Garee curry

Last night after work and a 40-minute walk around the neighborhood with the boxing octopus and her youngest, I pulled some broccoli and shitake mushrooms out of the fridge and stared at them for a few minutes trying to figure out how to prepare them before they went bad.

Roasting broccoli is one of my favorite methods, but that wasn't going to work for the mushrooms. I could saute them both together, but that didn't sound very good and I wasn't sure what spices I'd use and what I'd pair them with.

I eventually landed at soup (it's still technically spring in Austin, right?), and then realized we were fresh out of veggie or chicken broth. So I went to the pantry, where I was reminded that we had 9 jars of assorted curry pastes and a couple of cans of coconut milk from recent cooking classes at Thai Fresh , which incidentally sells various quality Thai ingredients in their adorable south Austin restaurant for at-home cookin'.

I've always loved my garee curry the traditional way - with chunks of chicken, potatoes, carrots and onions, served wtih enough rice to soak up all of the spicy, creamy goodness that's left at the bottom of the bowl. And I've always had three local favorite spots for garee -- Thai Fresh, Madam Mam's and Titaya's. (Titaya's holds a sweeter spot in my heart as it's also the site of my first date with the man who would become my husband.)

Still, I'm happy to say, after last night's attempt at garee - made with broccoli, mushrooms and onions, sans rice and other carbs - my new favorite local spot for garee curry is my own kitchen.