Autumnal Tofu Sweet Potato Curry

Today is the first day of fall, and it dawned coolish and gloomy. A bit of cloudiness is actually kind of nice after several days of warm weather, and it suits today's post, which features sweet potatoes, one my favorite autumn foods. I threw this together this past Sunday, after I'd been reading all day (which seems to happen a lot lately), and was at that point of zero ambition where popcorn seems like a perfectly balanced meal (ditto). On the other hand, it was one of those September evenings when there's just enough of a snap in the air to make you want something warm, comforting, and a little spicy that will make the kitchen smell nice.

In the end, I took the high road and decided to Actually Cook, but I had limited supplies and didn't feel like going to the store, which meant a menu determined by what was already in the house. A cursory inventory revealed tofu, two sweet potatoes, a bell pepper, some coconut milk, a jar of chili paste, and everyone's favorite ingredient: peanut butter! These struck me as the makings of a curry, and so they proved to be, with the added bonus of a bunch of leftovers, effectively keeping that whole popcorn idea at bay for a few days. (Please bear in mind that the whole point of this exercise is using what's already in the kitchen: pretty much any vegetables will work in something like this, and it's always fun to experiment with what's available.)

Autumnal Tofu Sweet Potato Curry
Ingredients
~ 1 tbsp. canola oil
~ 1 tsp. hot chili oil (optional, or you can use a shot of hot sauce if you don't have any)
~ 1 large onion, chopped
~ 2 tbsp. garlic, minced
~ 1 tbsp. ginger, grated
~ 1 tsp. Thai red chili paste
~ 1 tbsp. soy sauce
~ 1 tbsp. dried basil
~ 1 tsp. each: chana masala, curry powder, chili powder
~ 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
~ 1/4 tsp. nutmeg
~ 2 sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed
~ 1 bell pepper, sliced
~ 1/2 cup vegetable broth
~ 10 oz. mushrooms, sliced
~ 1 lb. extra firm tofu, pressed and cubed
~ 3 cups lite coconut milk
~ 1/3-1/2 cup smooth peanut butter
~ 1 tbsp. cornstarch
~ 5 scallions, thinly sliced

Directions
~ In a large, deep pan or wok, heat the oil and saute the onion and garlic over medium heat for about 3 minutes.
~ Add the grated ginger, soy sauce and other seasonings; stir to combine thoroughly and cook another minute.
~ Add the cubed sweet potatoes, bell pepper and the broth; turn heat to low, cover the pan and cook about 10 minutes.
~ Raising the heat to high, add the mushrooms, tofu and 2 cups of the coconut milk. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat again, replace the cover, and cook another 10-15 minutes.
~ In a cup or beaker, mix the remaining cup of coconut milk with the cornstarch until smooth.
~ Add the scallions, peanut butter and cornstarch mixture to the curry and raise heat to medium. Combine thoroughly, and continue cooking another 5-10 minutes or so, stirring constantly, until the sauce has thickened. (If you happen to have some chopped, fresh basil--which I didn't--this would be the time to sprinkle it on.)
~ Remove from heat and serve over steamed rice (short grain brown is my personal favorite).