Easy Vegetable Coconut Milk Curry

At lunchtime today, I began preparing an old standby, stir fry with tofu, when I thought to myself, hey, why don't you switch it up a bit today, get adventurous, like add chicken broth to the vegetables instead of water? So I did just that. I sauteed my usual onion and celery, then added some carrots, asparagus, red pepper, broccoli and spinach. When all of the pan juices had cooked off, I added 1 1/2 cups of water mixed with a large chicken bouillion cube and let that simmer. Then I added 2 good spoonfuls of minced garlic and about a teaspoon of ginger paste I had sitting in my fridge. I added a few generous shakes of seasoning salt and pepper, and a few dashes of red pepper flakes (for some heat). Then I got the idea to make it into a curry, so I added half a can of coconut milk. Voila! It was really tasty, if I do say so myself, and it actually tasted like something one would find in a Thai restaurant. The nice thing is you can adapt it to whatever vegetables you have on hand, and it makes ordinary vegetables seem exotic and almost sweet. I will definitely be scarfing up the leftovers during tomorrow's lunch.

1 yellow Vidalia onion, chopped

3 stalks celery, chopped

2 tablespoons olive oil

seasoning salt, to taste

pepper, to taste

1 small head broccoli, florets only

1 bunch asparagus, hard ends snapped off

1 cup baby carrots

1 red pepper, diced

2 cups fresh spinach leaves

1 1/2 cups water

1 large chicken bouillion cube, or 1 1/2 cups chicken broth

dash red pepper flakes, or to taste

1/2- 15 ounce can coconut milk

In a large frying pan, heat olive oil over medium heat, then add to that onions and celery. Saute until onions are soft, about 5 minutes. Add a few dashes of seasoning salt and pepper, then add the broccoli, asparagus, carrots and red pepper. Saute until the vegetables soften, about 5 minutes, adding the water and bouillion cube when the vegetables start to brown and the juices have evaporated. When the vegetables are tender, add the spinach and saute. Add the red pepper flakes and coconut milk and simmer for about 5 minutes. Can serve alone or with brown rice.