Chicken stock and green curry

I guess things are back to normal because I'm cooking again. It could be that. Or it could be that I'm reading cookbooks again. For a while there, I was reading books on cocktails and wine and they aren't really very inspirational for cooking. Of course, I have been drinking very well.

Then I decided to really invest in reading the cookbooks that have been sitting on my nightstand for ... well, it may have been years. So I read Zuni Cafe and River Cottage Preserve Handbook and now I'm on to Meat.

So, home early from the farmers market on a Saturday and feel like cooking. What to make? A chicken stock, naturally. So I dug out the carcasses in the freezer along with some of the chicken backs from Heritage Farms. Then I grabbed my Zuni Cafe Cookbook and used her recipe. I was really going to adhere to the requirement to only fill the put to just cover the bones. Normally, I put a lot of extra water. But this time, I really had to fill the pot to cover the bones. Maybe it's because I had too many bones.

So Judy Rodgers recipe calls for skimming the scum in the beginning but then as the fat begins to float to the top, you put it on the lowest simmer and leave it undisturbed. So I did. For four hours. Most recipes ask you to constantly skim off the fat, but you can see here (I hope) just how thick that layer of melted fat is on the top. I was able to get the simmer to bubble lightly so it never popped out of the top of the fat. Gorgeous.

I filled some containers (I really need more) and let them cool in the fridge overnight, then skimmed off the fat like she said. Then I put them into the freezer. Awesome!

On Sunday, Adam came over for dinner. Poor Adam. He's a vegetarian and normally I seem to subject him only to grilled veg (that I haven't done in some time), black bean tacos, or pasta. This time, we decided to make green curry. I went with the same recipe as last time from Madhur Jaffrey's book. I bought a ton of cilantro so I made a full recipe. Instead of using the blender, I used the food processor. It seemed a little chunkier than the last time, but I still think it worked out. Instead of putting it into the oven for an hour, I simmered the sauce covered on the stove. I also added more coconut milk than the recipe called for but I balanced it with some water, I think.

As the curry cooked, I prepped and cooked all my vegetables, making sure to season each one. Then I combined it all into the skillet and let it meld before serving.

The tofu worked out even better than I hoped. I bought one of the refrigerated ones, opting for "silken" over soft or firm. I sliced it into cubes, salted them, and then browned them on all sides. It was slow work, especially because I overcrowded the pan, so I heated another pan to make it better. I will definitely be doing that again.