Indonesian beef and pineapple curry over jasmine rice

In the mid-ninties, my family spent three years living in Jakarta. Apparently, and inexplicably, Indonesia isn't famous for their cuisine. I don't actually know if I've ever seen an Indonesian restaurant in the States, but you see Thai or Chinese on every corner. Perhaps I'm hanging out in the wrong neighborhoods. Anyway, this is a damn shame. Indo food is goooood.

First of all, Indonesia produces hands-down the absolute finest variety of instant noodle on the planet, and I've tried a lot of instant noodles. [You can and should find them at your Asian market. Five flavor sachets!! Oh, modern science] Indonesian cuisine includes amazing fried rice and noodle dishes as well as a variety of curries, including this one.

Sausage, Swiss chard and provolone strata

The best thing about a big renovation project is the excuse to make large, glorious, fatty breakfasts. Hey, I'm gonna work it off over the next 8 hours! Gotta start the day out strong. I can't work hungry.

Not that this is actually all that fatty, considering. It's just bread, eggs, milk, Swiss chard, a little sausage and a little cheese. But it certainly is compared to berries and yogurt or oatmeal, which I have decided would not power us through much manual labor. (That's my story and I'm sticking to it.)

Shrimp tikka with fresh mango chutney and vegetable skewers over basmati

  

Grill season is upon us! I love grilling. Not only does it taste great, it minimizes dishwashing by avoiding pots and pans as well.  Fill up the ol' Blue Rhino!

 

Garam masala is a South Asian spice blend. If you can't find it (or want to customize to your personal tastes), just make your own. Recipes abound on the internets. This dish has been on my list for several months as we waited for the weather to turn. I should warn you, there is a lot of chopping. If you're one of those people who find slicing and dicing to be soothing, it'll be like therapy for you. If you can't stand being stuck at the cutting board, it will be torturous.

Pork chops and sugar snap peas with mint julep glaze over mashed cannelinis

I came across this recipe whilst flipping through the "Peas" slideshow on epicurious.com (is that embarrassing? I just really... like peas.) Hail, Spring! Anyway, this is a great quick weeknight meal comprised mainly of standard pantry and freezer ingredients. And there's booze!

It's a cool little riff on the mint julep cocktail. Admittedly, I'm not the biggest whiskey drinker. I've always found mint juleps to be missing something, and now I know what that is: pork.

Pretend these came from my garden. My wee little plants are only two inches tall at the moment, but I have high hopes for them.