THAI-TANIC!!

dudes!!
we had guests!
...and everybody had curry, but nobody was in a hurry.
mmmhmmm.
nate was here, hangin' tough and snugglin' up on his favorite lil milkman.
dylan came through for his first time inside the Folk Life & Liberty Fortress.
crabtree was thrilled for the company,
and my co-host(ess) was instrumental in suggesting the family-style supper,
so i think all in all, we ca call this one a win.
tight.
guys, do you like sweet potatoes?
me too!
how about butternut squash?
heck yeah!
and coconut?
c'mon.
coconut curry is expert for your face,
and when i get into it, i get all the way into it,
and take dinner to eleven, for me, and for my people.
word.
check the teleport:

BOOMFIRE BUM-FIGHTS!
we got pea shoots and cukes, cilantro sprankles.
plus,
hot green and red thai chili peppers, and a lil baby bit of jalapeno jauns, too.
yup.
that's how you doo-doo the tip-top-up on some sexxxy curry hottness.
yumyumYUM.
the rice?
that's jasmine, with a tablespoon of black rice to purp-u-late that purpleness;
and then the purple carrot slivers on top really activate that colorful pop,.
while those unsweetened coconut spranks lift er'rybodys' spirits up
with all of that exxxtra flavor!
-
that's all great, but it's just the other other stuff.
there's still a whole bowful of curry to discuss.
that's right.
and the curry is ferociously fresh-to-death.
what's in it?
i'm glad you asked:
-
*
RED-ORANGE COCONUT CURRY!
-
in a large long handled saucepot,
heat 2 T coconut oil and saute:
3/4 sweet onion, chopped;
1/2 red pepper, chopped;
1/2  jalapeno, diced;
3 sliced large garlic cloves;
1/2 inch nub skin-on organic ginger, minced;
1 small orange bell pepper;
2 cups butternut squash, peeled and cubed;
1 large orange carrot, bias cut;
1 cup halved grape tomatoes (lengthwise, bro)
while that's sizzlin' slowly, toss in:
2 tsp cumin;
1 1/2 tsp coriander seed;
1 tsp each Garlic Powder & Onion Powder;
sriracha pepper flakes;
black pepper flakes;
1/2 tsp ground mustard;
1/2 tsp ground dried ginger;
2 T chili-garlic paste;
-
toast those aromatics up,
and pour in:
1 can full-fat coconut milk;
1 cup veggie broth;
2 T rice vinegar;
1/4 cup cilantro;
2 T soy sauce;
2 tsp paprika;
1/2 tsp turmeric;
3 T lime juice.
simmer it up on low heat,
and allow it to thicken.
...you'll know when it's ready,
because it'll be viscous but also you'll be unable to resist scooping it into your face-
i mean, the rice will be ready, and so will your appetite.
it's not a precise measurement,
but twentyish minutes seems about right.
*
now, here's the thing-
a reddish orange curry isn't ready until you've got some sort of exxxtra-special somethin'
to truly overreactivate some epic hottness.
that's a thing.
and we had coconut-oil-fried sweet potato fritters to fit the bill:

yeah, man, we do it right around these parts.
-
*
SWITTER FRITTATOES!
-
one boiled skin-on sweet potato, cooked with 1/4 sweet onion,
mashed up, with:
1/4 cup garbanzo flour;
2 T non-GMO organic cornstarch;
black salt;
GPOP, coriander, cayenne; sriracha flakes, black pepper, and lime zest.
make some petite patties, and pan-sear the sh!t out of them.
BAM!
just like that, you're a miracle.
and when it all comes right down to it?
everybody had a second helping.
that's good news.
even kayla, who tried to perpetrate restraint.
y'all can't kid yourselves, and you don't fool me either.
too much is the right amount,
and anything less is for suckers.
***********
i guess it's going to snow.
reportedly, it is going to snow a LOT.
that's cool.
i'm just gonna go to work and tattzap some pick'em-up truckery,
because, despite every other studio in new england closing in fear,
due to seasonably predictable weather,
we get those movie checks and we turn purple to black, jack.
then,
i'm going to come home,
fire up the woodstove,
and have a damned cozy taco tuesday like a real live sunovagun.
it's all really happening,
and as usual, it's all more of all of the same.
that's how adulthood works, it seems.
hard styles over and over,
until they become regular styles,
and newer, even harder ones emerge to compare yourself to;
never quiet, never soft.....