Pineapple Curry

Weather forecast for today... rain, rain, rain ☁ and chance of rain ☂!
If I'm stuck inside then I want something full of color to fill my kitchen! Curry!!!
The local store (and by local, I mean the biggest store close to the island) here is called Central Market and it is heaven.  

   
Really, I could live there.  Always rows and rows of the freshest most beautiful flowers and plants line the outside and entry to this marvelous place.  Central Market is  a blissful combination of all grocery stores combined.

Here I can buy my eco friendly, cruelty free bath products, I can buy fresh sushi, pick up sacks of dirt for the garden, kombucha, and beer.  They have everything and it's one big warehouse of all things I might need.  For many reasons, I love it here.  Since Washington state has heaps of local farmers and the Kitsap region in particular has a good amount of organic farms, buying what I need in terms of local organic produce isway easier here than it was in LA.  However, one thing that is not local (cry) is tropical fruit.  I love pineapple and wish that the aforementioned pineapples would reconsider their homes in Hawaii/Costa Rica and relocate to the gardens of the Pacific Northwest.  But no, this isn't going to happen.   So I head over to the well stocked produce area with the biggest selection of organic produce I have ever seen (♥) and buy my imported (yet still organic) pineapple and hurry home to make:

Pineapple Curry

Curry is simple, full of exotic flavor, and really really forgiving in terms of ingredients and expertise.  My usual go to curry is yellow curry with potato, carrot, peas, and tofu but today, I've made pineapple curry :)

An excellent curry powder

Cinnamon, cloves and fennel are a must for a nice sweet curry spice blend.

1 cinnamon stick 10 cloves 1 tsp fennel seeds2 tbsp turmeric powder1 tbsp whole coriander seeds 2 tsp cumin seeds 1 tsp whole black peppercorns 1 tsp fenugreek seeds 1 tsp cayenne pepper (or if you are sensitive to spice cut this in half)1/2 tsp ginger powder 1. In a frying pan, toss the whole seeds in, turn to medium heat and toss gently every few minutes.  Break up the cinnamon stick and add this as well.   This will start to smell amazing and fragrant in no time at all. When you can smell all the spices, you know they've developed. 2. Transfer the spices to a grinder.  A clean and very dry (if wet at all the spice will stick) coffee grinder will do the trick.  Grind the spices very well into a powder. 3. Place freshly ground spices into a bowl and mix with the other spices.  This mixture will keep for several weeks in a dark and cool pantry or cupboard. * if you don't have all of these spices on hand or if you want to buy them all then a premade curry mixture works just fine.  I just think it's fun to blend spices ;) The Basics: coconut milk, veggies, rice - yes, it's that simple. 1/2 cup coconut milk  1/4 cup water or veggie stock if you have it on hand 4 cloves garlic 1/2 cup coarsely chopped onion (I like mine to be fairly big pieces) 1 medium russet potato cut in cubes 2 tomato cut into wedges 1 cup diced fresh pineapple 1 red bell pepper chopped roughly (remove seeds) 1/4 cup chopped cilantro 1 tbsp curry powder 1.  In a skillet bring a small amount of coconut oil to medium heat (you can use olive oil but coconut is best not only for flavor but coconut oil handles high heat beautifully).  Add potato and garlic.  Let cook for two minutes and remember to stir occasionally so that the potato does not stick.  Add 1 tbsp of water and cover.  The water will help the potato to steam and cook faster without browning.  Reduce heat to medium low and leave covered for 2 to 3 minutes adding water as needed. 2.  Add coconut milk, curry powder and vegetables (except the cilantro).  Bring to medium high heat and stir well.  If you like it HOT then add a dash of cayenne powder to the mix.  When the coconut milk begins to bubble lightly, reduce to low heat and cover.  Add the water as desired for the thickness of curry you prefer.  I add all the water. 3.  When you can slip a fork easily into the pieces of potato, then your curry is done.  Mix in the chopped cilantro and toss.  Serve with brown rice and enjoy!                                                      yum yum  ✌