Garam Masala Roasted Fish with Tomato Curry Sauce

 This week has been hectic, to say the least. Thus the lack of posts. However, I still made a couple dinners and the Garam Masala Fish with Tomato Curry Sauce was especially delicious. Sadly, I had forgotten to charge Ryan's camera and so it is not documented pictorially. But I would strongly encourage you to go to this blog and make it.

You may have noticed that I like to use a lot of spices. You can find a lot of these at Indian or other international grocery stores. They come in bags that contain 5 times as much as those little bottles for half the price. That is where I like to find my garam masala, turmeric, cumin, madras curry powder, fenugreek and such.

The other dinner I made was Cooking Light's Almost Classic Pork Fried Rice (it's almost classic because it's not as unhealthy!). I think I broke the cardinal rule of making fried rice...my rice wasn't chilled. But it turned out fine and served me, a friend, and Ryan for dinner, plus another lunch for Ryan and two lunches for me. This was the perfect thing to make on a busy week.

Almost Classic Pork Fried Rice, adapted from Cooking Light
2 tbsp canola oil, divided
2 boneless pork chops, cut into bite-size pieces
2 carrots, chopped
1 yellow bell pepper, sliced
1 orange bell pepper, sliced
1 tomato, chopped
any other vegetables you want to get rid of
2 tbsp minced garlic
2 tbsp peeled and minced ginger
1 can water chestnuts, rinsed, drained, and diced
3 cups cooked brown rice
1 large egg
3 tbsp white wine (use mirin if you have it)
3 tbsp low-sodium soy sauce
1 tsp sesame oil
salt and pepper
2 cups fresh bean sprouts

First, start cooking the rice if you don't already have some on hand.

Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add 1 tbsp oil and swirl to coat. Sprinkle a little salt over the pork and add to the pan. Saute for about 2 minutes or until browned on all sides. Remove from pan.

Add carrots, bell peppers, and tomato to the pan and saute for about 2 minutes, or until lightly browned, stirring frequently. Add mixture to the pork.

Add remaining 1 tbsp oil to the pan and swirl to coat. Stir in garlic and ginger. Cook for about 15 seconds, stirring constantly to avoid burning. (I turned down the heat a little at this point.) Add water chestnuts and saute until lightly browned.

Add rice, stirring well. Cook without stirring for 2 minutes, or until it begins to brown. (You don't get as much browning action if the rice has just been cooked, I found.) Stir and cook for another 2 minutes to brown. Make a well in the middle and add egg. Stir-fry for 30 seconds until soft-scrambled, stirring constantly.

Return the pork and vegetable mixture to the pan. Stir in wine and cook until absorbed. Stir in soy sauce and sesame oil. Add a little salt and pepper. Remove from heat and stir in bean sprouts.

It is only authentic if you eat it with chopsticks.

Nutritional Info:
Serving size: about 2 cups
Calories: 408
Fat: 12.4 g
Protein: 21 g
Carbohydrates: 49.3 g
Sodium 627 mg

P. S. We ate ours with sriracha sauce and crushed red pepper to make it spicy. I would highly recommend doing this.

Also, here are some grapes that I thought were too beautiful not to photograph.