Spicing it Up

November 11th - The weather has been colder and I'd been working late so was in need of a speedy supper which added a little heat. I had prawns in the fridge...and a recipe for Thai Red Prawn Curry, from Jamie Oliver's 30 Minute Meals. Surprisingly, I managed to get some lemongrass from the Co-op.....but this proved a tad troublesome! Into the food processor went the red chilli, a couple of cloves of garlic, fresh coriander a couple of roasted red peppers from a jar, some tomato purée, a tablespoon of fish sauce, 2 tablespoons of soy sauce and a teaspoon of sesame oil...with the chopped lemongrass stalks and some fresh ginger. Well I whizzed and whizzed....but there were still bits of hard stalk lurking in the paste.  By now, time was moving on and my hunger was growing....and my patience growing thinner by the minute so I just bashed on. A couple of tablespoons of the paste were fried in a little oil then a tin of coconut milk added. A handful of sugar snap peas were put into the sauce and prawns added at the last minute.  I also made the  suggested cucumber salad, using a peeler to make long strips of cucumber and dressing it with a mix of ginger, soy sauce, sesame oil, lime and chilli. Hot and tasty...despite the stalks!