A Very Merry Curry
When I have guests on the podcast I don’t really plan ahead because I want the conversation to be organic. I’m not sure whether or not that’s a good thing, and I’m also not sure if listeners can tell. Can you?
I don’t prepare much ahead of time because I want the conversation to be as natural and possible. I do the leading, I tend to think I ask the right questions, and from there I want the conversation to take its own path and develop naturally.
After recording this episode with Lauren I realized that I also take the same easy breezy beautiful CoverGirl approach I use with guests when it comes to dating. Again, not sure whether or not that’s a good thing but as far as other strategies...I really don’t have any.
I’ll be the first to admit that I am not an excellent flirt. I don’t know how to to do it. I’m terrible at gauging how much eye contact is too much eye contact. I’m not sure when exactly is the right time to ever so gently put my hand on his shoulder. In my mind if I’m talking to you for more than 15 minutes straight it’s quite obvious that I am flirting with you, right?
Because my flirting skills are essentially non-existent I rely on the universe to push things along, if necessary.
And the universe was still on my side when Lauren joined me in my kitchen, but not in the way that I thought.
Lauren volunteered to take over my dating life for me, which she found sad, to say the least. She felt that I needed to put in more effort, that I needed to meet more people, that I needed to put myself “out there” more. I am always out and about so I wasn’t sure how much more “out there” I needed to be.
The plan was that Lauren would create profiles for me on several dating apps, she would set up the dates and I would just show up and see which one of these bozos and Mr. Bojangles could keep my attention the longest. Suffice to say, I was on board but with a heavy dose of skepticism. I was doubtful that I would meet the future Mr. Sutanya D, but I figured I could get some good content out of it.
As the spices of the curry vegetable stew started to blend and become deeper, and my kitchen took on an equally spicy and sweet fragrance I felt my inner mood shifting.
For the first time in a long time, I felt angry.
No, I was MAD.
I wasn’t mad at myself. I wasn’t mad at Lauren. I was mad at my ex-husband. I was furious with him because I was in a situation where I was going to have to DATE. I did this already, remember? I met someone and fell in love so I thought that part of my life was finished. This wasn’t in my plan and I was mentally cursing and blaming him for the fact that for the next few weeks, or months, I would have to sit in front of various Guillaume’s, Pierre’s, and Antoine’s in an attempt to find love again.
I realize that this is slightly ridiculous and dramatic, which is right up my alley, but that’s how I felt at that moment. I know that all relationships take two, so I completely own the fact that I played a role in the end of my marriage as well (although I would just like to point out that the role I played was very MINISCULE :) :) ).
As we ate Lauren’s delicious curry dinner for one I was still secretly fuming because I was already thinking about all the aforementioned French men I would potentially meet and I was not looking forward to the declarations of love after 2 weeks, the ghosting, the testing, the confusion, the idea of being vulnerable again.
No, no, no.
But I am a woman of my word so I was going to stick to the plan. What I didn’t know was that the universe was also mixing together its own version of turmeric, coconut milk, salt, pepper, onions, and ginger for me.
A tangy, spicy, silky smooth surprising treat just for me.
I won’t say more because, well, I don’t want to. But all I will say is that this was A Very Merry Curry, indeed.
A Very Merry Curry
Cauliflower and chickpea curry stew
Ingredients
Half a head of cauliflower
1 can of chickpeas (265 grams)
1 small can of crushed tomatoes (190 grams)
1 mediuim-ish can of coconut milk (around 200ml)
1 cup of vegetable broth
Generous amounts of ground turmeric
1 and a half fingers of fresh minced ginger (I like a lot of ginger but you can always just use one finger)
OR
2 teaspoons of powdered ginger but I would REALLY recommend just getting fresh ginger. It is SO SO SO SO SO much better.
½ white onion
Salt and pepper to taste
Red pepper flakes are optional
Fresh coriander
Preparation
1. Mince the white onions and ginger, the goal is to get them very very small. If you don’t like chopping, you can use a food processor to it into a small paste. If you are going to use a food processor, roughly chop the onion and ginger add it to the food processor and pulse.
2. Season the cauliflower with turmeric salt, pepper and paprika and pop it in the oven to just toast them a little bit to get the nutty flavor out, of you don't wanna put it in the oven that's ok.
3. While the cauliflower is in the oven sauté the onion and ginger mix in about a tablespoon of vegetable oil
4. Before the onion and ginger, starts to brown, but it has soften, add about a tablespoon and a half of turmeric powder to the mix and let that all cook together
5. Once all that nice nicely blended and your kitchen starts to smell fragrant add the tomatoes and vegetable stock
6. Then add the drained and rinsed chickpeas and roasted cauliflower to introduce them to that delicious sauce
7. Add the coconut milk and give it a few good stirs
8. Add salt and pepper to taste (I find that I always like to add a bit more turmeric and some red pepper flakes for an extra oomph!)
9. Turn the stove down on a low-medium heat and let all those flavors cook together for another 10-15 mins
10. Serve warm over rice and top with fresh coriander