Why I Never Follow Recipes

Tonight was curry night in the McI household!  I love curry - it's delicious in its rich spiciness; and you can pretty much make it with whatever veggies you like.  Here's the recipe I started with:

Red Lentil Coconut Curry

1 large onion, minced - Saute in 1 tbsp coconut oil until transparent.

1 tbsp garlic (minced)
1 tbsp ginger root (peeled & minced)
2 tsp curry powder
1/2 tsp each turmeric, cumin, pepper
1/4 tsp red pepper
1/4 tsp cinnamon
2-3 bay leaves - Add spices & reduce heat.

400 ml can coconut milk
1/4 cup soy sauce
1 cup tomato sauce - Add & simmer 20 minutes.

2 cups dried red lentils
5 cups water - Cook for 15 minutes.

1 medium head cauliflower (chopped)
1 large sweet potato (diced)
1/4 head cabbage (sliced)
1-2 cups peas - Cook over medium heat until tender; serve over brown rice.

(from one of my favorite cookbooks, Simply in Season)

"That recipe sounds very tasty!" you may say.  "Why wouldn't you follow it?" you may ask...

Well, the main ingredient - lentils - is something I never buy.  I never buy lentils because my husband thinks they're gross.  "Too pasty!"  But he likes beans; so in this dish, I replaced the lentils with some good ol' organic white beans.

What else did I alter?  I didn't use the whole onion.  I have a very low tolerance for violence against onions.  It makes me quite sad.  I got through chopping about 1/3 of a large onion before I couldn't take it  anymore.  I figured that was enough.

I did follow the complete spice palate listed in this recipe - even the stuff I thought might taste weird. That cinnamon really makes the flavors POP - don't skimp on it!

In addition to the coconut milk, I added a few scoops of coconut cream (which is like BUTTER) for a little extra coconut flavor and richness.  Mmm!

I did include the sweet potato and cauliflower (from frozen); but skipped the cabbage and peas, because I didn't have any.  I also skipped on the tomato juice, because I thought that a tomato-coconut mix would taste nasty (if you're feeling bold, try it and let me know how it goes!).

What's the moral of the story here??  Why alter so many parts of a proven, published recipe?

Because I can!  I know that a lot of folks successfully do their grocery shopping according to the recipes in their weekly meal plans; but I've always preferred shopping according to our tastes, what's in season (local!), and what's on sale.

We usually get frozen cauliflower, sweet potatoes, and rice; so those aspects of the recipe were easy to follow.  Cabbage?  Not in season now - though we sure ate plenty of cabbage from our garden this fall!

My whole point is that I encourage boldness in the kitchen.  Even if you don't have all the ingredients, go for it!  Try substituting spices and ingredients here and there.  The results can be surprisingly delicious!