Pumpkin, Sweet Potato, Banana Curry

In the hopes of not completely succumbing to my lull in medical school news, I have decided to share some of my budget-conscious cooking. You'll notice I haven't posted in a while. Though partially due to laziness, I also just haven't been eating out. With the exception being my once-a-week trips to either Gold Medal or Pho Ao Sen, neither of which really count. But, I've decided that just because we are saving money doesn't mean we can't eat delicious food. Stepping away from some of my stand-bys, I'll share new recipes that I find to work well and are easy to do in a reasonable amount of time.

One of my new favorite recipes is taken from www.yorkshireatheart.com. It's a Thai-style curry that I've found works really well over Chinese rice, and can be done on a tiny budget. It also freezes well. I'm including the recipe itself along with any changes I made.

1 onion, finely diced
1 garlic clove, crushed (I preferred grating it)
2.5 cm (1 inch) piece fresh ginger, finely grated
1⁄2tsp fenugreek seeds
1 stick lemongrass, finely chopped (Mince this, otherwise it will be too crunchy, or leave it in big pieces that you can pull out in the end)
4 tbsp Thai red curry paste
1⁄2 tsp turmeric
350g pumpkin, peeled, deseeded and cut in large cubes (about 1 1/4 C, 1in. by 1in. increases cooking time!)
300g sweet potato, peeled and cut in large cubes (about 1 C, 1in. by 1in. increases cooking time!)
300ml vegetable stock (chicken stock also is okay)
300ml coconut milk
2 bananas, peeled and sliced thinly
Salt and freshly ground pepper

Heat the oil in a large pan and fry the onion, garlic, ginger and fenugreek over a low heat for about 5 minutes until the onion is softened. Stir in the lemongrass, curry paste and turmeric. Add the pumpkin and sweet potato and stir to coat them in the spices. Leave to cook over a low heat for 2-3 minutes to allow the vegetables to absorb the flavors of the spices. Pour in the vegetable stock and coconut milk. Bring to the boil, lower the heat and simmer gently for 15-20 minutes until the vegetables are tender. Season, remove from the heat and add the diced bananas.

The first mistake I made was doubling the recipe. I tend to double recipes when cooking for David and me because we pack leftovers, but good lord do we still have a lot of curry. Both of us had it for lunch and dinner today, and freezer-packed at least 8 more meals worth. Also, I'd recommend not picking your squash/pumpkin based on what the name sounds like. Whatever you do, pick the one that looks easiest to peel. I ended up going with a Gold Nugget Squash and Carnival Squash, both of which took me a good hour to finish peeling (one was roasted in a different recipe). Instead of using sweet potatoes, I went for the cheaper Garnet Yams. Though not as moist in texture as my favorite Beauregard Yams, they actually contrasted much more nicely with the banana and squash.

I also ended up using chicken broth (thanks to buying an entire flat at Costco), which didn't seem to compromise the recipe at all, and cooking the curry for about 45 minutes, not 20. I'm not sure what she means by large chunks, but for me, my 1x1 inch cubes took forEVER to cook.

And now for the numbers (costs don't include staples and are for the doubled recipe)...

2 onions, $1.00
2 sticks lemongrass, $0.15
8 tbsp Thai red curry paste $2.13
1 small Gold Nugget Squash, $1.22
3 small Garnet Yams, $0.69
2 cans coconut milk, $2.10
3 bananas, $0.35

Total: $7.64, plus $4 for staples = $11.64 for 12 servings

Cafe Gratitude, Berkeley

Guest Wannabe Food Critic (I actually conned her into writing this): Zoey! Zoey is my younger sister who is currently a student at Cal. I think she's becoming a better writer than I am.

“We invite you to step inside and enjoy being someone who chooses: loving your life, adoring yourself, accepting the world, being generous and grateful everyday, and experiencing being provided for. Have fun and enjoy being nourished. Welcome to Café Gratitude.”

In commemoration of my friend Theo’s 20th birthday, a group of us shared a table at Café Gratitude in Berkeley for a “celebration of aliveness.” The restaurant boasts organic ingredients that “honor the earth and ourselves” and food that “is prepared with love.” When invited, I had no idea what kind of restaurant it was. Running late, with double chocolate cake in hand (from Virginia Bakery), I bolted through the door to find a half-dressed pregnant woman swinging her blonde dreadlocks to the music, the overwhelming scent of wheatgrass being grinded, and Theo adorned with all his friends sitting around a shared table.

Café Gratitude is a vegetarian restaurant that specializes in organic, vegan (no animal products – this includes eggs and milk), and live foods (food, drinks, and supplements that have not been heated above 115 degrees Fahrenheit). However, the young coconut is not always organic; you must ask – how dare they? The soups are served warm, the pizza not baked, and the coffee cold pressed.

They encourage you to share tables and to read through their very extensive menu. Everything is labeled with a clever and yet embarrassing titles of gratitude: “I am Heroic” gets you a quinoa salad tossed with parsley, mint, and cucumbers served with a lemon dressing ($8). “I am Fabulous” is a faux pad thai made of kale noodles (thinly sliced raw kale), cucumbers, tomatoes, sprouts, teriyaki almonds, and almond butter thai sauce ($12). “I am Rich” provides you with a mixture of orange, carrot, beet, and lemon juice ($7).

To order, the server asked me a pleasant “how are you feeling today?” to which I responded an embarrassing “I am sensational and beautiful.” For those of you who have not memorized the entire six page menu, I ordered a live pesto pizza ($10) with fresh basil hemp seed pesto sauce and olive tapenade served on a buckwheat and sunflower seed flatbread (raw toast) sprinkled with cashew ricotta and brazil nut parmesan (grated nuts). I also had a creamsicle milkshake ($7.50) with orange juice and vanilla soft serve (made of organic nut milk, dates, and vanilla bean).

The food took an incredible amount of time to prepare considering there was no cooking, baking, or steaming involved. When my server returned she looked at me and announced in an overly enthusiastic voice, “you are sensational and beautiful!” and set down my pizza and milkshake in front of me. The pizza resembled two slices of hearty bread sprinkled with chopped tomatoes, sprouts, and grated nuts. The mixes of “cheeses” and bitter sprouts combined with stiff bread made it incredibly hard for me to enjoy ingredients that I usually find so decent on their own--cherry tomatoes, kalamata olives, and brazil nuts. It was hard to chew and even harder to swallow. The milkshake seemed to be a refreshing break from my jaw workout of a pizza, but I was left with an uncomfortable, unpleasant nutty and gritty aftertaste.

In honor of Theo’s birthday the host, servers, and “cooks” sang an enthusiastic “happy birthday” – taken from the Beatles’s rendition – and presented him with a free slice of raw cake. Although we had prepared to eat the chocolate cake from Virginia Bakery, it was cooked and therefore not kosher to eat on Café Gratitude’s untarnished plates and flatware. Sad.
After wiping my mouth on my 100% recycled hemp napkin I left Café Gratitude having survived my dining experience somewhat unscathed. I felt ripped off having spent $17.50 for an uncooked meal that resembled rabbit food and left me with my stomach grumbling, but happy with myself for being able to plug my nose and down my entire smoothie.

If I am to recommend something, maybe a salad is a safe bet. Although I entered the restaurant with “I am Sensational” and “I am Beautiful,” I left with the following feelings:

I am not satisfied.
I am not fulfilled.
I am not celebrating.
I am not as “Berkeley” as I thought.
But, I am beautiful.

Café Gratitude is located at 1730 Shattuck Avenue in Berkeley (one block from the not so certified organic Virginia Bakery). It is open 10 AM to 10 PM everyday.