What's For Dinner

I got off work unexpectedly early yesterday so Andrew and I went to Sams sans kidlets.  Which is a real treat because I love me some Sams.  I especially love to browse the center section.  Books.  Office supplies.  Seasonal decor.  Of course, Andrew loves the tech area.  And we're both always on the lookout for new edibles to bring home.

Yesterday, I saw a product I'd never seen before at Sams.  Bearded mussels.  Fresh, in big mesh bags over ice.  Yum!  So we bought a three pound bag and high-tailed it home. 

What to do with the mussels...  Hmmm...  I considered steaming them with wine, garlic and herbs.  And then serving them with a crusty French baguette topped with sweet cream Plugra butter from Fresh Market.  And a salad of local organic greens (that we picked up at the Raleigh Court farmer's market this past Saturday), goat cheese, walnuts and sliced grapes topped with a vinaigrette made with walnut oil, lemon juice, shallots and vinegar.

But I was in the mood for a little more spice and had had a Thai craving that's gone unfulfilled for a couple of weeks now.  So I googled "Thai mussels" on my iPhone on the way home and found a recipe from the magazine Cooking Light that sounded delicious.

And it was!  Even the children gobbled it down and two of three them dove back into a second bowl.  If it had just been me, Andew and Jack, and even Alice really, I would have ramped up the spiciness.  But as it was, it was plenty spicy and just absolutely delicious.

Thai Curry Seafood Stew

4 (generous) servings

1 teaspoon red Thai curry  paste

2 1/2 cups of canned, unsweetened coconut milk

1 cup of water

1 1/2 cups purchased broccoli slaw

1/2 cup uncooked shrimp, peeled and deveined

1/2 pound sea scallops

1 pound of mussels, scrubbed

1/2 cup chopped fresh basil (I used cilantro.  Basil just didn't make sense.)

2 tablespoons fresh lime juice

2 tablespoons of fish sauce

2 cups of hot, cooked jasmine rice (2/3 cup raw)

Place curry paste in large pot.  Whisk in 1/2 cup coconut milk.  Bring to boil for 1 minute.  Stir in remaining 2 cups of coconut milk and 1 cup of water.  Add broccoli slaw, shrimp and scallops.  Top with mussels.  Return to boil.  Reduce heat, cover and simmer until mussels open and seafood is cooked, about 3 minutes.  Discard unopened mussels.  Add basil, lime juice and fish sauce.  Season with salt and pepper.

Press rice into four 2/3 cup custard cups, diving equally.  (any small, rounded bowl will do).  Invert into larger bowls.  Spoon stew around rice and serve. 


I decided to save the salad and baguette for tonight as the stew turned out to be a complete meal in one bowl.  It had lean protein, complex carbohydrates and plenty of veggies.  I served the stew with a chunked cantaloupe and that was dinner!

I'll definitely be putting this recipe into the regular dinner rotation.