The 2013 Food Lover's Cleanse Diary: Day 9
Sara Dickerman didn't just write the Food Lover's Cleanse--she's an active participant. Follow along with her every day as she reboots her diet. (No juice fasts allowed.)
Thank you to all who joined me in the Facebook chat yesterday. I was so grateful to hear your stories and field your questions. Several of you asked, in one form or another: what's next? That question is certainly on my mind, too, since I want to keep some of the good habits I've been working on. In these last days, I'll keep brainstorming ways to take some of the lessons of the cleanse into the real world. Today, I'm thinking pantry.
Quickie curry, like last night's dinner, is for me what chili was for my mom--a welcome, warming dinner that can roll with what's in the fridge. There's little easier last-minute dinner than opening a jar of readymade curry paste, stirring it into some canned coconut milk and tossing it with whatever vegetables and protein you have handy. The other benefit? Curries are naturally inclined to make veggies the star, as last night's sweet potato and green been combo did. I hope you could also score some Thai basil, which airs out a rich curry with its cinnamon-anise freshness.
Don't mistake my fondness for quickie curry as a replacement for occasionally making the real deal. There is much virtue in making your own Thai curry from scratch. You'll learn lots at the Asian grocery as you procure your galangal and lemongrass and spices. It is gratifying to pound them laboriously into a thick paste. It is true that if you make your own coconut milk by cracking coconuts, and blending the meat with water and then straining it, you will have a product that is much tastier than the canned stuff you get at the grocery store. I've done all this and enjoyed the process very much, and found that my labors paid off richly in terms of flavor. But when I need a little veggie-packed comfort, it's good to know there's a jar of the green stuff (or the red stuff or the yellow stuff) waiting for me.
I accompanied the dinner with a little Himalayan red rice: a brown rice alternative that's a little quicker cooking than the brown and a fine nutty taste. I know red rice can be a bear to find in areas that aren't teeming with specialty supermarkets. With dry goods like this and other favorites of mine, say black beluga lentils or flageolet beans, don't forget that you can find these shelf-stable ingredients online (even at Amazon). As with that curry paste and coconut milk, it' so nice to have a pantry of healthy foods waiting for you, so that the prospect of a last-minute dinner doesn't necessarily send you calling for pizza. Mason jars are great for storing all these odd grains--label them with masking tape and Sharpie so you don't forget what you've got in there. It can be really hard to tell red lentils from red rice in a dark cabinet.