I made a curry!

I made my first curry today. It's a veggie curry using a Bombay spice mix that I picked up at the aforementioned spice market -- eggplant, butternut squash, red pepper, carrot, broccoli, cauliflower and potato were the base, with a silky curry sauce that simmered for only 30 minutes. I served it over hot white quinoa.

Here are the deets:

Ingredients
Tons of veggies of your choice
Coconut oil
3 heaping tablespoons good curry spice mix (including garam masala and cumin)
1 can tomato paste
2 cups water
1 can evaporated milk
1 white onion + several shallots if desired
1/2 cup minced ginger
salt

Procedure
Sautee onions and shallots 10 minutes in generous coconut oil
Add ginger + 5 minutes
Add curry mix and salt +1 minute, stirring until fragrant
Add veggies slowly, browning in curry mix
Meanwhile, dilute tomato paste in water
Cover veggie mix with tomato water and evaporated milk
Taste and adjust for spice and salt, adding seasoning if necessary
Simmer 30 minutes until toughest veggies are soft
Serve over rice, etc.

Grand Central decadence on a Wednesday night

Last night, my friend R and I left work early and spent the better part of two hours enjoying one of the great luxuries of our office neighborhood: Grand Central Station. Here's the rundown on what to do there.

Oyster Bar aside, there are tons of pleasures to be had in and around the station: a craft beer store, an olive oil shop and an incredible food market oozing with fresh fish, bright flowers and luscious chocolate. The market - through mortifyingly expensive - is my favorite place in the station.

First we taste-tested, and ultimately purchased, some gorgeous 24-month prosciutto de parma and a chunk of stinky goat at Murray's Cheese. Then we hit the spices. Displayed in rows of lovely little pyramids, they are first sniffed, then approved and then encased in tins to go. 

And OH the colors - tumeric yellows and ancho reds and bright dill greens. Swoon. 

Up next: one of the most expensive cocktails in the city at the Campbell Apartment, an old-world New York bar also located inside the station. The place is the former private salon of tycoon John W. Campbell; it was restored to its original opulence in 1999 and now plays host to the suit-tie-steak-scotch crowd on a nightly basis. R's singapore margarita (made with fresh pureed ginger) beat my glass of wine by a mile.

Final pitch: if you've never been here - or if you're a tourist in the city and not on a tight budget - this place is worth a visit.