Winter Coconut Curry
1/2 medium onion
As much garlic as you can stand
1 Frog Song Kohlrabi and greens
1/2 medium Butternut squash
3 slender Frog Song Carrots
1 C Frog Song Snow Peas
Turmeric (juice or powder)
Ginger root (juice or slices)
Vehicle Grain*
1. Choose a vehicle grain*, or don’t (you can always go the soup route). Pick anything you want, it could be rice, quinoa, buckwheat, millet, rice noodles, or any number of things.
2. Cook your chosen grain according to popular knowledge of grain cooking.
Curry
1. Heat a saucepan until water beads up, then add coconut oil.
2. Add your heartier vegetables (I used onions, garlic, carrots, kohlrabi, butternut squash), some salt and pepper, and reduce heat to medium high.
3. Cook vegetables until they soften, stir them to assure even cooking. This will take probably 5 minutes or so.
4. Next add stock, coconut milk, spices (I was fortunate enough to have both turmeric and ginger roots to juice), and more salt to taste if necessary.
5. Reduce to a simmer and let it cook for about 15 minutes so the flavors can mingle.
6. When your curry is lookin real close to being ready to serve (about 10 minutes into the simmer) add anything you might want to just wilt or steam (snow peas, fava shoots, kohlrabi greens, etc)
7. Take a taste, and make sure it’s good, then serve over your chosen vehicle grain*
*Vehicle grains are grains that you use as an excuse to eat delicious vegetables and sauces. They’re not necessary, but they can add both fiber and flavor to any meal.
Nutrition Blast
Carrots:
Famously “good for your eyes” carrots are just full of vitamin A. Or are they? Carrots have a little molecule called beta-carotene which is generally regarded as vitamin A but it’s actually converted to vitamin A in the small intestine. This is important to you because vitamin A plays many important functions in our bodies, not the least of which being helping your color vision and low-light vision. Carrots also come with the added bonus of turning your skin a pleasing shade of reddish orange if you eat enough. Are you up to the challenge?
Last week was National Folate/Folic Acid Awareness Week, so here is information to get you up to speed!
Folate:
Famously important to human health, folate might be one of the most interesting vitamins that we’ve discovered. From start to finish, you need folate to complete your life cycle. Neural tube defects can be almost completely eliminated with adequate folate status in very early pregnancy. Macrocytic anemia (when red blood cells are too big) can also be prevented with adequate folate, and B12 levels in the body.
Folic acid is available in naturally occurring food sources, many supplements, and fortified foods. Since 1998 the FDA had mandated folic acid fortification in cereal grains (wheat,corn,etc) to help the public maintain an adequate folate status. Not all of us eat grains or take supplements, so how can we make sure we’re getting an adequate intake of folic acid? Winter provides some great opportunities to have folate like broccoli, and carrots which you may recognize from your CSA box, or the farm stand. If you really want to supercharge your meals with folic acid, consider adding lentils, pinto beans and orange juice to your meals.