Today I thought I’d cook something a bit different from my usual fare (curry). It’s something light and healthy (in preparation of the gorging I plan to participate in starting tomorrow).
I also thought I’d cook something my friend Helen might like. Because you see I have a plan! Between FoodBuzz Project Food Blog, the holidays, FoodBuzz Festival and all my regular duties both here and at home, I have been as busy as I have ever been in my entire life. Now I know I tend toward broad, all-encompassing statements. But really. Things have just been madness lately. I need a bit of help around here.
So, by cooking something that Helen might like– I figured she might be just the friend I need to lighten my editorial load just a tad. Because I know Helen, so I know that whatever Helen eats she prefers to pick the wine to go with it too. I have a wine fridge full of wines waiting to be tasted and evaluated. See where I am going with this? With Helen on the wine, that’s one less thing for me to do.
She rummaged around and chose 2006 Hall Napa Valley Merlot. It’s a bottle that’s been in my wine fridge for a few months, waiting for its moment to come forward. I was given this wine at an event benefiting Gulf Restoration, called LA Helps LA (Los Angeles Helps Louisiana). Hosted by Gisele Perez of Small Pleasures Catering. I tasted it at the event and was very impressed. So I knew it was a bottle that would appeal to Helen.
Now in case you don’t know Hall Napa Valley, it’s a great Napa label. They are California’s first LEED Gold Certified Winery, and they practice sustainable organic farming. But they are serious winemakers with a growing list of wines with ratings at 90+. Including the 94 rated 2006 HALL Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon. Which James Laube of the Wine Spectator Insider called, “A rich, dense, concentrated style, this is full-bodied, focused and pure, with hints of mocha and black licorice rounding out the core currant, plum, and black cherry flavors. Focused and persistent, with a long finish.”
Hmmm. I have some of that wine too. But like I said, Helen was choosing– and she’s much more of a Merlot girl. A very discriminating Merlot girl. So rid your mind of any of the stereotypes you think define Merlot. Because when Helen talks about the wines she loves, you can’t help but pay attention. She has a certain style…
This is a serious wine. It has balance, structure, and sophistication a million miles removed from the “Sideways” stigma. Ms. Merlot Hall has taken off her glasses, let down her hair and declared herself every bit as sexy as Lady Pinot.
Take a walk to the wild edge of a country garden; pass the gently rained on woodpile, inhale the violets, find the dark fruit dripping from the brambles and dive into its vibrant red/purple hues. Bright red fruit flavors add a zesty note of interest to the rich taste of black forest gateau.
Enjoy with Penne Eggplant Mozzarella in a Rich Tomato Sauce, Coconut Milk Veggie Curries, a Veggie Burrito with Rice, Beans & Roasted Corn, or a side of Guacamole. What? I am a vegetarian!- HELEN MELVILLE
It’s true she’s a vegetarian. So not only did I let her pick the wine, but I followed her cues on the food as well. So today I have just the thing to make her happy. It’s a Vegetarian Coconut Curry with Tofu. It was designed to compliment the Hall Napa Valley Merlot. But it has other advantages that I knew would appeal to Helen as well. Because this coconut curry recipe is very delicious plus simple to make. In my opinion, a lot of vegetarian curries tend to be rather bland and tasteless, but not this one! Made with tofu and lots of fresh vegetables. Besides being delicious, this dish is vegetarian, vegan, and gluten-free (if you choose your soy sauce well)– great for anyone who wants to eat something healthy and nutritious without sacrificing taste.
So pour the Merlot and have some curry. It may seem like an unusual pairing, and you might want to take a light hand on the chili. But you gotta admit, it’s fun… This is the last vegan meal you’ll see from Sup! until the new year commences! Break out the holiday food. Yippee!
