I really wanted the cookbook Platter of Figs, by David Tanis this Christmas and Mike’s parents ended up getting it for me. Mike has some food allergies (diary, garlic, and gluten) and food preferences (he eats fish and chicken but no red meat, pork, turkey, etc.). I’ve been getting very good at adapting things for him while not losing the original flavor intent of the dish. I was, however, pleasantly surprised that there are some dishes I either don’t have to modify at all, or only have to slightly modify. This chicken tagine with harissa oil is one such dish:

This inspired me to get creative on my own. To me that is the hallmark of a great cookbook; when it inspires you to close it and then create dishes on your own. So I made a Thai style red curry paste from scratch. All the ones you buy pre-made have garlic in them, but we love red curry so I got creative and we used it to make salmon, potatoes and peas in a red curry with coconut milk. Delicious.

And just yesterday for lunch I made a “creamy” white sauce with shallots, scallops, and fresh parsley and tossed it with some gluten-free porcini mushroom pasta that my sister sent s for christmas. Also delicious!