 

Teff and blue corn loaf tartine with apple and havarti cheese, and farm fresh eggs. (this bread is the BOMB! thank you True Nature’s Child!)

…and yellow, orange, red, delicious carrots by the handful. 

If you want more inspiration check out Deborah Madison’s book Local Flavors, which is a great resource for knowledge of farmer’s markets and the cycles of seasonal, local eating. 

what do i eat?

Many of my patients, after we talk about diet and lifestyle and alternatives to unhealthy food options, ask me eventually, “well, what do YOU eat?” I think it helps sometimes to know someone personally who puts together a meal plan for the week or day that follows the guidelines we are working towards. So here it is! A typical day for me looks something like this:

-breakfast is usually small but satisfying. today cottage cheese topped with walnuts and berries with a cup (& maybe another one down the line) of green or herbal tea. 

-lunch a scoop of tuna salad with lettuce greens, with olive oil and lemon juice squeezed over them, and whatever other veg i have around to chop up and throw in (radish, tomato, cucumber, carrots…). Maybe a few seed or nut crackers, or half an avocado. i usually pack my lunch in a glass container and take it to work. super easy. 

-snacks are usually from the following: string cheese, raw nut mix, clementine, carrot sticks, hot tea/water, or half an apple. 

-dinners i love. tonight i’m making soba noodle bowls. chicken broth infused with lemongrass, ginger, garlic, cilantro, and shoyu (or tamari). lots of broccoli and mushrooms, and buckwheat soba noodles simmering in this flavorful broth. one of my all time faves. it takes a whopping 15 minutes to cook. often i’ll add baked tofu or tempeh to it, or more veggies we need to get rid of. 

-when we are indulging, we’ll have a glass of wine and some dark chocolate for dessert. my husband’s new hobby is mixing old-timey cocktails, so those are fun too!

one of the things i love about my food is that it makes me feel good. i get excited seeing so many colors and flavors on my plate, and the food i eat has meaning and purpose for me. i think over time i’ve developed a deep sense of joy from food, and part of it has come from cooking so much and experimenting with what makes me feel good and happy. my hope is to pass on some of this joy to you. 

healthy cooking is also very attractive for me. it’s enticing and appealing in so many ways. the colors are sexy, the flavors vibrant, the guilt absent. i think once you get rolling, it’s hard to look back.