Thai Red Curry Paste

One of my favourite curries is a Thai red curry. It's tasty and goes well with most proteins. You start with a paste and then add too it. The recipe I use is from a book that Dad and I fight over. Technically it's his book but it spends more time at my house.

The recipe says to use dried chilli but I use fresh and it comes out fine. The paste freezes really well and can be used months later with no loss of taste (or at least none that I found).

Thai Red Curry Paste
makes about 10 tablespoons

10-12 fresh, hot red long chillies
5 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
140g shallots, chopped
1 Tbsp fresh lemon grass, slices thinly
3 thin slices peeled fresh galangal or ginger
1 thin slice of fresh kaffir lime rind
6-8 fresh coriander roots, washed and coarsely chopped
freshly ground white pepper
1/4 tsp shrimp paste or 2 anchovies
1/2 tsp gnd cumin
1/2 tsp gnd coriander
2 Tbspn bright red paprika

Stick everything in a blender with some water and blend to a paste.

Can you say allergy friendly???

I discovered when I baked birthday cupcakes to take to band on monday night, that if I want to make them edible for everyone then things have to be gluten free, lactose free and vegan. Occasionally fructose free as well. The last batch I took were chocolate brownies. They didn't turn out exactly how I'd planned but they still tasted fantastic 4 days after baking.

Gluten Free, Vegan, Chocolate Brownies.

125ml olive oil
200g dark eating chocolate, coarsely chopped
½ cup (110g) caster sugar
3 Tb no egg replacer
6 Tb water
1 ¼ cup (185g) plain flour
200g chocolate, chopped coarsely

1. Preheat oven to 180°C/160°C fan-forced. Grease deep 19cm square cake pan, line with baking paper, extending paper 2cm over side.
2. Stir butter and dark chocolate in a medium saucepan over low heat until smooth. Cool 10min.
3. Stir sugar into chocolate mixture, then flour, no egg replacer, water and chopped chocolate. Spread mixture into pan.
4. Bake brownies about 35 min. Cool in pan before cutting