Monika's Cinnamon Toast Cupcakes

Even though I am the 3rd blogger to post these cupcakes originally posted by my friend Monika, I must do it. They are unbelievably delicious and I do not bake and found these incredibly easy to make. Use them at your discretion, because once your friends know you can make these little bites of heaven, they will continually harass you to bring them to every event you attend. On the other hand, if you find yourself in the proverbial doghouse for whatever reason, a dozen of these babies will get you out of it. Guaranteed. Not that I've ever been there or had to use a bribe to get out of it.

Without further ado, I present the link to the Cinnamon Toast Cupcakes:

http://adamandmonika.com/Site/Sushi_%26_Chocolate/Entries/2007/9/5_Cinnamon_Toast_Cupcakes!.html

Enjoy.

Thai Green Curry with Shrimp & Tofu

My team at work goes to this nearby Thai place on a weekly basis, and since they never seem to get sick of it, I decided to try it out. They highly recommended the green curry, which I ordered with fried tofu. It was creamy, sweet, salty, with just the right amount of heat to bring out all the flavors. I loved it! This past weekend I decided to try to recreate it at home and was absolutely successful and surprised at how easy it was. I found this great recipe on epicurious.com as a start and made some modifications to it to match the restaurant version. I'll definitely be making it again!

Here are some tips I have learned about stir frying. Stir frying is so fast and easy, but the tricky part is the order in which to stir fry the ingredients. You don't want anything over- or under-cooked. Since it goes so fast, make sure to have all the ingredients prepped, opened, and ready to throw in the hot pan. You don't want to be fumbling around in the fridge searching for something while your shrimp is turning into rubber. Also, make sure to add the ingredients starting with what takes the longest to cook to the shortest. This may seem obvious but when you're dealing with a lot of ingredients at once it's easy to forget.

Update August 2010: Recently I discovered an Asian market nearby that sold green curry paste, so I bought it to replace the Thai Kitchen one that I usually use. Wow, what a difference! Previously when I made this dish, it came out somewhat bland and I had to kick the flavor up by adding garlic chili paste or more green curry. But using this authentic curry paste it was not bland at all, much spicier, and I didn't have to add any chili paste. Much improved!

RECIPE:

1 tbsp canola (or other type) oil
1/2 medium yellow onion, thinly sliced
3/4 cup green onions, sliced (about 8 small)
8 oz shiitake mushrooms, cut into bite-sized pieces
1 pound uncooked shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 package extra firm tofu, pressed for 15-30 minutes, then cubed
1/2 can bamboo shoots, sliced into strips
1/2 red bell pepper, sliced into strips
2 tbsp Thai green curry paste (add more to taste if desired
1 tbsp Thai red garlic chili paste
2 tbsp fresh basil, sliced into strips
1 14oz can light coconut milk
1 cup low-salt vegetable or chicken broth
3 tbsp Thai fish sauce (nam pla)
1 tsp sugar
Chopped fresh cilantro

Heat oil in skillet or wok over medium-high heat. Cook onion and tofu about 5-7 minutes until onion is translucent and tofu is crispy brown on edges. Reduce heat to medium. Add green onions, bell pepper, mushrooms and green curry paste, stir for 2 minutes. Add coconut milk, broth, fish sauce, chili paste, basil and sugar. Bring to boil, then add shrimp. Cook shrimp until tails curl up to the heads and they have just turned pink. At this point turn the heat down low and taste your curry. If it's bland in flavor, add more green curry paste. If it's not hot enough, add red chili paste a tsp at a time. Garnish curry with cilantro and serve in a wide shallow bowl, by itself if you're going low-carb, or with sticky rice.