Red Curry Soup

Ingredients:

• 1.5 L vegetable or chicken stock
• 0.5 L coconut milk
• 1 cup of shrimps
• 5 mushrooms (shiitake or button)
• 2 zucchinis (courgettes)
• 1 onion
• 1 carrot
• 1 garlic clove
• 1 ginger piece (2 cm x 2 cm)
• 3 cardamom pods
• 1 small Chinese vermicelli package.
• 2 tablespoon of olive oil
• 1 teaspoon red curry paste
• bunch of fresh coriander leaves
• 1 spring onion

Optional:

• 1 lemon grass stick, 3 cm

Instructions:

1. Chop all of the veggies in small pieces.
2. In a sauce pan, heat the oil at medium temperature and add the red curry paste. When paste is smooth and the oil turns to a reddish colour, turn the heat higher and add onions, mushrooms and ginger.
3. Cook until onions become translucent, then add the garlic. 
4. Stir quickly to avoid burning the paste or turn the heat down.
5. Add the stock, red curry paste, zucchinis, cardamom and lemon grass.
6. Simmer for 5 to 10 minutes.
7. Reduce the heat and add the carrot, the coconut milk and shrimps.
8. Cook for 2 minutes or until the soup takes a darker colour.
9. Remove from heat.
10. Two minutes before serving, add the vermicelli. 
11. Decorate with the coriander leaves and a finely chopped spring onion

Warning:
Red curry paste is the most powerful curry. Therefore, the longer your soup simmers the stronger and spicier it will get.

Note:

Use a good quality coconut milk, otherwise you will not taste the coconut flavour.

You should find that the zucchinis have taken in the intense flavours of some of the other ingredients.

Enjoy!

Spiced Plum Cake

Ingredients:

• ¼ cup grape seed oil
• 1/2 cup cane sugar
• 2 eggs (or egg replacement)
• 1 1/2 teaspoons lemon juice
• 1 cup flour
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• plums, pitted & cut into half (one 850g can or around 10 fresh plums)
• 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
• a pinch of salt

Optional but highly recommended spices:

• 1 teaspoon ginger
• 1 teaspoon nutmeg
• ½ teaspoon clove

Syrup:

• juice from canned plums or ½ cup of water
• ½ cup balsamic vinegar (white or dark)
• ½ teaspoon ginger powder
• ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
• ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
• ¼ teaspoon clove
• 1/8 to ¼ cup raw cane sugar

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 175° C (350° F).
2. In a mixing bowl, mix together the oil, sugar, eggs and lemon juice.
3. In another bowl, stir the dry ingredients together: flour, baking soda and salt. Add it to the wet mixture.
4. Grease a baking pan. Place the plum slices at the bottom.
5. Bake for about 40 minutes.
6. Remove the cake from the oven and let it cool
7. Turn upside down in a large plate.
8. Serve warm.

Syrup:

1. Mix all syrup ingredients together in a sauce pan.
2. Bring to a boil and let simmer at medium-low temperature.
3. Reduce by half or until it thickens.
4. Serve warm with the cake (spread over the top and sides of the cake).

Cake Option

In this recipe I used a mixture of flours:

• ¼ cup amaranth flour
• ¼ cup spelt flour
• ¼ cup soy flour
• ¼ cup rye flour

Note:

If you are gluten intolerant avoid spelt and rye flour. Instead, you can use rice flour, chickpea flour or change the ratios.

With this mixture, you need to add a bit more liquid because of the high level of absorption of the amaranth and spelt flours. Add about a ¼ cup of water, milk, soy milk or juice to maintain a smooth texture.

For the syrup, if you are not a big fan of sugar, replace it with 1 to 2 tablespoons of Agave Nectar.

Recipe inspired by DaVita's recipe.