EZ Coconut Curry

As y'all can probably tell from my devotion to cumin, I love earthy, warm, spicy-sweet piles of food. I found a recipe for coconut curry at Simply Recipes and adapted it for my glamorous and glitzy dino-chow lifestyle. And now I'm sharing it with you, 'cause I like you.

Full disclosure: I totally cheat in the kitchen. I usually have cooked chicken, ground beef, and pork chops ready-to-go in the fridge, then I make sauces and salsas and coconut milk- or tahini-based yummy things and pour them over the top. I am a master assembler of tasty piles of food. I made the recipe below by cooking the curry sauce separately, then stir-frying it into already-cooked ground beef. I poured that mixture on top of already-steamed green beans re-heated in the microwave. EZ-peasy. But you can also follow the instructions below if you haven't already horded protein sources and veggies in your fridge like a paleo-squirrel.

EZ Coconut Curry
Makes about 3-4 servings.

Ingredients:
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1/2 tsp ground cardamom
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp chili powder
1/4 tsp turmeric
1/4 tsp ground ginger

1 large red onion, chopped
5 cloves garlic, minced
2 jalapeno peppers, minced
1 cup coconut milk
3 tablespoons fresh basil leaves, torn

1lb. protein: ground beef, cubed beef/lamb/chicken

Directions:
1. Combine spices in a small bowl and set aside.

2. Saute meat/chicken until it's nicely browned and cooked through. Feel free to add a little EVOO if you're feeling like you need some healthy oils. Salt and pepper is nice, too.

3. Take the meat out of the pan, and throw in the onion, garlic, and jalapeno. Stir fry until tender and onions are translucent. Don't burn the garlic! (I often come dangerously close to burning the garlic because I like the stove on HIGH.)

4. Add the meat back into the pan and add the spices. Stir fry 'til fragrant; about a minute.

5. Add the coconut milk and basil leaves. Simmer until the meat is cooked through and the sauce thickens a bit.

Serve over steamed green beans, zucchini, chopped spinach, chopped cauliflower, spaghetti squash, or curry fried f'rice. (I like to mix chopped spinach with finely diced cauliflower; delicious and so healthy it's ridiculous.)

Also really nice with sliced fresh tomatoes and sliced cucumbers on the side. Bonus points if you squeeze lemon juice over them and top with chopped fresh parsley.

Foodie Alert: Simply Recipes has some yummy-looking curry recipes that could easily be adapted to dino-chow. Commence drooling now.