Vegetarian Coconut Curry with Tofu serves 6 CLICK here for a printable recipe
- 1⁄4 c dry shredded baking-type coconut, unsweetened
- 2 c firm tofu, drained and cut into cubes
- 2 c vegetable stock
- 1 1⁄2 c canned coconut milk
- 5 kaffir lime leaves
- 1 small onion, cut into 1/4‑inch dice
- 4 clv garlic, peeled and minced
- 3 t Thai style chili paste, or to taste
- 3 T soy sauce
- 1 3‑inch piece ginger, peeled and thinly sliced
- juice of 1 lime
- 2 t brown sugar
- 1 small sweet potato or yam, peeled and cubed into 3/4‑inch pieces
- 2 c cauliflower, cut into florets
- 1 c mushrooms, sliced or left whole if small
- 1 red bell pepper, de-seeded and sliced
- 1 green bell pepper, de-seeded and sliced
- 1 c snow peas, left whole or cut in half
- cilantro leaves to taste as garnish
- peanut oil, as needed for wok
Heat a large wok over medium heat. Place shredded coconut in the dry wok. Stir continuously until the coconut is nicely toasted. Tip toasted coconut into a bowl to cool.
Return the wok to the stove. Raise the temperature to medium-high. Add 2 Tbsp. peanut oil plus the onion, ginger, and garlic. Stir-fry 1–2 minutes, or until onion begins to soften and the garlic is fragrant.
Turn the heat to high. Add stock plus kaffir lime leaves, chili sauce, and most of the toasted coconut (reserve 1 to 1+1/2 Tbsp. for garnish). Stir everything together.
Add the sweet potato (or yam) and cauliflower. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium. Simmer 8–10 minutes until the vegetables begin to soften.
Add the mushrooms, and tofu, stirring to incorporate. Cover and simmer 2 more minutes.
Add the bell pepper and snow peas, simmer 2–3 minutes, or until snow peas have softened but are still bright green.
Turn heat down to low and add the coconut milk plus the soy sauce, stirring to dissolve. Add the coconut milk to taste, depending on how creamy or how much sauce you want with your curry.
Remove from heat and do a taste-test for salt and spice, adding more chili paste, soy sauce or salt as needed.
To serve: scoop the curry onto individual plates or into serving bowls. Top with fresh cilantro and a sprinkling of the reserved toasted coconut. Serve jasmine or brown rice on the side.
So much fun. Was talking to Trisha Lindsley of Foodbuzz yesterday and she pointed me to your video! Don’t think we met but hope we do soon! We do video posts on our blog, too — take a look. Thanks for the video memories!
Oh Greg! You crack me up! This video is great and it captured the festivities (and debauchery) perfectly!
Fab video and great post.
Greg just a fabulous perfect video. I kept catching glimpses of friends that even though I didn’t attend it actually brought tears to my eyes!
Really neat!! I wish I had been able to go this year. I’m bummed that I couldn’t due to work commitments. Darn!!! I’m soooo going to make every effort to go next year.
It was great to meet you at #fbzfest, finally! We had a great time and your video pretty much dials it in, it seems as if the whole weekend was in fast forward.
aww in total fbzfest withdrawal now!
Thanks for putting this video together, Greg. I agree, the wait until next year will be 365 days too long to bear! Looks like I made the final cut, too. I’m at :54 and 2:52. Yay! 😀
I have seen many others photos of this event, and your face in them too! I am also green with envy to not have been able to enjoy this event…love the tables and stuff, so homey!
Sorry, couldn’t resist.
But YOU are awesome, Greg. I don’t know you in the sense that I know every detail of you…well, although I did read your “about Greg” page so I get a sense of the kind of person you are…and your words, the way you write reveals a lot about you…and I’m kind of understanding why your blog is so colorful and vibrant, just like you.
Very nice recap, and endearing video…I miss foodbuzz and my fellow bloggers…which is weird because us bloggers probably keep in touch with each other more than our distant family members.
What a fun video! I’m also wondering if those bloggers who stood there posing knew that you were shooting a video and not taking a picture?? It was great to finally meet you in person at the gala dinner, my only regret was not attending your writing session as I got lost!
Happy birthday Greg. Glad you had a great time at the festival. I recognized your face on a couple of other blogs.
Sam
You are awesome Greg! Happy Happy Birthday to you!
Birthday boy- I don’t know how you manage to weave the word flaccid into your post, have me rolling with your descriptions, and somehow make me cry too while watching. I’m SO excited to see you again- YOU ARE AWESOME.
So agree with you re: the use of the “A” word- cupcakes and all. Yikes!
I wrote a post about it myself while back 😉
G.
Perhaps Foodbuzz should consider making the festival longer? It really was a memorable weekend and you captured it perfectly in your video. Glad we had a chance to meet and chat, even if for a brief moment!
I feel like i’m back at the festival!! It was my first one and you captured it splendidly!!
