Thai Curry...and My Crazy Busy Life

Dear Friends,
I am sincerely sorry for not posting in the past couple months. It has been since July and I feel awful about it. Life has been so busy lately with traveling, my sister's wedding, school starting again, and a random assortment of adventures! Here is a brief list of some of the things I accomplished this summer and fall (thus far):

1. Got a job at an amazing restaurant.
2. Gained the position to be the baker at this restaurant.
3. Built a bike and painted it.
4. Learned how to salsa dance from a native.
5. Hosted falafel parties at my house. Yum...
6. Bought rock-climbing shoes and rock-climbed A LOT.
7. Did trail-running 2-3 times a week.
8. Went boating numerous times.
9. Made 20 pies for my sister's wedding reception.
10. Spent a week and a half with my favorite Indonesian friend: Jane! <3
11. Got really sick with...mono. *cough, cough. (In addition to tonsillitis).
12. Healed completely and now feeling great!
13. Saw one of my favorite bands perform...twice! Imagine Dragons.
14. Moved into an AMAZING house.
15. Got my endurance up and now running 1.5 hours every other day.
16. Went to South Dakota and saw Mount Rushmore.
17. Realized that building a bike wasn't enough...so I bought a brand spankin' new Electra Amsterdam Sport, which I am in LOVE with.
18. Went sky-diving for the first time ever.
19. Hiked Mount Timpanogos.
20. Ran the Dirty Dash. (So much fun. Click to be amazed.)
21. Made many new wonderful friends.
22. Started teaching and tutoring some classes at elementary schools.
23. Got asked to make a wedding cake for a friend (so excited for this!)

And much much more! I have been so busy and having a blast!

PICTURES! I love pictures.

(Sorry for the overload!)

My next-door-neighbor, Craig, who helped me build and paint my bike. I couldn't have done it without him. Seriously, he is a bike master.

The original bike: a classic Trek.
Step 1: Take bike apart and pick out new parts.
Step 2: Sand down and rub with paint-stripper.

Step 3: Wash thoroughly and allow to dry.
Step 4: Paint with spray paints. I chose the colors white and green.
Step 5: After dried, re-assemble bike.
(Please forgive me for not posting a picture of the finished bike. At the moment I am putting on new tires.)

Some friends at my falafel party

Falafel patties with Baba Ganoush hummus, pan-fried potatoes and eggplant, sliced onions and tomatoes; drizzled with a falafel vinaigrette; all wrapped in hand-made flat bread. YUM. For my post on how to make these bad boys, click here :)

My friend, Jane, came to visit me...all the way from Indonesia!

She is so cute.

Me, trying to impersonate her. "1, 2, 5!"

Rock climbing. Love it, oh so much.

My little brother and I at Mount Rushmore.

Some of my brothers at the wedding. Aren't they so ruggedly handsome?

My sister and brothers :)

The pies I made for the wedding reception. These were so much fun to make.

The wedding reception table centerpieces

My beautiful Electra Amsterdam that I bought. It was originally $600, but the guy at the Cyclery gave it to me for a killer deal of $350.

This is me attempting to drink a Coke while the boat is speeding off. I ended up spitting up the soda pop all over myself. Nonetheless, it is a pretty cool picture. I edited the colors in it, and now I am just searching for any Coca-Cola photo contests to submit this to.

SKYDIVING!

Hiking Mount Timpanogos

Girlfriends :)

My best buddies!

WOWZA. Looking back, I realize that I accomplished a lot. I went on many adventures and LOVED every moment.

OKAY, okay...now onto the purpose of this post. Pictures are fun, but I know the real reason you read my blog is for the cooking. So I will not make you wait a moment longer...

CURRY! Vegetable Curry!

I love curry so much that I could probably eat it off a dirty old boot and still love it just the same.

I came up with this curry recipe for my friend Alyne's birthday party. It was quite the hit, and Alyne begged me for the recipe. So this one's for her :)

Panang curry is a type of Thai curry. It is much different than the ordinary red, yellow and green curries. It is both spicy and sweet...and absolutely mouthwatering. You can either buy panang curry paste from the store or you can make it from scratch. (I usually go the easier way and simply buy paste from an Asian market.) I have included a recipe for the paste and a recipe for the dish.

Sarah's Panang Curry

Panang Curry Paste:

• 5 large Chili peppers (red, dried, seeded and soaked)
• 1 teaspoon Galangal (a root), sliced
• 1 teaspoon fresh Lemongrass, sliced
• 1 teaspoon Coriander
• 1 teaspoon Cilantro, chopped
• 1 teaspoon Cumin
• 1 clove Garlic, chopped
• 5 Shallots, sliced
• 1/4 cup Peanuts (optional)
• 12 tablespoons Kaffir Lime (the rind), sliced
• 1 tablespoon Shrimp paste (optional)
• 1 teaspoon Salt (sea salt)
• 2 teaspoons Pepper (white)
• For better flavor, add 1-2 teaspoons Curry Powder

Preparation:

To make the panang curry paste, simply combine all the ingredients and blend them together in a food processor or blender.

The ingredients for the Panang curry recipe are as follows:

Panang Curry (Main Dish)

• Your choice of chicken, beef, pork, shrimp, or any other meat (or none)
• Your choice of vegetables (zucchini, yellow squash, bell pepper, onion, eggplant, carrot, potato etc.)
• 1-2 cans Coconut milk (use light coconut milk if you prefer)
• 1-2 tablespoons Panang Curry Paste (recipe above)
• 1 tablespoon Brown sugar (optional)
• 1 tablespoon Fish sauce (optional)
• 1/2 cup Peas
• 4-6 Kaffir lime leaves or lime juice
• Sweet basil leaves (for garnish)
• Some water (if needed)

Preparation:

Making the curry: Bring the coconut milk, curry paste, sugar, and fish sauce together in a pot, bring to a boil. Next, add your meat and/or vegetables. When almost cooked, add kaffir lime leaves and simmer for an additional ten minutes. Before you remove from heat, make sure the meat or fish is cooked all the way! If you find that you've boiled down your curry too much - and it tastes too thick, salty and concentrated, add some water to thin it out.

Serving the curry: When you're all done, remove everything from the heat, and fill a bowl about halfway with rice, then top with curry. Or, for a more traditional approach, stuff all the rice in a small bowl, then turn the bowl upside down on a plate and tap it until the rice ball falls out (this is an easy way to make a fancy looking rice ball, like the ones you're served in Thai restaurants). Next, pour a good portion of curry into a medium sized bowl, and place it next to the rice ball and serve. You may want to garnish it with sweet basil leaves before serving.

Veggies

Chop, chop, chop.

The result: Sarah's Panang Curry