Pure Hunger

I’ve been somewhat dishonest with myself in the cooking arena. I like to consider myself a chef, an expert in the making and eating of food. Yet, in reality, I’m a cook. I follow recipes, know very little about what to substitute in order to get a different result, especially when baking, and often add my own twist to a foundation someone has already laid out. In some ways, I claim to be an architect of food but I’m really just an interior designer. I believe the purpose of this blog has been for me to share my favorite recipes with all of you, takes some beautiful pictures and learn more about cooking along the way.

Ingredients

Adapted from the Everyday Dairy-Free Cookbook
10 cups fresh spinach
1 Tbsp peanut oil
1 medium onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 tsp black mustard seeds
2 tsp medium curry powder
1 tsp turmeric
1/2 tsp chili powder
1 cup vegetable stock
1/2 cup low-fat coconut milk
salt and pepper to taste
pinch of nutmeg
1 Tbsp chopped fresh cilantro
6 eggs, boiled
1/2 lb ground pork, cooked

I’m hoping that in a few years I will be able to truthfully refer to myself as something of a chef. I will be able to conjure up my own images of dishes to share without needing a foundation to build from first. I guess I’d like to be both the architect and the designer but that takes some time. This dish taught me a lot about assumptions,especially my own, when it comes to pairing food. Spinach and eggs are good, but the curry threw me. I was hesitant but decided to educate myself at the risk of failure and I was so unbelievably surprised.

This recipe comes from a cookbook given to me by some friends and I gotta say it made a great first impression with this recipe. I chose to add ground pork and only boiled two eggs because it was just my husband and I eating. I made some brown basmati rice and we could stop murmuring “mmmm” all through dinner. This could easily be made with full fat coconut milk but the reduced fat does not take away from the taste experience in the least bit.

They recommend gently steaming the spinach but I didn’t and the dish turned out just fine. Heat oil in frying pan and saute onion and garlic for about 5 minutes until soft. Add mustard seeds and powdered spices and cook, stirring well, for another five minutes.

Next, mix in stock and coconut milk and bring to boil. Stir in spinach and season, heat through and keep warm.

Remove shells from egg, cut in half. Put scoop of rice in bowl, top with spinach curry, pork and halved boiled egg.