By now you are all aware that I’m completely infatuated with Heidi Swanson.  Actually, obsessed would be a better description.  Absolutely love every single one of her recipes we’ve tried so far so you can understand my excitement when I got home Monday night to find the following voicemail message from my local {independent!} bookstore: “Your copy of Super Natural Every Day {Heidi’s new book} has come in!”  The next morning, Riley and I went on our usual coffee/walk route, delaying it until Queen Anne Books opened at 10 a.m. Picked up our fancy new cookbook and sat on the patio with giddiness, sipping my latte and flipping through the recipes.  Ah!

For the first recipe out of the book, decided to make this tonight: Weeknight Curry.  It was perfect because the base is a great foundation for any seasonal vegetables that need to be used by the end of the week.  For me that meant asparagus and an onion that I’d sliced an eighth out of earlier in the week. Although the recipe calls for extra-virgin coconut oil OR clarified butter {the later I had}, I decided to try the coconut oil. Oy! My local grocery store only had one available and it was $23.oo!  Even though it was a large jar I did stand there and think, “I should just use the clarified butter I have at home.” But I broke down and bought it to give it a whirl. Looks like I’ll be using that for a while.  I will say this – it didn’t burn and worked out nicely.  So if you can, splurge and give it a try.  Here’s the recipe with the ingredients I used tonight.  We like a little spice so added a pinch of crushed red pepper at the end. Very flavorful, filling and prepped + ready in 25 minutes.  What could be better than that?

Weeknight Curry
serves 4

1 ½ tsp. extra-virgin coconut oil {or clarified butter}
1 yellow onion, sliced
sea salt
2 small Japanese eggplants, cut into 1″ cubes
2 tsp. red Thai curry paste
2/3 cup coconut milk
8 oz. firm tofu, cut into 1″ cubes
10 asparagus spears, cut into 1″ slices
½ cup vegetable stock
1 cup frozen peas
pinch of crushed red pepper 

Heat coconut oil in a large pot or wok over medium heat.  Stir in the onions, eggplant and pinch of salt.  Sauté until onions becomes translucent {a couple of minutes}.  

In the meantime, mash the curry paste with a few tablespoons of the coconut milk in a small bowl.  Add to the pot and stir until the vegetables are well coated.  Stir in the remaining coconut milk.  Bring to a simmer, then add the tofu and asparagus, cover and cook until both are heated through and the asparagus are no longer raw {a couple of minutes}.  Uncover and add broth and peas. Stir and salt to taste.  Add a pinch of crushed red pepper and cook for 1 minute.  Serve over rice if you’d like.