Such an amazing recap of the whole adventure Greg. It is hard not to compare the event with last year but if we are living in the moment it was a good flash in time.
You are the best, fantastic, energetic, super gifted and you kept me in your video…Thank you!
So I watched your video with my 7 year old daughter & she said you are handsome. Um, time to think about that TV career. Great time watching this-looks like FB was a fun event!
Wow its so so so wonderful.
Great video, I hope to attend sometime! My word is wonderful. I use it way too often. I don’t use awesome since I teach 8th graders and get my fill of it during the day.
Greg,
That was an amazing video (still stuck on “A” words I guess!) But on a more serious note, I appreciate your point about words and find myself thinking the same thing much of the time (for it’s the word “healthy” — ugh).
I really enjoyed your re cap and am looking forward to watching your PFB video this weekend when I have uninterrupted time to watch it!
You have the cutest kitchen. I love it!! The conf looks like so much fun. Hope I get to go next year!
I’m sorry we didn’t get a chance to meet at the festival — hopefully next year 😉
–Kate
http://www.somethingwedreamed.com
HURRAY I have a cameo!! What a fun, fun recap! Thanks for filming and sharing, Greg. Loved meeting you this past weekend.
That is my pet peeve word too. I will not use “awesome” unless I’m referring to the Grand Canyon. It’s kind of like how the Brits use the word “brilliant.” Is an egg salad sandwich really brilliant? Maybe if Einstein is eating it, but by all other accounts, I’d say no. Enjoyed your video and fun music!
I loved reading your write up about the editorial words — words have so much power and we really do have to choose them very carefully. Yep, the word awesome is overused especially in comments. Yet I say your video is awesome because having not had the opportunity to attend the event, I loved getting glimpses of some of my favorite bloggers and i thought you really captured the spirit of the festival very well!
great job! i wish i’d gotten video of you getting video!
Again, love the video!!!!! Funny start… sitting on the cutting board (I think) eating your swag. I want more of that truffle popcorn too — I suppose I’ll have to buy it now 😉 If you’re ever in need of local blogger stand-ins, just let me know. OC isn’t that far away.
Ciao, Shelly
Hi Greg
Thank you so much for the kind words and thank you so much for including me in your video, I love it!! I am also sorry we didn’t find time to get to talk. It was an incredible weekend, where would we be without Foodbuzz!
Cheers
Dennis
Very very cute video, Greg. Love seeing all those now familiar faces…really wish I had been there. Will try to plan for it next year 🙂
The video totally conveys the weekend! Love it.
I’m holding off watching PFB videos till I can carve out a quiet chunk of time. I know I’m in for a treat and totally want to relish it.
I never realized how many foodies I virtually know. Thanks for an easy, digestible recap!
~Mary
And I mean that in the total valley girl kinda way …So fun to put a live body with the blog at Foodbuzz Fest last weekend. Hope to hook up again next year, maybe before I’ve had too many Snap cocktails at the Clock Bar, or, maybe not 😉
Cheers,
Sarah
Um, how adorbs are you?!? Sorry we didn’t meet but I loved the video! Thanks for sharing.
Glad you had such a, ummm, well…really nice time at the event! I dare not use the “awesome” word. Thanks for sharing the video…some of those faces are familiar! 🙂
I’m going to go look at my pictures and video of the Eggtoberfest 😉
I have to say that opening track always puts a smile on my face. Great job recapping #fbzfest via video, my favorite clip was of you downing the glass of wine in front of the I Love Foodbuzz poster outside the tasting pavilion.
I have to tell you that SF is my home. Well, L.A. is my home but I lived in SF and had to move to stupid New England. You let me travel back for a while and play with the “Cool Kids”. I never get to be a cool kid. Fantastic post as usual. You always make me smile.
Sweet Baby Jesus! Did I do that? ;-o
Love the video! I had such a great time at the festival. I love how much you captured here. Kept my eye out and I have to admit, I am glad I wasn’t captured on video stuffing my face 😉
What an awesome (sorry) recap — I do mean that in terms of awe inspiring because you did a fantastic job of capturing the insanity and fun of that event. I just attended it for the first time, and like you am already waiting for the next one. I’m just sorry our paths did not cross, it just gives me something to look forward to for next year — that is if you are not back up to SF any earlier!