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The Nobody Has Died Cookbook
Covid Summer
Produce
Because of
the Covid summer I wasn't sure if I was going to leave the city,
so I dug up my yard and planted pumpkin, spaghetti squash, carrots,
green beans, potatoes, rhubarb, raspberries, swiss chard, kale,
spinach, lettuce, tomatoes, lemon basil, and chick peas. I have
several large pumpkins left over from a crop of fourteen, although
I have nearly eaten-in three cases given away-the sixteen squash.
Because of this cornucopia, I have been making squash bread and
pumpkin apple crumble.
Such plenitude
meant that my recipes of this year are necessarily slanted toward
fresh and organic produce. I do not know for sure if anything
toxic has ever been sprayed on my backyard, for the former owner
of the house was a flower enthusiast who cultivated a distaste
for weeds, but I used no pesticides or herbicides on or around
my food. Slugs were a problem this year, as they always are, so
I used diatomaceous earth twice, but I mostly employed slug traps
made from a mixture of water (1 cup or 250 ml), yeast (1.5 teaspoon
or 7 ml), and sugar (2 tablespoons or 30 ml). I'm told that beer
also attracts them. As my friend Lindsey said when we talked about
attracting slugs: "Once they smell that beer, they just come running."
Their alacrity and lack of impulse control meant I could relocate
the slugs to the back alley, where I left them to sort out their
own transport.
Although I
normally cook with fresh produce, this summer's production meant
I was cooking huge meals and making a variety of dishes. That
led to a renewed interest in cooking where I had hitherto been
more utilitarian.
Coconut
Green Curry Pumpkin
This dish
is similar to the Thai Red Curry Pumpkin, in both its ease of
production and lengthy ingredient list, although it is a sweeter
dish and not quite as spicy.
2
cups (500 ml) of fresh mushrooms
1
cup (250 ml) of onions
5
cups (1250 ml) of pumpkin
1
block (350 g) of firm tofu diced
1
block (350 g) of medium tofu shredded
2
cups (500 ml) of broccoli, or one head
1
packet (141 g) of dried coconut milk
8
(192 g) torn apart dates
1
child's handful (25 g) of raisins
1.5
tablespoon (22 ml) of garlic
2
tablespoons (30 ml) of Thai green curry paste
4
tablespoons (60 ml) of cooking soy sauce
.5
cup (125 ml) of peanut butter
1
tablespoon (15 ml) of peanut oil
1
tablespoon (15 ml) of dried sweet basil
.5
teaspoon (2.5 ml) of fennel seed
1.5
tablespoon (22 ml) of chopped ginger
2
tablespoons (30 ml) of molasses
1.5
cup (350 ml) of water
Like other
crockpot (crackpot?) meals, the green curry is quite forgiving
as to the order of ingredients. It will need to be stirred several
times through the cooking process to mix the tastes, but the ingredients
can be added as the cook wishes. The herbs and spices should be
added late in the procedure, however, so that they might flow
downward as the dish bubbles. I usually begin with the vegetables,
such as the onion, garlic, mushrooms and broccoli, and then add
the tofu. I normally add the pumpkin late in the procedure, in
a bid to avoid overindulgence. As well, once the dish is full,
the pumpkin can be stirred into the curry and soy sauce and thus
be on the front line of absorbing tastes. The tofu-especially
because the dish calls for so much of it-will absorb much of the
taste as well, and if you are serving guests who prefer spicy
over sweet, you might want to add more curry or chilies.
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