On Revitalizing Online Journals and Naming Foods After Creepy Celebrities

Alrighty, lets see if I can't renovate this dusty old blog and breathe some life back into it!

From here on out, I'll be posting to this blog all the projects I do to keep my busy. I do everything from painting to prose to DIY projects, so I don't think there will be any shortage of material....but maybe a shortage of spare time once nursing school rears its ugly head again. *sigh*

Today, I'll be sharing with you something I cooked a couple of days ago. I had just harvested the first of the zucchini out of my garden. It's my first time gardening, so you can imagine this is a pretty big deal for me. It was rather large as far as zucchini go, but it was still sweet which meant that it had plenty of time to grow larger. I was eager to cook it up in something and I wanted to do something new, something beyond just another sandwich or pasta. I decided to cook it in a curry.

I started traversing "teh interwubz" for a semi-authoritative source on curries. Turns out I hit the jackpot with Curry Frenzy. It broke it down to the fundamentals, which allowed me to improvise rather than follow a recipe. It's not like I follow those things anyway. 2 Teaspoons? Psh. 1/3 cups? Balderdash. A man doesn't follow directions! He pioneers his own creations with reckless abandon!

Really though, what makes a great curry centers around a few select things: 1) you can't have curry without onions or garlic...you just can't, 2) It's all in the spices. Don't settle for store bought "curry powder". Make your own. This is where knowing what spices and herbs you're working with really comes into play, and 3) most importantly, you need to understand the sensation of taste. There are five different tastes your tongue can register: sweet, sour, bitter, salty, and umami (savory). There needs to be at least two of these tastes present in your curry in order to make it delicious. I went for sweet and salty. And now, without further delay I present to you my curry.

I call it...

TIM CURRY!

Yeah, I didn't think naming it "veggie curry" would do the dish justice. However, in retrospect, naming it after Tim Curry doesn't appeal to one's appetite, does it? Anywho, let me try to belt out a makeshift recipe. I'll warn you: to me, cooking isn't an exact science. I just throw stuff at it (edible stuff) until it tastes right.

Tim Curry (serves 1)

• Prep: dice a fourth of a red onion, half a large zucchini, and half a green pepper. Start 2 cups of rice in the cooker.
  
• Set the stove to medium heat and throw in some olive oil. You'll need a good bit of it, like a little bit less than 1/4 cup.
• Next, throw in a few Tbsps of cumin (for me, it was accidentally pouring out half the container then vigorously scooping it out with a spoon), some minced garlic, light brown sugar, crushed bay leaves, parsley, and paprika. Let it simmer until it looks like the flavor is coming out.
• Throw in the onions, peppers, and zucchini. Throw in enough water to let the veggies cook in it. You'll know it's cooked enough when the onions are browned.
  
  
• As the onions are nearing "cooked" status, throw in some raisins, fresh spinach leaves, and a few squirts of lemon juice.
• Stir in some more water, about as much as you want curry sauce, then thicken it with a few sizable pinches of flour. I used all purpose, but I don't really see the point of being picky with what kind of flour you use.
• Around the time all this is done, the rice should be ready. Spoon it out onto a plate and make a little paddy out of it.
• For the finishing touch, give the curry a few spritzes of lemon juice and maybe a teaspoon of salt. The salt isn't for taste, but to bring out the other flavors.
• Pour it onto the rice, say your prayers (take from that what you will), and enjoy.