#88 - It's All About Me

Still working on the truly never-ending cook-my-way-through-the-cookbooks project.

How many cookbooks can one woman own? Answer: Too many. (33, to be precise. And that's after editing my collection to a manageable number, but not including the two handmade cookbooks of our favorite recipes.)

Today's recipe comes from the 1998 Riley County 4-H Clovers Cookbook - a fundraising cookbook put together by 4-Hers in my home county in Kansas.

I was flipping through the cookbook, looking for something to inspire me and found this: Zanzibar Fish Curry - recipe submitted by Shannah Alloway (that's me, pre-Boy). Wild, huh?! I'd forgotten all about this recipe, both that I'd submitted it to a cookbook and that I'd ever made it in the first place.

This little gem of a meal was picked up while I lived in East Africa in the mid-1990s. Of course, I had to whip up my own recipe for dinner earlier this week. It was perfect for using that random can of coconut milk hanging out in the pantry.

Note to hesitant cooks: I didn't let The Boy's snarky question discourage me: What are you making for dinner that I'm going to hate? No sir-ee, I just kept stirring and told him that he'd be happy to eat anything I cooked from scratch for dinner.

Zanzibar Fish Curry

• 1 c. chopped onion
• 1/2 c. chopped green pepper
• 1-3 T. curry powder
• 2 T. oil
• 2 c. chopped tomatoes with juice
• 1/2 c. coconut
• 2 t. ground cloves
• 1 T. soy sauce
• 2 lb. cubed fish

Use 1 cup of liquid of any combination liked best:

• Chicken broth
• Wine
• Coconut milk

Fruit condiments of your choice:

• Pineapple cubes
• Bananas
• Raisins
• Mango
• Chutney
• Papaya

Saute onion, green pepper and curry powder in oil. Add tomatoes, coconut, cloves, soy sauce, fish and choice of liquid. Simmer for 1 hour or until fish is flaky. Add soy sauce, salt (if desired), pepper to taste and more liquid to your desired consistency. Serve over rice. Top with fruit condiments of your choice.

It was yummy - and The Boy didn't complain one bit.