Pumpkin Curry in June does not make sense.

Clearly this photo was not taken yesterday... I'm glad I have it because it is the exact pumpkin I used for our pumpkin curry last night. 



I used it for decoration over the holidays and once I threw out my Frasier firs on the mantle, I cut this guy into halves, de-seeded and roasted him, and froze him for a later date.  I didn't expect that later date to be June but the frozen pumpkin was still delicious. 

I made some brown rice with my multitude of frozen veggie mix to go along with the curry.

Pumpkin Curry:

red/panang curry paste (1 tbsp)
celery (2 stalks)
bell pepper
packet of soy sauce (maybe one teaspoon if you buy yours in a bottle like a normal person)
garlic (4 cloves, chopped finely)
onion (one small chopped)
pumpkin (meat from 2lb-ish gourd)
coconut milk
water/vegetable broth (.5-1 cup)
salt/ pepper to taste

Saute some garlic, onion, celery and bell pepper in coconut oil to start it before adding about a tablespoon of green curry paste (I usually make this with panang or red curry paste, which I prefer).  Once everything looks covered in the paste and softer (about 3 minutes) I added the defrosted pumpkin and kept stirring so nothing burned.  Once the pumpkin was heated through, I added a can of coconut milk and a tablespoon of honey or other sweetener.   At the very end I added a half cup of garbanzo beans and let the whole pan simmer for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally and adding the water or broth if the curry gets too thick.  I topped ours with sriracha, basil, and cilantro. 

I've subbed the fresh pumpkin for canned before and while I'm all about easy stuff, it just isn't the same.  For pies, canned works better than fresh because of the texture, but for curries, fresh is the best.  Baking a pumpkin and scooping out the flesh is not hard, but it's more difficult than popping open a can so if you are in a rush and didn't freeze yours like the genius that I am, don't bother.  Subsitute it for another squash (yellow, butternut, spaghetti, etc...). 

Another curry related note.  I love curry from my head to my toes in all shapes and sizes.  The best curry I've ever had in my life was in Sri Lanka in a little fisherman's house, sitting on the floor with my friends, eating the spiciest, most delicious pumpkin curry, made my a woman that was probably 100.  This recipe is not near the heat wave that that curry had nor near as good, but it does remind me of a sweet time in my life away from home.  Curry has a reputation of being spicy and some are, but when tempered with coconut milk and some sweet element (sugar, agave, honey) it is not spicy at all.  Try mixing one teaspoon of curry powder (yellow) with a can of coconut milk and one tablespoon of sweetener....add some garlic powder/salt and heat through while tasting throughout, adding more curry powder to taste.  That is a completely unspicy curry sauce that can be poured over rice, vegetables, chicken, etc.  Balancing the sweet/savory component is key to a good curry.  I have no recipe for that except to keep tasting and adding what you think it needs.  Please give it a chance, it is so delicious.

Also delicious was my super smoothie skill demonstrated yesterday.  Two bananas, one and a half cup of berries and juice (frozen from picking in the Spring), Vanilla almond milk and ice.  It was sweet but not cloying so and so refreshing.  Matt is so lucky.

Matt's touring van is in Denver with his beloved band, and I am flying out to meet up for some brewery and distillery tours, and the long drive home.  We have big plans to stop and see the world's largest frying pan and ketchup bottle so I'm sure we won't be bored at all.  I got an iphone car charger so I can instagram all that middle America has to offer for the next week without having a sorry low battery signal.