My daughter, Daphne, has a stalker. Yes, a stalker. A young man has decided it would be a good idea to call her about three hundred times a day, text about a thousand times, instant message on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter all day long, and even send three or four letters per day in the mail. After telling him to stop, blocking him any way we could, changing Daphne’s phone number, speaking to his parents, and filing a police report, we decided to file for a protective order to force him to stop. Of course, he violated the order immediately. The letters in the mail came more frequently. So, last week our family had to go downtown to the courthouse for the hearing.

We sat in the courthouse for an hour before I went to see if we were in the right place. We listened to a couple of the preliminary hearings for some fairly serious crimes. I was intrigued and even thought I should take the Nevada bar exam and get back into law. That thought only lasted about ten minutes. Then, I decided it was too much work. Finally, I asked the bailiff if we were in the right place. He went to check with the clerk. Wouldn’t you know it? They called the previous day to tell us the hearing was rescheduled to the following week. Low and behold, I checked my phone and there was a message with this information. I rarely check my messages. My bad. Oops. Claud was pretty upset since I made him miss work. I was scared to see this boy on my own. He’s a nineteen-year-old six-foot tall crazy obsessive person and I don’t know what his deal is.

We left the courthouse and headed home. Claud went to work. He had so much to do that day. He barely spoke to me the whole way back. I apologized. I thought I had better think of a really great meal to feed him when he gets home. Although, I would say, sushi is his favorite food; Thai is a close second. I don’t know how to make sushi very well. I tried it for an article a while back but it only turned out good because Claud helped. I didn’t think I could do it justice all by myself. Thai was going to have to be the answer and it had better be delicious to make up for what I had done.

I started looking through several Thai recipes. Many of them had to be ignored due to the crazy ingredients, which I knew I would have to try really hard to find. I fairly certain these Asian ingredients would be really difficult to locate in New Ulm. So, I improvised and came up with a fairly simple version of Thai red curry. I used more common ingredients than most of the recipes called for. I went to the store and picked up what we didn’t already have. I made a vegetable version. You could add chicken or shrimp if you prefer.

Claud came home and was in a much better mood. Luckily, the day went well and he was able to finish everything he needed to do. I think he forgot about the time I made him waste because it was never mentioned again. I served him a large bowl of my red curry. He couldn’t believe it. We sat down and ate dinner with the kids. All was forgiven.

Thai Red Curry:

Time: 40 minutes

Serves: 4

1 tablespoon coconut oil

1 white onion, diced

salt to taste

1 inch ginger, skinned and grated

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 red bell pepper, sliced

1 green pepper, sliced

3 carrots, peeled and sliced

2 tablespoons red curry paste (recipe below)

1 14 ounce can coconut milk

1 cup broccoli florets

1 teaspoon brown sugar

2 teaspoons soy sauce

1 teaspoon rice vinegar or white wine vinegar

red pepper flakes or sriracha (optional to heat to desired level of spiciness)

Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add oil. Add onion and sprinkle on salt. Cook for about five minutes. In a small pot, steam the broccoli. Add ginger and garlic and cook for about 30 seconds. Add bell peppers, carrots and cook another five minutes. Add curry paste and stir in for another two minutes. Add cups of water and sugar. Bring to a simmer for another five minutes. Place the broccoli into the curry mixture. Add coconut milk. Add pepper flakes or sriracha to heat it to your liking, if you want. Serve over rice.

Red Curry Paste:

Time: 20 minutes

Yield: cup

3 large dried red chili peppers

10 small dried chiles de arbol

cup shallots, chopped

cup garlic, chopped

1 tablespoon fresh ginger, skinned and chopped

1 tablespoon coriander, ground

1 teaspoon cumin, ground

salt and pepper to taste

Remove stems and seeds from dried chilies. Tear chilies into small pieces and soak in a bowl of warm water for 15 minutes. Put shallots, garlic, ginger, coriander, cumin, pepper and salt into a food processor or blender. Drain water from chilies and place into food processor. Grind into a paste.