Culinary exercise number two

Haste Street, on the Feast of Ste. Ingrid

Tonight I made curry. By curry, I don't mean the authentic Indian or Thai or Malaysian kind. I mean the much simplified Japanese kind where you can buy a box with all the spices and flavoring packaged in handy chunks. But hey, it still counts as cooking in my book! Plus, it's really easy to make.

- Dice carrot, onion, pepper, potatoes, squash and some sort of meat into medium-sized chunks. I used a sausage (Bavarian bratwurst) for meat, but Spam will serve the purpose as well. Zucchini can be substituted for squash. Actually, you can add more vegetables according to your fancy, but it's probably good to include the ones I listed at the bare minimum. Edit: Oh, I think my mother occasionally uses imitation crab meat as well, if that suits your tastes.

- Heat up the pot and add some oil (enough to cover the bottom of the pot). Then put in some finely chopped garlic. Add your vegetables and meat, and stir-fry until meat is browned.

- Add water and let simmer. Again, the key is to not add too much water. I usually put just enough water to cover what's in the pot.

- Once the potatoes are cooked (you can test this by scooping out a chunk of potato and biting into it or testing it with your spoon--if it splits in half easily, then it's cooked), add the curry. Two chunks are usually enough for a small pot's worth. You can tell if you haven't added enough because the curry ends up runny instead of having a thick and creamy consistency. Stir the pot and let simmer until the curry has dissolved and been evenly mixed. (If you see dark brown specks coming up from the bottom of the pot, you need to stir more.)

- Serve mixed with rice! Reheating leftover curry also makes for a good lunch on the following day.

datenshi_blue asked for pictures last time, so here are some before and after photos.

( Curry )

Yours &c.